Storycrafting and Wordsmithing
The winning combination to Discovering, Creating and Publishing the Novel in you!
Are you just starting and need someone to walk you through the process? Are you further along and just want to sit down with someone who understands books and talk through your story? Maybe smooth out some rough parts? Get some direction on how to make it stronger, tips on making it shine? How about feedback on promotion and even a chance to pitch it to an agent? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a coach to help you on the journey?
Yeah, we think so too. And that’s why we’ve designed four retreats in conjunction with the purposes of My Book Therapy – to help writers discover the novel inside. From idea to plot, to story problems, to polish, promotion and pitch, MBT Coaching retreats will help you take the story brewing in your heart and make it a reality.
Storycrafters Retreat
October 2014 (dates TBA) – Minneapolis, MN
Come with an idea – leave with a story!
How do you take your ideas and turn them into a story? How do you know if it’s commercial? Where do you start?
This retreat, set just outside of Minneapolis during the beautiful fall season is designed for a writer who knows they have a story to write…but needs help putting it together into a plot. Come with your idea, leave with a game plan.
We’ll teach you story structure, and then go step by step in the character creation and plotting process, explaining how to determine each step, and then coach you as you apply it to your story. We’ll brainstorm ideas with you, and you’ll receive a workbook that will act as a map when you get home. Finally, we’ll share a few secrets that will propel your book from average to award-winning.
For beginners to advanced writers who just want a guide along the way, The Story-crafters Weekend will jumpstart your novel on the road to publication.
Wordsmithing Retreat
The MBT Deep Thinkers retreat
February 21-27, 2014 – Destin, Florida
A great story is both the storycrafting and the wordsmithing. Designed to meet the individual needs of every writer and their story, this retreat concentrates on the prose on the page.
With teaching in the morning and writing time in the afternoon, this is a true writing retreat. Designed to help you craft great prose, the Book Therapists will give your book “on the spot” therapy to work out kinks in your plot and help you layer in emotion for your scene. You’ll having a writing mentor within arm’s reach, for watever you need.
Stay for all five days, or just the weekend, but plan on writing, and learning the tools to deepen your craft. With a limited number of participants, you will be encouraged and challenged to think deeply about this story…and the next one.
Set in beautiful Florida in February, the Deep Thinker’s Retreat is all about great writing.
Kiss and Tell: How to write a Romance
April 25-27, 2014 Memphis, TN
Romance continues to be the most selling genre in both the ABA and CBA…and let’s face it, men and women love a great romance. But a satisfying romance isn’t just about a great kiss! It’s about two people learning how to love, sacrifice and believe that love will win the day. A great romance incorporates both stellar basic storycrafting and a powerful romantic storyline into one package of both powerful character change and a resounding romantic saga.
In this seminar, you’ll learn all the elements of how to combine great foundational storycrafting with a compelling romance. You’ll learn the 10 ingredients to romance, how to build those ingredients, and then how to apply them to your romance. You’ll learn why there are only two structures to a great romance, and how this strengthens your story. You’ll learn why people fall in love, and how to convince your reader that yes, indeed, this romance will last long beyond the pages. You’ll learn how to write a great kiss, how to create the perfect breakup (instead of one built in misunderstandings!) and how to seal the deal with a heroic grand gesture or sacrifice at the end.
Taught by RITA award-winning, best-selling Romance Author Susan May Warren, you’ll learn the secrets of how to write a powerful romance.
The Scrimmage!
(Pitch and Promotion Practice before the ACFW Conference!)
September 25, 2013
(The morning before the ACFW Conference)
Your story has a brilliant plot.
Engaging characters.
It’s well written.
You even have a few key endorsers lined up.
But can you sell it?
You only get one chance to make a first impression…one open door to pitch your novel, one moment to create a memory.
We’ll teach you how to make it count.
Let us help you get in shape for the ACFW conference with MBT’s Pitch and Promotion Scrimmage!
You know you have a powerful story, but if you don’t know how to pitch it, an agent or editor won’t catch your vision, join you on the journey to publication. My Book Therapy is all about helping authors get published…and we’re focusing on pitching and promotion of your novel in this powerful pre-conference seminar.
First, we’ll teach you the difference between a high concept and low concept novel and how to to find the dramatic irony of your story. Then, we’ll teach you the tools on how to craft a powerful pitch.
But, we’re just getting started. You’ll take these tools and apply them to your story, working in small groups with trained My Book Therapy pitching coaches, people who have learned how to pitch their novels through intense MBT pitch and proposal training. They’ll work with you to craft the perfect pitch, and practice with you until you learn to deliver it with confidence.
And then….and then you’ll learn how to make a powerful impact on agents and editors during the conference from best-selling author and marketing guru, Jim Rubart. He’ll teach you how to get noticed and leave positive impression.
Not only that, but we’ll answer all those questions about what to do after the conference, teaching how to decipher “agent-speak,” and overviewing what goes into a query letter and proposal package.
Finally, we’ll finish with words of encouragement to empower you to walk into the largest Christian writer’s conference in the nation with confidence.
A good scrimmage is about preparing you for the “big event.” Join us for this powerful seminar designed to help you bring your A game to the ACFW conference.
Let us help you reach your publishing destination!
