The Successful Writer Conference
June 12, 2017
September 16, 2016
How Deep Does Your Passion Run?
I remember when I started out writing. I had a story line
running through my head and it wouldn’t leave. So, I sat down at the computer.
Four months later, after abandoning my children to the likes of hamburger
helper and frozen pizza, I had written a full length novel. Writing the book
was the easy part. Doing something with it was much more difficult.
We had our local copy shop print and bind the manuscript. We
promptly rested it on our bookshelf and every now and again, we dusted it off.
For several years the 95K word document did nothing but take
up space. I sent out one query letter. I had a few friends read it. I submitted
it to ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com and then I waited. We received one
offer from a subsidy publisher who wanted us to buy 1000 copies of my paperback
at $10 bucks a pop. Whew. That’s a lot of cash. My imaginary book publishing
balloon quickly deflated and once again, the manuscript took up residence on
that book shelf.
Several years later, after my husband’s company was laying
everyone off, we looked at one another and said…are we going to do this thing
or aren’t we?
We decided then and there that we believed in what I wrote
and we were in it for the long haul—come what may.
We began doing everything we could do to see that book
published. We knew nothing about the publishing industry. I did end up with
three offers to publish, one from a traditional publisher and two from subsidy
publishers. We ended up going with a subsidy publisher. Handing over
intellectually property rights didn’t sit well with my husband and we decided
to maintain control of the publishing process.
After paying nearly $4000 and a year and a quarter of being
published, we knew it was time to get our rights back and publish the book
ourselves. We did just that. In one week we saw more sales and the message
reach more people than we had the entire time the book was with the publisher.
Since then I have written and published 11 more books. My
husband has published four. We have made thousands of dollars from our writing.
Sometimes thousands in a single month.
We must live like kings, right?
Wrong. We live in the ghetto. We drive older vehicles. We
invest everything we make into our business. In fact, my daughter just
chastised me for hoarding my good lotion for dry skin. Why do we do this?
Because God has placed a calling on us and in order to see it fully come to
pass our passion to do His will must be stronger than our fleshly desire for
comfort and appeasement.
This means we do what it takes to get where we’re going.
Even if it means a little dry skin.
Darlene Shortridge
August 9, 2016
What Can a Writer's Conference Do for Me?
I attended my first writer’s conference on May 19, 2012 at the invitation of my writer friend. At the time I did not consider myself a writer, but it sounded like fun. It was a one day conference held at a Church in Cushing, Oklahoma. Donna Goodrich was the only speaker. I learned many things that would come in handy
Soon I began attending a group for writers in Tulsa. I learned many things that would be helpful
I found myself writing daily. I wrote school lessons and Bible lessons and plays. I wrote a program for a three day home-school history learning activity called “Wagon Train Camp”. I wrote pages of notes every morning as I read my Bible and studied. I often thought how great it would be if I could share what I had learned with others.
Martha Jane Curtis
Director - Successful Writer Conference
If I was a writer, that is.
Soon I began attending a group for writers in Tulsa. I learned many things that would be helpful
If I ever did decide to become a writer.
Speakers kept talking about being called to write, but I wasn’t comfortable applying that tag to myself.
I had many things I wanted to share with my children and the children I taught in Vacation Bible School and others with whom I associated. I home-schooled my daughter from preschool until she graduated high school except for a year and a half in the middle. I even taught my grandsons for two years.
So you see, I was a teacher, not a writer.
I found myself writing daily. I wrote school lessons and Bible lessons and plays. I wrote a program for a three day home-school history learning activity called “Wagon Train Camp”. I wrote pages of notes every morning as I read my Bible and studied. I often thought how great it would be if I could share what I had learned with others.
But I was still just a teacher, not a writer.
One day as I browsed through my Facebook feed, I noticed there were many posts complaining about the condition of our economy and talking about what our government officials should be doing and not doing. That day I began writing a post of my own. The subject of my post was that we as Christians need to quit griping to each other and start praying. The only way for our nation to remain Christian, is for us to be truly Christian and spend time on our knees praying for our nation and its leaders.
As I wrote, I realized what a small audience my post would have with my barely more than one hundred Facebook friends. It needed a bigger audience to have the impact I had planned for it, so I created a blog on which to post it. A blog still had limits, I realized, but it was a start in the right direction. The more I thought about the thousands I wanted to reach with this message,
the more inadequate I felt as
“just a teacher”.
I wanted the message God had given me to impact the world, not just those who were within the sound of my voice or who would read my measly Facebook page.
It was then that I felt the gentle whispering of the Holy Spirit, “How many more people do you think you can teach through writing?”
It was then that I felt the gentle whispering of the Holy Spirit, “How many more people do you think you can teach through writing?”
You can reach the world through writing!
Then I understood. God had been preparing me all along to write for Him. I am still teaching, but I am doing it through writing. I have the opportunity to share what God has given me with the whole world.
Because… I AM a Writer.
Martha Jane Curtis
Director - Successful Writer Conference
June 28, 2016
The Countdown has Begun!
It's 12 weeks until the Successful Writer Conference. Have you registered? If not, there is no time like the present. The early bird special ends August 8, 2016.
While you are here, browse through the speakers page and get to know the conference faculty. The schedule page will let you know the subject of each session.
The add-ons page describes special services offered at the conference.
The information page answers specific questions about the time and place of the conference.
The link on the registration page will take you to Paypal where you can pay by credit or debit card.
Contact page us via e-mail from the contact page if you can't find the answers to your questions on the above pages.
Hope to see you at the conference in September.
Martha Curtis
Conference coordinator
June 2, 2016
The 2016 Successful Writer Conference
The 3rd annual Successful Writer Conference is scheduled for September 23-24, 2016. See the information page for details.
Martha Curtis
SWC director
Martha Curtis
SWC director
February 19, 2015
Why Writer?
Welcome to
The Successful Writer Conference
Blog
The Successful Writer Conference
Blog
You are probably asking "Why writer, singular, only one? Shouldn't you have said writers for more than one, or at least writer's, meaning it is for writers?"
I'm glad you asked! The goal of SWC is to help writers become successful.But more than that, our goal is to help YOU, one single writer, you personally, to achieve your dream of becoming a successful writer. After all, that is why you go to a conference, right?
You want to learn to write, right?
So what are you waiting for?
Why not hop on over to the registration page and join?
Don't forget!
You do want to be a successful writer, don't you?
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