Alle teaching “Build to a Book Deal: Refine Your Submission Process.”

November 9th, 2024, 10AM — 1PM.

Village Books & Paper Dreams and Whatcom Community College present:

Build to a Book Deal: Refine Your Submission Process

• In-person, November 9th, 2024, 10AM — 1PM.
• 1200 11th St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Workshop description You have in you a novel or short story collection. You might have work ready to submit. In this workshop, we will explore publishing: genre; money; queries; submission, rejection and rebound; and tools for finding the best places for your work. Then we look at approaching agents (do you need one?) and publishers for a book deal. Students will leave understanding traditional publishing, their evolving place in the industry, and with a query letter, and a system for tracking submissions.

Praise for Alle’s teaching:

“Alle is a natural teacher with a gift for setting up structures that help students learn.”

— Waverly Fitzgerald, former Writer-in-Residence, Richard Hugo House.

“When Alle spoke to my nonfiction writing class at the University of Washington, she was at once inspiring, funny, and concrete. She arrived highly prepared and provided a map of publications, what type of material they publish, and how a writer approaches them most effectively. She had designed her presentation to draw forth student participation and used specific examples drawn from students’ experiences and needs. Her presentation was extremely valuable.”

— Carolyn McConnell, formerly Senior Editor, YES! Magazine.

Alle is clear, authoritative and direct. You can tell that she had a lot of experience and knowledge in many genres/categories of publishing. She also does a great job of incorporating personal experience, which brings a nice balance to the lecture and keeps content from feeling too dry.

Alle is quite attentive to her students. When they ask questions Alle would attentively listen and respond thoughtfully. She never seemed to rush questions or the discussion that followed, nor did she seem irritated when someone asked her to go back and re-explain something. Even during the break, when a student was explaining their passion project and experience with querying and submitting, Alle was careful to listen intently and encourage them. A couple of times, a student would nod or look like they raised their hand. When this happened, Alle would never fail to ask if they had a question. She also addressed her students by name, which to me, shows that she is an attentive teacher.

She was able to cover SO MUCH material in such a short time.

— Aubrey Unemorii, staff at Richard Hugo House.