Top Sixteen OWFI 2014
By Natalie Bright
Oklahoma Writer’s Federation held their annual conference this past weekend in Oklahoma City. This group always offers a diverse slate of speakers representing multiple genres and topics plus agents and editors. For more information www.owfi.org. Hope to see you in 2015!
- You can pursue regional and niche markets that the big traditional publishers ignore. JERRY SIMMONS, retired, V.P. of sales, Time Warner Book Group.
- A Fairy Tale Sampler by ELOISA JAMES, free to every OWFI attendee!
- Authors are damaged people. It’s not normal what we do. DAVID MORRELL, bestselling author, creator of Rambo.
- We don’t believe in sleep at OWFI. Be sure to attend a buzz session after the banquet. CHIRSTINE JARMOLA, 2014 OWFI President.
- Become a student of the market place. SIMMONS.
- Embrace the reasons we are doing this crazy thing. MORRELL.
- Write blogs to showcase your voice and practice your writing. HEATHER DAVIS, popular MiniVan Momma blogger and author.
- Writing has to be a real job in your head. CHRISTINE TAYLOR-BUTLER, best-selling children’s author.
- Every person has a dominate emotion. Probably it’s something that is so painful and so shameful you don’t acknowledge it. Admit it and write it. MORRELL.
- Schedule your time to write as if it’s a doctor’s appointment or part of your day job. TAYLOR-BUTLER.
- Don’t blog unless you really want to. If you’re not genuine, people will know. DAVIS.
- Don’t get your work critiqued until you know clearly what you are writing. Opinions will get you off track. TAYLOR-BUTLER.
- Keep an idea folder for newspaper or magazine clippings, articles, even junk mail—anything that sparks an idea. DARLEEN BAILEY BEARD.
- In real life, we do not address one another by our names. Don’t use them in the dialogue of your fiction. MORRELL.
- If you are serious about writing as a career, you must write two pages per day. No excuses! TAYLOR-BUTLER.
- The future will include newer, faster forms of delivery, easier forms for payment, and content will become shorter. eBooks aren’t going away. SIMMONS.