Friday, July 16, 2010

WriteOnCon

Dude, okay. I've heard some rumors out there about this wicked amazing online conference. Yeah, okay, I may or may not have started the rumors. *wink*

I've also heard a few things that I'd like to clear up.

1. Yes, WriteOnCon is being geared specifically toward the children's market. The six of us organizing it are children's writers. We had to have some sort of focus, or everything would spiral out of control.

However, ANYONE can (and should) attend the conference. The kinds of classes and workshops we have lined up would benefit any author, at any stage.

2. Yes, WriteOnCon is free. Now, later, free. The forum is free. You can post your query letter, first five pages, and first 250 words for free. The live chats will be free. It's all free.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, in this case, it's not.

3. Yes, you should be preparing now. Polish up your manuscript. Rework your query. Need some motivation? Check out Heather Kelly's Tour de Writing. (With prizes.)

If you've got something going on with your writing group or circle of bloggers, let me know and I'll help get the word out. We want the final month leading into WriteOnCon to be full of excitement and hard work, anticipation and buzz. So if you haven't signed up yet for whatever reason, get on over to WriteOnCon and register!

Any other questions? Here's one: What have you gotten for free, and was it amazing? Because this is going to be soooo amazing.

41 comments:

JE said...

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! That means I can come too??????

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~JD

Jess of All Trades said...

Sounds awesome!
I have a readnom, different question. Some day (if you haven't already and I just missed it), I think it would benefit the writing community (ie, Me) If you posted advice on writing a novel synopsis.
I actually mean that without any sarcasm. Your formula for a query letter was perfect, and was the first thing to Click in my brain. I don't know if there Is a magic formula for a synopsis...but somehow it's been really challenging to write.

Anyway. That was long. Rock on! Yeah.. ;D

Anonymous said...

Awesome. It's so great you're doing this. What an amazing opportunity. :-)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

There's great value in these online conferences! The one hour chat with Penny Sansevieri last year at the Muse Conference was priceless.

Carolyn V. said...

Yes! I can't wait. =D

Christina Lee said...

It's going to be EPIC! I am passign the word to my in-person critique group (none of them are on-line all that much--I know, can you believe it? It's my mission to change that)!

Matthew MacNish said...

AWESOME. I've been registered for a while now, but I should post some writing for critique I suppose.

Erinn said...

I'm very excited for it. YAY. I sort of wish I knew what was going to happen on the days of the con. I know a schedule is going to be posted a week before. I just have a hard time picturing the whole event.

But I can't wait for it. I'm off to go chat on the boards now.

Janet Johnson said...

Very cool thing you guys are doing. I'll have to hi-jack my parents computer in Utah, since I'll be on vacation, but it also means I'll have the TIME to watch/listen/read. Yay!

Jonathon Arntson said...

It's free?1 I had no idea :P

I challenge anyone to come beat me in Heather's Tour de Writing! Okay, so I am in like last place and I fell off my bike twice, but I am pedaling along and gaining momentum.

Thanks for the motivation, E. I owe ya one.

Heather Kelly said...

Woo-hoo! Yay writeoncon! I am so very impressed by how awesome writeoncon is shaping up to be. You guys are supreme rulers of the writing blogosphere for giving back this much! Thanks.

And thanks for the shout-out! Write on!

Unknown said...

I got my Shrek glasses for free this year. But then they ended up having Cadmium in them....so I'm pretty sure the conference is going to be WAY better!

Hannah said...

Are you sure you want me there? I write the exact opposite of children's fiction, I don't want to horrify anyone...well, okay! I'll do it!

VR Barkowski said...

Can't wait! Epic is the only word for it - and I'm a writer with a thesaurus!

Stina said...

I'm registered, but keep forgetting to check out the forum. Too busy polishing. Now if only I polished my home as much as I polish my ms and query. :D

WritingNut said...

Ahhhh... I can't wait, I can't wait!!!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Safe to say you're excited about this?

Tamika: said...

Free is so amazing! It's been a while though:) I could stand some free in my world!

Theresa Milstein said...

You guys are awesome for organizing this! This is one of the better free things.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I've checked out the practice boards on WriteOnCon, and they're already fantastic--people posting queries and first pages and then getting feedback. All of this prep for the big event. Definitely the coolest free event around! *scurries back to the MS*

Lisa_Gibson said...

Ooo, I hafta get my tush over to the forums! Thanks for the heads up Elana. :)

YA Book Queen said...

*sigh* I've only had the countdown widget on my blog since I first came across WOC, and I still haven't signed up??

*rushes off to register while hanging head in shame*

Unknown said...

Free? Sounds good. Useful. Fun. And free? Go find a better deal.

Heather said...

Thanks for all the great info! I shall steer peeps with questions toward this post!

Lydia Kang said...

Just wanted to say thanks again for doing this, you and all the other writers!

Robert Guthrie said...

Thank you for the kick in the pants. I'm registering today!

Jemi Fraser said...

I can't believe how my timing sucks. I have taken a grand total of 3 vacations in about 20 years of marriage. And guess when one of them is going to be. Wed - Sat of that week. We have tickets to a tennis tournament I REALLY want to see. But still... my timing sucks.

I've registered anyway & I'll be peeking, but I won't have internet for those days. *sigh*

~Jamie said...

sooooo amazing :)

Shannon Messenger said...

Yay--here's hoping this helps spread the word. The more the merrier people. Seriously.

Don't make us do another vlog explaining this!!!! :)

Rachael said...

I'm so excited!!! I almost thought i wasn't going to be able to make it because I'm going down to visit my brother for awhile in August. I was really excited to find out I'll be coming back on the ninth so I will hopefully be able to make the whole thing. :D

Thanks so much for doing this! Now I should really figure out what I want to polish for the conference...

Anonymous said...

Hooray! I'm invited! I'm signed up! I'm excited!

JEM said...

Looking forward to it! I looooove free things.

Tina Lynn said...

Oh, hello! I signed up like forever ago. Okay, July 1st, but yeah...

Susan Fields said...

Can't wait! Thanks so much for doing this.

Heather said...

I'm finally registered!

Martina Boone said...

I can't wait. You guys are soooooooo amazing for coming up with this! MWAH!

Martina

Clementine said...

WoooooooHoooo! Thank you, Elana! I can't wait!

Tara McClendon said...

So excited for this! My son just won the elephant's painting at the circus. I think that's the best thing I've ever gotten for free. (And yes, I know I'm living vicariously through him, but I'm still counting it! And no, I don't want to include the cost of the ticket for the circus.)

Jan Markley said...

Sounds frawesome (hybrid of fricken and awesome)!

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Hope the online conference is a grand success.

On Monday's post, I'm trying a bit of an experiment. Wish me luck.

"To all of life there is a shadow. The shadow of sadness, doubt, despair. Still it is but an echo of a heart moving forward."
-Roland

Anonymous said...

I must sign up for this, if I can just find a spare minute or two...

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