HOP UP TO YOUR PLATFORM!!

Join us Saturday, February 14th at 10:30 a.m. as multi-published, award winning novelist, Kellie Coates Gilbert leads an interactive workshop:

 BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORM

We'll discover how to combine tools of social interaction so that you can exert some control over your career trajectory. We'll brainstorm ways to insert your personality and interests into the process so you can both find hidden pockets of readers that might already exist and attract the readers who would like to find you—and do so comfortably. We'll also take a fresh look at networks you already have in place to see if they're being used to your best advantage. The goal will be readiness to launch each of your books well, over and over, as you build a readership and a career.

YOU WILL DEFINITELY WANT TO      ATTEND THIS SESSION!!! 

A former legal investigator and trial paralegal, Kellie Coates Gilbert writes with a sympathetic, intimate knowledge of how people react under pressure. Her books tell emotionally poignant stories about woman in life-changing circumstances. Her next release, WHERE RIVERS PART, published through (Baker/Revell), releases on February 17th.ry 17.

Kellie Coates Gilbert spent nearly twenty-five years working in courtrooms and behind the scenes of some of the largest and most well-known cases in America. She was one of the lead paralegals in the Jack-in-the-Box litigation, where uncooked hamburger resulted in the deaths of several toddlers and made many more critically ill. In the late nineties, she investigated the nation’s largest cattle fraud, which is now the subplot of her recently released A WOMAN OF FORTUNE, the first release in a collection of contemporary women’s fiction stories all set in Texas. WHERE RIVERS PART releases this week, which features another of her cases which she’ll tell you about. In 2012, her debut MOTHER  OF PEARL garnered these kinds of reader comments:  “I simply couldn’t put it down.” “This book was breath-taking.” “You should have warned I’d need a box of Kleenex.”  Kellie is currently writing for Revell Books, a publishing imprint of Baker Publishing Group. Her books not only explore the heart issues that matter most to women, but often allow readers an inside peek into her former legal world. 

                             For more information, go to www.kelliecoatesgilbert.com

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers, fondly dubbed Ready Writers, meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed! Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft.

Members: remember to bring a $2.00 speaker's fee plus your annual $20.00 dues if you have not yet paid it for 2015.

Mary Hollingsworth – Saturday, March 13th

What's Happening in the Publishing Industry Today?

Mary Hollingsworth will give an overview of the changes and trends in our industry today, including the influence of the struggling economy. She will talk about up-and-coming publishing options, such as e-books, print-on-demand books, and self-publishing as alternatives to traditional publishing. She'll talk about branding and how to build your writer's "brand" (identity) and platform through Social Media Marketing.
Who is Mary Hollingsworth?

Mary Hollingsworth is the author of more than one hundred books and products. Sales of her books now top seven million copies, and her books have appeared on best-seller lists more than one hundred times. Mary has been a freelance author and managing editor since 1988. During her writing career, she has had more than ninety other works published, including articles, poetry, plays, and songs.

Some of her best-known books are Just Imagine with Barney the Dinosaur—the first hardcover picture book produced with the big purple guy; Hugs for Women; Hugs for Kids; Little Taps on the Shoulder from God; My Little Bible; The International Children’s Story Bible; and many others. She is currently writing a 365-day devotional for Tyndale House entitled The One Year Book of Laughter and Joy.

Mary served as a managing production editor for Worthy Books, Word Publishing, and Thomas Nelson, Inc., for more than fifteen years. She has also served as production editor for a number of major publishers, such as Guideposts Books, Integrity Publishers, WaterBrook Press, Howard Books/Simon & Schuster and others where she supervises the editorial production team for such well-known Christian authors as Billy Graham, Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll, Chuck Colson, Pat Robertson, Women of Faith, Patsy Clairmont, John MacArthur, and many others. She has also worked with Christian recording artists such as Sandi Patty, Amy Grant, Tammy Trent, Kathy Troccoli, and Michael W. Smith on various books and recordings.

She currently serves as the managing director of Creative Enterprises Studio—a writing and publishing association that assists publishers and individuals in the writing, editorial production, printing, and distribution of their books. You can see their work and services at CreativeEnterprisesLtd.com.

Mary’s background in publishing includes a wide variety of book genres and responsibilities: trade books, workbooks and study guides, gift books, devotionals, children’s picture books, Sunday school curriculum, adult and children’s Bibles and Bible story books, Bible reference books, cookbooks, and others. She has served as proofreader, copy editor, substantive editor, rewrite editor, co-author, general editor, managing editor, cover copywriter, and art director, among other assignments.

With a Bachelor of Science in Business Education from Abilene Christian University, Mary has minor equivalencies in journalism and Bible. Her master’s work is in journalism and communication.

Mary lives and works in Bedford, Texas, with her dog, Jazz, where she enjoys reading, collecting miniature and rare books, singing, and travel.

See http://www.maryhollingsworth.com/ for a more complete overview of Mary’s publishing career.