Tag: book deal

  • The Writers Bridge | LIVE ONLY Pitch & Platform with Literary Agent Jessica Berg & Allison K Williams

    The Writers Bridge | LIVE ONLY Pitch & Platform with Literary Agent Jessica Berg & Allison K Williams

    March 10 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT

    Learn to deliver the pitch that will sell your book–and how to build the platform you need to support that pitch.

    BONUS Writers Bridge episodes March 10th and April 21st. All sessions Tuesdays from 1-2PM Eastern. LIVE ONLY NO RECORDING NO REPLAYS.

    Getting your book to the shelves means talking about it–clearly, concisely, and in a way that builds excitement and anticipation. And talking about your platform is part of that pitch.

    Practice pitching YOUR book to Literary Agent Jessica Berg and editor Allison K Williams. We’ll give you frank, useful feedback about your pitch–is it selling your book, and why or why not?

    Then, dive deeper. Tell us your platform (or the one you’re thinking about building) and we’ll share our best tips and tools to find your audience and reach them. And if you don’t know yet? We’ll brainstorm it with you, right now.

    All live attendees will receive a follow-up email with recommended tools and highlights from the session.

    Literary Agent Jessica Berg has heard thousands of pitches, and helped the authors she represents shape their platform and refine their pitch to attract publishing deals, plan their marketing, and ultimately reach readers.

    Cohost Allison K Williams has shepherded writers through live and virtual pitch events, and helped them get comfortable talking about themselves and their books with top agents in New York and London. She’s pitched a fair few books herself and learned some surprising new elements of her own platform for 2026.

    Join us live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!

    Your Hosts

    Jessica Berg is a literary agent, author, and the founder of Rosecliff Literary. She loves stories that explore grief, longing, ambition, and survival and the complicated ways they intersect.

    She earned her MFA from Spalding University and contributes regularly to Writer’s Digest. Jessica serves on the boards of the Women’s National Book Association and the Historical Novel Society, and teaches nationally on querying, comp titles, and the business of authorship, with a focus on building sustainable, long-term writing careers. Her client list includes Vincent Zandri, Lisa Roe, Arizona Bell, and others..

    Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. She’s the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, and an expert in author marketing and community building. Her own writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Travelers’ Tales and Writers Digest and her performed stories on The Moth, NPR and CBC-Canada. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.

    Enjoy past recorded WRITERS BRIDGE sessions here

    Closed captioning is available. ✔

    Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

    Registration Info
    Free
    Sign Up for Zoom Link
    Location

    Zoom

  • The Writers Bridge | Multiple Platforms, One Vision: Building Your Audience around Your Mission with Sari Botton

    The Writers Bridge | Multiple Platforms, One Vision: Building Your Audience around Your Mission with Sari Botton

    February 24 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST

    How can you build a multi-audience platform around one vision?

    Discover how building your own audience springs from commitment to what YOU want to write.

    Sari Botton publishes Oldster Magazine, Memoir Land and Adventures in Journalism to an enormous audience of Substack and email subscribers, social media admirers, and live event attendees. Over a long career from journalist to magazine publisher, she’s interviewed notable writers and, through Oldster Magazine, explores what it means to travel through time in a human body at every phase of life.

    She’s created an ecosystem of complementary publications, featuring her own writing, guest essays, interviews and more–and they all lead back to her vision of intergenerational communication and just plain good writing.

    We’ll talk about how Sari’s work has evolved over her career while staying true to her vision, how to make a living by creating what you care about, and finding the audience that cares, too.

    Join us TUESDAY February 24th at 1PM EASTERN – live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!

    Our special guest

    Sari Botton‘s memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself…Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo, was chosen by Poets & Writers magazine for the 2022 edition of its annual “5 Over 50” feature. An essay from it received notable mention in The Best American Essays 2023, edited by Vivian Gornick. For five years, she was the Essays Editor at Longreads. She edited the bestselling anthologies __Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NewYork __and Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York. She publishes Oldster Magazine, Memoir Land, and Adventures in Journalism. She was the Writer in Residence in the creative writing department at SUNY New Paltz for Spring, 2023.

    Join your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS), Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for this lively, funny hour of frank talk about publishing, platform, and always following your mission.

    FREE, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before.

    Enjoy past recorded sessions here

    Closed captioning is available. ✔
    All registrants receive the recording. ✔

    ABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS

    Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers), Instagram (10k+), a mailing list (12k+), and Facebook (5k+), with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.

    Sharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

    Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

    Registration Info
    Free
    Sign Up for Zoom Link
    Location

    Zoom

    Related Events

  • The Writers Bridge | LIVE ONLY Pitch & Platform with Literary Agent Jessica Berg & Allison K Williams

    The Writers Bridge | LIVE ONLY Pitch & Platform with Literary Agent Jessica Berg & Allison K Williams

    February 3 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST

    Learn to deliver the pitch that will sell your book–and how to build the platform you need to support that pitch.

    BONUS Writers Bridge episodes January 6th, February 3rd, March 3rd and April 7th. All sessions Tuesdays from 1-2PM Eastern. LIVE ONLY NO RECORDING NO REPLAYS.

    Getting your book to the shelves means talking about it–clearly, concisely, and in a way that builds excitement and anticipation. And talking about your platform is part of that pitch.

    Practice pitching YOUR book to Literary Agent Jessica Berg and editor Allison K Williams. We’ll give you frank, useful feedback about your pitch–is it selling your book, and why or why not?

    Then, dive deeper. Tell us your platform (or the one you’re thinking about building) and we’ll share our best tips and tools to find your audience and reach them. And if you don’t know yet? We’ll brainstorm it with you, right now.

    All live attendees will receive a follow-up email with recommended tools and highlights from the session.

    Literary Agent Jessica Berg has heard thousands of pitches, and helped the authors she represents shape their platform and refine their pitch to attract publishing deals, plan their marketing, and ultimately reach readers.

    Cohost Allison K Williams has shepherded writers through live and virtual pitch events, and helped them get comfortable talking about themselves and their books with top agents in New York and London. She’s pitched a fair few books herself and learned some surprising new elements of her own platform for 2026.

    Join us live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!

    Your Hosts

    Jessica Berg is a literary agent, author, and the founder of Rosecliff Literary. She loves stories that explore grief, longing, ambition, and survival and the complicated ways they intersect.

    She earned her MFA from Spalding University and contributes regularly to Writer’s Digest. Jessica serves on the boards of the Women’s National Book Association and the Historical Novel Society, and teaches nationally on querying, comp titles, and the business of authorship, with a focus on building sustainable, long-term writing careers. Her client list includes Vincent Zandri, Lisa Roe, Arizona Bell, and others..

    Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. She’s the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, and an expert in author marketing and community building. Her own writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Travelers’ Tales and Writers Digest and her performed stories on The Moth, NPR and CBC-Canada. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.

    Enjoy past recorded WRITERS BRIDGE sessions here

    Closed captioning is available. ✔

    Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

    Registration Info
    Free
    Sign Up for Zoom Link
    Location

    Zoom

    Related Events

  • The Writers Bridge | How to Pitch Your Book in 2026 with Literary Agent Jessica Berg

    The Writers Bridge | How to Pitch Your Book in 2026 with Literary Agent Jessica Berg

    December 30, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST

    Whether you’re talking to agents, publishers or readers, you need to comfortably talk about your book.

    What makes a great pitch, and the platform you need to support your book.

    Getting your book to the shelves means talking about it–clearly, concisely, and in a way that builds excitement and anticipation. And talking about your platform is part of that pitch.

    Literary Agent Jessica Berg has heard thousands of pitches, and helped the authors she represents shape their platform and refine their pitch to attract publishing deals, plan their marketing, and ultimately reach readers.

    Cohost Allison K Williams has shepherded writers through live and virtual pitch events, and helped them get comfortable talking about themselves and their books with top agents in New York and London. She’s pitched a fair few books herself and learned some surprising new elements of her own platform for 2026.

    We’ll talk about successful book pitches, how your platform can support your pitch, and hear some of YOUR pitches on the next episode of The Writers Bridge.

    Join us TUESDAY December 30th at 1PM EASTERN – live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!

    Our special guest

    Jessica Berg is a literary agent, author, and the founder of Rosecliff Literary. She loves stories that explore grief, longing, ambition, and survival and the complicated ways they intersect.

    She earned her MFA from Spalding University and contributes regularly to Writer’s Digest. Jessica serves on the boards of the Women’s National Book Association and the Historical Novel Society, and teaches nationally on querying, comp titles, and the business of authorship, with a focus on building sustainable, long-term writing careers. Her client list includes Vincent Zandri, Lisa Roe, Arizona Bell, and others..

    Join your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS), Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for this lively, funny hour of frank talk about writing and publishing.

    FREE, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before.

    Enjoy past recorded sessions here

    Closed captioning is available. ✔
    All registrants receive the recording. ✔

    ABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS

    Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers), Instagram (10k+), a mailing list (12k+), and Facebook (5k+), with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.

    Sharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

    Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

    Registration Info
    Free
    Sign Up for Zoom Link
    Location

    Zoom

    Related Events

  • The Writers Bridge | Social Media Simplified with Jane Friedman

    The Writers Bridge | Social Media Simplified with Jane Friedman

    January 27 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST

    What online behavior actually moves the needle? What’s a waste of time?

    Discover what’s new in social media for writers in 2026.

    Should you be on social media? Which platforms? Do you need video? What about a newsletter or a Substack?

    Jane Friedman has been writing and reporting on publishing since MySpace. She’s seen the rise and fall of Medium, Twitter, and many more. And she’s done the research and knows the numbers: does #BookTok actually sell books, and which ones? Does it matter if you post video or stick to text? Is LinkedIn actually a social site? And what should be driving the choices you make about your writer platform?

    Cohost Allison K Williams co-founded The Writers Bridge and built platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (RIP) and is currently refusing to be sucked into BlueSky. She swears by an email list, but needs to use it more effectively. And cohost Sharla Yates doesn’t do much social media at all–should she?

    We’ll talk about our own social media and platform-building dilemmas and YOURS on the next episode of The Writers Bridge.

    Join us TUESDAY January 27th at 1PM EASTERN – live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!

    Our special guest

    Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Bottom Line, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.

    Join your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS), Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for this lively, funny hour of frank talk about writing comedy, writing for TV, and the wonderful chaos of the writers’ room.

    FREE, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before.

    Enjoy past recorded sessions here

    Closed captioning is available. ✔
    All registrants receive the recording. ✔

    ABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS

    Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers), Instagram (10k+), a mailing list (12k+), and Facebook (5k+), with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.

    Sharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

    Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

    Registration Info
    Free
    Sign Up for Zoom Link
    Location

    Zoom

    Related Events

  • The Writers Bridge | From Zero to 100K Followers: Midlife Social Media

    The Writers Bridge | From Zero to 100K Followers: Midlife Social Media

    November 25, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST

    How to build your presence and get a book deal–by doing what you actually enjoy.

    How can a midlife writer make a dent on social media?

    By showing up.

    When Lucie Frost first tried to sell her memoir, she heard the dreaded “not enough platform.” And she didn’t want to violate her own privacy or get trapped into following fads.

    Instead, she focused on what drove her writing: curiosity. Her Instagram and TikTok appearances, sharing what she wanted to know and why, built a multi-generational audience of inquisitive readers, ready for her book, How the Hell Did I Not Know That: My Midlife Year from Couch to Curiosity.

    In this months’ Writers Bridge, Lucie will share the tips and tricks she used to feel comfortable and happy building her platform, how she protected her online self, and how that platform led to a traditional publishing deal. She’ll also answer all your questions about how you can do it, too!

    Join us TUESDAY November 25th at 1PM EASTERN – live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!

    Our special guest

    Lucie Frost is a no-longer-practicing lawyer and the author of How the Hell Did I Not Know That? (Trinity University Press, August 2025).

    She has written humor and satire for NextTribe, Slackjaw, The Belladonna, Points in Case, Emrys Journal, and others. She is active on social media, with 100k+ engaged followers across various platforms.

    She lives in Central Texas with her three needy, delightful dogs.

    Join your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS), Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for this lively, funny hour of frank talk about writing comedy, writing for TV, and the wonderful chaos of the writers’ room.

    FREE, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before.

    Enjoy past recorded sessions here

    Closed captioning is available. ✔
    All registrants receive the recording. ✔

    ABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS

    Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers), Instagram (10k+), a mailing list (12k+), and Facebook (5k+), with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.

    Sharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

    Questions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com

    Registration Info
    Free
    Sign Up for Zoom Link

    Allison K Williams

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    Location

    Zoom

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