ONLINE CLASS

Writer Mind Marketing Mind

How to shift your mindset about marketing—and express your mission and integrity along the way


INSTRUCTOR

Allison K Williams

DATE

Live on Sept. 21, 2023, or watch recording

IDEAL FOR

Writers who can’t figure out how to market without the “ugh” factor

ACCESSIBILITY

Closed captions by Otter; transcript provided with recording


Can’t we just be writers? Why do we have to sell ourselves and our books—isn’t that the publisher’s job? Nope. (Sorry.)

Selling your book means marketing, even with a Big Five deal and more so with a small or hybrid press. But that doesn’t require time-consuming social media or dancing on TikTok! By refocusing from “people need to buy my book!” to “how can my book reach the people who need it?” marketing and selling become an extension of your mission and an expression of your integrity.

In this 90-minute live webinar with Allison K Williams, novelists, memoirists and nonfiction writers will learn the mindset shift from “ugh, sales” to “wow, this reader needs me.” We’ll cover connecting with your audience before and after publication and how your audience can show you what kind of book deal is right for you. Learn how to make evangelists for your work, get reviews that count, and bring your words to the readers who need them most.

This workshop will cover:

  • What makes your book newsworthy to local and national media—and how to get press even before you publish
  • Finding and connecting with groups directly interested in reading and buying your work
  • Building a launch team, and the best use of ARCs
  • The number-one way to get your book into brick-and-mortar stores and libraries—guaranteed
  • How to write a press release that gets coverage (the news is not that you wrote a book!)
  • How marketing starts while writing the book—and can make you a better writer
  • Platform beyond social media (it doesn’t matter if you never get another like!)
  • How finding your “comp authors” can show you exactly what kind of marketing to do
  • 3 ways to get the most impact for your social media time (it’s not actually about selling books!)
  • Whether you need a publicist—and how to find a good one

Who should take this class

  • Novelists and memoirists unsure how to sell their book to a wide audience
  • Nonfiction writers and memoirists getting rejections for “not enough platform”
  • Writers planning to self-publish or publish with a hybrid press
  • Creative writing students and MFA graduates from programs with strong craft workshops and no marketing education
  • Writers worried about getting sufficient support from their publisher’s marketing team
  • Writers publishing with small presses without marketing teams
  • Everyone who can’t figure out what they’re “supposed” to be doing on social media

This class isn’t suited for

  • Writers secretly hoping they can be excused from all marketing activity
  • Anyone who already attended this class when Allison presented it in May 2022. The substance of the presentation has not fundamentally changed, so repeat attendees will not necessarily gain new understanding from this iteration.

What’s included in all of Jane’s classes

All classes are self-contained and never end with a sales pitch.

How do I attend the live class?

This class uses Zoom webinar technology (see system requirements). You will join through your Internet-connected computer or mobile device. When you register, you will receive information via email on how to join the class. If you don’t receive it within 1 hour of registering, please contact us.

  • When: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023
  • Time: 1:00–2:30 p.m. Eastern / 10:00 a.m. Pacific
  • Fee: $25

The webinar is broadcasted via the internet with live audio delivered through your computer or mobile device speakers. The visual presentation is displayed directly from the presenter’s computer to your computer screen. The Q&A is managed through a chat-style submission system with questions read and answered by the presenter for the entire class to hear.

Closed captions are provided during the live class. We use Zoom’s automated closed caption service (powered by Otter), which is about 80%+ accurate. We also use Otter AI to generate an unedited transcript, provided with the recording.

About the instructor

Allison K Williams is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book. She has edited and coached writers to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, Spencer Hill, and St. Martin’s Press as well as hybrid and independent presses. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney’s, Refinery29, Hippocampus, the Belladonna and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life.

As a memoirist, essayist, and travel journalist, Allison has written craft, culture and comedy for National Public Radio, CBC-Canada, the New York Times, the Christian Science MonitorCreative Nonfiction, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Kenyon Review Online, the Prairie Schooner blog, the Drum and Travelers’ Tales and Flash Nonfiction Funny. 

Allison holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Western Michigan University and spent 20 years as a circus aerialist and acrobat before writing and editing full-time. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats series.

Thank you so much for teaching the Writer Mind Marketing Mind class! I was blown away by the wisdom and insights you shared in class and also your willingness to share the marketing/launch spreadsheet. Please thank your husband! Just bought Seven Drafts!!

Ellen Brown

I thought your workshop with Jane Friedman was AMAZING! I want all my presentations to be as engaging and helpful as yours.

Cheryl Johnson

I know your classes are going to be helpful. You deliver exactly what you promise. Even if I’ve heard it before it’s often not in exactly the same way.

Heather Ash

All students receive the following

  • Access to the live class. After roughly 75 minutes, the instructor will take questions during class using in-class chat/text. The class will end after roughly 90 minutes.
  • A recording of the class—audio and video. This is especially helpful if you have a conflict with the class time or something comes up and you can’t make the session. Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for 30 days. You do not have to attend the live event to access the recordings.
  • Presentation slides. All participants receive a copy of the slide presentation in PDF form.
  • Rough transcript. We use Otter to create an automated transcript of the entire webinar, which we’ll share with you in addition to the audio and video recording.
  • Supplementary materials: sample press releases, one sheets and comp author worksheets

Event Attendance & Anti-Harassment Policy

We strive to provide an environment where all present—whether attendee, presenter, or staff—can feel supported. In order to ensure a welcoming event, here is what we expect from all who participate.

  • That the presenter and the presenter’s work be treated with respect by attendees and that all attendees treat each other with respect and a generosity of spirit.
  • That attendees will refrain from harassment of any sort including (but not limited to) comments or questions of a racist, homophobic, sexist/sexual, or threatening nature. This includes actions that disrupt or interfere with anyone’s ability to participate. Offenders will be disconnected from the live event.