How does your unpublished manuscript compare to others in your genre? Using too many cliches and adverbs? Using the same phrases or filler words too often? Do you too often start sentences the same way? Need to check your grammar? Then upload your manuscript to AutoCrit and watch it do its thing. Kevin Pruemer of … Read more
Dates are subject to change. Please see your members-only newsletter for the most up-to-date information. For links to these events, refer to your monthly chapter newsletter. Friday, July 19, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Happy Hour. Friday, Aug. 2, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Happy Hour. Friday, Aug. 16, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Happy Hour. Friday, Sept. 6, 5 p.m.-7 … Read more
Veteran book publicist Emi Battaglia will join us at our March 12 Zoom meeting to answer your questions about what an independent publicist can and can’t do for your book, and how to get the most out of this working relationship if you do decide to hire one. Before setting up her own firm, Emi was Director … Read more
Everyone wants their novel reviewed, but just how does that happen? And how does it happen at The Washington Post? Ron Charles, the Post’s most prolific reviewer who also has been editor of the Post’s “Book World,” explains the process at our February 13 chapter meeting, at 7 pm Eastern. What books do they select? Why … Read more
Brian Rose, professor emeritus in the Fordham University Department of Communications and Media Studies, will discuss the movies and suspense techniques of Alfred Hitchcock at our November meeting via Zoom. (Note: This meeting is on a Monday.) He’ll cover the director’s early career, Hitchcock’s most popular films, and the actors he liked to use. Brian’s talk will be … Read more
Award-winning author Gigi Pandian joins us via Zoom on Oct. 10 to offer practical advice and inspiration to those planning to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. NaNoWriMo is what got her to the finish line of her first novel, and after having 15 novels published, she still uses it each year. She’ll share her tips for how … Read more
New York Times bestselling thriller author Dan Fesperman joins us by Zoom on July 11 to discuss his career. The former Baltimore Sun foreign correspondent’s travel to war zones and 30 countries has inspired 13 novels with stories of intrigue on an international stage. Dan’s coverage of the siege of Sarajevo was the motivation for his first novel, Lie … Read more
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, a senior executive at Pipeline Media Group and Book Pipeline, will join us via Zoom on May 9 to explain the finer points of her service that helps writers pitch their books to publishers and movie/television producers. The concept: enter the Book Pipeline contest, pay a modest fee, and the winner’s work is pitched. This has resulted … Read more
New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci, who has sold more than 150 million copies of his thrillers worldwide, joins us via Zoom at 7:30 on April 11 to discuss his writing career, including how he juggles several series with diverse main characters, and how he does research. He has published 47 novels, all national and international bestsellers, with … Read more
Tom Straw, who authored seven New York Times bestsellers under the pseudonym of Richard Castle, will talk about novel writing, what it’s like to be a bestselling author who can’t reveal his success, the writers’ room in television, and show running. Tom originated the Nikki Heat series, based on the TV series Castle, about a famous novelist following a female detective around New York … Read more