Are you considering attending a Christian writers’ conference this year? If your answer is “yes,” please look at what KCWC has to offer. If you are not sure you’re ready to attend a conference, consider this. Kentucky Christian Writers Conference offers something for everyone, published authors as well as rank beginners. Let me tell you about my KCWC experience
I attended my first Christian writing conferences in the summer of 1999. Through a series of “God-incidences,” I was invited by friends to a conference in Alabama and another one in Nashville (Lifeway). For three years, I attended these conferences. Soon, Lifeway discontinued their conference, so, in 2002, I decided to take a giant step. I went to Write to Publish at Wheaton College, Chicago. I found out that I was out of my league. I gained good information in the classes, but I wasn’t ready to pitch a book or do all the things it takes to sell a book.
Nevertheless, I planned to go back to WTP in 2003. I also attended Florida Christian Writers Conference in early 2003. I got a couple of magazine assignments but not as much as I wanted. I wondered if I should spend the money for WTP after my experience in Florida. The week before WTP, my father had emergency surgery, and I had to cancel. He recovered quickly, so I looked around for another conference to attend. It was too late for the Alabama conference already. Friends from the Lifeway conference had told me about a conference in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I found the details on www.shawguides.com (God-incidence?) and managed to register just in time. I was particularly interested in KCWC because it claimed to be non-denominational.
KCWC 2003 was held at Rough River state park. Sally Stuart (editor of the Christian Writers Market Guide) was the featured speaker. I had doubts whether I would get anything out of it other than a chance to sit at the feet of Sally Stuart. I was wrong. I sold an article for one of Focus on the Family newsletters. I also made contact with a representative of another publishing company from which I soon got a work-for-hire project. These projects gave me just the encouragement I needed at that point in my writing journey. I decided to make KCWC the one conference I would not miss. It was affordable, and it was close to home.
In 2004, I missed KCWC for family reasons, but I was back in 2005. The “smallness” that is a put-off for some people was what I really liked about KCWC. At the 2006 conference, KCWC celebrated its tenth anniversary. And, I did something I never expected to do. I volunteered to serve on the steering committee. Another series of God-incidences had put this opportunity in my path, and I felt impelled to get involved (for the next four years).
It’s been eight years since my first attendance at KCWC. This year is the 15th anniversary celebration. Hearing the featured speaker, Cecil Murphey, will be a real treat. Donna Goodrich, who helped Kate Thomas organize the first KCWC, will be there, along with a number of other top-notch faculty members.
If you’ve read this far, maybe this is a God-incidence for you. Will you consider attending KCWC this year? It could be the first step on a rewarding journey toward publication. Check out the website for details.
Emily Akin offers free tips for writers seeking publication on her Blog4Writers . See a partial list of her published work here.
Showing posts with label KCWC 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KCWC 2011. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, October 11, 2010
Prep for 2011: Getting to Know Cecil Murphey
Recently, Murphey launched a blog, Cec Murphey's Writer to Writer. Become a subscriber, and get regular tips from one of the most prolific Christian writers of our time.
Announcement: This is my last post as administrator of the KCWC blog. Carlton Hughes has taken over that duty for the KCWC committee. If you're not a subscriber, please become one today so that you will get updates on 2011 conference as they become available. The committee is working on faculty and should announce announce the roster soon. I'll see you next June 24-25.
Emily M. Akin
Announcement: This is my last post as administrator of the KCWC blog. Carlton Hughes has taken over that duty for the KCWC committee. If you're not a subscriber, please become one today so that you will get updates on 2011 conference as they become available. The committee is working on faculty and should announce announce the roster soon. I'll see you next June 24-25.
Emily M. Akin
Monday, July 12, 2010
KCWC 2010 Wrap-Up
The KCWC committee will be meeting later this month to review the evaluations of KCWC 2010 and continue planning for 2011. In recent years, the committee has responded to conferees' feedback by offering more workshop opportunities and private appointments. The 2010 evaluations showed that attendees were delighted with those changes.
"Best KCWC I've attended," said one person. "This is my third year, and the best," said another. An attendee who had attended numerous writers conferences said he/she had never given perfect scores on workshop evaluations. Yet, he or she awarded three perfect scores on KCWC 2010 workshops.
As always, the evaluations contained requests for changes in scheduling and workshop content. As the planning for 2011 continues, the committee will take those recommendations seriously. If you attended the conference but forgot to turn in your evaluation, you can still give us your feedback by commenting on this blog post. If you couldn't come this year, we can use your input, too.
Pray for the committee as they plan for 2011. Barbara Wells and founder, Kate Thomas, are co-coordinators. And, mark your calendar for June 24-25, 2011. Featured speaker will be prolific author, speaker, and teacher, Cecil Murphey.
"Best KCWC I've attended," said one person. "This is my third year, and the best," said another. An attendee who had attended numerous writers conferences said he/she had never given perfect scores on workshop evaluations. Yet, he or she awarded three perfect scores on KCWC 2010 workshops.
As always, the evaluations contained requests for changes in scheduling and workshop content. As the planning for 2011 continues, the committee will take those recommendations seriously. If you attended the conference but forgot to turn in your evaluation, you can still give us your feedback by commenting on this blog post. If you couldn't come this year, we can use your input, too.
Pray for the committee as they plan for 2011. Barbara Wells and founder, Kate Thomas, are co-coordinators. And, mark your calendar for June 24-25, 2011. Featured speaker will be prolific author, speaker, and teacher, Cecil Murphey.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
"Get Organized" Workshop Resources Available Online
One of the workshops offered at KCWC this year was "Get Organized and Sell Your Work." The workshop was well attended, but it was offered only once. If you missed it, the content of the workshop is available on Emily Akin's website. Follow this link to get to the "Get Organized" page where you can download the handout and read blog posts dealing with the subject matter in the workshop.
Also, forms that might be useful for writers getting organized are available for download in Emily's Google docs. There are two cash log templates for tracking income and expenses. Link to them individually here and here. And, there's a form for tracking submissions here. All three forms were created with Microsoft Excel. They might also work in other spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Works or Open Office. If you aren't proficient with spreadsheets, you could still use them. Download, remove the sample figures and other text that you don't want. Then, print them off and use the hard copies to keep your financial record. You'd just have to do your own math with the hard copies.
PS---mark your calendar for KCWC 2011, June 24-25, with Cecil Murphey as keynote speaker.
Also, forms that might be useful for writers getting organized are available for download in Emily's Google docs. There are two cash log templates for tracking income and expenses. Link to them individually here and here. And, there's a form for tracking submissions here. All three forms were created with Microsoft Excel. They might also work in other spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Works or Open Office. If you aren't proficient with spreadsheets, you could still use them. Download, remove the sample figures and other text that you don't want. Then, print them off and use the hard copies to keep your financial record. You'd just have to do your own math with the hard copies.
PS---mark your calendar for KCWC 2011, June 24-25, with Cecil Murphey as keynote speaker.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Looking Forward to 2011 Conference
What a great conference we had in 2010. Virginia Smith's keynotes described her journey from aspiring Christian writer to multi-published writer, potholes and all. More workshops and great networking made 2010 the best year ever.
Mark your calendars now for the fifteenth edition of KCWC, June 24-25, 2011. Keynote speaker will be Cecil Murphey, writer, pastor, speaker, missionary, and writing teacher extraordinaire. Learn more about Cec at his website. He also has a blog entitled Cecil Murphey's Writer to Writer, where he posts periodic mini-lessons on writing basics. Subscribe to Cec's blog and to this one to start your preparation for next year.
If you attended KCWC 2010 and have a testimony to share, send it to us for possible posting on this blog. E-mail your submission to akinemily@gmail.com.
Mark your calendars now for the fifteenth edition of KCWC, June 24-25, 2011. Keynote speaker will be Cecil Murphey, writer, pastor, speaker, missionary, and writing teacher extraordinaire. Learn more about Cec at his website. He also has a blog entitled Cecil Murphey's Writer to Writer, where he posts periodic mini-lessons on writing basics. Subscribe to Cec's blog and to this one to start your preparation for next year.If you attended KCWC 2010 and have a testimony to share, send it to us for possible posting on this blog. E-mail your submission to akinemily@gmail.com.
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