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Florence
Littauer receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Is it true?
Could it be? Is that George W?
President George W. Bush impersonator, John Morgan, roasted
Florence in fine fashion at AWSA's Golden Scroll
Awards Banquet at ICRS in Orlando, FL, prior to
handing her a sweet surprise:
The Golden
Scroll Lifetime Achievement Award
"Florence has spent her life training those called
by God to communicate from the platform and through
published books. No other person within ICRS has
contributed more of their life to helping develop
the ministries of authors than Florence Littauer,"
said AWSA President Linda Evans
Shepherd.
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ICRS
- Floor Report
Christian bookstore owners filled the aisles at the
International Christian Retail Show. They lined up
at the CLASServices booth to meet CLASS authors and
receive autographed books. Florence Littauer, Pam
Farrel, Karen Porter, Cheri Cowell, Golden Parsons,
Jane Hamptom Cook, Linda Gilden and a host of other
CLASS Grads had booksignings in the CLASServices
booth.
The new look for the booth added to the excitement
of the show. It was fun to showcase books by our
authors! A big thank you to all who
participated!
Publishers and other industry professionals shared
a new interest in how CLASS equips speakers and
writers to be the best they can be, to be polished
and prepared for the work God has for them.
The
CLASS booksignings were
great! CLASS did everything possible to bring
traffic to the booth. The promotional poster with
the author photos on it was beautiful and many
stopped to look at it. Thanks, CLASS staff, for
working so hard for all of us authors!
- Linda Gilden
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What
a Blitz!
CLASS
launched a new workshop, Book Proposal Blitz at the
recent ICRS tradeshow in Orlando, FL. A hit with
both attendees and mentors. Everyone left
invigorated and inspired, prepared to pitch to
editors and submit polished book proposals to
interested publishers.
If you have a book proposal that's itching to be
submitted, be sure to put your best step forward by
attending the next Book Proposal Blitz
workshop...
"The
Book Proposal Blitz workshop was outstanding!
The tips I received on specific marketing
techniques are bound to make the editors take
notice. Seasoned and novice writers alike benefited
from this top notch workshop." - Janet
Teitsort
"...fun, informative, overwhelming
and inspiring. I loved the smorgasbord of speakers
and mentors.
It truly was all-you-can-eat and I left stuffed."
- Laura Bower
"...motivating, confidence building
and clarifying for me."- Tina
Pulley
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Planning
to attend GCWC?
We've
planned a bonus
BOOK PROPOSAL BLITZ
just for you!
Limited to the first 25 to sign-up,
CLASS will offer a 1-day Book Proposal Blitz on
Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Bring your current book proposal,
spend the day with mentors, add their expertise and
top-shelf advice to put the polish to your proposal
and print out fresh copies ready to present to
editors at the writer's conference.
(A special pitch practice session will help you
eliminate nerves and prepare to talk to editors
& agents at GCWC.)
Space is limited, only
the first 25 to call the office and sign-up
will be able to take advantage of this incredible
hands-on workshop.
Don't miss out - call now.
800.433.6633
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Glorieta
Gears Up
WHAT:
Glorieta Christian Writers Conference
WHERE:
Glorieta, NM (north of Santa Fe)
WHEN:
October 22 - 26, 2008
 Martha
Bolton will
be the keynote speaker this
year at the 2008 GCWC!
Martha is an Emmy-nominated writer (Bob Hope's
television specials) and has also written for
numerous other entertainers, including Phyllis
Diller, Ann Jillian, Mark Lowry, and Jeff Allen.
She has written over 80 books of humor and
inspiration, including the popular Didn't
My Skin Used to Fit and Cooking
With Hot Flashes, and was a "with" author on
the New York Times bestselling Rick and Bubba
books.
Martha has also received a Dove award
nomination and a Writers Guild Award
nomination for her writing, and has won four Angel
awards.
Martha wrote the popular Cafeteria Lady
column for Focus on the Family's BRIO magazine for
more than a dozen years, and currently writes the
Miss P.E. column for BRIO.
Her work has appeared in Reader's
Digest, Christian
Herald, numerous Chicken
Soup for the Soul, and many other
publications.
*****
New, free
program designed for first-timers...
On-Ramp is a way for newbies to get up
to speed before moving into the frenetic flow of
GCWC. Those who have never attended a writers
conference before or those who are new to GCWC
often need direction, shepherding, counsel, and
even some hand-holding. But once the conference
kicks into gear, it's too fast and furious
for most of that stuff to happen. On-Ramp
will help give first-timers the confidence to
handle the speed. On-Ramp
starts one day early-Tuesday night-with dinner,
followed by two mini classes, thirty minutes each:
What to Expect at GCWC, and Using the
Christian Writers Market Guide. Wednesday morning,
participants will attend four more mini classes:
Mapping Your Appointments; Understanding Editorial
Needs; Editors and Other Minor Gods; Q&A
Free-For-All.
*****
PLUS: A
Special 1-Day Book Proposal Blitz
(see above)
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WRITER'S
CORNER
6
Ways a Teen Can Help You Market Your Book Online
The Internet can be overwhelming. And
if you are over forty years old, it is easy to be a
"shunpiker" (one who avoids interstates) of that
information superhighway.
As you look to the Internet to find fresh ways to
exponentially increase your book sales, remember
that you don't have to know or understand all the
information.
It is helpful, however, to know the lingo. If you
aren't familiar with what a podcast, RSS feed,
blog, or widget is, it's time to ask a teen. Here's
what to ask:
1. Are
there people on My Space who would buy my book? How
can I best reach them?
Millions of people are making friends with those
who have common interests. If your book topic hits
one of these interests, it's a marketing
opportunity worth pursuing. In just a few minutes
you can post a message that will go on everyone's
bulletin board, giving you mass exposure with
little effort.
2. Can
you walk me through starting a blog?
You can set up a blog in a few minutes and it will
rank much higher than your web site when people put
in your keywords or your name. You can post most
anything of interest on your blog. For example,
newsletter articles, personal updates, event
announcements, and free give-aways. Ask a teen to
help you add links, publish the information to
"ping" it, etc.
3. How
do I post a video to You Tube and God Tube?
Making a video can be as simple as using the video
function on your digital camera. By making 2-5
minute videos as mini-presentations, you will gain
assets of your material, as well as reach new
audiences on video sites.
TIP #1: Give your video an appealing title that
will make people want to watch it and add keywords
to the descriptions when you post them so your
videos will rank well on search engines.
TIP #2: Be yourself. People who connect with your
personality will be interested in buying the
book.
4. What
is a social network and how can I sell books?
Teens can help you find hubs for your book topic
and teach you how to post, blog, and get involved.
You may even want to start your own group. Some of
these include: Ning, Shoutlife, Facebook, and
hundreds more. Be sure to check out shelfari.com
which is specifically for book lovers.
5. How
do I make a Squidoo page?
Squidoo is a collection of pages people have built
that include articles, facts, products, recommended
books, and much more. The benefit is that its
results often rank very high in search engines, so
if your book topic is on prayers for grandmothers,
you want to pack that Squidoo page with everything
you can think of on this topic. For example, your
Squidoo page would have lots of links with
descriptions. Link to Amazon for products like
journals for prayers and keepsake items. Link to
social networks like Ning where there is a praying
grandmother group. Be sure to add a description and
link to your book at the top of the page. A few
hours of building this page can increase your web
exposure quickly.
6. What
is a Widget and how can it help me sell books?
Visit widgetbox.com and just look around. A widget
is a piece of code that you want people to put on
their web site. It contains information you
provide, like daily quotes, your blog postings,
etc. If you write a daily devotional on your blog,
for example, many people will share it with their
own web site readers and you will gain lots of
exposure.
Remember to have an open mind when gathering new
Internet marketing information, but that ultimately
your actions should help you sell more books. It's
easy to get caught up in multiple ideas. Instead
pick one or two, get comfortable with them, and
then ask a teen to help you prioritize your next
action step.
CLASS
Grad Lisa Copen is the founder of Rest Ministries
which serves the chronically ill. Find more book
marketing ideas at her website, www.youcansellmorebooks.com.
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Thanks
to CLASS...
by
CLASS Grad Kim Avery
I
was scheduled to speak at a local church. The
coordinator and I decided on one of my favorite
talks, "From Ordinary to Extraordinary." I prepared
the handouts and loaded up the PowerPoint, complete
with movie clips. I arrived at the church in plenty
of time and set everything up.
When all was ready, I sat in the back of the
sanctuary and heard my talk announced: STRESS
MANAGEMENT. Yikes! I slid over to the
coordinator and she sheepishly admitted that they
had miscommunicated with their publicity people
about the topic but she was sure I could just
adapt. Boy, was I stressed!
I was so thankful for the '3-minute preparation'
practice I had received at CLASS, because that was
literally all the time I had to decide what to
do.
As the group came in, I improvised by asking about
their life stressors, briefly spoke about the
effects of that stress, and then with the help of
the Holy Spirit, suggested that it was always
important during stressful times to focus not just
on what was going on but on who they wanted to be -
and I was sure they wanted to be extraordinary. I
then moved into my original talk and eventually
wrapped up by thanking them all for coming to hear
about Stress Management God's Way. Hah!
Praise the Lord - they never knew that it wasn't
all the way it was supposed to be, and the grateful
coordinator now thinks of me as her new best
friend. Thank you CLASS!
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Aug
18-20
CLASSeminar
Livermore, CA
Sep 8-10
CLASSeminar
Jamestown, NY
Sep
19-21
UPPER
CLASS
Lakeville,
CT
Sep 29-Oct 1
CLASSeminar
Canton, GA
Oct 22-26
Glorieta Christian
Writer's Conference
Glorieta, NM
Nov 10-12
Personality Training
Location TBD
Nov 17-19
CLASSeminar
Indianapolis, IN
*
Alumni receive special discount when booking a
re-boost seminar.
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Are
YOU ready for
UPPER CLASS?
September 19 - 21
Lakeville, CT
This intense mentoring program is limited to six
CLASS Grads who have a minimum of 2 yrs. speaking
experience.
- Learn
how to take your message to a higher
level
- Refine
promotional materials
- Discover
the value of personal marketing tools and stage
appearance
- Receive
constructive assessment on aspects of your
speaking and writing ministry
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News
& Reviews
Do
you find the articles here helpful?
You'll
find even more every week when you log onto the
CLASS
Blog
**********
Congratulations to CLASS Grad Phyllis Benigas on
the release of Intimate
Moments with the Shepherd (Creation
House).
**********
Congratulations to CLASS Grad and faculty member
Golden Parsons on the release of In
the Shadow of the Sun King (Thomas
Nelson).
**********
Congratulations to CLASS Grad Lisa Copen on the
release of Beyond
Casseroles - 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically
Ill Friend (Rest Ministries).
**********
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Meet
Jack Littauer, Florence's grandson
Jack suffers from
food allergies and has had 4 severe reactions in
his short 2 year life. After each reaction, his
allergies get worse, and the potential for a life
threatening reaction grows.
Family and friends will participate
in the Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure
event on November 16, 2008,
Santa Monica Beach Park #1, Los
Angeles, CA.
Visit Jack's
page
to learn more, join Jack's team or make a donation
on Jack's behalf.
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Good
communication skills are essential for both
personal and professional growth.
-
Marita Littauer
Applause Calendar
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SUBMISSION CALLOUTS:
Literary
Cottage currently
seeks entries for two, exciting new anthologies to
be published by Adams Media:
Woodstock Revisited, true stories by people
who attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival, deadline
September 7, 2008,
&
My Dog Is My Hero, stories
featuring a remarkable dog in your life, deadline
September 30, 2008.
Adams
Media pays $100 and one copy of the book. Literary
Cottage offers prizes of $100, $75, and $50 to top
three stories respectively.
For details, visit:
www.literarycottage.com
**********
Insight
Publishing seeks
speakers to co-author books featuring Stephen
Covey, Jack Canfield, General Alexander Haig, Jr.,
and Ken Blanchard. For information:
visit insightpublishing.com
**********
Chicken Soup
-
Baking
with Kids
Deadline
Dec. 31
Info
available online at
www.chickensoup.com
**********
Chicken
Soup
-
Celebrating
Life's Most Embarassing Moments
Deadline
Dec. 31
Info
available onine at www.chickensoup.com
**********
Chicken
Soup -
Twins
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Spotlight
Service:
Have you been working on a
project for a long time, but you just aren't sure
if it is good enough to send to publishers or even
how to approach publishers? CLASS Grads and faculty
members, Lee Warren and Tama Westman have been
helping writers for years in that regard and
recently combined forces to launch a new business
designed to help writers even more.
A
Write Start Communications
offers standard editing and critiquing services as
well as some not so standard services,
including:
Blog setup / evaluations
Writer's website design / evaluations
Mentoring / Coaching
Writer for Hire
and more...
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If you would like to bring CLASS to your church or
community, contact Karen
Porter.
CLASServices,
Inc.
2201 San Pedro Dr., NE
Building 1, Suite 225
Albuquerque, NM 87110
800.433.6633
www.classervices.com
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