Talks & Presentations


1. Effective Blogging for Writers: 10 Core Strategies
A blog can be a great tool . . . or a bottomless sink-hole for time and writing energy. A good blogging strategy can increase your online visibility, develop content and marketing tools, and build an audience. This program will offer 10 strategies for effective blogs for published or unpublished authors that you can use right away.

2. Developing a Sense of Place
What do great stories do? They take you to another place! Indeed, the role of place is often as important as that of plot and character development. As one great writer, Wendell Berry, said: if you don’t know where you are . . . you don’t know who you are. We'll look at a half-dozen basic techniques for creating a stronger Sense of Place in your stories.

3. Developing Book Projects
A session or workshop on developing book projects. Includes techniques for creating a book-worthy, market-savvy idea, organizing the project, writing it, pitching it, and general factors in creating a successful book in this climate. Look at pros and cons of publishing options: large press, small press, and self-publishing.

4. The Power of Storytelling
In these changing times, with an abundance of free "information" at hand over the Internet, the value of the great story – and the ability of the writer to recognize, research, and craft a good one – will increase. As writers, how do we actually craft stories out of the raw stuff we work with? What is a story? Why does it catch our fancy and stick in our mind? This presentation look at three basic components of the story with zing, and at a number of specific techniques to apply make your storytelling more engaging.

5. From Hobbits to Harry Potter
(On Writing & Enjoying Fantasy Fiction)
In recent years, books by J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Stephenie Meyer have sold hundreds of millions of copies, reflecting the immense popularity of the rich and diverse genre of fantasy in literature and film.

What do the many diverse types of fantasy fiction have in common, and what differentiates them? And why have we turned so wholeheartedly to fantasy stories in the 21st century? As Newbery Award-winning author Lloyd Alexander said, "Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it." This presentation, by the author of A Guide to Fantasy Literature, will unravel the secrets of successful fantasy fiction for writers and readers alike.


Presenter Bio
Philip Martin is series editor of The New Writer's Handbook, an annual anthology of advice for writers on craft and career ("surprising and satisfying" -- Library Journal, Starred Review; Gold medal in careers category in 2007 indie-press Book of the Year Award competition), and past acquisitions editor for The Writer Books, affiliated with The Writer magazine. He now offers editorial, marketing, and, on occasion, boutique publishing services for writers as director of Great Lakes Literary (www.GreatLakesLit.com). He has edited and published fiction and nonfiction books for adults and young readers. He has also worked as a folklorist, documenting Midwestern folkways, and is the author of several books on regional culture based on oral interviews and field research. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Visit his blog for writers at www.writershandbook.wordpress.com

Short Bio
Philip Martin offers editorial, marketing, and publishing services for writers as director of Great Lakes Literary and LitWave. He is also series editor of The New Writer's Handbook, an annual anthology of advice for writers on craft and career, and a past acquisitions editor for The Writer Books. He has also edited and produced nonfiction and fiction titles for adults and young readers, winning a number of indie-press book awards for editorial and design excellence. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.