Register Once, Win Fource (What Is Four Times Called?)
I am a bad, bad, person and didn’t post last week. That’s right. Lately my goal has been a mere ONE POST PER WEEK. And I couldn’t even swing that.
I hate myself sometimes.
Especially times like this, when I had something really, really important to blog about.
I’ll be teaching a beginning novel workshop at the annual Writing for Young Readers conference this summer. This is one of the premier writing conferences for writers/illustrators of kids/YA books. PREMIER!
The thing is, this year instead of being held at the traditional location (BYU in Provo, Utah) WIFYR will be held at the Waterford School in Sandy, Utah. And this change in venue has led to a lot of people thinking the event’s been canceled. Not so! So The Six, my writers group/BFFs/misc., who are all WIFYR fans, determined to spread word of its greatness to writers far and wide.
And YES, aspiring writers count as writers! So if you are one of those people who just think of yourself as a “wannabe” writer, this is for you! Especially my morning workshop. I don’t mean to shamelessly self-promote…no, really, I don’t…but my class is aimed at “wanna-be” writers. The ones I meet at book signings, and when I ask if they’re a writer, they pause, turn red, and say, “not really.” I have found that in 100% of cases I’ve seen, not really means, “I’m not a real writer because I don’t have anything published, so if I say I’m a writer you will probably yell at/scoff at/laugh at me.”
I do NONE OF THE ABOVE, because I too was an unpublished writer once. Guess what? All “real” writers have been unpublished! Then, we went to conferences like this one, learned more about our craft, made connections, and here we are.
Anyway, The SIXers are holding giveaways in order to spread the word about this conference. This is where my shame comes in, because technically, Kim’s contest is already over. She was the one to come up with the idea, which is this: sign up for the WIFYR Conference ( June 14-18 )and be entered to win one of many book-related prizes! Now, if you sign up for the conference, enter Kim’s contest and tell her it’s my fault you’re late. She will let you enter anyway…I will make it my business to see she lets you enter you anyway.
Meanwhile, Valynne’s contest is still open, and she’s (surprise!) giving away books too! And if by chance you can’t personally attend the conference, all is not lost! You can still enter in myriad ways (not radio-contest ways, like sitting on a block of ice or swimming in Jello. Much easier ways).
And, of course, Brodi’s contest. Sign up for the conference, and you will likely win one of five…wait for it…free books!
Now, to add to the fun, I am also having a contest! This is my first official contest/giveaway on this blog. Not that I’ve ever unofficially given anything away on this blog. Truth be told, I’m pretty cheap, so giving away awesome things like brand-new books? Um, why would I do that?
For WIFYR, of course. I’m doing it all for WIFYR.
I bet you can’t guess that my prizes are…
An autographed copy of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES. I bought this copy at the Salt Lake City BEAUTIFUL CREATURES launch party and had authors Kami Garcia and Margy Stohl sign it to NO ONE lest I ever hold a contest. Now the day has come.
An autographed copy of THE DARK DIVINE by fellow member of The SIX Bree Despain.
An autographed copy of PRINCESS FOR HIRE by Lindsey Leavitt, which isn’t even officially out yet. I know a guy.
Of course, winners can also choose an autographed copy of my own THE WAY HE LIVED, if they so desire. And, you know, it’s cheaper for me.
To be one of the FOUR winners in this very generous contest (with equally generous prizes):
–Leave a comment showing your support (of WIFYR, The SIX, me personally–it doesn’t much matter) +1
–Blog, Facebook, Tweet about this contest and conference +2 each
–Register for the full conference and tell me in the comments +10
–Register for the full conference AND register for Emily Wing Smith’s workshop (again, NOT shameless self-promotion; I saw Valynne was doing it and wanted to be like her) +15
March 15th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I am showing my support for you personally Nothing against the other things I could support, but I don’t know about them; however I do know you and you are AWESOME!! I still feel sad that I did not get to see you. And I wish you were in Boston with me. But, Boston is a cool place (even though not a new cool place) so you can come visit me now.
And, give aways. You actually did sort-of have one (or sponsored one) and I got a free, new book.
Alright, that’s all. If I new any aspiring writers I’d tell them to sign up for your workshop. But can’t think of anyone.
Finally, I thought Captcha code was gone. It’s not. But fortunately, I saw it today.
March 15th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
new = knew (for in case you were confused)
March 15th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Oh, I would love to WIFYR. I’m not far enough along in the becoming-a-writer process to actually justify the time off and expense of going, but I look forward to it for one day! It sounds wonderful. I just need to get writing regularly!
Cari
neohippy10 hotmail
March 15th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Thanks for the nice giveaway! I’m hoping to win a copy of “Princess For Hire”– it just looks so fun!
Here’s my tweet, with more entries to follow:
http://twitter.com/lhartness/status/10544505783
Are we allowed to tweet more than once for entries, say, every 8 hours or so?
I’ll be back with some of the other entry possibilities– just got to go create them!
Thanks
Laura Hartness
The Calico Critic
CalicoCritic at gmail dot com
March 15th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
I am definitely excited for the WIFYR conference. Although I’ve already registered for Sara Zarr’s workshop, I’m encouraging my friend to sign up for your workshop, and I plan on attending one of your afternoon sessions. I can’t wait!
March 15th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Great contest. People are definitely missing out if they don’t take your class!!!
March 16th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Of course I will let people still enter my contest! Because no one has qualified to win it yet.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I’m so glad y’all are doing all these contests to encourage people to come to WIFYR! I went last year and loved it.
I’m signed up this year for Alane Ferguson’s class. And I blogged (karenmkrueger.wordpress.com), tweeted (@karenmkrueger), and facebooked about this contest.
March 17th, 2010 at 11:15 am
OK, I’m going. I haven’t registered yet because I’m waiting for my tax return to arrive. Any day now… But I’m confused about the workshops. Maybe you can enlighten me. I’m not a red-faced writer type, I’m a finished-manuscript, published but only in magazines, want to break into the YA novel world, type. Would your workshop work for me or would someone else’s be more suited to where I am?
March 17th, 2010 at 11:16 am
OK, I’m going. I haven’t registered yet because I’m waiting for my tax return to arrive. Any day now… But I’m confused about the workshops. Maybe you can enlighten me. I’m not a red-faced writer type, I’m a finished-manuscript, published but only in magazines, want to break into the YA novel world, type. Would your workshop work for me or would someone else’s be more suited to where I am? Oh, and I already blogged about the conference.
March 17th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
This will be my fourth trip to WIFYR (another “fource”). I blogged about it (http://jorlanpublishing.com/wordpress/), registered for the conference, and signed up for your morning session. Free books make great motivators, huh? btw, my daughter’s name is the same as yours, only spelled differently. See you in June…
March 19th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
I love the Six! I read The Boy Who Lived and The Dark Divine and loved them both (and I used to work with Kim… does that count? ha ha).
I can’t go to WIFYR, sadly. Work keeps me from attending the cool conferences. But I still pimp your contest!
March 19th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
I believe what you are looking for with four times is . . . “four times.”
Your Father. Helping with word choice since 1983.
March 20th, 2010 at 11:47 am
OK, I did it. Ye blessed tax return arrived, so I registered for WIFYR. I even registered for your workshop. So I’ll see you in about three months, if not sooner.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Awesome, I would love to go to the conference, but alas, I cannot. I still tweeted about it though (www.twitter.com/dearestdreams)
count me as 3 entries.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Hooray for tax returns!
To answer your earlier question, I believe that in any workshop group, be it advanced, intermediate or beginning, you get writers with variety of background knowledge, skills, and experience. And some people are great at critiquing, even if they haven’t written much. Between learning from each other and going to the afternoon workshops (open to all participants), I’m confident the conference will be beneficial. And I’m thrilled to have you in my class!
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Lana, can’t wait to meet you this June! Will your daughter be joining us? An Emily by any other spelling is still as sweet…
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Sure, you can tweet about the contest every eight hours! I’m impressed that you can remember to tweet about it that often but P4H is definitely a book worth working to win!
Let me know how many entries to mark you for on Friday.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Excellent! Sara is SO smart–I’m jealous I won’t be taking her class.
Look forward to meeting you this summer!
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Cari, get writing, and plan on next year! You won’t regret it (the conference, I mean. Writing regularly you will probably regret at some point. The writer’s life is not an easy one. But so, so worth it).
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Sweet, thanks for the love!
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Dad, you are not allowed to win. Not that immediate family CAN’T win. Just that you can’t unless you leave a better comment.
I mean, seriously.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Thanks for spreadin’ the love!
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
We are so lucky to have such a great writer community around here. Thank you.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:24 pm
These were supposed to post as follow-ups to individual comments. Alas, I think we all see how that turned out. I will work on it.
Enjoy guessing which response goes to which comment! It’s like a game!
March 24th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Hi Emily, I’ve tweeted about this contest again twice (@karenmkrueger) and mentioned it again on my blog: http://karenmkrueger.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/march-marathon-results-and-more/
March 24th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Does it count if I found out about this awesome contest after I registered for your class?
But yes, I’m registered for the conference and your class and very excited! I blogged about it here:
http://www.paigeandjosh.com/2010/03/24/personal-and-professional-development/
See you this summer!
March 25th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
[...] E. Maetani’s and Emily Wing Smith’s are good for if you’re already registered as well as if you’re not yet. They have a [...]