2022 Thursday Deep-Dive Workshops

Building and Marketing a Music Business

Daniel Blomberg and Dr. Douglas Pew

Intended Audience: Early- to mid-career musicians and music students

Successful music businesses are built with robust, predictable and sequential tools—and you can learn how to do it! Come learn the integrity-filled, non-smarmy, non-icky way to take your ideal fans from viewers and listeners all the way to repeat customers.

During the workshop, participants will: 

• Choose one of 6 ways to build a successful music business in today’s business environment.
• Receive diagrams of the marketing funnels associated with each of the 6 basic music business models 
• Learn general writing formulas to turn browsers into buyers in a nice, non-pushy way—so you don’t feel like you’re selling your soul to the online marketing bros.
• Receive persuasive writing formulas and specific templates for each of the 6 business models.
• Write a complete funnel’s worth of marketing messaging from start to finish, with Daniel and Doug watching over your shoulder to help at every stage of the process:
  • YouTube description box
  • Opt-in page
  • Thank you/Download email
  • Thank you/Download page
  • Email nurture sequence
  • Sales page
  • Order page
  • Thank you page

Pre-work:

• Come armed with stories from your life that you can use to gain and keep people’s interest and attention.
• Come with an idea or two about something you can give to your ideal client/prospect for free, so they can receive value, come to trust you, and gain an interest in your other offerings. Example: a piece of sheet music, an instruction video.
• We will take care of the rest.

Bio: Daniel Blomberg built a six-figure music production company in just over three years with his wife and business partner Kathryn, making mainly religious music, in a place where musicians are often viewed as a “dime a dozen” commodity. Blomberg Music Productions works with professionals and hobbyists alike, including several of Utah’s household music names, to help flood the Earth with God’s music.

Bio: Dr. Douglas Pew is an award-winning composer of classical music. He is also a sought-after marketer and online business coach who has helped his clients make millions selling their expertise in the form of digital courses, memberships, masterminds, and coaching programs. His music is published by Boosey & Haweks, Schott Music, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Jackman Music Corporation, and his own publishing house, Blue Shore Music.

Book Marketing for Authors: How to Publicize, Promote, and Launch Your Publication

Scott T. E. Jackson

Intended Audience: Authors with published and unpublished manuscripts (though all are welcome).

Marketing takes time, energy, focus and effort–finite resources that all authors struggle to find, no matter their experience. This workshop will teach strategy, tools, planning methods, and execution best-practices to connect your current actions to your overarching goal–to reach more readers.

In our time together, participants will:

1. Train their marketing minds with a brief marking boot camp
2. Glean marketing insights & best practices from the publishing industry as a whole
3. Create/improve their publishing business plan (see pre-work)
4. Match their goals and business plan to an appropriate business model–with the help of the instructor and fellow participants
5. Learn free and paid tools that help in the marketing process
6. Collaborate with other authors in market planning, and creating marketing creative (i.e., posts, ads, etc.)
7. Receive real time, in person feedback on their marketing ideas/efforts
8. Discuss ways to expand reach, connection, and revenue (depending on their goal) beyond the book and book sales

Pre-Work: Please download and fill out the business model canvas to bring with you–we will work on this more in person so don’t worry if it’s incomplete (physical copies will be provided by the instructor for rewrites).

Bio: Scott T. E. Jackson is an author and marketing professional in the publishing industry. Scott is an account executive at Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, previously responsible for Latter-day Saint retailers, now focusing on digital accounts and advertising (Amazon, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Google Books, etc.). Scott graduated Magna Cum Laude in marketing from BYU’s Marriott School of Business. Scott is passionate about writing and has published and self-published titles in fiction and creative nonfiction. He lives in Springville, Utah with his wife and two children.

Developmental Editing for Fiction Writing

Suzy Bills

Target Audience: Editors who would like to increase their skills in developmentally editing novels. Fiction authors can also benefit.

Participants will dive into the principles of developmental editing for fiction. In particular, they’ll learn to analyze and address issues regarding character development, head-hopping, pacing, dialogue, setting, description, and story arc. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be prepared to help novelists improve their writing so their novels will be more appealing to literary agents, publishers, and readers.

In this workshop, you will:

• Identify and address head-hopping
• Understand when pacing needs to speed up or slow down
• Determine how to make dialogue more believable and engaging
• Identify and address issues regarding character development
• Identify and address problems related to setting and description
• Address issues in a novel’s story arc

Pre-work: Participants should have a basic understanding of fiction and the elements required in a novel.

Bio: Suzy Bills is an editor, author, and faculty member in the editing and publishing program at BYU. She has owned a writing and editing business since 2006, working with clients to publish everything from books to dissertations to technical manuals. She loves sharing her skills with others, whether through teaching, helping authors get their thoughts on paper, or fine-tuning their writing. Her book The Freelance Editor’s Handbook was published in 2021.

How to Write Your Second Novel (and Start Re-Writing Your First One)

Cheri Pray Earl

Intended Audience: Novelists who write for young adults and adults. Participants should have written and revised at least one novel and be actively writing a novel.

My goal is to give participants an engaging hands-on experience—writing and workshopping is the best way to spend our time together. I’ve filled the class with assignments and drills designed to tutor you by trial in the art of novel writing. To address your specific needs, I may make some changes after we begin, so be flexible.

During the four-hour novel workshop, participants will 

• complete (and share) short writing drills that will introduce and refine specific crafting techniques and help them make crucial decisions about their novel-in-process.
• write and workshop multiple 300-word scenes to hone particular elements of their novel-in-process.
• understand their audience by participating in a mini-workshop where they will share a short excerpt of their novel-in-process and receive input from their peers.
• read and discuss online articles on craft, publication, writing agent queries, etc., from the Beginning Novel blog to broaden their understanding of the writing and publishing process.
• define their writing process and decide on concrete writing goals.

Pre-work: In the month before the workshop begins, each participant will post a short excerpt from their current novel-in-progress in a class Google folder, then read and give two or three global comments on each of their peers’ excerpts; Cheri will give further details as the class fills.

Bio: Cheri graduated with her master’s in Creative Writing from BYU in 1995 and has taught writing and literature courses for the BYU Honors Program and English Creative Writing Program for over 20 years. Cheri developed the Beginning Novel course for the English department and is currently the faculty advisor for Inscape, the BYU creative writing journal. She also writes adult and children’s novels. She won the Utah Original Writing Competition in 1994 for the YA novel Flat Like Me and took Honorable Mention in 1997 for the YA novel The Swan.

Writing a Song that Connects: Discover the 65 Critical Elements Found in a Great Song

Rich Parkinson and Daniel Blomberg

Intended Audience: Non-musicians, lyricists, early-to-mid career musicians interested in songwriting, AND active songwriters interested in polishing their skills.

This workshop is an interactive, discussion-based exploration into the elements of great songwriting. There are about 65 critical elements that are found in almost every great song that exists. If you’re wanting to write a great song, it’s essential to know and be able to identify what it looks like, and how to apply those principles to your own songs. Join us as we introduce, explore, and discuss together how to write an unforgettable and life-altering song.

What you’ll learn in this workshop:

• Improve your understanding of what your listener actually wants.
• Discover your uniqueness and how to stay true to yourself in your writing.
• Learn an exercise that effectively eliminates writer’s block and gives you 4-5 fresh song ideas per day.
• Discover the importance of hooks in songwriting, and learn how to use them to your advantage.
• Find out which scale note the melody starts on in 90% of the top songs across genres right now, and other nitty-gritty details most songwriters overlook.

Bio: Rich Parkinson is an award-winning producer, songwriter, and film composer who has worked in the music industry for 30+ years on the local, national, and international level. His extensive client list includes Sony, FOX, BYU Athletics, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He has personally coached, mentored, and worked with hundreds of artists and songwriters, including Nik Day, David Archuleta, Monica Scott, Anna Richey, Bri Ray, Cami Gallardo, Emily Bea, Savannah Keyes, and Michelle Moyer Harris. He periodically hosts his two-day Songwriting 101 Camp and privately coaches dozens of budding songwriters and recording artists.

Bio: Daniel Blomberg built a six-figure music production company in just over three years with his wife and business partner Kathryn, making mainly religious music, in a place where musicians are often viewed as a “dime a dozen” commodity. Blomberg Music Productions works with professionals and hobbyists alike, including several of Utah’s household music names, to help flood the Earth with God’s music.

Social Media Marketing Strategies That Sell More, Build Automated Campaigns, and Attract Raving Fans

Trina Boice

Intended Audience: Fiction & non-fiction authors, musicians, singers, artists, and filmmakers who often feel overwhelmed with all of the marketing tasks and strategies that they hear they’re supposed to be doing to be successful.

What you’ll learn in this workshop:

• Define your ICA (Ideal Customer Avatar) because it determines how, what, where, and when you market everything!
• Learn how to create a marketing funnel
• Develop a lead magnet that can be offered in your marketing funnel
• Create a social media content calendar
• Analyze the launch formula and identify where you currently are
• Learn about the strengths & weaknesses of social media platforms
• Understand why building an email list is crucial to sales and success
• Design a Media Kit and learn how to use it to get speaking gigs to promote your work
• Conquer changing algorithms in Amazon, Facebook, and YouTube
• Learn why you should consider offering a podcast, online course, or service
• Discover what tasks you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant for only $3.50/hour

Pre-work: Authors and other creatives will usually have a website, blog, or social media account to start with.  If you don’t have any of that, it’s okay because you’ll learn where to put your efforts for the best results.

Bio: Dr. Trina Boice is a #1 best-selling author of 31 books and an author coach who helps writers become best-selling authors with strategic marketing at FromBooks2Business.com. She has 11 online courses, 4 YouTube channels, and a daily podcast. She currently teaches online for BYU-Idaho and Arizona College of Nursing.  She loves film and writes movie reviews at MovieReviewMom.com.

Developmental Editing for Nonfiction

Suzy Bills

Target Audience: Intermediate and advanced editors who want to develop or increase their skills in nonfiction developmental editing. Also appropriate for nonfiction authors who want to learn how to improve their writing and make it more appealing to their target audience.

Developmental editing is an essential step in preparing a nonfiction manuscript for publication, but few resources teach the skills required to be an effective developmental editor. This session will identify what nonfiction developmental editing does and doesn’t involve and will cover the essential aspects of nonfiction developmental editing. By the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to identify and address nonfiction developmental issues and write an editorial letter.

In this workshop, you will:

• Discuss the tasks and roles of a nonfiction developmental editor
• Evaluate whether a manuscript is appropriate for its target audience
• Identify whether a manuscript contains a strong thesis/hook 
• Identify and address issues related to tone
• Identify and address issues related to organization
• Identify and address issues related to missing information
• Identify and address issues related to a manuscript that is too long or contains unnecessary content
• Identify and address issues related to incoherence, inconsistency, and redundant content
• Write content for an editorial letter

Pre-work: Participants should be familiar with the conventions of nonfiction books, particularly the basic structure and components.

Bio: Suzy Bills is an editor, author, and faculty member in the editing and publishing program at BYU. She has owned a writing and editing business since 2006, working with clients to publish everything from books to dissertations to technical manuals. She loves sharing her skills with others, whether through teaching, helping authors get their thoughts on paper, or fine-tuning their writing. Her book The Freelance Editor’s Handbook was published in 2021.

Buzzworthy Podcasts: How to Develop, Produce, and Market Your Podcast for Success

KaRyn Lay

Intended Audience: Current and future podcast hosts, producers, and storytellers

Most podcasts today end after only 6 episodes. And of the ones that stick around, only the top 1% have a reach of over 3,500 downloads per episode. But you…you have a microphone and a vision…so how do you make it past the first 6 and find your audience? Or maybe you’re in full swing with your production but you’re having a hard time knowing how to expand your current reach. Wherever you are in the podcast journey, this workshop will give you some new strategic tools to up your game, hone your instincts, and help you to define success on your own terms.

During this workshop, you will:

• Create an actionable core strategy for your podcast (in utero or in production)
• Define your key measures of success 
• Identify your intended audience and brainstorm content structure (or restructure) to meet that audience’s needs
• Learn strategies to streamline your production process & enhance production value in simple ways
• Complete a simple, personalized marketing roadmap and channel strategy

Pre-work: Each attendee will receive a resources/big vision worksheet to fill out before they come to the workshop.

Bio: KaRyn Daley Lay is a writer, storyteller, gatherer, media producer, and content strategist. She was the developing producer and strategist for LDS Living Podcasts, including All In, Sunday on Monday, and Joseph. She hosted and produced the storytelling podcast This Is the Gospel, which has won an LDSPMA Praiseworthy Award every year since 2019 and reached over 3 million people during its 4 seasons. KaRyn currently works as the lead content strategist for the communication channels of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and organizes writing retreats in her spare time.

Historical Fiction: History or Fiction?

Dean Hughes and Chris Crowe

Historical fiction ranges from plots “based on a true story” to carefully researched accounts of actual people and events.  The session will explore this range of approaches and suggest techniques for choosing subjects, researching, and creating compelling historical narratives.

Effective writing techniques are the same for any audience or age group, so this workshop will stress basics.  Class participants will

• Learn planning techniques
• Review basic principles of fiction
• Receive guidance on research techniques
• Practice brainstorming 
• Practice character creation
• Practice writing accurate descriptions
• Practice some basic revision techniques

Pre-work: Come willing to learn, to discuss, to share with others, and to have a good time. Don’t tell us, “But that’s the way I write.” Be willing to try new techniques and ideas.

Bio: Chris Crowe is a professor of English at BYU, where he teaches courses in creative writing and young adult literature. He’s published hundreds of short works—newspaper columns and magazine and journal articles—and sixteen books, including Getting Away with Murder, From the Outside Looking In, and Death Coming Up the Hill. He has a particular interest in history, and most of his recent books have been historical fiction and nonfiction for young adults. Chris has taught writing workshops at Storymakers, at Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers, and at various schools since 1993.

Bio: Dean Hughes has published more than one hundred books. He has written fiction as well as nonfiction for all ages: children, young adults, and adults. He is best known for Children of the Promise, a series of historical novels about World War II. His young adult novel Soldier Boys has received national critical acclaim, and his recent Latter-day Saint histories, Muddy and River were honored with multiple awards. Dean has taught creative writing at Central Missouri University and Brigham Young University. He has presented workshops on many occasions during his forty-year writing career.