Lake Chapala Writers Conference

By Herbert W. Piekow

A Time for Writing and Inspiration

 

writers-conferenceSome people think that writing is easy. The assumption is we can read, therefore we can write, besides we graduated from school. However, good writing is much more than putting your name at the top and filling the screen or paper with words. As for me, I do it the hard way by first writing everything out in long hand and correcting it before sitting in front of the computer screen, where I make more edits. When the muse is there to help, the right words seem to flow, but the muse is not always there and some muses know very little about punctuation and formatting for publication. Even self-published books need to look good.

Come to the eleventh Lake Chapala Writers Conference, March 11, 12 and 13th, 2015 and look for your creative muse with other writers and with the assistance of very knowledgeable and award winning presenters. Learn about being inspired, learn about formatting, work with a Book Doctor, find out which press should publish your sacred words and find out what it is like to write a best seller and then sell your book to Hollywood. If these topics do not appeal to you then find out about writing poetry from Diane Hicks-Morrow, a Canadian Poet Laureate. This year the Lake Chapala Writers Conference will have something for every writer, aspiring or established.

Dennis Stovall, winner of the prestigious 2015 Rittenhouse Lifetime Achievement Award will talk about and conduct a workshop explaining the complexities of getting a manuscript published in his presentation, Publishing Demystified. Stovall will clarify what type of publisher is right for you. Do you search for the traditional big press, a university press, small press or self-publish? Stovall, who has owned his own successful publishing company and now heads the Portland State University graduate program centered on publishing, knows the answers to your publishing questions. ‘Today, the Rittenhouse Award is truly a lifetime achievement award for those who have made long-lasting contributions to how books are made and sold,’ quoting from the award announcement.

Best-selling Canadian writer Roberta Rich has written a series of historical novels about a sixteenth century midwife. This might sound dull until you add the intrigue that in the Midwife of Venice, our heroine is Jewish and forced to flee Venice. Instead of the safety she and her husband seek, along with the royal baby whose life she saves, the family ends up in the sultan’s court. The Toronto Star says, “Rich describes the opulence of royal life in Constantinople set against conspiracy and betrayal . . .” Rich will share her secrets of writing captivating and accurate historical fiction.

Rachel McMillen is another best-selling Canadian writer whose Dan Connor Mystery series has a faithful following. Find out from McMillen what keeps her loyal readers buying her books. She will share her knowledge of writing and her secrets of keeping readers eager to read her next release.

Even the best writers need to work with an editor or book doctor. However, mainstream publishers no longer have in-house editors and the publishers expect your manuscript to be perfect before they will publish. The most frequent complaints about e-books and self-published works are that the pieces needed the help of a good editor. At the eleventh Lake Chapala Writers Conference we offer an opportunity to meet one on one with a respected New York editor. Sandi Gelles-Cole, a Book Doctor, will provide attendees who sign up in advance the occasion to have their manuscripts reviewed by this acclaimed editor. The Book Doctor’s prescriptions could help cure your writing ills and prepare your manuscript for submission to a publisher.

Who has not dreamed of writing a best seller and then having your written words turned into a movie? Whitney Otto realized her dream and her novel, How to Make an American Quilt, was made into a feature film with Winona Ryder, Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft. Otto will share her experiences and writing secrets for memoir.

Reserve your spot at the eleventh annual Lake Chapala Writers Conference.

The dates are Wednesday, March 11, Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13, 2015. Registration forms are available at Diane Pearl Collectiones, Colon 1, Ajijic; or at Hacienda Property Management and Rentals, Hidalgo 27-A, Ajijic.

Register by February 28, 2015 and the fee is only $1,300 pesos; after March 1st the price is $1,500 pesos. The price includes Pre and Post conference cocktail reception botanas; beverages are not included.

Two lunches and beverages during breaks are included.

Location: Hotel Danza del Sol, Zaragoza 165 and Rio Zula, Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico

 

 

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