Monthly Zoom Discussion

August 23: Beyond the Basics of Pitches and Queries

A discussion with freelance editor Emma Heggem

Submission forms. Slush piles. Waiting and waiting for a response. In today’s oversaturated market, getting a publisher to choose your manuscript from the dozens (or hundreds) of others is, in many ways, the greatest hurdle of the publishing process. In this discussion, Emma Heggem will share—from a publisher’s perspective—tips and tactics for crafting pitches and queries that will get noticed.

Bio: Emma Heggem worked for 6 years at Future House Publishing, where she managed the acquisitions and editing process for MG and YA fantasy and sci-fi novels. Now she is a freelance editor who uses her experience to help authors polish their manuscripts. Emma graduated from BYU with a bachelors in English Language and a minor in Editing. Whenever she gets a chance, she loves to attend writers’ conferences to give manuscript critiques and talk to aspiring writers about the mysterious world of publishing.

Note: For the last 15 minutes of the recording, we had some intermittent interruptions by a Zoom bomber.

July 12: Commas, Colons, and Semicolons—Oh My! A Punctuation Crash Course

A discussion with freelance editor Brittany Passmore

Ever said you would use semicolons more if you could remember how to use them? Ever felt overwhelmed by all the comma rules? This punctuation crash course is here to save the day! Learn the basic rules surrounding semicolons, colons, em dashes, and commas as well as easy-to-remember tips that will make you more confident in how you make rhetorical choices with your punctuation.

Bio: Brittany Passmore is a freelance editor who specializes in developmental, substantive, and copy edits in fiction. She graduated from BYU with a BA in Editing and Publishing. She loves working with writers in every stage of the editing process and helping their stories reach their full potential. When she’s not editing, reading, or writing, Brittany enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, dabbling in her musical hobbies, practicing yoga, and playing board games with her family.

June 23: How Words & Pictures Rely on Each Other, & Other Picture Book Writing Tips

A discussion with author/illustrator Brooke Malia Mann

Brooke Malia Mann, author & illustrator of Miracles of Jesus and Teachings of Jesus, published by Deseret Book, will reveal her process of creating a book she both writes and illustrates—sharing how to begin, how to submit and work with a publisher, and what she feels are the key points of a successful children’s picture book. You won’t want to miss this discussion!

Bio: Brooke Malia Mann graduated from Brigham Young University with a BFA in illustration and a minor in English. She is a proud stay-at-home mom who works on her art on the side. Since she was a little girl making stapled-together picture books, Brooke has been involved in art. Her art has been influenced by her Japanese heritage, childhood in California, and young adult years living in Utah. Brooke Currently lives in Wyoming with her family of boys.

May 26: How to Outline a Romance Novel and Keep the Love Scenes Sweet with a Little Bit of Heat

A discussion with romance author Julie L. Spencer

How far is too far in clean romance? Heat level is important to readers of all genres–but especially romance novels. And that heat level is often subjective, which means writing clean romance isn’t easy! On top of that, most story structure models don’t work for romance. Outlining is not the same thing as plotting, but they go hand in hand.

Bio: Julie L. Spencer is a best-selling author of over 30 books, most of them romance novels. As an author and publisher, she has mentored other authors to springboard their own successful careers. Her stories include snarky, flawed characters and romantic twists and turns.

This free Zoom event features a short presentation by Julie, followed by Q&A. Julie will be presenting a longer version of this presentation at our conference in October.

April 21: Self-Publishing Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

A discussion with fantasy and sci-fi author Bonnie K.T. Dillabough

Bonnie K.T. Dillabough, author of the Dimensional Alliance series, published her first book two weeks before her 64th birthday. So if you think it’s too late for you, you’re wrong!

In this free Zoom event, Bonnie shares the self-publishing lessons she has learned the hard way and answer questions for aspiring authors.

March 23: “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe”: A Christian Songwriter’s Journey

A discussion with Shawna Edwards

Shawna Edwards, a prolific Christian children’s songwriter, will share how the Lord has multiplied her efforts to share His message to the world, and what she has learned about faith, music and business along the way.

Her short presentation will be followed by 20–30 minutes of Q&A and discussion.

Bio: Originally a piano performance major, Shawna Edwards returned to BYU to finish her degree when her oldest boys were students there. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Media Music in 2009. She put her first song on YouTube in 2010. Her channel now has over 30M views, and her songs have been performed in churches, cathedrals, and Christian schools in over 100 different countries.

February 23: Social Media Questions and Answers

A discussion with social media expert Mimi Bascom

What is a social media “brand”? How often should I post? How is Instagram different than Facebook? How do I build an engaged audience on Instagram?

Bio: Mimi Bascom is an influencer and freelance social media manager/strategist. She enjoys creating content for her personal brand to show people that religion is still relevant, and she helps brands organically build an audience online and increase revenue (you can view her work at mimibascom.com). She is a recent BYU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications, and she has been working in the social media industry for the past three years.

December 16: Empathy, Dignity, and Cultural Diversity

A discussion with author Kaela Rivera

How can we effectively portray cultural diversity in our writing? Using her recent award-winning novel Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls as an example, Kaela Rivera will discuss writing latinx characters, the difficulties of bringing Cece Rios’s latinx fantasy world to life, navigating her own mixed heritage, and using empathy as a guiding tool for writing characters with dignity, especially those from marginalized backgrounds.  

Bio: Kaela Rivera writes about the folktales of her Mexican-American and British parents. When she’s not crafting stories, she’s working as an editor for a marketing company. Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls—which won the 2022 Charlotte Huck Award—is her first novel; the sequel comes out in fall 2022.

There is no recording available for this Zoom discussion.