Nashville Path & Pen Writers Conference

Scarritt-Bennett Center, Nashville TN September 8-10, 2006
Spiritual writing explores your sense of the sacred, your quest for meaning and purpose, your encounters with God or Absolute Reality, and you’re wrestling with faith, doubt, belief, and the ordinary wonder of your everyday life. Such writing may or may not be overtly religious, deal explicitly with religion, or be associated with any traditional faith or belief system.

The Path & Pen Writers' Conference brings writers and would-be writers together to explore writing as a spiritual practice. Held at the Scarritt Bennett Center, the conference has four distinct yet interrelated parts: keynote presentations; workshops; opportunities to network with editors, agents, publishers, and fellow writers; and a distinctly Nashville flavor.

Workshops will include: Leaving a Legacy of Story: Creating an Ethical Will; The Kabbalah of Writing: Using Writing to Examine Your Soul; The Artists Way; The G-Word: Writing About God in an Interspiritual Context; Writing Spiritual Autobiography; Writing as Personal Ministry; Ears to Hear: Writing Personal Bible Commentary; The Sacred Art of Journaling. Instructors include: Beth Nielsen Chapman, Philip Goldberg, Shellie R. Warren, Rami Shapiro, Sheri Swanson, Ray Waddle, and other to be announced. Email for more information: kjohnson@scarrittbennett.org

The Nashville Path & Pen Writers Conference is co-sponsored by the Scarritt-Bennett Center and the One River Foundation with support from local bookstores, publishers, newspapers and other businesses.

Fees: $175 for program only; $302 for program and two night's
Scarritt-Bennett Center 1008 19th Ave S, Nashville TN, 37212 email: cpolitte@scarrittbennett.org phone: 615-340-8804 web: http://www.scarrittbennett.org

Do-It-YourSelf-Publishing

MILWAUKEE, WI – Faced with the closing of her publisher, Diane Lau (aka romance author Diana Laurence) chose to create her own publishing house for her existing and future book titles. The results were so successful, Lau decided to document the process and share it with other authors.
Her new ebook Do-It-YourSelf-Publishing sets forth a step-by-step blueprint for doing your own publishing, from starting the business, to creating and publishing print and ebooks, to distribution and marketing.
“Many authors, frustrated with their inability to find a publisher, look into ‘self-publishing’ companies and are appalled at what they charge,” says Lau. “Do-It-YourSelf-Publishing explains what the new printing and ebook technologies mean in terms of options for authors who are willing and able to ‘do it all themselves.’”
Lau recommends her book to any author who is considering publishing his or her own works. “My book will help you decide if this approach is right for you, and suggest valuable resources that will enable you to do everything it takes to be your own publisher. From estimating costs to finding out the skills you need and how to acquire them, I share everything I learned along the way to finding a more enjoyable and profitable way to sell my books—by publishing them myself.”
Do-It-YourSelf-Publishing is available from Living Beyond Reality Press and online ebook retailers including Amazon. 50 pages in Adobe Reader (pdf) format, with color illustrations, the book retails for $2.99. For complete information visit www.dianalaurence.com/diyp.html.

International Publishers Alliance

Godfrey Harris of International Publishers Alliance sends this announcement about the Frankfurt Book Fair coming in October:
Each year, most publishers gear their new titles or publication plans to the Frankfurt Book Fair. It is the year's most important benchmark for publishers of what is and what is to come. It is not only a remarkable market for selling foreign rights and obtaining distribution deals, it is also the best time and place to catch up on all pending foreign arrangements. If you would like to join International Publishers Alliance in our 23rd consecutive appearance at one of the busiest stands in the major International Pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair, please signal your interest by email to hrmg@aol.com. We will in turn send you an explanation of the next steps in the process and the key dates you need to keep in mind.
Also, we have found English language foreign publishers for new manuscripts. Once published abroad, it is sometimes easier to find a U.S. publisher.

Tips from Writer's Digest

Tips and Updates from Writer's Digest www.WritersDigest.com is a newsletter for writers where you'll find lots of great ideas and resources geared toward writing for novels, short stories, freelance articles, nonfiction, memoirs and more. By signing up for the newsletter, you may receive a FREE issue of Writer's Digest magazine delivered right to your door. Writer’s Digest includes about what you need to know to get published, cover letter and query letter advice, interviews with writers about how they achieved their dreams, plus information markets for print, online and e-publishing.