AUTHOR BOOT CAMP for published and unpublished authors at ICRS

Suspense author keynotes author seminar

Author Brandilyn Collins’s keynote session “A Stallion Named Betsy: When Expectations Fail,” will kick off Author Boot Camp, a seminar for published and aspiring authors, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 28, as part of the International Christian Retail Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

The free event includes a continental breakfast and two training tracks, one for aspiring authors and the other for published authors.

Collins has a heart for fellow authors and for seeing them fulfill the calling God has on their lives to use their creative gifts. With nearly 30 books in the market – most of them her trademark “Seatbelt Suspense” novels – she knows what authors go through to create their art. Her novels have won Carol Awards; an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award; Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice award; an Inspy, the bloggers’ award for excellence in faith-driven literature; and Christian Retailing’s Best Awards.

A panel of nine publishing experts will help unpublished writers learn the writing habits, marketing skills, and social media tools necessary to publish and market a book. A question and answer time with speakers follows sessions. Speakers include Somersault marketing strategist Cindy Lambert, Tyndale House Publishers President and CEO Mark Taylor and many more.

Panelists will address important questions and topics: great writing habits for aspiring writers, book marketing and the social network, what a literary agent actually does, and more. A portion of time will be allocated for questions and answers with panel speakers.

For published authors, marketing experts Larry Carpenter (Carpenter’s Son Publishing), Fred St Laurent (Book Club Network), Joni Baker (Buoyancy Public Relations), and Suzanne Kuhn (SuzyQ), and Scott Shuford (FrontGate Media) will teach writers skills needed to promote, market, and distribute their works to improve book sales.

For more information, visit www.ChristianRetailShow.com/AuthorBootCamp. Register for the free event at the door. Registration for the convention exhibit floor requires a fee.