Write On January Newsletter: LA Hangout, #GoalChat, News, Events & More

WRITE ON!

The Write On Online January 2018 Newsletter has member news, events, contests, and more.

Join us for the January LA Meeting on Wednesday, January 10, from 1 – 3pm at C&M Coffee and Milk Westwood Gateway, 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. Hang out, set goals, and catch up with your writer/creative/entrepreneur peeps at our last meeting of the year. C&M will validate parking in the building. Entrance is on Pontius Ave. RSVP on Facebook. And, whether or not you live in LA, check out the Write On Online Facebook Group for community and conversation.

I held my first #GoalChat Twitter Chat on Sunday. So much fun and a great way to kick off the year. I will be holding “office hours” every Sunday at 7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern on Twitter to answer your questions on goal-setting and productivity, as well as help you set goals and put yourself in a position for success. Tweet your questions, using the #GoalChat hashtag and follow @GoalChat and @WriteOnOnline on Twitter. Learn more about #GoalChat and read the recap from the 1/7 #GoalChat.

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Congratulations to this month’s goal-posting winner Terry Hiner, who won a copy of The Coffee Break Screenwriter Breaks the Rules by Pilar Alessandra. To be entered in a drawing to win a book from Michael Wiese Productions post your January Goals. Also, share your 2017 Accomplishments & 2018 Goals.

Write On Online has regular, ongoing content, such as Q&As, Write On! Wednesdays, Roundups, Meeting Recaps, and more. Plus, keep an eye on the Write On Online Facebook page for spontaneous live videos.

Do you have a new book or an upcoming book release? Do you have an entrepreneurial, marketing, or creative specialty to share? Want to be featured on Write On Online? For consideration email deckerling@gmail.com with your website link and a short bio.

NEWS

Goal-setting season is upon us. My first goal-setting workshop for 2018 is a Lunch N Learn at LAX Chamber of Commerce on January 19. If you have a public or private group, and would like to have me speak, please reach out for more information. I do these online and in person.

Is one of your goals this year to start or relaunch your blog? Check out my book Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog. And if you read the book, I would love a review. Please and thank you.

Michael Wiese Productions Fans: If you do a Facebook Live stream to talk about your favorite MWP book and post it, they will send any MWP Book to you absolutely FREE. Let the Facebook Live streaming begin!

Author-journalist-screenwriter Brad Schreiber will conduct a bus tour about his award-winning nonfiction
secret history of the 1974 shootout-fire in South LA with the radical group, the SLA, Revolution’s End.
It’s February 10, from Noon to 4 PM, via the renowned true crime bus tour company, Esotouric. Get more info.

Watch for Petrea Burchard’s Sunday blog feature, Writing Wrongs, where bad grammar, punctuation and spelling get a fix of humor.”

Sandra de Helen is thrilled to have been selected by Scripps Ranch Theatre to develop a new 60-minute one-act play with them for production in July, 2018. Learn more.

Jennifer Brody’s essay “Let Me IN” is included in the recently published From The Stars: Young Adult Sci-fi Anthology, Let Me IN is also in the early stages of being packaged into a feature film. Plus, she has two upcoming classes for The Writing Pad—Intro to Novel and Intermediate Novel. Use coupon codes: BOOKPOD and BOOKPODPLAN for $50 off (plan is for the payment plan).

Mineral School is currently taking applications for summer 2018 writing residencies during the back two weeks of June, July, and August, and for one week (for parents) in September. The final deadline is Feb. 15, 2018. They host four residents at a time, plus there are two onsite staff (a cook and a “dorm mother” — a board member or alum). They have fellowships open to Pac NW writers/artists, otherwise the fee is $425 for two weeks which includes all meals (and they cook around food allergies). Submit here. And read an alum’s recap of her experience in 2016.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, offers free exposure for your book–any genre from profession-related nonfiction books to poetry–on her blog, The New Book Review. Submission guidelines are in the left column of the blog and submissions may include a generous bio for both the author of the book being reviewed and the reviewer. Don’t forget to get permission from the reviewer]to reprint his or her review!

CONTESTS & SUBMISSIONS

Want to know where to submit your fiction this winter? See Art Klepchukov’s latest Writer Unboxed contest roundup.

Send in Your Sci Fi. The Light Bringer Project & Sci-Fest L.A. invite YOU to submit your original short science fiction stories to their science fiction competitions! The winners will receive cash prizes and all finalists’ stories will be read on stage by celebrity guests at LitFest Pasadena on May 19-20, 2018. It is free to submit. Get details, deadlines, and guidelines.

The Epoch Times is inviting submissions of short (500-1,000 words), nonfiction articles that highlight any of the following themes: compassion, redemption, triumph of the human spirit, and life’s surprises. There is no entrance fee. Get more information.

The Tahoma Literary Review is accepting narrative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry submissions. Full guidelines are here. They currently pay between $30 and $100.

EVENTS

January 10: January LA Hangout at C&M Coffee and Milk Westwood Gateway, 11111 Santa Monica Blvd, in Westwood from 1-3pm. C&M will validate parking in the building. To give people time to get back in the swing of things, this month’s meeting will be on the second Wednesday. RSVP on Facebook.

January 19: LA peeps, join me for a Goal-Setting Lunch N Learn at LAX Coworking. Starts at 11:30am at LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce.

January 23: Social Media Club LA Mixer at STK at The W in Westwood from 6pm to 9pm. Get tickets.

January 29: IWOSC presents a panel on Travel and Food Writing with Chris Erskine of the LA Times, along with author Michael Cervin and freelance journalist Bekah Wright. 7:30 pm at the Veterans Memorial Building in Culver City. Free to IWOSC members; $15 nonmembers. Go to IWOSC.org for info.

February 7: February LA Hangout at C&M Coffee and Milk Westwood Gateway, 11111 Santa Monica Blvd, in Westwood from 1-3pm. C&M will validate parking in the building. RSVP on Facebook.

Ongoing:

Join #GoalChat every Sunday at 7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern. Go to Tweetchat.com and follow the hashtag.

On the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, writers are welcome to come to the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club to write from 6:30 to 10pm. The club, at 1210 4th St, asks for a $3 donation. RSVP to MAnnapav@aol.com.

Plus, lots of upcoming Writing Workshops from Los Angeles Writers Group.

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Write On! Members: Let me know if you have a book being released or some awesome news, so we can include it in the next newsletter. Also, check out the Write On Online Facebook Page for regular opportunities to share your books and blogs.

PLUS

Subscribe to Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s How to Do it Frugally Newsletter for great tips, how-to articles, bonuses, and more! Also check out the resources for writers on her website.

Listen to GetPublished! Radio with host Gerald Everett Jones. The half-hour weekly podcast is broadcast on Sundays at 12pm Pacific, on KNNN 87.7 FM in Redding, California. Listen Live online or download on iTunes. Listen to my appearance on GetPublished Radio: Writing Posts that Engage.

“Talking With Authors” is a podcast that features interviews with independent and small press authors. Tell them about your books here.

Fiction Writing for Children is a 180-page book from award-winning children’s author and ghostwriter Karen Cioffi. You’ll be shown how to write your story, submit your work, establish your author online platform, and book marketing basics. Check it out today!

Writers, pen won’t budge? Read The Morning Nudge! Get your free subscription.

FRIENDS OF WRITE ON!

Write On Online’s Facebook page has again been included in The Write Life’s Top Facebook Groups for Writers. Thanks, The Write Life! Check out the entire list.

Want to learn more about me, check out my interview on Madalyn Sklar’s #TwitterSmarter Monthly Talk Show, Kristen Tsetsi’s interview with me on Jane Friedman’s blog, my interview on Carrie Dils OfficeHours.fm podcast, and Amanda Goldman-Petri’s on her Market Like a Nerd Podcast on How to Launch Your Blog in 30 Days. Also, read my post on how to develop relationships with other writers on Aerogramme Writer’s Studio. 

For even more writing support, check out BookPod, an online social platform for authors and aspiring authors centered around the world of books and publishing. Interested in joining BookPod? Email Jennifer Brody.

When you combine food with advice, you’re bring love to the table. Check out Ask Al A Carte.com. Also send questions to advicetochewon@gmail.com and check out her Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram for even more food for thought.

Trying to get media attention for your upcoming project? Learn how to connect with reporters and get great press. Learn more about Cheryl Tan’s online PR Pro community. Also, get Cheryl’s free press release template.

Need a transcriber? CLK Transcription can help! CLK employs more than 30 highly trained transcriptionists … and has great rates. Email carollee@clktranscription.com for more information.

Does your website or blog need a new look?  Does it work the way it’s supposed to on desktops, smartphones, and tablets? Our friend Dennis Wilen can help. Email dwilen@yahoo.com and tell him Deb sent you!

Ellen Lutwak is doing Back to the Art, Architecture & Alleys walking tours in Beverly Hills! Get details.

iScript.com has added a new audiobook component to their offerings. Now, you can get high-quality audiobooks made of your writing!

Orange County Writers, check out Lit Central OC, an online magazine for news, reviews, craft articles and more for writers in the Orange County area.

Like Michael Wiese Productions on Facebook to learn about contests, workshops, special events, and new releases from the number one publisher of film books in the world.

Need book covers, illustrations, or other book design elements? Contact michele@micheledesigns.com, graphic designer and illustrator.

POPS the Club, a nonprofit that creates, trains and supports clubs in high schools for students whose lives have been impacted by incarceration and deportation now serves nine schools in the L.A. area, as well as schools in Pennsylvania, Northern California, and Minnesota. They are always looking for volunteers; writers are especially welcome. If you’re interested, sign up here.

Are you a startup, nonprofit or personality in need of digital strategy like social, email, content? Email Tara of Poodle Mafia – Elegantly Aggressive Digital Marketing & Branding.

Write On’s Guided Goals: Define, Plan & Achieve Your Goals. Write On Online’s Guided Goals Podcast is a series of expert interviews, designed to help people pursue their passion projects. Each episode wraps with action items, so listeners can take what they heard, and move forward right away. We are taking a break, but you can listen to previous podcasts on GuidedGoals.com. Also, watch on YouTube, listen, and subscribe on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, or listen on Google Play.

Need one-on-one coaching to set goals and make a plan for your book, blog, social media, or other passion project? Go to my service page and email me to set up a session.