Articles

By Kristen Reber

Our 2018 conference, “Let Your Voices Be Heard,” was held on November 2 and 3 at the BYU Conference Center in Provo, Utah. The Spirit was strong as we listened to knowledgeable speakers share both spiritual and practical lessons related to publishing and media.

We kicked off the conference with a guest interview with David Archuleta, the platinum-selling singer-songwriter, actor, and author. Asked about how he remained vibrant, relevant, strong, and true to himself in his career, he described his journey of navigating today’s crass and media-crazed world as a young Latter-day Saint pop sensation. He also talked about the choices he’s made to uphold his values and how those choices have influenced his success and character. He made it clear that he doesn’t regret his decisions to stay true to himself and to God. This uplifting and inspiring interview was the perfect start for our conference!

The conversation with David Archuleta was followed by two hours of breakout sessions, offered in five tracks: publishing; media and broadcasting; marketing; editing, design, and production; and fiction and nonfiction writing.

When the time came for the networking lunch, the enthusiasm in the air was palpable: attendees were ready to get to know each other and learn from one another in a casual environment. They were also eager for the buffet-style lunch (complete with vegan and gluten-free options). Afterward, conference participants attended three more breakout sessions, focused on a wide array of topics in the five publishing and media tracks.

In addition to the five tracks, some of the breakout sessions also included interactive classes:

• • Fast Pitch (a speed dating opportunity for aspiring authors to pitch book projects to publishing companies)
  • Book Spotlight (an opportunity for participants to share and promote their work)
  • Open Table Groups(an opportunity for participants to share and get feedback on their poetry, stories, and other writings)
  • Networking Groups (an opportunity to meet other conference attendees and get immediate help with publishing challenges)
  • Demopalooza (an opportunity to share video, audio, and multimedia creations)

We received great feedback on what people enjoyed about the interactive sessions, as well as how to improve them for next year’s conference. We’re excited to implement the suggestions!

We ended the first day of the conference with an awards ceremony honoring our Lifetime Achievement Award winners:

• Sheri Dew (Publishing and Media)
• Don Norton (Editing and Design)
• John L. Sorenson (Writing)

Don Norton and John L. Sorenson gave endearing acceptance speeches. Unfortunately, Sheri Dew could not attend because of family obligations.

You can learn more about our winners by visiting our Lifetime Achievement Award Winners page.

During the ceremony, we also announced the Praiseworthy Award winners:

Text

Short Form

Winners: Alan B. Sanderson

Honorable Mention: Mark J. Sanderson and Ivan Sanderson

Long Form

Winners: Dave Crenshaw, Valerie Brewster Caldwell, and Sue Malikowski

Honorable Mention: Laurisa White Reyes

Multimedia

Winner: Mormon Insights

Honorable Mention: Marriott Student Review

Audio/Video

Winners: Blair Hodges and Stephen Taysom

Honorable Mention: Janet Perry

You can learn more about our winners by visiting our Praiseworthy Awards Winners page.

After the awards ceremony, about 80 conference attendees took advantage of the opportunity to attend a tour of the BYU Broadcasting Building. Everyone enjoyed the fun tour given by the BYU Broadcasting staff, followed by the informative and entertaining presentation that managing director Michael A. Dunn gave in studio C.

Saturday morning, conference attendees entered the auditorium excited for what the day had in store for them. In a keynote address, Virginia H. Pearce spoke about the beauty of words and why everyone should write—especially those who don’t intend to make a career out of it! For many of our conference attendees, Pearce’s address was the most inspirational message of the conference, providing the ideal start to another great day of classes and networking.

Following the opening address, conference participants enjoyed three hours of breakout sessions.

After a buffet lunch, the conference ended with a keynote address by Orson Scott Card, who shared lessons he’s learned from his 40-year journey as a writer. He emphasized that members of the Church don’t need to write about gospel topics in order to produce praiseworthy works or to weave gospel principles in their publications. Many participants were encouraged by Card’s address and felt new confidence to pursue their writing aspirations.

We thank all the speakers for their preparation and insightful messages. We’re also grateful for everyone else who contributed to making the conference a fabulous experience for attendees, as attested in the following feedback:

“I loved the conference. So happy that there is a movement in the LDS community to form relationships and support each other.”

“The real value to me of the LDSPMA conference is to make friendships that develop over time and become sources of networking and bouncing around ideas, either at the conference or via email throughout the year. So, coming each year makes it better for me than if I only came once or occasionally.”

“Thanks for a great, helpful, and inspiring conference! It’s great time to be in Latter-day Saint publishing.”

“Loved it! So happy with what I learned.”

“This was phenomenal! I liked how some of the sessions that covered similar topics were offered at different hours so I could get to more that I liked.”

“This conference and your extra efforts, improvements, the high quality of the invited presenters was excellent! Almost every part I participated in was BEYOND my expectations!!”

“Thanks for making this happen. So nice to meet people here, learn a lot, and be able to better support each other. Well done!”

“Thank you for creating an amazing experience!”

By James Beers, Symposium Creator

To be honest, the genesis of Utah’s 2018 Book Marketing Symposium was a selfish one—I (yes, emphasis on the I) wanted to and needed to know more about book marketing. But marketing sessions at writing conferences were often in short supply. With few exceptions, the writing conferences, workshops, and seminars I have attended in previous years focused almost exclusively on writing craft, a vitally important subject but not the only aspect of writing necessary to make an author successful. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but two observations soon brought to the forefront the fact that book marketing needed more attention.

First, I noticed that I was hearing the same information again and again during each writing event I attended. At least 90% of the information was focused on writing craft. Second, I had already crossed the first major hurdle in a writing career: I had written and published. In my case, it was a short story, a novelette, and a book. But none of them were selling very well, just a few copies here and there. I thought perhaps it was the quality of my writing that needed improvement. So I joined writing groups, received writing critiques, entered contests, and practiced writing. My stories won contests, so I knew I was at least on the right track with my writing craft. But my published works still weren’t selling any better. No matter how many Facebook friends I garnered, how many blog and social media posts I put up, or how many freebie promos I offered, book sales would not increase. There was something about marketing that I was missing, and I was bound and determined to figure it out.

That’s where the idea for Utah’s 2018 Book Marketing Symposium started. I thought maybe I could get a bunch of successful book marketers together to teach me and other authors something about book marketing. I knew I likely couldn’t pull it off by myself, so I sat down with several other writerly folks and said, “Hey, what do you think about organizing a book marketing event?” They responded, “Yeah, let’s do it!” And so we did. Although one book marketing event wouldn’t be a magic bullet, it was at least a start.

It’s one thing to come up with an idea and entirely another thing to bring it to life. There were a ton of items to consider to make the book marketing event happen: venue, presenters, volunteers, advertising, food and catering, scheduling, money, resources, and on and on and on. That doesn’t even include the underlying questions: will it really work and will people actually pay to attend it?

Eventually, five writing organizations—the League of Utah Writers (LUW); the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association (LDSPMA); and the Utah chapters of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Horror Writers Association (UHWA), and the Romance Writers of America (URWA)—came together to help me breathe life into the idea. LUW obtained a venue that wouldn’t financially kill us to rent or require that we charge several hundred dollars for each registration. LDSPMA posted the event on its website and social media accounts, put out notices in its newsletter, and even helped me find several volunteers among its members to help at the event. SCBWI also advertised the event in its member newsletter. UHWA passed out flyers for us at LTUE. And URWA (as well as the other organizations) served as a sounding board for ideas and helped me come up with the name for the event: Utah’s 2018 Book Marketing Symposium. The name wasn’t super catchy, but it embodied the idea that Utah, which has a large writing community, needed a book marketing event.

The biggest challenges occurred where the rubber met the road. Concepts like finding a place for the event, needing presenters, offering vendor tables, and having a printed program were discussed easily enough, but securing help to actually make them happen was very difficult. Also, no one was willing to take the financial risk to head up the event. These were huge obstacles. I eventually had to buckle down and do it largely by myself. I formed and funded an organization to sponsor the event. I also designed ads and the printed program layout, set up registration on Eventbrite, and procured all the presenters. When it came down to overcoming these challenges, I didn’t have a lot of money to hire help, nor a lot of time to waste trying to convince others to sacrifice and help. So I put my head down, went to work, and made it happen by shear will and elbow grease.

I can’t tell you how many prayers I said, asking for help to make the symposium successful. Fortunately, a long time ago the Lord taught me through a few bad choices on my part to never procrastinate. Thus, I started early enough that there were never really any hectic, anxiety-filled moments at the end in which I wondered if I would get everything together in time. The book-cover contest came close to giving me a coronary, but in retrospect, even the challenges with the contest weren’t too bad.

I could tell during the event planning when the Lord was feeding me ideas; they just popped into my head, made sense, and were brilliant. For instance, I was prompted to make a simple feedback form that attendees could turn in for a code to be included in a raffle for books and gift certificates donated by authors, bookstores, and editing services. The feedback raffle idea worked very well and gave us some great feedback for next year. I was also prompted to organize a tally system and associated prize raffle to encourage people to visit vendor tables. Each of the vendors had a different colored marker for marking a tally box in the back of people’s programs. After all the vendors marked the tally boxes, the conference attendee showed the page to a volunteer at the registration desk and received a code for another raffle. The tally system was hugely successful, and many of the vendors said they appreciated the traffic it brought to their tables.

Over 100 people, including registrants, vendors, and volunteers, came to the symposium. Although my brain was AWOL on the day of the event, the symposium went off without any major hitches, due in large part to a handful of excellent volunteers: Anna King, Tara Creel, Kenny Smith, Jenna Beers, Bob Casey, Mark Hasara, and Jerald Simon.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One of the attendees told me that he learned more from the symposium than he had from a recent three-day writing conference. Several attendees expressed that they’d like to see the symposium become an annual event. Here are just a few of the positive comments:

“This was a SMASHING success! I learned a ton!”

“The information from the presenters was amazing! The vendors were also very personable and answered all of my questions. I loved how intimate the symposium was. Everything was great! Thank you!”

“Very valuable! Well worth my time and money.”

Now that the conference is over, I’m constantly thinking about what worked well and brainstorming what we can improve and what new things we can do to make next year’s symposium even better. For instance, I’d like to hold a full-day symposium on a Saturday so even more people can attend. I’ll definitely use the feedback and vendor raffles, but with a few tweaks. I’ve also been thinking about hands-on workshops (building a Facebook sales funnel, creating effective ads on Amazon, and building newsletters, etc.). I also plan to improve registration, check-in, and the book-cover contest.

I learned a lot about organizing a symposium, as well as invaluable marketing strategies—which was the whole reason for the event. I know others also gained some great insights about marketing. One of the presenters—a well-known author and book marketer in her own right—said she attended the other classes and learned a lot about marketing.

I’m excited about the 2019 symposium and know it will be even better than the inaugural event.

Please enjoy photos from this year’s symposium:

For more information about the Utah’s Book Marketing Symposium, please visit their website at: https://www.ubmcon.com/

By Kristen Reber

Editor’s Note: This conference was held before Latter-day Saint Publishing Professionals Association (LDSPPA) changed its name to Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association (LDSPMA).

Our annual conference in 2017 was held on September 22 and 23 at the BYU Salt Lake Center. The theme was “The Power of the Word.” The Spirit was strong as we listened to knowledgeable and inspired speakers share both spiritual and practical lessons for our publishing careers.

We kicked off the conference with a wonderful message from John S. Tanner, president of BYU–Hawaii. Speaking metaphorically, he compared Latter-day Saint publishing professionals to anableps, an unusual kind of fish with eyes on the top of its head that simultaneously see both below and above the water. “In a similar fashion,” he said, “Latter-day Saint publishing professionals must look up to heaven and down to earth at the same time. They must care about mundane matters, like markets, profits, and the expectations of audiences, yet they need to do so with eyes single to God and His glory.” This practical and inspiring message was the perfect start to our conference.

Brother Tanner’s talk was followed by two breakout sessions. The classes covered writing, marketing, editing, the past and future of Latter-day Saint publishing, WordPress, self-publishing, and networking. We thank the speakers, moderators, panel members for their time, preparation, and excellent messages. When the time came for the networking lunch, there was a palpable feeling of enthusiasm in the air.

At the networking lunch, authors pitched their book ideas to editors, marketing professionals learned from one another, and others excitedly shared what they had just learned in the breakout sessions. After lunch, conference participants attended three more breakout sessions, where more information was given about marketing, writing and editing in all genres, how to work with photographers, how to navigate the publishing world, the inner workings of Cedar Fort, and how to use Adobe InDesign. We thank the speakers for their well-thought-out messages, time, and preparation.

We closed the first day of our conference with an inspiring message from Sheri Dew. Drawing upon the phenomenon of the Total Eclipse in August, Sister Dew talked about how every human being has a divine orbit and the potential and privilege to influence all who come inside his or her orbit. “Those blessed with gifts of expression are in a unique position to have incalculable influence and do inestimable good,” she said. As one conference attendee put it, “Sheri Dew completely changed the way I think about myself as a writer. No longer do I desire to become famous just for the sake of being famous. Now, I desire only to build the Lord’s kingdom, and if as a result I become famous, well then, all the better for being an instrument in His hands. My work isn’t about me anymore. It’s about Him.”

The next morning, conference-attendees arrived eagerly anticipating what new wisdom the day had in store for them. Wendy Ulrich started off the day by instructing us on how to navigate the paradoxes of creating content for a Latter-day Saint audience. She said, “As authors and artists, we want to offer something fresh and new, but we’ll have trouble getting heard if we stray outside the bounds of Church orthodoxy. Secular training may increase our credibility with some Latter-day Saints but decrease it with others. Our personal faith experience gives us insight into our audience but can tempt us to overextrapolate. Navigating paradox is an element of artistic and psychological maturity that will enrich both our creations and our ability to publish and sell them.” Paradoxes indeed! We so appreciated Sister Ulrich’s guidance and expertise.

Sister Ulrich’s address was followed by breakout sessions not only on writing, editing, and marketing, but also on topics such as social media, reality TV, freelancing, and how to maintain our values while working for non-Latter-day Saint publishers and media companies. The speakers were truly inspired and so enjoyable to listen to! We thank them for their time, preparation, and wonderful messages!

After the breakout sessions, we again enjoyed a fabulous networking lunch, coupled with an awards ceremony honoring the winners of the 2017 LDSPPA Praiseworthy Awards. We had such impressive submissions this year, and we cannot wait to see our submissions for 2018!

We ended our conference with a fantastic interview with best-selling fantasy and science fiction author Brandon Sanderson. In this interview, Brother Sanderson argued that words have incredible power—to unite or divide, to build worlds or tear them apart. Listening to how he creates worlds in his books was insightful and inspiring. To watch the interview, click on the YouTube video below. A special thank you to Miles Wheeler for filming and uploading the interview, and to Devan Jensen for conducting the interview.

We thank everyone who contributed to making the conference a fabulous experience for attendees, as attested in the following feedback:

By LDSPMA

Make Connections and Discuss Topics

I often relate to Steven Pinker’s description of an aspiring writer’s initial understanding of learning to write as “negotiating an obstacle course in boot camp, with a sergeant barking at you for every errant footfall.”[1] I have often felt that way, especially when I am alone in my office struggling to make a chapter work or I am opening a stake of rejection letters. Usually the sergeant barking at me is my own voice. It’s easy to begin to get discouraged in that kind of environment.

But, Pinker goes on to say, “Why not think of it instead as a form of pleasurable mastery, like cooking or photography?”[2] When I read those words, that was an “Aha!” moment for me. Usually when I embark on a hobby, I join a group of similar enthusiasts to generate ideas, to motivate me to greater heights, and to gain inspiration on how to do it better. The people who have been doing it successfully for a while give encouragement to those just starting out on their new adventure.

In any of the publishing careers, professional lives can be lonely. As publishing professionals (in all fields of publishing, whether it is writing, editing, blogging, or film production), we need other people to find connections and discuss topics of interest that will generate more ideas for better results.

LDSPMA is that kind of place. A fun place to meet with other people with like-minded careers, passions, and hobbies. As a chapter leader, you gather together all those in your geographic area who would like to learn about how to become better at their craft. You will find the opportunity to meet with others quarterly, gaining ideas and ways to move forward your career and the careers of others.

“Perfecting the craft is a lifelong calling…,”[3] so let’s perfect our craft together! Become a chapter leader of LDSPMA in your community and make connections with others while you discuss ways to perfect your craft.

If you are interested, please contact Marianna at mariannari@hotmail.com

[1] Pinker, Steven. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21^st Century. (New York: Viking, 2014) 12.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Editor’s Note: This conference was held before Latter-day Saint Publishing Professionals Association (LDSPPA) changed its name to Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association (LDSPMA).

Authors, editors, designers, and publishers met at the BYU Conference Center for the Latter-day Saint Publishing Professionals Association’s (LDSPPA) second annual conference on September 23 and 24, 2016.

The conference theme was “Flooding the World with Light and Truth.” The conference featured sessions taught by thirty industry leaders in freelancing, editing, marketing, illustrating, networking, and writing. We note just a few of the amazing addresses here:

• A keynote address to aspiring authors by popular speaker and author Brad Wilcox
• Inspirational messages on flooding the world with truth by Brent L. Top and Camille Fronk Olson of BYU Religious Education
• A keynote address by Brandon Mull, author of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling Beyonders and Fablehaven series
• A session on writing for Church magazines taught by Val Johnson, former managing editor of the Ensign and Liahona, and by Josh Perkey of the New Era
• Practical writing tips from Jeff McClellan, Peter Gardner, and Andrea Christensen of BYU Magazine
• Advice on marketing and editing from Patrick Dunshee and Suzy Bills of The Joseph Smith Papers
• A workshop by writer David Doering, a founder of the conference Life, the Universe, & Everything and the BYU student journal Leading Edge
• A lunch to munch and mingle with publishers such as Deseret Book, Gibbs Smith, Berrett-Koehler, Covenant, Cedar Fort, and Jolly Fish
• A presentation by the CEO of Berrett-Koehler, Steve Piersanti, on “The Ten Awful Truths about Book Publishing—and What to Do about Them”
• Tips on search engine optimization by Brandon Doyle, CEO and Founder of Wallaroo Media
• Advice on how to write for more diverse audiences in a panel by Adam Miller, Rachel Hunt Steenblik, Laura Hales, and Loyd Ericson

Mull, one such industry leader, traced the spiritual journey of his writing pursuit. “Sometimes there’s stuff you want so bad, and you almost don’t dare wish for it, you want it so bad,” Mull said. He spoke about “following your passion. “As a writer, I get to spin straw into gold,” Mull said. Mull advised authors and publishers to “remember who you are.” Mull added, “With the power to create comes the power to create all sorts of things.” He said his audience should stay true to themselves and create content that brings light and goodness into the world, harking back to the theme of “Flooding the World with Light and Truth.”

The conference theme grew out of the remarks of President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, who invited Latter-day Saint publishers at a February 2016 Deseret Book Gala to share light and truth with the world to prepare the way for the Lord’s return. The LDSPPA conference provided practical tips for aspiring authors, marketers, and illustrators to share their messages with the world.

“We’re so grateful for the many talented speakers who donated their time and energy to making this event a huge success,” said conference organizer Devan Jensen. “We hope attendees feel inspired to share their own messages of hope and light with a troubled world.”

For more information about future conferences and about LDSPMA, visit ldspma.org