Thank you for your interest in joining us! Below are descriptions of the many ways you can choose to participate in WriteOnCon 2019. If you have any questions about any of them, please don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected]!

Information for Conference Participants

PRE-SCHEDULED EVENTS

BLOG/VLOG POSTS: We hope to have a broad selection of posts covering a diverse range of topics pertaining to writing craft, career, and the publication process. These will be pre-scheduled to post at half-hour intervals throughout the conference and could be prepared at your leisure between now and January 27. Blog posts should be ideally between 800-1500 words; vlogs no more than 15 minutes.

WRITER ROUNDTABLES: We will be inviting participation in group blog posts discussing six pre-selected topics. If you are interested in taking part, we will provide you a list of questions for you to answer. We will then compile these into a single roundtable post to be scheduled for the conference. Answers may be prepared at your leisure between now and January 20. One of our topics is about advances and writer income; all answers for this topic will be collected via anonymous Google form to protect authors’ identities.

PODCASTS: These 30-minute interviews are recorded with one of our team members at a time convenient to your schedule between now and January 20. We invite you to pick a topic you’d like to chat about; we’ll prepare some questions for prompts as necessary, but the chat will be very casual and conversational. These are audio-only (no video). You will need about 45 total minutes available for the recording session.

LIVE EVENTS

Only one live event will be scheduled per hour during the 3-day conference. This means we are limited to just 39 slots. If you would like to participate in a live event, please RSVP soon to ensure your spot. You must be available for at least 1.5 HOURS during the conference dates for a live event. All live events are overseen by a WriteOnCon moderator to assist you and help field questions from attendees.

Live Events are run using YouTube live-streaming, which requires a Google account. If you feel strongly about being on video, we have the option to turn your camera off so the interview operates like a live radio program. All four types of live events are scheduled to be approximately 50 minutes long, with the option to continue beyond this at the speaker’s discretion.

LIVE Q&A: These sessions take questions from attendees using a text-based submission form. You have the option to designate a topic for your Q&A (recommended) or leave the session open. Focused topics often receive stronger attendee engagement.

LIVE PITCH SESSION: Due to confusion and attendee disappointment with the first-come,-first-served approach used in previous years, all pitch sessions will take submissions prior to the event this year. We will randomly select a certain number of pitches to forward to you. You can choose to read and comment on these pitches live or review them prior to your event and then present your thoughts live. These sessions may be either true pitch sessions or “first impression” feedback sessions. You may specify the length of the pitches you wish to receive and how many we should randomly select for you.

LIVE PANEL: We plan to hold nine multi-person video panels this year. These will cover a variety of topics and will operate like the Live Q&A events, taking questions from attendees. We will do our best to select a time convenient to all participants. We only have room for 4 participants per panel, so please RSVP soon if you’d like to participate in a panel.

LIVE WORKSHOP: These craft-development sessions will allow attendees to work alongside an industry professional in a virtual classroom-like setting. The speaker will present via live video; attendees will participate through text/comment feeds. We have two approaches: 1) You present a tutorial for about 15-20 minutes at the start of the session, then take questions regarding the material presented, or 2) You present your material with two or three incorporated pauses to allow attendees to try applying what was just taught, followed by 10-15 minutes of open questions at the end. These sessions tend to run the full allotted hour due to the amount of material and activities to get through.

A NOTE ABOUT TOPICS

Topics are available on a first come, first served basis. We will try not to have multiple events on the same topic unless the two events are discussing distinctly different aspects of that topic.

Please check to see what topics have already been signed up for this year.

Information for Fundraising Campaign Participants

PROFESSIONAL CRITIQUES

During our early-bird fundraising campaign we offer attendees the opportunity to purchase critiques of their writing from industry professionals. The following length options are available at these set payment rates:

Query critique – $20
First 2 pages – $20
First 5 pages – $30
First 10 pages – $50
First 50 pages – $100
Full PB manuscript – $100
Sensitivity read – $350
Full manuscript (MG or YA) – $500 up to 70k; $0.007 per additional word
Red pencil session – $50
Personal phone call – $30
Story consultation – $50
Sensitivity consultation – $50

About specialty services:

RED PENCIL SESSIONS: These are essentially professional 5-page critiques with the added element of a Skype/Hangouts or telephone call to discuss your feedback. These include a brief written critique and 15-minute call.

PERSONAL PHONE CALLS: Attendees may purchase 15-minute long, one-on-one Skype/Hangouts or telephone calls with an industry professional. The subject of the call can be open or on a specific topic.

STORY CONSULTATIONS: The professional acts as a sounding board for a writer looking for feedback or guidance on a challenging aspect of their story. These can be conducted by email (may require multiple emails back and forth) or by Skype/Hangouts/phone call.

SENSITIVITY CONSULTATIONS: Red Pencil Sessions meet Story Consultations, but to review the diverse elements of a story and discuss potential problems or pitfalls. This includes reviewing 10 total pages (as a combination of short synopsis/outline and manuscript excerpt(s)) illustrating the diverse element. All feedback is provided during either a 15-minute Skype/Hangouts or telephone call, or by brief email exchange.

RAFFLE DONATIONS

We hold two raffles during WriteOnCon: one at the end of our early-bird campaign, open to all supporters who bought admission or a critique; and the other at the end of our conference, open to all attendees who bought admission following the close of our early-bird campaign.

We are extremely grateful for anything you might offer us for our raffles. Previous examples of donations include:

• Query or first 2 pages critiques
• Phone calls
• Books or ARCs
• Swag (eg. signed bookmarks)
• Free software or subscriptions
• Anything else that a writer might enjoy!