2nd Speaking Engagement - GWU Hillel

I am speaking about Girl: Classified and the process of writing a novel again--this time at the George Washington University Hillel on Wednesday April 14th at 7:30 pm. If you would like to come on out, please just let me know. I can forward the address and any other information to you upon request.

GWU Speaking Engagement

Today I was a speaker at George Washington University on a panel discussing women's literature and chicklit. It was a great experience! Published authors always talk about the importance of networking and marketing yourself. I saw it first hand today. I met some great people who had ideas on how I could move forward with my writing projects.

The other speaker on the panel was a GWU teacher who did her dissertation at Delaware on Chicklit (although, her professor wouldn't let her use the specific term in her dissertation's title...) She is introducing me to her friend who's a published author and who is starting a writer's circle. A writer's circle is a group of writers who give each other constructive critism and tips on writing/publishing. I've been looking for a circle that includes authors focusing on women's fiction.

An audience member also gave me a great tip. She's the Director of Engagement at GWU's Hillel. She would like me to speak again with her specific contingent. I'm looking forward to that! She also said that Lilith Magazine is looking to do a story on Washington DC writers, so she is planning to give them my name. Lilith magazine features award-winning investigative reports, new rituals and celebrations, first-person accounts both contemporary and historical, entertainment reviews, fiction and poetry, art and photography--all with a focus on Jewish women.

Third, another audience member talked to me about Book Expo America. The next conference is in NYC on May 26th. Many authors, publishers, and agents congregate at the BEA to trade ideas and network. I hadn't heard of the conference before, but I'm looking into new avenues for networking, so it was a great tidbit of info.

All in all, the speaking engagement today was a fulfilling use of time...and fun! It was interesting to discuss favorite authors with other women. We also had an intellectual conversation about why the term chicklit is a bit dirty in the publishing world--why the genre went downhill after an influx of poorly written books in the beginning 2000's--an how chicklit writers are reinventing themselves under the term "women's fiction" or just plain "literary fiction" instead.

Thank you again to Erica for setting this up and inviting me!

I'm speaking at George Washington University March 8th

George Washington University is having a symposium on chicklit-Monday March 8th-for faculty and other employees. The symposium consists of a book swap, a lecture by one of the GWU professors, and a discussion about writing chicklit with me! Erica set it up and asked if I'd speak; thank you, Erica!

I'm planning to talk about this blog www.girlclassified.blogspot.com , my website www.girlclassified.com, how I wrote Girl: Classified, the Golden Heart Awards, and the process of getting published.

As part of the discussion on how I wrote Girl: Classified, I'm going to touch on the advantages of keeping a detailed outline of the novel as you're writing. I never got writer's blog while crafting Girl: Classified because anytime I had an idea about the storyline, I'd add it into my outline. Then anytime I sat down to write, I'd just work off the outline.

I can't wait to speak about this topic. This is the first time that I've been asked to talk as an "authority" on chicklit, and it's pretty exciting!