Category Archives: Why Attend BWRC

by Anita Clay

10. Attend an event organized professionally and efficiently by cool black women.

9. Check into a good hotel at a reasonable rate for an affordable conference that even makes provision for scholarships.

8. Meet smart, good-looking women of every age from all over the country (even Australia) who smile when they see you because they feel the bond.

7. Laugh, learn and even cry with mentors who make you feel you can write, publish and take the world by storm while reminding you that your gift comes from God.

6. Be in a place where there is no big me and little you. A place where you don’t find out the person sharing, learning and laughing next to you in a workshop is a well-known presenter in the next session until you get there. Feel the love. Feel the respect.

5. Hear other women’s (and men’s) stories of survival, success and beyond. Be encouraged by their dreams and yours.

4. Get honest, straight information about costs, work, agents, legalities, marketing strategies and more stuff you didn’t even know to ask about.

3. Meet a short, elderly man who reminds you of your father, or the father you wish you had, who cares enough to tell you not to drink out of the used water glasses and not to leave your computer in the room and when you do, doesn’t tell you, “I told you so.”

2. Feel special when you meet Tia Ross, and the other ladies (especially Monica Blache, the one who loaned us her dad) at registration and know they care about you even though they don’t know you.

1. Find yourself. Leave believing in yourself and your talent. Leave with your heart burning inside, knowing you can and will write! AND you will come back, anywhere, any time.

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A few words from Marc Lacy, BWRC speaker and an extraordinarily gifted spoken word artist, poet, author, and CEO of AVO Publishing, at the Black Writers Reunion & Conference from Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino, June 18, 2009.

A Note from 10-Year BWRC Veterans, Self-Publishing Gurus Mack Smith & Sara Freeman Smith —

“In our experience, aspiring authors can make simple but costly mistakes if they don’t have the right information. The BWRC brings all the best professional resources together in one place for the writer. All the facilitators will be assessable, knowledgeable and eager to assist writers. Each conference we learn more than we expect; it will exceed your expectations!

We have known and worked with Tia Ross for more than 10 years. By far, she is one of the most passionate professionals regarding enhancing the quality of the written word. We have participated in every BWRC and each conference is better than the previous one. If you want to publish your book the professional way, you must attend the BWRC 2010 in Atlanta. It will be one of the best investments any writer can make in realizing their dream of becoming a published author. We hope to see you there!”

Mack E. Smith
Sara Freeman Smith
Authors of How to Self-Publish & Market Your Own Book – 3rd edition
www.writershelpdesk.com

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Dr. Anita Heiss, one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors of Indigenous literature and two-time BWRC workshop presenter, sends greetings from BWRC Vegas 2009.

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ReShonda Tate Billingsley, 10-year BWRC veteran, journalist, executive producer, bestselling and award-winning author of 18 books, shares how the Black Writers Reunion & Conference helped her get started.

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Vincent Alexandria, 10-year BWRC veteran, author, producer, director, screenwriter, poet, and founder of the Brother 2 Brother Literary Symposium, speaks on Black Writers Reunion & Conference from Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino, June 18, 2009.

In June 2008, I attended the Black Writer’s Reunion & Conference in Tampa, Florida. Paying for the entire conference and participating in the 50-Author Showcase was a career-defining experience for me. The various workshops offered for aspiring, new and even seasoned authors brought with each presentation a wealth of valuable information that not all writers’ conferences offer. I learned beneficial information from how to become a better writer in various genres of literature to how to find a niche audience to better promote my titles. The conference workshops even went so far as to guide authors in the right direction to find major publishing houses, distributors and agents. There was something for everyone to learn and grow from.

The 50-Author Showcase experience for me was a confidence booster! I met droves of authors like me and that alone was comforting to someone so new to the arena. Be the authors self-published or otherwise, I was welcomed and schooled as to how to go about capturing the attention of potential book buyers with your booth display to your presence at the event. When I left the conference, I was refreshed in spirit and re-energized to go home and put the peddle to the metal to jumpstart what started out as my hobby to make it so much more than just my hustle. I went to the Black Writer’s Reunion and Conference in 2008 with just a book and left knowing I was at the brink of a brand new career.

Tracie E. Christian
Author of The Black College Sabbatical Book Series
www.tracieechristian.com

Bonita Penn blogs about her experiences on each day of the BWRC. An excerpt is posted below; see the full post at The Soul Pitt/Writers Block.

The last workshop has come to a successful close. Outside, the sky was covered with an unfriendly darkness; its companions clamoring of kettle drums and pellets of cold water hitting the windows. It might have been that way outside, but inside the Sheraton Hotel was hot with hundreds of creative minds churning out new stories. I was appreciative to be able to spend one-on-one time with Jewell Parker Rhodes reviewing and discussing my untitled romance novel. After our lengthy discussion I came away with renewed emotion of accomplishment and that I was indeed on the right track and my manuscript is a worthy story fit to be shared with the reading public. I’m glad I decided to attend the Black Writers Reunion & Conference. I came away with a renewed inspiration and a goal to achieve in my professional writing.

by Lauren Brown Jarvis

Black Writers Reunion & Conference has changed my life.

At present there is no information out about next year’s conference which is scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, however, I plan to be super-involved. I went to the conference after finding out about it from my longtime friend Detra Hicks. Her friend Tia Ross was the event coordinator, and it was more than I could have ever expected.

When Detra told me about the conference, I went online and looked at the classes being offered and got excited about the information I would receive and how it could possibly be an asset to my budding writing career. I did not even consider the people I would meet and what effect they would have on me. What everyone’s dream is–to do exactly what they love for a living–I’m beyond ready to make that transition. Especially when I review all of my personal talents and gifts and see I’m not even using them. That’s the only and most ultimate sin: not using your personal talents–whatever it is you are good at–for your own good.

So many of us are doing things we hate to get by. And that’s bullshit. I know a lot of it is fear, a lot of it is fear, and a lot of it is fear. Fear of failure, fear of being broke, fear of rejection. But fear is exactly what it is. An inhibitor. So if you think that you could possibly be doing more with your life, you are probably right, but if you have one reason, or another why you are not doing what it is you truly love, it’s only because of you, and the fear you are allowing to hold you not even back, but in the same place, which is where you will always be. Continue reading

Yolanda Brunson-Sarrabo published her first book in 2005, The Ins and Outs of the Fashion Industry — From a Fashion Insider.  In addition, she recently became a fashion consultant for New Breed Films and fashion editor for He-Motions Magazine.

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When did you attend your first BWRC?

I attended the conference in Dallas in 2006.

How many have you attended?

I’ve only attended one.

What is your most memorable BWRC moment?

My most memorable moment was the first night mixer meeting and approaching some amazing individuals. We were all nervous at first but opened up within twenty minutes of the function.

Have you networked with anyone at the conference and has that contact continued?

Yes, I still keep in contact with about three of the writers who attended. Cards were given but I find many times some of us don’t know about the importance of follow-up. I met some great people but we got lost on the BWRC group site, so I don’t know what happened to some of the people or what they’re up to.

Did you do any writing while attending the conference?

I took in all the knowledge the speakers presented and I appreciated what they came with. I published my first book in 2005, so this conference was still very much needed. After the conference I started on my second book to hopefully be published in early 2008.

Has the BWRC helped you to accomplish any writing goals?

Wow! After the conference I was very busy due to my book “The Ins and Outs of the Fashion Industry – from a Fashion Insider.” I worked with a growing independent Black film company, New Breed Films, as the fashion consultant. The film was picked up by Time Warner Video, and won best feature film at Atlanta’s best Hip Hop Film Festival 2007. I also got a wonderful writing gig thanks to BWRC as the Fashion Editor for Jon Clarke Group’s new magazine “He-Motions- Magazine” which debuted in Fall 2007. I participated in Sormag’s on-line conference in August 2007 as a panelist on motivation. On top of this I’ve teamed up with a writing partner to offer fashion manufacturing symposiums in the local New York areas. Last year, I was rewarded with 2007 Million Dollar Woman Award by LaSmall Concierge Group in New York. Nice!

If you plan to attend the 2008 BWRC, what brings you back?

I would love to see what new speakers have to bring to the table, and mix and mingle and get encouraged yet again with a great group of people. We all need that hand away from home with people in that same creative mix. At times our friends and family may not really understand what the fuss is about in regards to writing and expressing oneself. And my motto is you must always surround yourself with positive, like-minded individuals to make your goals a reality and not a dream.

What would you say about BWRC to influence someone who’s thinking about attending?

This is a great event to see Black writers, and soon-to-be writers, getting together to commence and relate to whatever struggles and adversities that may fall their way.  It is so important to have a forum like this to really test our flight in bringing the goal at hand to reality. Taking that trip, and being open to an uplifting and educating experience, is the first step in removing that shell and allowing greatness to open up. The comfort of BWRC is indeed a great step to becoming optimistic and becoming the best that you can be.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Networking is the key and I’ll continue to support organizations that bring clear and concise information to people such as me who thirst for it.

For more information about Yolanda Brunson-Sarrabo, check out the following sites:
Website: www.ybrunson.com
Blog: http://blackwriternew-dreams.blogspot.com/