How to Get Freelance Work

Learn How to Best Execute Your Goals with Eric Butterman

Online Class
February 16-March 16; chats every Tuesday from 7-8 PM CST
$149 members/ $209 nonmembers

Eric Butterman

The success of a freelance writer is based on who is the most organized, has a clear plan for future goals, and understands how to best execute it. Eric Butterman will teach you how to analyze and write pitches that will get you better assignments.

Look at how to make the most of every hour you devote to your freelancing career. This covers everything from finding the balance between pleasing clients and getting new ones to creating a “career map,” which will allow you to see where you want to be a year from now.

Eric Butterman is a freelance writer and teacher who’s written for more than 50 publications, including Glamour and ESPN.com. His articles have allowed him to do everything from chatting with Venus Williams about her killer serve to finding out that action film Director John Woo would actually love to direct a musical. His students have credited his courses with helping them sell an article for as much as $4,000 and make four-figure deals before the course was even over. He’s been a freelance instructor for the Editorial Freelancers Association, JournalismJobs.com, and Ed2010.com. In addition, he has lectured at New York University and Harvard.

Interested? Register here!

Your Web Site: Do it Write!

Effectively Build your Web Site with Jimmy Flannigan

Jimmy Flannigan

2-5 p.m. Saturday February 6

at Writers’ League of Texas office

611 S. Congress Ste. 130

Austin, TX 78704

$49 members/ $109 nonmembers

Regardless of whether you’ve just started a writing career or are already published, a Web site is a basic component of a writer’s promotional package. This class will walk you through the basics of how to set up a Web site and will offer tips on what writers should include on their sites.

Jimmy Flannigan is the owner of Site Street, Inc., a web design and hosting company in Austin. Founded in 1997, it is one of the oldest web companies in Austin still locally owned and operated. With a degree from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA in e-Business, Mr. Flannigan brings enterprise-level consulting and expertise to small businesses and independent publishers in Austin and across the country. Site Street’s suite of services includes web design, custom development, web hosting, search engine optimization, and email marketing.

Interested? Register here.

Badgerdog Literary Publishing Saturday Workshops for Youth

Who: 6th-12th graders

When: 9a.m. to noon, Saturdays Feb. 13, 20, and 27; March 6 and 27; and April 3, 10, and 17

Where: Westlake United Methodist Church

Cost: $500, includes eight 3-hour creative writing workshops, a journal, a t-shirt, and a copy of Youth Voices in Ink anthology

This is the youth’s chance to work with professional writers, meet other young writers, write poetry and prose, participate in public readings, participate in book signings, get published, and be heard.

Badgerdog Literary Publishing Inc. takes writers effectively from the cradle to their careers and contributes to the ongoing development of a writer’s career and build relationships that last a lifetime. Their vision is to identify, acquire, and revive reputable, defunct literary journals in an effort to strengthen the infrastructure of the American literary tradition, fostering the growth of every next generation of writers.

Interested? Register online or call Guiseppe Taurino at 512.538.1305

AIPF’s Upcoming Deadlines and Call for Support

Austin International Poetry Fest’s Registration and Submission Deadline Approaching

The 18th annual Austin International Poetry Festival (AIPF) will be held April 15th through 18th, 2010. AIPF is a four-day, city-wide celebration of poetry and poets of every age and every kind.

Over a dozen poetry readings, 8 open mics, 6 workshops, 3 poetry slams, 2 anthology readings, and a poetry all-nighter will be held at local coffeeshops, bookstores, theaters, gardens and historical sites throughout beautiful downtown Austin, Texas. Over 20 featured international and national poets will be in attendance, stage and page-poets alike, reading alongside over 150 registered AIPF poets.

All events, including open-mics and children/youth readings and workshops, are free and open to the public. Registration is required only for adult participants. 2010 AIPF Headquarters will be Ruta Maya Coffeehouse.

Deadline for adult submissions is February 10.

Adult poets (18+) who wish to submit poems for the annual Adult Anthology Competition must register on our website before February 10th, 2010.

Youth (under 18) wishing to submit poetry for the annual Youth Anthology Competition submit through the mail and can learn more on the AIPF website.

Registration:

Registration occurs through the AIPF website and is required only for adult poets wishing to submit poetry to the yearly anthology competition, participate in formal workshops, and perform at local venue readings.

Early registration (before March 12th, 2010) is $30, and late registration (through April 17th, 2010) is $50. Adult poets who register early will have their biographies listed in the annual program.

Support:

The volunteer board of non-profit Austin Poets International, local business sponsors, literary partners, private donors, and the dedication of dozens of poetry-loving volunteers just like you. Join the celebration! Call or text (512)731-5907 to find out how you, or your organization, can get involved with AIPF.

2009 Book Award Winner in Hunger Mountain

Hunger Mountation, a print and online journal, based in Vermont College of Fine Arts published WLT 2009 Children’s Book Award winner, Kathi Appelt. She contributes to the theme with her piece, “Blurring the Lines,” a creative discussion on the ever-shifting audience line of children’s books.

Kathi Appelt

The Winter Issue for Hunger Mountain is dedicated to “Confronting Controversy.”  The theme explores the controversy in children’s and young adult’s literature.

“In a field as dynamic as ours, where merit is subjective and opinions are strong, how do we distinguish the best of the best? Who gets to decide what’s good, and what’s appropriate, and how do they do so?”

Appelt is the author of more than thirty books for children and young adults. Her numerous awards include the Growing Good Kids Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, the Irma and Simon Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, the Paterson Poetry Prize for Young Adult Literature, and the Institute of Texas Letters Award for Children’s Literature. Her first novel, The Underneath, was a National Book Award Finalist, a Newbery Honor Book, a Writers’ League of Texas Award Winner, and most recently the PEN USA Literature for Children Award. She was also named the 2009 “Texas Distinguished Author.”

The Underneath

Our very own office manager, Bethany Hegedus, is one of the co-editors of Hunger Mountain. She is also  actively involved in the thriving Austin kid lit scene.  Her second novel Truth With a Capital T, is forthcoming with Delacorte Press in fall 2010.

Don’t forget that we’ve extended the 2010 WLT Book Award deadline to March 15. Sumbit your book before it’s too late! Click here for more information.

Looks Who’s on the New York Times Best-Seller Lists!

Writers’ League members appear on the Jan. 31 New York Times best-seller lists!

The Best Book Fest in East TX

WLT Executive Director Cyndi Hughes ventured deep into the heart of Texas weekend before last for Beauty and the Book’s annual Girlfriend Weekend Author Extravaganza for the Pulpwood Queens book clubs.

Top 10 Book Promotion Strategies for 2010

A recent survey reveals that authors and publishers are anxious to leverage the benefits of social media marketing as they promote their books in the coming year. According to Dana Lynn Smith of The Savvy Book Marketer, nearly all – 94 percent of the respondents – said they plan to promote their books with social networking and other social media this year.

“Online book promotion through social media is clearly a popular strategy,” says Smith, a book marketing consultant. “But, it’s important that authors and publishers learn to use these new book promotion tools effectively.”

Book Promo Graph

1. Social networking and social media: 94 percent
2. Blogging: 84 percent
3. Seeking book reviews: 75 percent
4. Seeking testimonials and endorsements: 73 percent
5. Press releases: 68 percent
6. Ezines or email marketing: 62 percent
7. Radio and television talk shows: 62 percent
8. Speaking or tele-seminars: 60 percent
9. Article marketing: 57 percent
10. Book signings: 56 percent

“Despite the emphasis on online book promotion in 2010, more traditional activities like book reviews and radio interviews are still important,” notes Smith. “An effective book promotion plan should use a variety of online and offline tactics for the widest reach.”

Of the 136 people responding to the book promotion strategies survey, 42 percent are independently or self-published authors, 25 percent are authors published by a traditional publishing house, 12 percent are aspiring authors, and 21 percent are publishers or others in the industry.

And just as a side note, all of these ideas will be further discussed in our free monthly program, the Third Thursday series about “Building Your Buzz.” We understand and want all writers to also understand how big promotion can be to a career.

In 2010 it’ll be all about mixing the old with the new!

TCA Deadline This Monday, February 1

TCA

Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) maintains a roster of artists available to perform, give workshops, and or create works of art with community members. For the next roster, TCA really wants the literary field to be well-represented. This is a competitive process, but we do hope to get a wider array of applications from writers, including slam poets, “page poets,” and fiction writers. Writers must be Texas-based.

The deadline to apply is January 31, but since that falls on a Sunday, it’s extended to February 1.

To apply, writers need to get an account set up with TCA by calling at 512/936-6573.  They will use the account to fill out an online application, and they will need to send in a few supporting materials– notable among those is an audiovisual sample of the writer in performance.

Placement on the roster does not guarantee bookings, nor does it have any direct money associated with it, but roster artists can refer nonprofit clients, schools, and municipalities in Texas to the Arts Respond Performance Support grant program– the fact that TCA can provide a grant for up to half of the artist fee is a great incentive to help the artist get bookings.

Please feel free to pass this information along to folks who you think are good candidates, or apply yourselves!

Interested? Learn more here.

Lorain Hemingway Short Story Competition

$2,000 Awaits Winners of Competition

Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, created to enthusiastically support the efforts and talent of emerging writers of short fiction whose voices have yet to be heard. (Yes, emerging writers, this is for you!)

Writers will compete for a $1,000 first-place prize, $500 second-place prize, and $500 third-place prize in this internationally-acclaimed competition. Several honorable mentions are also awarded each year. As an added prize, beginning in 2009, The Saturday Evening Post will publish our first-place winner. Payment by The Saturday Evening Post for publication of the winning story will be in addition to our $1000 first-place prize.

Stories in all genres of fiction are welcome. Maximum length is 3,000 words, and writers retain all rights to their work. The final deadline is May 15, 2010; winners will be announced at the end of July.

Interested? Visit their web site for complete guidelines, further background, and listings of previous winners. You can also find their listings in Writer’s Market, Poets and Writers, and other literary references.