Press Release: Red Dirt Book Festival Authors Meet Their Fans

Red Dirt Book Festival authors meet their fans during festival book signings

With the theme “Imagine Oklahoma,” Red Dirt Book Festival will take place November 6 and 7 in Shawnee, Oklahoma at the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center and on the campuses of Oklahoma Baptist University and St. Gregory’s University.

“One of the most popular events of the festival is always when the authors meet and greet their fans to sign their books and just talk. Friday and Saturday have times set aside for this in the festival’s Exhibit Hall and Book Store,” said Cindy Stevens festival planner. “The book store will have books written by each author for sale throughout the festival.”

Red Dirt Book Festival attendees will have an exciting chance to get up close and personal with many Red Dirt authors. On Friday, November 6, from 2-3 p.m. the following authors will host a meet and greet in the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center: Dorothy Alexander, Michele Bardsley, Pamela Bracken, Nathan Brown, Jeanetta Calhoun-Mish, David Charlson, Margaret Daley, Jordan Dane, Mildred Dennis, Dayna Dunbar, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, David Farris, Diane Glancy, Ken Hada, Bill Hagen, P.J. Hoover, Steven Hunt, Crystal Inman, Hannibal Johnson, Davis D. Joyce, Phil Kemp, Jennifer Kidney, Carolyn B. Leonard, Billie Letts, Patricia Loughlin, Vickie McDonough, Victoria Nourse, Stacy Nyikos, Mel Odom, Mark Robinson, Greg Rodgers, Randy Russell, Sharon Sala, Charles Sasser, Carol Dean Schreiner, Steven Schroeder, Sandra Soli, Gloria Teague, Tim Tingle, Larry Van Meter, Steve Wedel, KD Wentworth, and Dale Whisman.

Additionally, the following authors will be hosting another book signing Saturday, November 7, from 2-3 p.m. on the first floor of the Oklahoma Baptist University Geiger Center: Dorothy Alexander, Michele Bardsley, Pamela Bracken, Nathan Brown, Jeanetta Calhoun-Mish, Connie Cronley, Jordan Dane, Mildred Dennis, Dayna Dunbar, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Diane Glancy, Ken Hada, Bill Hagen, Steven Hunt, Hannibal Johnson, Davis D. Joyce, Carolyn B. Leonard, Billie Letts, Patricia Loughlin, Romney Nesbit, Mel Odom, Linda Reese, Mark Robinson, Greg Rodgers, Randy Russell, Charles Sasser, Carol Dean Schreiner, Steven Schroeder, Sandra Soli, Gloria Teague, Tim Tingle, Larry Van Meter, Steve Wedel, and Dale Whisman.

The book store will be open in the Exhibit Hall of the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center on Friday, November 6, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on the first floor of the Geiger Center at Oklahoma Baptist University on Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Support for the festival is provided by the Pioneer Library System, the Oklahoma Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as community support including the Shawnee Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma Baptist University and St. Gregory’s University and many local donors and volunteers.

Filed under: press release, writing , fans, Oklahoma, Red Dirt Book Festival, writer, writers, writing

Writing Class at ECU in Ada, Oklahoma

I haven’t publicized this much as yet, but I will be teaching a writing class through ECU’s Continuing Education/Public Service Program in Ada.

If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in taking this class, please call the number I’ll give you in a minute and sign up. As of right now, there is one person enrolled. I am willing to do the class for two or three people, but I can’t do it for just one.

Here’s the blurb as it appears in the ECU catalog:

If you have an interest in writing and selling your work, this class is for you. In this class you will learn how to find a market for writing articles or essays that you have a passion and expertise in. Instructor Jennifer Nipps is an award winning, multi-published freelance writer and has training in teaching adults.

Make Money Writing: 0209-PQ34
10/20-11/17 (5) TU 7:00-9:00 $60 310 FE

You can call 580-559-5456 to enroll.

If you would like a little more info on what will be covered in the class, feel free to e-mail me. I’ll be glad to answer any questions.

Feel free to forward this to anyone in the Ada area — or anyone willing to travel to Ada one night a week for five weeks — you think might be interested.

Filed under: writing , Ada Oklahoma, article, East Central University, ECU, Jen Nipps, jennipps, Oklahoma, queries, query, rejection, submissions, write, writer, writers, writing

Press Release: Imagine Oklahoma at Red Dirt Book Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pioneer Library System
CONTACT: Galyn Cresap, Public Relations Specialist
Telephone; 701-2674
E-mail: gcresap@pls.lib.ok.us

Imagine Oklahoma at Red Dirt Book Festival

SHAWNEE—More than 70 well-known writers, entertainers, and scholars with Oklahoma roots are preparing to be in Shawnee, Okla. on November 6 and 7 to present 40 programs for hundreds of reading enthusiasts and aspiring writers. The fourth biennial Red Dirt Book Festival will be held at the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center on Friday, November 6, and at Oklahoma Baptist University on Saturday, November 7. The public is invited to attend any or all of the programs associated with the festival. Registration for most Red Dirt Book Festival events is free and can be done online at www.reddirtbookfestival.com through October 15.

Imagine Oklahoma is the conversational theme for the 2009 festival, and will be illustrated by several featured presenters who help the world image Oklahoma through their work on television. Ron Stahl, co-host of the Integris Discover Oklahoma series will speak at the Opening General Session at the Expo Center at 9 a.m. Friday, November 6. The luncheon speaker on Friday is Susan Miller, producer of the Gallery series on OETA-TV. The Friday evening banquet speaker is Galen Culver, producer of the Is This a Great State or What! series for KFOR-TV. Also performing at the banquet which will be held at the Potawatomi Cultural Heritage Center are the Red Dirt Rangers.

The featured author for the 2009 festival is Billie Letts, best known for her debut novel, Where the Heart Is which became a York Times Best Seller, an Oprah Book Club selection, and a major motion picture. Letts has written three more novels, all with Oklahoma settings and characters. Her latest work, Made in the USA, was published in 2008. Letts will speak at OBU’s Raley Chapel at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 7. Copies of her novels will be available for purchase and autographing following the presentation.

Previous featured authors have included Tony Hillerman, the first American author whose work was featured on the PBS series, Mystery!; Bob Burke, 2006 Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee who has written 70 historical non-fiction books; Fred R. Harris, former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma and widely published author of nonfiction, including Does People Do It? A Memoir; and Carolyn Hart, master of mystery and suspense and the first author to win all three major mystery awards for her novels–the Agatha, the Anthony, and the Macavity awards.

Those interested in attending any portion of the festival may visit their nearest hometown public library in Cleveland, McClain and Pottawatomie counties to pick up a free copy of the winter 2009 edition of WORD Magazine which contains complete festival information including a list of presenters and donors.

Major support for the festival is provided the Pioneer Library System, the Oklahoma Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ar-Hale Family Foundation, Dougherty Fund, and Kirkpatrick Family Fund.  Additional support comes from the Shawnee Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma Baptist University and St. Gregory’s University and many local donors and volunteers.

Filed under: press release, writing , Billie Letts, Bob Burke, Imagine Oklahoma, Oklahoma, press release, Red Dirt Book Festival, Tony Hillerman, write, writer, writers, writing

Slow & Steady Wins the Race

A few months ago, one of my cousins went to the Bahama’s and brought me the turtle in the picture. I put it by my computer in my writing space. I think it’s a perfect metaphor for writing, in more ways than one. The writing, revising, and submission processes are slow. The hurrieder you go, the behinder you get.

Do you remember Aesop’s fable of the toirtoise and the hare? As a refresher, here it is:

There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

Hare ran down the road for a while and then and paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, “How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?”

Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, “There is plenty of time to relax.”

Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line.

The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare.

Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line.

After that, Hare always reminded himself, “Don’t brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!”

In writing, we have to be more like the tortoise. Keep plodding along and we will reach the finish line. Sometimes, though this wasn’t included in Aesop’s fable, we help others along the way (as shown by my friendly little turtle above who has another turtle riding on his back).

Keep with it. Keep writing. And if you need a little pick-me-up, remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. If that doesn’t help…

E-mail me. I’ll give you a little pep talk if that’s what you need.

Filed under: writing , Aesop's fables, Jen Nipps, jennipps, query, submissions, tortoise and the hare, write, writer, writers, writing

To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym (Or: Why I Use the User ID I Do)

(Note: This is about what name I choose to use for various accounts/sites online, not for what name I choose to write/be published under.)

When I first found the internet in the late 1990s, I didn’t want my name out there. I didn’t want people to know who I was. At the time, I barely let people know I was a writer.

That, obviously, has changed. People know I write. They know I have had things published.

Sometimes they even look for me.

That is the main reason I use a version of my name as my user ID on sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Plurk, etc.

There is a marketing strategy used among many professions, but seems most common among writers, of transparency. You make no effort to hide who you are or what you do. You’re open and honest about yourself, your business, and what you do.

That’s what I try to do.

There’s another reason, too, though. From time to time, disagreements crop up on the Internet, as in life in general. But there is a key difference.

On the Internet, you can use a pseudonym for your user ID. You don’t have to use your actual name. Because of that, it’s easy to hide from what you say. You don’t have to take ownership of what you have said and can pretend it didn’t happen.

In life, you can’t do that.

I generally don’t go to places where such things are common practice, but eventually, wherever I go, things are bound to happen that cause disagreements and confrontations on some level.

This is my name. I have to take responsibility for what I say. I can’t hide behind a pseudonym.

That’s another reason I use a version of my name online. It keeps me honest with myself as well as with whoever might read what I write.

Filed under: writing , Jen Nipps, jennipps, LinkedIn, Plurk, pseudonym, Twitter, user ID, write, writer, writers, writing

Quick Conference Wrap-Up

The Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., conference was this weekend. I came away with three great things.

1. On Friday afternoon, I had an appointment with Dan Case, editor of WritingForDollars and publisher of AWOC Books. Last year, I learned that he was doing a “Devoted to…” series of devotional books. As of right now, there are Devoted to Writing, Devoted to Cooking, Devoted to Fishing, and Devoted to Truck Driving. I wanted to pitch DEVOTED TO CREATING.

A few weeks ago, he posted on Twitter that he was accepting appointments at the conference (which I knew about) and I replied I already had an appointment with him. He asked me to e-mail 10 pages of “something” to him so we would have a more productive 10 minutes.

So, as I’m sure you’ve figured…He wants it!!

2. Also…In May, with the writers’ organization, we change officers. This year, I’m Publicity Director. I’ve already started on that. OWFI is now on Twitter.

I have ideas of other social media-type ways to promote the organization between now and the next conference.

3. My historical romance novel-in-progress, BENEN’S BURDEN, won 1st Honorable Mention in the Historical category of the OWFI contest.

The keynote speaker for the banquet on Friday night was the amazing Tess Gerritsen. I had a previous commitment/promise to help with moving some baskets, so I didn’t get to go to her booksigning afterward. She is a wonderful speaker. The crux of it, in my opinion, was her closing line: “Write from the heart because that’s where the stories are.”

Also on Friday, I hosted a buzz session on Twitter, microblogging, and blogging in general. Around 10-15 people came through (in & out). There is some interest in an actual conference session on it sometime in the future.

Who knows? It could happen.

Filed under: writing , AWOC Books, blogging, buzz session, Dan Case, historical romance, Jen Nipps, jennipps, microblogging, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Writers' Federation, romance, Tess Gerritsen, Twitter, write, writer, writers, writing, WritingforDollars

Busy Busy Bee

Early in the month, I had applied for a writing gig about writing health articles. I had resisted it for a while, but eventually common sense won out.

I do medical transcription. I have internists, gastroenterologists, pediatricians, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, psychiatrists, and psychologists I can call in for expert sources.

So I applied for the gig and promptly forgot about it.

One day last week, I got an e-mail stating they were interested in working for me but would like a health-related sample article rather than the writing- and freelance-related ones I had submitted.

I weighed the pros and cons. I researched the company. I finally decided to take the risk and do the sample article. If they took it and ran, shame on me. I submitted it, as requested, by Sunday evening.

They didn’t take it and run.

I got an e-mail Wednesday afternoon requesting an invoice and mailing information so they could send me a check. They liked the article! They also asked when I could start writing for them regularly.

Of course, I said, basically, “whenever you want me to.”

So I got another e-mail with a list of topics for my next assignments due by next Friday.

The point, other than I’m very happy to have a new gig and have some work coming in that’s not from the day job?

Persistence pays off. Keep on keeping on. Set goals for yourself and work towards them.

I’m still doing that. What I have now isn’t enough for me to go full-[time yet, but I’m working on it and definitely making progress.

Filed under: writing , applications, article, freelance, freelance writer, freelance writing, goal-setting, goals, Jen Nipps, jennipps, submissions, write, writer, writers, writing

Membership in a Writers’ Group Vital to Writing?

On Saturday, I had a conversation with my Granny that went something like this:

Her: So are you still going to the writers’ group?
Me: No.
Her: Well, why not?
Me: The one here doesn’t really offer me anything useful.
Her: Well, are you still writing?
Me: Yes, and I’m starting to make some money with it.
Her: You are??

I’m actually proud of myself that on her question about if I were still writing, I didn’t go with my first reaction, which would have  been “DUH!“

I wonder, though, why some people think it’s of the utmost importance that writers be members of an in-person writers’ group. A good group, like the one I was a member of for several years, can be a great help and a marvelous asset. A bad one can drag you down, leave you uninspired, and eventually lead to lower writing output.

That’s not what I wanted for myself.

That’s why I decided the local writers’ group didn’t work for me. Yes, it can and will be an asset to someone else and I wish every single member in that group the best of luck with their writing.

I don’t think it’s all that vital to be a member of a writers’ group, though. At least, not an in-person one. I get a lot of feedback, support, and encouragement from online groups. Yes, I’d like to be able to go to a good in-person group again, but unless I want to walk 60+ miles one way, that won’t happen unless/until I start one myself.

(For that matter, belonging to Toastmasters is also somehow encouraging/inspiring writing-wise.)

So what groups do I go to online?

The main ones are Web Writing Wonders and the AbsoluteWrite Water Cooler, but there are others I go to.

Even then, do you think Dickens belonged to a writers’ group? What about Plato?

There have been writers a lot longer than there have been writers’ groups. They may likely have had their personal support systems, but that’s not an actual group.

Therefore, to my way of thinking, they’re not absolutely necessary. Helpful, yes. Necessary, no.

You — I — can be writers without belonging to any kind of writers’ group. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Filed under: writing , AbsoluteWrite, AbsoluteWrite Water Cooler, Dickens, Jen Nipps, jennipps, Plato, Web Writing Wonders, write, writer, writers, writing

I’ll Be Teaching

A big part of writing, as I have always understood it, is teaching.

Most of the time, people read articles to learn something. Often, they read fact-based fiction (no, I will not call it “faction”) to learn something.

Many writers I know — Peggy Fielding, Romney Nesbitt, and Dusty Richards among them –  teach as a regular part of their writing.

It was around this time last year that I learned The Center of Continuing Education & Community Services at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, was looking for additional teachers to send proposals in for possible inclusion in the program.

I started working on a proposal, but there were a lot of unanswered questions for me. I didn’t know, really, how to go about getting the answers.

This year, I noticed they were still — again? — looking for teachers. There was a key difference, though. They were offering an informational class on how to do a proposal for the program. I signed up.

As a result of the class, I submitted a proposal for a class on how to make money writing. Unoriginally enough, I called it “Make Money Writing.”

One day last week, I found out that I will, indeed, be teaching that class this summer. It will be on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 June 2 through June 30. There will be a total of five classes. I plan to take participants through the process from finding ideas, finding markets, writing a query, and drafting the article.

Yes, there will be assignments throughout the class. Chief among them will be one I borrow from Peggy Fielding: Write at least 30 minutes every day.

A selling writer writes.

And, yes, I’ll be teaching.

Filed under: writing , East Central University, Jen Nipps, jennipps, Make Money Writing, Oklahoma, queries, query, teach, teaching, write, writer, writers, writing

On the Sci-Fi network Becoming Sy-Fy

You may or may not have heard the commotion about the Sci-Fi cable TV network changing its name to Sy-Fy. Honestly, when I first heard it, I thought it was a joke. Then I realized it wasn’t.

I have long thought that sci-fi (said “sigh-fie”) was a somewhat derogatory term for science fiction, as is “skiffy.” I suppose that’s why I don’t see the network changing its name as that big a deal.

Apparently, some people did — and do. That prompted these remarks from Sci-Fi network president David Howe.

Personally, I don’t lump fantasy, action & adventure, and horrror in with science fiction. Some do. I’m not going to argue about labels and semantics. If it works for them and that’s what they’ve been doing it, by all means, keep on keeping on.

Filed under: writing , action & adventure, fantasy, horror, Jen Nipps, jennipps, name change, sci-fi, Sci-Fi channel, Sci-Fi president David Howe, science fiction, skiffy, Sy-Fy, writing