To kick start plans for the 2014 experience, we introduce our Early Express Registration. This is a limited time for a limited number of applicants deal at the lowest registration price we can offer.

Scheduled for May 18-24, 2014 at a lovely 100-acre retreat center in southeast Wisconsin, the Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp was developed by writers for writers. If you are looking for a place to polish your work and advance your writing career advised by publishing professionals then the Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp is where you need to be.

Here’s how the Bookcamp’s Early Express Registration works:

– Registration fees – Single Room, $1,285; Double Room, per person, $1,225.

– Express registration is limited to the first 10 accepted applicants and this offer will end July 15, 2013. Yes, that is a brief window of opportunity, so take advantage of it now.

– Prices will go up $91 July 16, 2013.

– We offer a flexible installment payment plan, starting with a $100 deposit to reserve your Bookcamp registration. Pay the deposit before July 15 and your Early Express Registration fee is locked in.

But that’s not all new. We also offer a trio of additional registration options for you to consider. These cannot be coupled with any other discount offer because they offer considerable value on their own:

– Other Registration Options (No Discounts Applies)
a.) Commuter (registration fee and all meals included/No Room, $966;
b.) Friends Single Registration (double room), $2,640 ($1,320 each);
c.) Couples Single Registration (double room, 1 registrant/1 nonparticipant), $1,850 [$1,266+ $584].

These early registration options offer outstanding values and flexible options to join the 2014 Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp.

All registration fees are fully refundable until May 1, 2014.

Award-winning novelist and writing instructor Reed Farrel Coleman, the agents of Red Soda Literary, instructor and editor Phillip Martin, and award-winning novelist Lisa Lickel form the core of our Bookcamp staff. I’m working on additions, as well, and expect to be announcing exciting news on that front later this summer. The 2014 Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp will be an exciting, valuable, and let’s not forget, fun writing experience for you. You’re invited to join.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me, vpres@wiwrite.org or 262-334-8790.

Sponsored by the Wisconsin Writers Association

The Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp shall strive to provide up-to-date information, advice, and instruction on the writing craft and today’s publishing opportunities, focused as much as possible on the individual writing projects of our clients, in a comfortable, friendly, and encouraging environment, open to writers of all genres.

There were two reasons why we decided not to hold the first Bookcamp this coming May 26-June 1:

The Board wanted to see a certain level of early registrations before we had to commit to the Bookcamp’s major expenditures, which would begin in March. We were 3 enrollees short, although there have been additional inquiries to indicate more registrants were likely in the coming months.

Still, the Board was willing to back this year’s Bookcamp until late last week the association experienced an unexpected expense, not involving the Bookcamp, which eliminated the Board’s ability to commit additional funds to this project in 2013.

Such is life with a nonprofit, volunteer organization.

I assure everyone who expressed interest and encouragement there remains significant support, enthusiasm, and determination from all of the Board members to continue developing our Bookcamp.

I remain committed to this project, and we will do all we can to see that the Bookcamp succeeds in 2014 with an even better program.

I would be pleased to hear comments or suggestions on how we can improve next year’s Bookcamp. You can contact me via email, vpres@wiwrite.org.

Keep an eye on this Facebook page and our website for updates on the 2014 Bookcamp.

I personally apologize for this unfortunate turn of events. All I can say is thank you for your support, best wishes, and good writing.

Dave Rank
WWA vice president

Remember, though, we can only guarantee single rooms to the first 13 registrants (double rooms also are available), and we are nearing singles capacity.

If you are considering joining us at the 2013 NIP Bookcamp, but would like to bring a non-writer spouse or companion, we could arrange that as well at the double room rate for you, as a full participant in the Bookcamp, and a simple room-and-board rate for your companion, which would include all meals but not access to the writing classes or other Bookcamp activities. Southeast Wisconsin offers multiple options for shopping and cultural day trips for your companion while you concentrate on your writing.

Contact Dave Rank, Bookcamp Director, for more information on the Writer/Plus 1 registration package.

Cedar Valley is within a 2 hours drive from Chicago and Green Bay, 90 minutes from Madison, and 5 hours from Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Cedar Valley, 5349 Highway D, is 50 freeway miles from Milwaukee’s south side General Mitchell International Airport. For our friends planning to fly in, we can help arrange shuttle service to the Bookcamp if requested.

They’ve taken advantage of the Bookcamp’s early registration discount, and so can you.

The N-I-P Bookcamp, sponsored by the not-for-profit Wisconsin Writers Association, is a six-day, six-night, all-included workshop for writers in all genres working on a novel or creative nonfiction book. You will spend the entire Bookcamp with professional writers, editors, and literary agents at the lovely Cedar Valley Center & Spa in rural Wisconsin. Check out our venue, we think you’ll be impressed: www.cedar-valley.org.

The 2013 Bookcamp’s only goal is to help advance your manuscript with expert advice on the craft of long-form storytelling, and furthering you understanding of today’s evolving publishing industry.

One registration fee covers all expenses: room, board, instructional classes and materials, one-on-one sessions, and all the customized advice from publishing professionals you can handle. Additional spa services are optional, and can be arranged through Cedar Valley. The cost is no greater than a similar stay at a quality vacation resort. Refunds are available upon request prior to the start of the Bookcamp.

The best news: it’s free to apply for the Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp. Once enrolled, we can work out a comfortable payment scheduled for you. Because space is limited in the Bookcamp, a selection process is required.

To apply for the Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp sponsored by the Wisconsin Writers Association, send no money now. Instead send Dave Rank, Bookcamp Director an email (vpres@wiwrite.org) with the following information in the body of the email. No attachments please.

1. The first two chapters or up to 25 pages of your manuscript (please send full chapters only). Other examples of your work may be substituted if your work-in-progress is at the outline stage, with an explanation.
2. A cover letter with this information:
   1. Your full name, contact info (address and phone number), a bio paragraph centered on your writing background;
   2. The title and genre of your book, word length (actual or projected); status of your book at this time (outline only, mid-first draft, in final edit phase, etc.);
   3. Optional: Mention any specific area of your book you will be looking for assistance (such as improving plot, adding subplots, adding depth to characters, etc.). This will help us tailor the Bookcamp to better serve your needs.
3. A one- or two-page synopsis of your book. Include plot summary with ending.

When you send us your application, we will notify you within five working days if your application is accepted. At that time we will ask for a $100 deposit to secure your place in the Bookcamp. Once you send in the deposit we will arrange final payment for the rest of the registration fee. A two-installment plan is available.

This is the registration fee schedule (which includes the $100 deposit). We can only guarantee single rooms for the first 13 accepted applicants. Refunds are possible, less the $100 deposit, up to May 1, 2013.

Early Registration (by January 31, 2013)

•  $1,426, non-WWA member, single room;
• $1,376, WWA member, single room;
• $1,399, non-WWA member, double room;
• $1,349, WWA member, double room.

Late Registration (February 1-April 30)

• $1,486, non-WWA member, single room;
• $1,426, WWA member, single room;
• $1,459, non-WWA member, double room;
• $1,399, WWA member, double room.

To learn more about the Bookcamp or to submit an application, contact Dave Rank, Bookcamp Director, vpres@wiwrite.org. Or go to our website, www.nipbookcamp.wordpress.com; or our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/#!/NIPBookcamp.

For more information about the Wisconsin Writers Association, go to the website www.wiwrite.org.

Know Your Genre!

Although J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Affixing ‘labels’ to writers, living or dead, is an inept procedure . . . a childish amusement of small minds” – this is not sound advice for a writer trying to get a book published and out into the marketplace.

A genre label can in fact be your best friend. There are two reasons to know your genre well:
1) knowledge of the genre’s traditional form will help you in your writing.
2) knowledge of the genre will help in marketing and selling your book.

Let’s look very briefly at each of those.

Knowledge of Form

In short, the more you know about your book’s genre, the better you can succeed in two very important things. First: follow the genre’s pattern well enough to satisfy your readers. Second: offer something new that other books in the genre haven’t offered to readers. A long time ago, a successful writer summed up the job of any good writer: “to make new things familiar and familiar things new.” (William Thackery, author of Vanity Fair)

If you are writing a romance novel, you want to have enough of the normal shape, flow, and enjoyable elements that romance readers have come to love in romance novels. Let face it, readers consume a lot more books in their favorite genre than they do of books that mix and cross and test the boundaries.

However, you also want to be able to deliver some new stuff as well, some original take on a love scene or a character aspect or a setting or . . . [fill in the blank!] that will make readers happy to read and recommend your book.

Help in Marketing

Although you might think it’s wonderful to mix genres and write a “hey, it’s hard to catagorize” hybrid, say a Science Fiction/Romance novel . . . this is a red flag to many literary agents and publishers and bookstore owners and readers. You might want to pause to consider this: a mixed genre probably won’t bring in readers from both fields. It typically will just appeal to the much smaller intersection of those two circles, to the people who already like both.

As noted before, there are much bigger markets for books that are clearly set within a  genre than for books that jump back and forth between several. Even if your work is indeed hard to categorize, do it! Pick the genre that is most central to the work. Of course, you can still let people know about the other elements of the story found within . . . but without confusing them about the core genre that the work falls within.

(Here’s a longer blog post on the importance of genre I wrote on my own blog, The Writer’s Handbook.)

Summary of Tip #1 for Aspiring Novelists

Don’t overlook the value of identifying the core genre of your book. You may, of course, have a romance within a science fiction book. But labeling it as primarily Science Fiction (or primarily Romance) helps everyone know what kind of book it is at its core. And as a writer, you’ll likely write better if you decide at the beginning just what that genre is.

Yes, you can break this rule if you must . . . but understand that it will make your job as a novelist harder and somewhat less likely to succeed.

While Tolkien might call this labeling “childish” from a literary academic perspective . . . I’d call it a professional trait that most successful writers learn to use to their advantage.

Diane graciously agreed to share her thoughts on the importance of making time to fully review, critique, and have your book manuscript looked at by experienced writers when possible before submitting to a publisher or agent:

To prospective Bookcamp applicants,

I feel strongly an independent review process for any writing helps prior to submission to a publisher or agent. There is so much to attend to: characterizations, plot, sub-plots, pace, arc, transitions, how to handle flashbacks, point of view, dialog…character arc vs. physical arc…

No matter how talented a writer you may be, an independent review by another writer can zero in on serious and/or minor issues that need correction before your novel is ready.

I understand how difficult sharing creative work can be. You may feel vulnerable and unsure of yourself in spite of careful review and presentation. It takes courage to write a novel and courage to send it in.

Trust your instincts. You’ll know when a reviewer is spot on regarding your writing. Efforts to maintain a non-competitive atmosphere are important so people feel free to share their thoughts and ideas. If you’re not sure about a critique, set it aside.

Prepare your manuscript to the best of your ability, hook your reader fast, within the first sentence if possible, write a cogent and engaging synopsis, indicate word count, write a query letter when required, have at least three chapters ready for an agent or publisher to consider. Some places require a marketing plan, prepare that too, then send it in on request. Follow a publisher’s submission instructions to the letter.

Remember, be novel when writing your novel. That is critical. We generally don’t publish work loaded with cliches. A unique voice, a unique song will always linger with editors.

Grey Sparrow Press is a modest sized publisher of journals. River Otter Press, opening in January, will work with novel manuscripts on an open basis. “Small indy” would be a fitting reference for both ventures.

We’re a friendly group to work with, but keep in mind, editors are BUSY. We had over 1,200 submissions last year to our journal alone. That’s a whole lot of reading and reviewing. Work not properly prepared is dismissed quickly! Obviously, a couple of minor issues would not result in a rejection at our press—it surely will with some larger presses or top tier agents.

Best wishes to all of you taking on the daunting project of a novel!

Diane Smith,
Founder & Principal Editor
Gray Sparrow Press
River Otter Press
http://www.greysparrowpress.net

Sponsored by the Wisconsin Writers Association

For more than 60 years the not-for-profit Wisconsin Writers Association, Inc. has provided an inclusive fellowship for amateur and professional writers in all genres to encourage and further their creative writing skills. The WWA offers informational and educational services to our members and the general public, and provides our members with outlets for their writings, advice to improve their craft, publishing, and marketing their work.

In the last three years, the WWA has made a concerted effort to expand our efforts to serve our members and encourage writers everywhere. The Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp, sponsored by the Wisconsin Writers Association, is our latest effort to provide useful tools, services, and resources for writers at all levels of the craft.

In 1948 Robert E. Gard, director of Arts Development at the University of Wisconsin, founded what is now known as the WWA, then called the Wisconsin Rural Writers Association, to further literature and record folklore in Wisconsin. A year later, the WWA started what has become an annual tradition, our multi-category Jade Ring Writing Contests to encourage the creativity and craft of our members. More than 60 years later, the Jade Ring Contests continue that legacy, now also offering open categories for nonmembers.

In the 1960s, the name was changed to Wisconsin Regional Writers Association, and in 2011, our Board of Directors chose to shorten the name even more to Wisconsin Writers Association to better reflect our all-encompassing mission to promote the writing arts throughout the state.

Today, in addition to writing contests we provide annual conferences, our Creative Wisconsin Literary magazine, the Wisconsin Writers’ Newsletter, an online presence, and support and encouragement to local writing groups and literary festivals.

We believe our Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp is a worthwhile addition to that list of services and is in line with our stated purpose, “to encourage literary expression and appreciation for the arts, cultural aspects of Wisconsin life, preservation of the local history and folklore of the passing era, encouragement of all forms and genres of writing, and enrichment of our lives through education and worthy discussions about writing.”

For more information about the Wisconsin Writers Association, go to the website www.wiwrite.org, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WIWrite.

The Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp

Sponsored by the Wisconsin Writers Association

The Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp shall strive to provide useful and essential information, advice, and instruction on the writing craft and today’s publishing opportunities, focused on the individual writing projects of our clients, in a comfortable, friendly, and encouraging environment, open to writers of all genres.