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OWL Spring 2021 Conference
OWL April 23rd - 24th 2021 Agenda
The April meeting will be ZOOM Virtual
(Details to follow)
April 23rd - 24th
Friday April 23rd 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Open Mic (Contact Diane Yates - to sign up)
Saturday April 24th
10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Duke Pennell Announcements, greetings from OWL President
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Liz Schulte Marketing for Introverts
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Break. Get a snack, refresh your beverage, visit with other attendees.
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Mandie Tepe The Care & Feeding of Your Book Designer
12:00 pm. – 12:45 p.m. Lunch break and social time
12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Art Contest Awards! & Writing Contest Kick- Off!
1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Veda Boyd Jones Top 10 Writing Tips I Learned in School
1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Break.
2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. J.C. Field Taking Your Book To Audio
2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Sharon Kizziah-Holmes From the Big Five to Do It Yourself
3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Conference Wrap-up
Liz Schulte: Marketing for Introverts: Create a Brand That Speaks to Your Market
We work hard and spend countless hours creating literary worlds with stories of life. The hope is that our words will connect with the audience, but how does your audience find you? That’s where marketing can help. Learn how to create an online marketing presence that helps your audience find you and solidify your brand as an author. Liz is a self-published author in mystery and para-normal romance with more than twenty novels, multiple short stories and audiobooks. She is a member of RWA and her local chapters, the Missouri Writer’s Guild, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers of America.
Mandie Tepe: The Care & Feeding of Your Book Designer
Mandie has been working in the graphic design field for over 30 years. Experienced in all types of print design (including magazine and newspaper ads, brochures, magazines, newsletters, logo design, outdoor billboard ads and displays), recently she has been doing a lot of book cover design and formatting for both publishing companies and self published authors. As an author of 14 books, she believes she has a unique understanding of how to use design to enhance the message of a text and the importance of making that design clear, organized and readable. When she joined Ozarks Romance Authors, a whole new world opened up for her. She is now the ORA president, vice president of Sleuths’ Ink Mystery Writers and a proud member of Springfield Writers Guild and The Missouri Writers Guild. She loves writing, editing and teaching folks the basics of writing.
Veda Boyd Jones: Top 10 Writing Tips I Learned in School —Take a shortcut to earning a master of fine arts degree from these tips.
Want to save a couple of years and lots of money? Veda has the secret.
You may remember her as a past president of OWL but you may not know that her published credits include 47 books by traditional pub-lishers, 10 original e-books and over 600 articles and short stories in magazines. She earned an MFA in creative writing from Stonecoast in the University of Southern Maine, and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Society of Journalists and Authors, and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
J.C. Field: Taking Your Book to Audio
J.C. Fields is an award-winning and Amazon best selling author. He serves on the board of the Springfield Writers’ Guild. His degree in psychology, five years in the computer industry and a long career of dealing with quirky personality types, have been incorporated into his writing.
Field’s Sean Kruger Series has won numerous awards, including multiple gold and silver medals in the Readers' Favorite International Book contest.
In March of 2020, his novel, A Lone Wolf, became a #1 Amazon best selling audio book. His second novel in the series, The Last Insurgent became a #1 Amazon New Release in January 2021.
Sharon Kizziah-Holmes: From the Big Four to Do It Yourself: Be Informed
Sharon and her husband are re-tired road musicians. They have a boutique recording studio in their home and record everything from kara-oke singles and live bands to audiobooks. Sharon has assisted writers in self-publishing since the mid-1990s. However, in 2013 she realized authors, rejected by traditional publishing houses, were under-compensated and under-served by the popular vanity press venues. After thorough research on the ins and outs of publishing, she launched Paperback Press. Now she assists writers in making better choices as to the best way to get their books to market.
