Hello all: I'm moderating a program for UCLA Extension's Writers' Program this weekend on publishing in the Internet Age. Enrollment is limited and the class is filling up fast. For more information, contact The Writers' Program: 310-825-9415. There may be spaces available on the day of the class--which is this Saturday--and you may be able to enroll at the room. It will be held in A25 Haines Hall on the UCLA campus. Park in either lot 2 or 3.

Pasted below is an agenda. We have some dynamite speakers. Hope you'll be able to come.

AGENDA:

Writing in the Internet Age: The Future of Publishing and How to Capitalize on the Digital Revolution
712.91 English
The web is giving rise to unique forms of expression and providing writers with an unprecedented opportunity to connect with potential readers and promote their work in ways unimaginable even five years ago. Literary agents now urge clients to blog at least five hours a week; publishers expect writers to increase their visibility through websites, social networking blogs, audio podcasts, and online clips. For beginning writers and mid-career professionals alike, this one-day seminar explores the future of publishing and how to capitalize on the new opportunities in the digital age, including how to develop an online identity that can help build your individual brand and enable you to tap into the extensive network of online communities that will be natural audiences for your work. The course also covers creating websites that showcase your writing talent and professional skills and using social media to expand and improve your professional life, increase your visibility and income, and build a reader base.
Moderator: Linda Marsa is a former staff writer for Los Angeles Times, a contributing editor for Discover and is writing a book on global warming. She also has written for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Los Angeles, Playboy, Popular Science, Utne Reader, Financial Times, Reader’s Digest, and Mother Jones and is the author of Prescription for Profits. She received the UCLA Extension Outstanding Instructor Award in Creative Writing, 1999.

Introduction: How the Internet is Changing Publishing: Four Trends Every Writer Needs to Know About.

(9:40-10:40)

Speaker: Marcia Meier

Marcia Meier is an award-winning journalist, author, poet, photographer, teacher and former director of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Her latest book, Navigating the Rough Waters of Today’s Publishing World: Critical Advice for Writers From Industry Insiders, will be published June 1, 2010 by Quill Driver Books.


Making the Transition from Print to Online: (10:45-12:30)

Speakers: Hunter Whitney, Jacqueline Stenson and Angilee Shah

Hunter Whitney is a journalist and digital media professional with expertise in the area of user experience design and information architecture for the Web. His clients include Yahoo!, Microsoft, Intel, Sapient, WebMD, National Cancer Institute, Monterey Bay Aquarium, AOL, Cisco Systems, as well as other corporations, government agencies, NGOs and start-ups. He has also been a freelance writer and reporter for publications including: Time, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, Variety, Brandweek, Men’s Fitness, PC Computing, Omni, Self, Escape, Interactions magazine, User Experience magazine and others.

Jacqueline Stenson is a contributing editor for MSNBC.com and has worked as an editor affiliated with The New York Times Syndicate. Her articles have also appeared in Health, Self, Shape, Ladies' Home Journal, Family Circle, Reuters Health, and Los Angeles Times, among others.

Angilee Shah is a journalist, editor and blogger and the community manager for ReportingonHealth.org, the website of the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC Annenberg School. She was a managing editor at AsiaMedia, she’s written for Far Eastern Economic Review and Miller-McCune Magazine, and contributes book reviews at Zócalo Public Square.


12:30-1:30—Lunch Break


Capitalizing on the Digital Revolution (1:30-2:30)

--Tapping into the extensive network of online communities that will be natural audiences for your work.
--Creating websites that showcase your writing talent and professional skills
--Using social media to expand and improve your professional life, increase your visibility and income and build a reader base.

Speakers: Penny Sansevieri and Michael Varma

Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. AME was the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networks, blogs, ezines, micro blogs, video sites, and relevant sites to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book's topic, positioning the author in his or her market.

Michael Varma is a freelance writer, professional magician for more than 30 years, and author of educational puzzle books. An award-winning toastmaster, he blogs at: tastefultoasts.blogspot.com.


Building Your Brand (2:40-3:40)

--Blogging, social networking and developing an online identity to build your individual brand.
--Understanding your audience and figuring out how to reach them.

Speakers: Nadine Jolie and Debra Eckerling

Nadine Jolie is a former beauty editor at Ladies’ Home Journal and author of Confessions of a Beauty Addict. Her four-year-old daily beauty blog "Jolie Nadine" has received millions of hits, international press through outlets like Live! With Regis and Kelly, Time, WWD, The Guardian, Figaro Japan, Glamour Italia and the New York Times, and inspired the New York Post to dub her 'the poster child for the blogger generation.' Nadine has appeared on the Today Show, Tyra Banks, Anderson Cooper 360 and CNN Showbiz Tonight.

Debra Eckerling, creator of www.WriteOnOnline.com, has written for local, national, trade, and online publications, is the eZine editor for StoryLink.com and teaches workshops in marketing through blogging and social networking.