PLRW members offer workshops on a number of different subjects. Following is a list of PLRW members and the workshops they can offer to your organization. To contact a PLRW member about presenting a workshop, please click on that person’s name.
Kathleen Coddington
Castles to Corsets: Researching and Writing Historical Fiction
Contrary to popular belief, historical fiction is not dead. Viking warlords, knights, Scottish lords, feisty women in corsets and bonnets and bawdy ladies of the evening are still a popular draw. This workshop is designed for those interested in diving into the world of the past and bringing it to life. It provides a broad overview from where to begin, organizing your research, characterization, handling language and dialog effectively to tips for putting it all together and setting up a marketing plan.
Biography
Kathleen Coddington has been writing romance for 15 years. She writes paranormal and historical romance and has three books published with Cerridwen Press. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Pocono Lehigh Romance Writers and the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. In addition to writing, she teaches a novel writing course at Northampton Community College. She is a member of two Civil War reenacting units and is a frequent lecturer at schools and historical societies. She has also published several articles about the fashions of the mid-19th century.
Tina Gallagher
Marketing for Introverts
Let’s face it. Most of us who write don’t do it so we can go out peddling our work on the street. We do it because we love to write. So while we love the creative process of writing, the business end can be pure torture to our artistic brains. Unfortunately, once the contract is signed and the book is out there, you as the author have to market it in order for it to sell.
In my workshop, Marketing for Introverts, I discuss ways for introverted authors to successfully market themselves and their books. This workshop offers several creative ways to reach your target market without stepping too far out of your comfort zone.
Biography
Tina Gallagher was raised in Northeast Pennsylvania and in between softball, basketball, and music lessons, she and her best friend would create their own “happily ever afters” for their favorite soap opera couples. After a while, the soap operas lost their appeal, but the writing never did. She continues to use her imagination to weave stories about heroes and heroines who share deep, lasting relationships.
Tina graduated from the University of Scranton with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in English. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Pocono/Lehigh Romance Writers, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.
Pattie Giordani
Write Your Own Press Release
You all know that many authors these days have to take a large role in marketing their books. This includes setting up book signings and speaking events; maintaining a web site; navigating Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter; and yes, writing a press release.
There are a lot of great publicists out there, but if you didn’t get a big advance (ha, that’s funny) or you’re with a small publisher, e-published, or self-published, you might not want to shell out big bucks for someone else to do your publicity. Hey, you’re a writer! You can write a press release. We’ll go through the steps so that when you leave this workshop, you’ll have a rough draft of a press release that you can modify to send to different media outlets.
Taking it Offline: Promoting Your Writing Locally
Lots of presentations, articles, and even entire books focus on promoting your writing on the Internet, but this workshop is taking it offline. This workshop will discuss getting covered in the local media; setting up book signings, signing stock, meeting booksellers; setting up speaking events, such as workshops on writing; getting your book in off-the-beaten-track places; and selling your book yourself, whether online through your web site or at craft shows, street fairs, or other events.
Biography
Pattie Giordani is an associate editor at a national nonprofit organization. Previously, she was assistant features editor at The Express-Times, a local daily newspaper. As a freelance writer, she has had articles published in local newspapers and regional and national magazines. She is president and publicity chair for the Pocono/Lehigh Romance Writers (a chapter of Romance Writers of America) and writes a grammar column for the monthly newsletter. She also taught grammar and freelance writing courses at a Northampton Community College.
Nisha Sharma
Writing the YA Novel
Young adult is one of the hottest genres today, and encompasses everything from paranormal, mystery, romance, to literary fiction. This workshop will familiarize you with the YA subgenre you want to work in, what to research, and where to research. YA, like every other fiction genre, is broken up into goal, motivation, and conflict. Learn what goals teens have, what conflicts they have and what motivates them. You’ll also learn about settings, how dialogue is an important key to your YA voice, and what makes a great YA series. This workshop will give you the five golden rules of YA that can help ease beginners into the market or help veterans sharpen their skills. Most importantly, you’ll learn that YA isn’t written in a foreign language, but it is the most fun route to take to get in touch with your inner teenager—or the cool inner teenager you always wanted to be.
Brainstorming Your Next Book
Let’s face it. As a writer, you have ideas that float around in your head and no clue what to do with them. This workshop will help you get the wheels turning. We’ll explore what genres you want to work with, your readership, and what type of work you want to complete. We’ll talk about different characters and character traits, settings, conflicts, and other elements that will help shape your story. At the end of the workshop, you’ll have a solid start to your next story. It doesn’t matter if you’re a plotter or a pantser, you’ll benefit from a great brainstorming session that could take you weeks or months to accomplish on your own!
Mind the Culture Gap: Using Asian Traditional Discipline Techniques for Better Time Management
We’ve all heard the stereotypes: Asian children are smart, multi-talented, and overall, extremely successful. However, it’s not because Asian children are born geniuses. Trust me, I’m living proof. Cultural and traditional methods of raising children are used to create successful individuals, but what are these methods? I’ll break down the training method and time management skills most Asian families use to train their children for the future. What may seem like impossible techniques to learn can be categorized into five major principles that you can apply to your writing for more success in attaining your goals and managing your time. Within each principle, I break downs strategic methods in easy-to-do steps so you can practice the principle in your life.
Biography
Award-winning author Nisha Sharma was raised in the countryside of northeast Pennsylvania. With very little to do in a town where the local high school gym was a barn and the cow-human ratio was 2.5 to 1, Nisha filled her spare time with 80s music, Bollywood movies, and reading. Unfortunately there was only one bookstore and two libraries in the area, so she started writing sequels to her favorite novels. When she ran out of favorites to write about, she created her own stories and she has been writing ever since. Nisha graduated from Muhlenberg College with a bachelor’s degree in English. She continues her obsession with writing while she currently attends law school in New York. She loves living in an area where the population doesn’t pride themselves on their cow to human ratio, and the local movie theatre plays Bollywood movies all the time.