Maryland Writers Association - The Writer's Ally™

How to Sell More Books In 2021 with the Maryland Writers Association – Jan. 23, 2021

When you have big dreams, the right plan is essential. You don’t want to just try every book marketing tactic you read about and “see what sticks.” You can’t copy other authors and expect the same results. And if you don’t have the right pieces in place first—if you don’t have a strong “conversion funnel” turning browsers into buyers into subscribers who buy your future books—your promotional efforts will never create the results you desire, regardless. This talk will reveal the 3 best ways to start selling more books, with steps you can take right away. It will also help you avoid the biggest mistakes that can keep book sales at a slow trickle, explain what an effective (and simple!) book marketing plan can look like, and offer tips on creating your immediate plan without overwhelm.

Our very own Ally Machate will be presenting this topic via webinar on January 23, 2021 at 2:00 pm Eastern. The webinar is hosted by the Maryland Writer’s Association and members may participate for free. Non-members may also attend with the purchase of a $20 ticket. Click here for more details and to register.

From Shy to Sold with the MWA Frederick Chapter, July 18, 2020

Our very own Ally Machate will be speaking for the MWA Frederick County Chapter members on July 18, 2020 at 1:00pm. This will be a virtual meeting and you must register beforehand to get access to the webinar.

Ally will talk about the process of going “From Shy to Sold: Querying, Proposing, and Getting Your Book Published.”

You’ve experienced the satisfaction of working hard to learn a craft and producing a quality piece of writing—but now what? If you ever want anyone to read your work outside of your immediate circle of family and friends, you’ll need to get published. Though self-publishing is always an option, this talk focuses on how writers generally approach the submission process. Find out who really decides what gets published, how to approach them without getting the proverbial door slammed in your face, and what these gatekeepers expect from you besides your very best work.

You’ll also get tips that will make your queries and proposals more effective for best results.

Don’t miss out, register today!

For more information, you may contact chapter president Kari Martindale at mwafcpresident@marylandwriters.org

Use Three-Act Structure to Enhance Your Prose with MWA MoCo — April 11, 2020

The world of film is filled with comedy and drama, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller and romance, and everything in-between, but what many don’t realize is that nearly every film boils down to the same three-act structure. Novels and memoirs are different, based upon a less precise formula of inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. But there’s a lot we can learn about general story structure by focusing on three-act film structure. This talk will explore what three-act film structure teaches us about how and why stories are constructed, and how these lessons can be incorporated into our own writing.

Join our very own Harrison Demchick and he teaches this topic for the Maryland Writers’ Association members of the Montgomery County Chapter on April 11, 2020 at 10:30 am via Zoom.

Three things this presentation will teach you are:

1.) How inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement are reflected in the precision of three-act screenplay structure.

2.) What the precise location of plot points in film, specifically points of no return, can teach us about building a story through the principle of cause and effect.

3.) Why the protagonist typically faces his lowest moment, sometimes called the all is lost moment, shortly before the climax in the third act—and why novels and memoirs can benefit from this approach as well.

For more info, you may contact the chapter coordinators at mwamc@marylandwriters.org

MWA Writing Conference – Mar. 28-29, 2020

Maryland Writers’ Association will hold its MWA writing conference on March 28 – 29, 2020 at the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center on the University of Maryland College Park Campus, 3501 University Blvd East, Hyattsville, Maryland.

Ally is part of this year’s MWA writing conference and will be speaking on Saturday, March 28th about how to “Get More Book Reviews, Sell More Books.” Here’s a little more info about what the talk will cover:

It may seem like the first step for any author is to try and sell books, but in fact, if you haven’t already gotten at least 25 4- and 5- star reviews on Amazon, anyone who lands on your sales page is unlikely to take the next step and buy your book. And that’s not the only thing that’s probably keeping you from making more sales. It’s all about having the right approach to listing and promoting your book, especially in its first 30 days, a crucial window for engaging Amazon in promoting your book for you.

If you’re tired of begging your friends and family to post reviews of your book online, and if you feel like you don’t understand why reviews are so important or how to get more of them, this presentation will answer your questions. Come on out!

For conference registration, visit the MWA writing conference website here.

Sell More Books with Ally and MWA MoCo – July 13, 2019

When you have big dreams for your book, a good marketing plan is essential. But if you don’t have the right pieces in place first—if you don’t have a strong “conversion funnel” turning browsers into buyers into subscribers who buy your future books—your promotional efforts will never create the results you desire and it’ll be like pushing a boulder uphill to sell more books.

Join Ally and the MWA Montgomery County Chapt er as we explore “3 Best Ways to Sell More Books.”

This talk will reveal three of the best ways to start selling more books, with steps you can take right now. It will also help you avoid the biggest mistakes that can keep book sales at a slow trickle, show you what an effective (and simple!) book marketing plan can look like, and offer tips on creating your plan without overwhelm.

This is happening on July 13, 2019 at the Mid-County Community Recreation Center (2004 Queensguard Road Silver Spring, MD) from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

For more information, you may contact Sharon Campbell of the Montgomery County Chapter, at mwamc@marylandwriters.org

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