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Success
Stories
After attending my first writers’
conference at Cuesta a couple of years ago, I
decided to get serious about a book I had been working
on for 11 years and
placed on a back burner. The conference assisted me with
such basic
information as being able to determine the genre of the
material I was writing.
Over the years I had my share of refusals but after the
Central Coast Writers’
Conference, I sat down and reviewed what I was working
on, changed the focus
of the manuscript, and am delighted that O Books (www.o-books.net)
read the
revised manuscript and offered me a contract which I
signed in October last
year—in fact, exactly at the time of last year's
Conference. My website is
www.dancinginthefootstepsofeve.com.
My sincere thanks to all the Central
Coast Writers’ Conference and its influence on my
determination to try once
more to make my dream a reality.
- Heather Mendel, author of Dancing In the
Footsteps of Eve
I used Steve Mettee’s advice on writing
a nonfiction book proposal and received
a response from a publisher three days after I sent it
out. A month later, I signed
the contract. The book came out with Book Publishing a
year later.
- Cathe Olson, author of Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan
Ice Creams Your
Mouth Will Love
A workshop with
Dennis Palumbo provided ideas regarding mystery writing,
which helped me complete Drop Dead Art.
Dennis also said that publishers were unlikely to take a
mystery that was not part of a series. So I decided to
publish Drop Dead Art through
print-on-demand and then begin the second in the series,
which I am working on now.
-
Andy Greensfelder, author of Drop Dead Art
The Central Coast
Writers' Conference was helpful in the successful
publication of my book How Great Decisions Get
Made (AMACOM 2004). I gained value from the
sessions about how to develop query letters and book
proposals, write engaging non-fiction, and use op-eds
and other tools to publicize the ideas and boost sales.
I'm working on my next book: Building Great Talent.
- Don Maruska, author of How Great Decisions Get Made
I attended the
poetry classes, found them encouraging. Applied to and
got accepted at a new local online journal,
Slocoastjournal.com.
- Jeanie
Greensfelder
I had two stories published by the
Chicken Soup for the Soul series, because of one of your
attendees, Anna Unkovich, who was a co-editor of the
book--Chicken Soup for the Soul in the Classroom.
Because of this publication, I have been contacted by
teachers from Texas and Florida, asking me questions
about my stories, and permission for them to use my
story(s) in their projects. My two stories are titled, "My
First Kiss, and Then Some..." and , "Wearing
9/11". Also, because of this publication, I was
asked to do a live reading of "My First Kiss.."
at the Cohan Center for the Performing Arts, but did not
happen because of scheduling difficulties.
- Mary Jane West-Delgado
I attended the Central
Coast Writers' Conference in 2005, when I was seventeen
years old and a senior in high school. Last year,
Eraserhead Press -- an independent publisher based out
of Portland, Oregon -- published my first book,
Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden. They will be
releasing my second later this year. Since attending
the conference, I have also had stories and poems
published in Sein und Werden, Bare Bone, The Dream
People, Bust Down the Door and Eat All the Chickens,
and The Horror Library Vol. II, among
other print and web publications. Although many people
in literary communities hold the belief that writing
fiction without a secondary income is neither possible
or sustainable in this socioeconomic climate, I am
hardset on proving that it is a realistic, achievable
goal. When harvesting a dream and a passion, no
sacrifice can be considered too costly.
- Cameron Pierce,
author of Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden
The title of my book is, This is a Good Day to
Live. I self-published it in 2004 and used a
local printer, Poor Richards Press. My first run was
500 copies, of which I've sold 375. Writing the book is
one of the hardest things I have ever done. Marketing
the finished product almost as hard. Proceeds from the
book go to the Amber Carter Memorial Scholarship Fund at
Arroyo Grande High School. As of this year, we have
given 31 scholarships in Amber's name. I have
the conference to thank for keeping me on task during
the years of writing, selecting a title, self-publishing
options, and support of writing in general. The
information I gleaned from all the teachers has
been instrumental in the completion and goals I set
leading up to the actual printing and finished product.
- Janine
Carter, author of This is a
Good Day to Live
My first
mystery novel, Murder in Los Lobos,
published by Fithian Press, won second place in the
Novel category of the 2007 Lillian Dean First Pages
Contest. (It also won third place in the Dark Oak
contest, sponsored by Oak Tree Press
in Taylorville, IL.)
I met John Daniel at the Central Coast Writer's
Conference several years ago and the connection made
then paid off when I submitted the manuscript to him
shortly after the 2007 conference ended.
- Sue
McGinty, author of Murder in Los Lobos
My newly published
book, Parenting Solutions: Encouragement for
Everyday Parenting Concerns, newly released by
Paragon House Publishers, would not have been published
without the help of the Central Coast Writer's
Conference. When I first attended the Writer's
Conference I had no idea how to begin the process of
getting a book published. I had the book written but I
needed to know what to do next. I was inspired by the
speakers and the workshop leaders to help me think that
it may be possible. I received valuable guidelines on
how to write a proposal (which to me turned out to be
more difficult than writing the book!). I was directed
to the Writer's Market Book in the Library to find the
specific nonfiction publishers that might be interested
in publishing a parenting book. I focused my efforts on
these publishers and was finally successful after two
years of sending proposals until one expressed interest.
- Joan Rice, author Parenting Solutions:
Encouragement for Everyday Parenting Concerns
I was fortunate to win the Lillian Dean Award in 2006.
The prestige of that award, I believe, helped me win a
$10,000 dollar award from Jerry Jenkins Christian Guild
in 2009.
Thank you for all you and your conference does for
writers.
-
Mal King
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