Category: Online workshop

I’ve got a new online course ready to go!

“Create a Discussion Guide for Your Book”

I’m excited to share this practice with authors, editors, publishers, educators, librarians, book clubs, readers, students, and anyone who wants to encourage deeper engagement with a book. In this self-paced course, you will

*Learn the value of book discussion guides to many different consumers of media

*Understand research practices that support your knowledge and abilities to create discussion guides

*Receive tools and a step-by-step plan

*Have the option to share your guides with me/other students.

What’s inside the course?

You will learn all of this in the following SECTIONS:

1. What is a book discussion guide?

2. Typical contents of a book discussion guide.

3. Discussion categories and how to create questions from your book.

4. How and why a book discussion guide will help you and your readers.

5. Downloads of worksheets, student progress journals, infographics, checklists, a resource list, a sample fiction book discussion guide, and a basic book discussion guide template.

Learn the formula once and repeat it for every book you write.

You may or may not have a finished or published book at this point. It doesn’t matter because this formula for construction can be put into action at any stage of a book’s life. It can boost interest in a new book and lengthen the shelf life of an older title because of the way a good book discussion guide adds dimension and interest to a publication. Once you have the process in hand, anyone can go from “how do I extend the life and interest in this book?” to increasing sales and expanding engagement almost indefinitely. What do I mean by “expanding engagement?”

Expanding engagement with a book amounts to ways to keep a book “top of mind” for a reader. There is social media, of course, but a good book discussion guide has the potential to do so much more than posts or even paid online advertising. It works the same for any genre and any writing style because once a reader finishes the last page of your book, you want them to keep thinking about the content, wondering about you, the author, and having ways to delve deeper into the book’s meaning, purpose, construction, and more.

Step-by-step plan.

This course provides a step-by-step action plan about the why, how, when, and what of developing a knockout discussion guide to accompany your books. Even poetry! Every published work has a history, a construction period, and more that readers are eager to learn about. There are multiple printable worksheets, checklists, text lessons, videos, and progress journals throughout the course that will give you the tools to design, create, analyze, and share a discussion guide based on your book. Once you have the formula, it is repeatable for every book you publish.

Follow this link to register. The course is available all the time.

https://joyeheldwriterwellnessworkshop.thinkific.com/courses/create-a-discussion-guide-for-your-books

All good things,

Joy

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I’m really looking forward to leading the online workshop “Mindset, Motivation, and Well-being A to Z for Writers” for ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA SAN DIEGO CHAPTER in September. As an author, educator, speaker, and dedicated journal keeper, the idea for this course came to me after reading Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. I was also inspired by The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works. Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal, Ph. D.

 

These topics readily apply to the writing life, and I’m always on the lookout for ways to keep myself and my clients motivated, healthy, positive, and forward moving. Both books mention the stick-to-ive-tive-ness of several famous authors, and I started to collect a list of all the modes and methods suggested by Duckworth and McGonigal. The list was long. To make it manageable, I alphabetized each idea and POOF! This workshop blossomed from there.

Here’s a look at the workshop schedule:

SCHEDULE: MINDSET, MOTIVATION, AND WELL-BEING A TO Z FOR WRITERS

 

WEEK ONE

Welcome, Introductions, and Schedule (F)

 

Lesson One (M)

Ability, Action, Anxiety

Badass, Boredom, Books

 

Lesson Two (W)

Change, Community, Character

Dualistic thinking

 

Lesson Three (F)

Experience Junkies, Exercise

Family, Finances, Fun/Future Me

 

WEEK TWO

Lesson Four (M)

Grit for Writers

Hyperopia, Hope

 

Lesson Five (W)

Incubation

Journal, Journal, Journal

 

Lesson Six (F)

KIPP

Love, Life, Lips

 

WEEK THREE

Lesson Seven (M)

Mindfulness, Meditation

Neglect, Novels

 

Lesson Eight (W)

Optimism, Observation

Perseverance

 

Lesson Nine (F)

Question Everything

Risk, Reward, Reading

 

WEEK FOUR

Lesson Ten (M)

Sleep

Time Mismanagement, Technology

 

Lesson Eleven (W)

Uncertainty-embrace it!

Values, Vice, Virtue

 

Lesson Twelve (F)

Willpower

X-factor?

Yoga for Writers

Zero-based thinking

 

Wrap-up

Resources

From action to zero-based thinking, I’m sure you’ll discover something new in this workshop that can be added to your personal tool kit to move you from confused to confident when it comes to your writing career. Writing is not just about arranging the twenty-six letters of the alphabet over and over. Writing success depends on the writer/operator maintaining a good attitude and making the best choices. Please join me in the workshop to learn how the right mindset, motivation, and well-being attitudes can support your health and career.

Register here: https://rwasd.com/classes/

All good things,

Joy

Women with clean houses do not have finished books. ~Joy E. Held

Would you like an autographed copy of the updated third edition of Writer Wellness? Email moi. joyeheld at gmail dot com.

Buy here: Headline Books, Inc.