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Short Storyathon- Become a published author in a weekend! October
October 15, 2021 @ 5:00 pm - October 17, 2021 @ 5:00 pm
Become a published author in a weekend!
This virtual short story event will take you from idea creation (on Friday night) all the way to your published short story on Amazon by Sunday! This is a fast-paced, hard-working weekend, but so rewarding.
Many attendees, even first time authors, hit the top rankings in their genre and a few have even become best sellers!
Why a short story?
Because it’s a quick way to get writing and see the process of publishing a quality product (because you can produce something good in a weekend and we’ve seen it happen every time).
If you’re building an author platform, this is a good way to create an introduction to your other novels. If you’ve never written, it’s a good way to start getting readers.
Your Facilitator
Sonja Dewing is a best-selling author and award-winning creative writer. She has several books on Amazon as well as a wealth of short stories. She brings that experience here to help you get publishing.
Ready? Buy your tickets and let’s get writing!
Reviews
“I enjoyed the challenge of creating with a deadline in mind and I deeply appreciated the generous and supportive environment created by the instructor and participants alike.” -Elisabeth Loya
“I participated in the Oct 2018 short story-a-thon! It was an awesome supportive experience that got me through the story and the publishing process in a weekend!! I will be doing this again. Thank you!!” -Winter Flack
“I had a terrific time at this workshop. We began Friday with a brief lesson on creative writing, then a walking tour of downtown Albuquerque where we sought inspiration for our writing. Saturday was devoted to creating pieces with the assistance of professional editors. Today was about publishing our stories on Kindle Direct, complete with story cover. It was a marathon session, inspiration to publishing in three days. It certainly spurred me to complete my tales and taught me it is possible to get them out there for others to enjoy.” – Chris Allen
About Pricing
The cost per person to hold the workshop is $99 for virtual – this includes a professional editor, and the time of the facilitator in helping you get to publishing. I never want finances to be a barrier. So I ask you to pay the amount you can afford (you’ll see 3 different ticket options) – and if you can contribute extra to support someone else, I thank you in advance.
Keep in mind, if you’re a Women’s Thriller Writers Association member, you get 50% off the standard ticket. Not a member yet? You can join here: https://womensthrillerwriters.com/be-creative-with-the-womens-thriller-writers-association/
Our Schedule
Friday night 6pm – meet on Zoom
We’ll discuss how to write a short story and how to find ideas for your story (if you don’t have one already).
Saturday 8am – meet on Zoom (we’ll be working all day on our story)
We’ll start with some writing sprints to get us going.
We’ll check in every hour and have a Facebook group to connect in between check ins.
Then take a quick break while we talk about book covers and consider hiring a book cover artist (they run $60 to $250) Or if you don’t want to hire an artist, I’ll show you how to use Canva.
Then keep writing all morning.
After lunch we’ll sit down and review each other’s work, so we can get ideas on what needs to be improved. Then, it’s editing time.
In the evening, your stories will be sent to our professional editor(s). They will edit the first three pages of stories you started that weekend (this is so everyone gets some professional editing on their story). Also, this is paid as part of your purchase.
Sunday 11am – meet on Zoom
(We’ll work up until around 5 or 6pm)
We’ll sleep in a little after all that work. Then it’s back to work. We’ll polish our stories in the morning.
Then, I’ll go over how to set up your story on Amazon by covering details like title, categories, blurb, etc.
Then, we’ll celebrate when we hit the publish button!
Limited spaces:
I’m limiting this event to only 25 attendees, so you probably want to buy your ticket now, and before the super early bird prices go away.
Check out some of our author’s stories that they’ve published:
The Glass Stiletto: A Fractured Fairy Tale – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W4TYNJ1
Jane – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQF4JD9
Getting Out – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KPRLSYG
Walk Right – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KPLDP65
Alma de Santa Fe – https://www.amazon.com/Alma-Santa-Fe-Elisabeth-Loya-ebook/dp/B07DZTC9H6
The Short Storyathon is held once a quarter – 2021 schedule:
June 25-27
August 27-29
October 15-17
Looking forward to working with you! Don’t forget to buy your ticket.