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From Beginners To Teachers
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Bill in action
Workshop Slides
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What better way to learn something than to risk public
humiliation by teaching it? Bill had spent a year learning how to
publish and market his book. Jill had learned a huge amount about
setting up and designing a web site for a writer. Why not share
what they’d learned with other writers?
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“There are not enough hours in the day,” would
have been a fine response to the question. Nevertheless, Bill volunteered
and Jill agreed to teach a workshop on “Self-Publishing and Marketing
Your Own Book in the Digital Age” for Washington Independent Writers.
Bill thought the pressure of teaching the workshop would focus his thoughts
and motivate him to try unusual marketing stunts. Unfortunately, the latest
available date for the workshop was 31 March – way too early to
report on marketing successes. Luck intervened with the novel’s
remarkable early success on Amazon.com.
Bill and Jill spent a grueling final weekend before the
Monday evening workshop preparing 110 PowerPoint slides and realized that
the session was to last only ninety minutes, not a week. They pared back.
They were not sanguine about teaching a topic they’d never taken,
and took pains to make clear the workshop covered only what they’d
learned and done. This was to be a diary, not a tutorial.
Although Bill and Jill expected maybe a dozen or so attendees, they determined
to do well. A week before the event, Bill learned that forty people had
registered. Uh oh. As the day approached, one thought came increasingly
to Bill’s mind—“What was I thinking?”
On the day of the event, friends Jeanette Hohlstein and Shari Sachs joined
Bill and Jill to lend moral support and help safari equipment and books.
To Bill and Jill’s shock, the event proved a rousing success. Fifty
people showed up at the Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church.
In publishing and marketing the book and building a web site, Bill and
Jill had made dozens of decisions that other writers would have to make.
The audience found the information useful.
“Terrific presentation... It was not only very
informative but also funny. Any number of people told me how useful
they found it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you have inspired
a number of those present to follow your example.” |
Beryl Lieff Benderly, Washington D.C.
Vice President and Professional Development Chair, Washington
Independent Writers (WIW),
winner of the Diane McGurgan Award from the National Association
of Science Writers,
author of eight mainstream-published books including Her
Works Praise Her: A History of Jewish Women in America from Colonial
Times to the Present (Basic Books), and In
Her Own Right: The IOM Guide to Women's Health Issues (National
Academy Press)
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| “great presentation... It was lots of fun and
I learned a lot.”
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Julie Asher, Bethesda, MD
national editor, Catholic News Service, a daily wire service for
about 300 Catholic publications
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| "outstanding presentations”
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Carla Danziger, McLean, VA
freelance writer
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“fabulous presenters... I learned a lot.” |
Ken Oda, Silver Spring, MD
software management consultant, freelance writer, former editor
and publisher of the KOAN Art Newsletter
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| “eye-opening, informative, useful and entertaining” |
David Pursglove, Washington D.C.
TrendsAnalytics Group - Pursglove Food-Drink Hospitality Consultancy,
Trends Research & Forecasts; Advertising Theme Development,
Contract writing.
http://www.pursglove.com
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| “great presentation... Bill and Jill are a
great team” |
Tom Quinn, Arlington, VA
Freelance writer
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| “Your slides...are a terrific resource for
someone like me who is thinking about the possibility of self-publishing,
but hasn’t done much to investigate thus far. You and Jill
are an inspiration” |
Mary Ann Ryan, Washington, D.C.
Ph.D., Education Consultant and Science Writer
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| “I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation... I
was fascinated by the groundwork you've laid in polishing your craft
as well as publishing, marketing and promoting your book... I appreciated
the candid information and creative ideas.”
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Paula Ralph, Silver Spring, MD
writer/consultant, marketing communications, public relations
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“very informative and lively. It carries the
audience through each step of print-on-demand self-publishing. I
look forward to seeing multiple best-sellers from the Bill and Jill
team.” |
David S. Wu, McLean, VA
President, Wu & Associates LLC
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One participant suggested Bill and Jill “print out the slides…and
sell them for $35-$40 per set.” The person added, “I'd be
happy to pay.”
Bill and Jill decided instead to package the briefing into a .pdf file
and give it away. After all, the ultimate goal of the workshop was to
promote Bill’s novel. Bill and Jill thought that purpose would be
best served by wide distribution of the workshop briefs. Besides, they
found they liked the feeling of helping other writers navigate through
common shoals.
Books sold: 8. Satisfaction: through the roof.
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Workshop Slides
The workshop slides are in .pdf format and can be viewed in Adobe
Acrobat Reader by clicking this
link. To download a copy of these slides (i.e., the 4 MB file)
to your computer, just click the disk icon in the Acrobat Reader
toolbar. Feel free to share these slides. |
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