Memoir News Roundup: Teleseminar, Contest, Editing

by Matilda Butler on October 30, 2012

catnav-news-active-3Post #83 – Women’s Memoirs, News – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler

Memoir News #1: Free Teleseminar

Twice every year, the National Association of Memoir Writers holds an all day teleseminar. The next one is November 2. It’s free and you can sign up just by going to http://namw.org.

Here’s a quick overview:

Session One:
10 AM PST 11 AM MST 12 PM CST 1 PM EST

  • How to get Published, Reach Thousands of Readers, and Avoid Lawsuits with your Memoir, Mike O’Mary speaker


  • Session Two:
    11:15 PST 12:15 MST 1:15 PM CST 2:15 PM ES

  • Wired for Story: Using Brain Science to Write an Unforgettable Memoir, Lisa Cron speaker


  • Session Three:
    12:30 PM PST 1:30 PM MST 2:30 PM CST 3:30 PM EST

  • How to Use Your Blog to Get Your Story Told and Sold, Nina Amir


  • Session Four:
    1:45 PM PST 2:45 PM MST 3:45 PM CST 4:45 PM EST

  • Social Media Just for Writers: A Discussion about Apps and Tips to Create Author Success, Frances Caballo speaker


  • Session Five:
    3PM PST 4PM MST 5 PM CST 6 PM ES

  • How Understanding Your Publishing Options Makes You a Better Memoirist, Kamy Wicoff and Brooke Warner speakers




  • Lots of great information from experts.

    Memoir News #2: Memoir Contest

    If you’re a regular on Women’s Memoirs, then you already know about our Food Memoir Contest. In fact, you may be thinking, “That contest already closed.” And yes, you’d be right. We selected winners and announced them. However, now that we are in the process of creating the ebook, Memories Sweet and Savory, we find that our organizational structure means we have room for a few more entries. But only in the categories of Breakfast and Bread and Soups.

    So, you’re getting a second chance to enter with stories appropriate for either of these two categories. Here’s the short and sweet version of the rules. For additional information, you can go to http://womensmemoirs.com/contests.

    NOTE: Please send me an email if you think you will send an entry. Also, let me know if it will feature Breakfast or Soup. Just send the note to: matilda (at) womensmemoirs(dot)com. Thanks.

    1 — Deadline is November 30, 2012. That’s not a lot of time especially with the holiday season approaching. If you can get started right away.

    2 — Length is between 500 – 1500 words

    3 — Be sure to give your story a strong title, then craft a powerful opening and closing

    4 — Read your story out loud. That’s a good way to find typos, missing words, and even a confusing sentence. Then revise to send us a polished story. Remember, winning entries will be published in our new ebook.

    5 — Include one or more photos. This is a great chance to make that much-loved recipe, take a few photos, and then share it with friends or family. Then if the recipe is associated with a family member, include a photo of that person as well.

    6 — Be sure to include the recipe. After all, we’re publishing the ebook as a cookbook with stories.

    7 — Include a photo of you and a 2 or 3 sentence bio/description to be used at the end of your story.

    8 — Email contest entries to:
    matilda (at) womensmemoirs (dot) com

    (Either attach your entry to the email as a .doc file or copy and paste the entry into the email itself. Either way is fine. Attach any photos to the email, we prefer .jpg format.)

    9 — Use: FOOD MEMOIR AND RECIPE CONTEST in the subject line. If you don’t, it’s always possible that the email will get buried in my inbox.

    10 — And remember — this time we are only looking for stories related to breakfasts (and/or bread) and soups. Breakfast was always big in my childhood home. Until his death at the age of 90, my father loved making pancakes for family and friends. He never ate during those meals as he insisted that freshly made pancakes were the only ones worth eating. He had the next batch ready just as you finished your plate. Fortunately, he wrote his recipe for me and I cherish that piece of paper with his distinctive scrawl. What memoirs, old or new, do you have that you’d like to share?

    Memoir News #1: Memoir Editing

    Just as I was finishing this blog post, I got an email from our friend Robyn Chausse about a newly upgraded website that may be of interest to you. http://AutomatedEditing.com is a site that was originally designed for editors and professional writers. With extensive new guidance and feedback available, the site is now meant for a broader audience of writers.

    No algorithm can replace a professional editor. However, automated algorithms can catch many common problems including specific punctuation, grammar, dialogue, style, run-on sentences, sentence structure, passive voice, word usage, and other critical writing areas.

    In the newly revised website, there is a free area for guests. Yes, full access is available to members at a fee — for $20 a month.

    You might want to check this out to take care of some of the basic problems so that when you turn to a professional editor, you will have her (or his) attention on the more complex parts of editing.

    Women’s Memoirs hasn’t tested the software on the website. However, we value the opinion of Robyn.

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