I've presented at dozens of writing conference across the country and internationally and would love to speak at your function! I also have more than ten years under my belt facilitating global citizenship workshops to students and corporations (plus once to the Canadian Parlaiment and this other time to a hippy commune in the Swiss Alps- no lie!), along with sixteen years experience teaching a university seminar, and a background as a Hollywood marketing executive which I use as fodder for my book marketing workshops. Here are just a few of the writing/publishing-themed workshops I can present to your group, large or small:

 

 

Marketing Your Book Outside the Box

 

Brochure Description: Middle grade and young adult author and former New England Head of Publicity and Promotions for 20th Century Fox and Miramax Films couples her marketing know-how with her author’s perspective to discuss creating outside-the-box grassroots campaigns for your kidlit book titles. 

 

Long Description: Prior to her writing career, author Jen Malone was the New England Head of Publicity and Promotions for 20th Century Fox and Miramax Films, charged with creating localized, grassroots campaigns to compliment the mass marketing efforts of the studio. In this seminar, Jen draws on those strategies to discuss outside-the-box techniques authors can employ to get their title noticed in a cluttered marketspace. We'll examine why the target audience influences most of the marketing decisions and unique ways to specifically reach those readers. Finally you'll be shown examples of marketing campaigns that managed to create that elusive "buzz" and examine ways you can do the same for your title!

 

Available in 50-minute through 6-hour intensive formats

 

 

Recent presentations of this workshop: Romantic TImes Convention (Las Vegas, NV), Midwest Writer's Conference (Muncie, IN), San Diego Writer's Conference (San Diego, CA), New England SCBWI Annual Conference (Springfield, MA); New Jersey SCBWI Annual Conference (Princeton, NJ); MidAtlantic SCBWI Annual Conference (Sterling, VA), Romance Writer's Of America New England Chapter (Bedford, MA); The Writers Loft (Sherborn, MA); Marketing Symposium sponsored by SCBWI and Mt. Wachusetts Community College (Leominster, MA). 

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Branding An Author Website

 

Brochure Description: An effective author website is critical in today's publishing landscape and this seminar will discuss how to maximize an online presence through a vibrant site, including what content should (and should not) be included. 

 

Long Description: Sure you can hire someone to build your website, but ultimately you will be the one determining the content the designer should include. This seminar discusses the purpose of the author website, who will it target, and how will it enhance the author's brand. We'll examine what to include and what to leave off and look at innovative ways other authors have achieved these goals. Guided exercises will help you target your unique author brand and discussions will encompass how to tweak your website if you are pre-published versus published, including the three items every author website needs.

 

Available in 50-minute through 3-hour intensive formats

 

Recent presentations of this workshop: Grub Street Marketplace, New England SCBWI conference (Springfield, MA), New Jersey SCBWI Annual Conference (Princeton, NJ), MidAtlantic SCBWI Annual Conference (Sterling, VA), The Writers Loft (Sherborn, MA), Marketing Symposium sponsored by SCBWI and Mt. Wachusetts Community College (Leominster, MA). 

 

 

OMG, Like Whatevs: Writing For Tweens

 

Brochure Description: This workshop tackles the ins and outs of writing for the tween market including how to nail that hard-to-get tween voice, the pros and cons of using slang, and what content does and doesn't fly with this age group.

 

Long Description: Jen Malone writes upper middle grade fiction for Simon & Schuster's Aladdin M!X imprint and her favorite comment from tween readers is, "Your characters really act like my friends and me!" In this seminar we'll discuss ways to make your stories believably tween, including capturing the elusive tween voice. We'll also focus on issues relevant and appropriate to this age group, and discuss when to use or skip pop culture references and slang, then end with an examination of the current tween market. 

 

Available in 50-minute through 6-hour intensive formats

 

Recent presentations of this workshop: San Diego Writer's Conference (San Diego, CA), Midwest Writer's Workshop (Muncie, IN), InkedVoices webinar (online), New England SCBWI Annual Conference (Springfield, MA), Midsouth SCBWI Conference (Nashville, TN), Mid-Atlantic SCBWI Conference (Sterling, VA), NE-SCBWI Conference Fall Encore Day (Providence, RI)

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Show Don't Tell: Explained Through TV Pilots

 

Brochure Description: Nothing chills a writer more than hearing "show more, tell less." In this workshop, we'll examine tv pilot episodes for clues at how show runners introduce us to a story premise through specific scenes, dialogue lines, and props and discuss how you can emulate this in your book's opening. 

 

Long Description: “Show don’t tell” is a nebulous concept, but an essential writing skill, and nowhere is it more important than in a book’s opening, which needs to entice a reader with action while also grounding them in the world and character with a deft weaving in of backstory. In this workshop, we’ll use television pilot episodes as a gateway to examining strategies you can apply to your own story’s opening to walk that fine line with authority. We'll pay particular attention to how the scenes used introduce to us to the characters and conflict, how the props and settings convey messages, and where lines of dialogue fill in extra information to grab us into the story, then we'll examine how best to translate these findings into written form. 

 

Available in 50-minute through 90-minute workshop formats.

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Recent presentations of this workshop: Whispering Pines Conference, (West Greenwich, RI). 

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How to Rock a Public Author Appearance (When You’d Rather be Home in PJ’s)

 

Brochure Description: If the idea of facing an audience gives you hives, this workshop’s for you! We'll cover the basics of public speaking as it pertains to the business of “authoring”- from how to rock a dramatic reading to how to keep an audience of school kids engaged and attentive.

 

Long Description: Today’s authors are expected to lend their charisma to promoting their books in all manner of public events from book signings to school visits to festival panels—and little regard is given to the fact that most writers are more comfortable expressing themselves on the page than in person. This workshop will cover the basics of public speaking as it pertains to the business of “authoring”- from how to rock a dramatic reading to how to keep an audience of school kids engaged and attentive. If the idea of facing an audience gives you hives, this workshop’s for you! 

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Available in 50-minute through 90-minute workshop formats.

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Recent presentations of this workshop:  New England SCBWI Annual Conference (Springfield, MA).

 

Work-for-Hire for Fiction Writers

 

Brochure Description: These days larger and larger portions of publisher’s lists are stories developed in house and completed by contracted authors on a work-for-hire basis. In this seminar we’ll examine different examples of these project structures, debate pros and cons, and discuss how authors can position themselves to work in this space. 

 

Long Description: As the author of several work-for-hire novels with Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House, author Jen Malone will discuss the many different types of IP (Intellectual Property) structures publishers are using these days to cater their fiction lists to their own needs. She’ll surprise you with books you never realized were for works-for-hire and explain how the process commonly works and why it might be advantageous for a new author to consider WFH. Using her own experiences as reference, she’ll cover some pros and cons to writing someone else’s ideas, working on licensed properties, and adapting pen names (or not). Lastly, she’ll examine ways authors of all stages (agented and unagented) can pursue these types of projects. 

 

Available in 50-minute through 90-minute workshop formats.

 

Recent presentations of this workshop:  New England SCBWI Annual Conference (Springfield, MA), Midwest Writer's Workshop (Muncie, IN),

 

 

Critique Partners- Where to Find Them and How to Use Them

 

Brochure Description: The best critique partners push each other's writing to the next level, but how does one find that perfect match? This workshop will discuss how to identify the right CP, how to get (and give) a good critique, and how to nurture a great CP relationship. 

 

Long Description: Author Jen Malone facilitates professional critique groups on the popular site, www.inkedvoices.com and uses these experiences alongside her editing experiences as the basis for this workshop in which we’ll discuss how to give and receive thoughtful, helpful, and kind critiques. Anyone who's read the acknowledgement pages of a novel knows the most flowery thank you's are often reserved for the team of fellow writers and editors who had a hand in shaping that piece of work. Few professional writers today would claim to get by without the support and camaraderie of their valued critique partners and there's a reason for that. In this workshop we'll discuss ways to find an ideal critique partner (or partners) and, once connected, how to nurture that relationship to its full potential. We’ll discuss the do’s and don'ts of good critiquing (from the oft-hyped compliment sandwich to commenting pet peeves many writers have), how to ask for what you need from an early reader, and how CPs push each other to that next level of writing. Learn the differences between critique partners and beta readers (and why you need both) and hear real-life tales from the trenches from professional writers and their valued CPs.

 

Available in 50-minute through 90-minute workshop formats 

 

Recent presentations of this workshop: Romantic Writers of America Annual Conference (Orlando, FL), San Diego Writer's Conference (San Diego, CA), Inked Voices webinar (online)

 

 

School Visits That Will Leave Them Buzzing

 

Brochure Description:  Dynamic school visits can educate and entertain and, most importantly, inspire students. In this seminar we’ll discuss all the ins and outs of school visits, from landing a booking to leaving them wowed. 

 

Long Description: Middle grade and young adult author Jen Malone is the Author-in-Residence at a Boston-area middle school as well as for the Massachusetts Council of the Girl Scouts of America, presenting dozens of seminars for elementary through high school-aged students annually. In this workshop, she’ll discuss all aspects of a school visit from pursuing bookings, to contract line-items you’ll want to include to ensure a smooth visit, to advice and examples for how to effectively engage students once on site. 

 

Available in 50-minute through 3-hour intensive formats

 

Recent presentations of this workshop: San Diego Writer's Conference (San Diego, CA), New England SCBWI Conference (Springfield, MA), The Writer's Loft (Sherborn, MA)

 

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How On Earth Do You Write a Book With Someone Else??

 

Brochure Description: Think you could never meld your writing process with another's? In this seminar, Jen Malone, author of four published co-authored novels (including one with SIX other authors!), discusses the fun you could be missing out on, examines some pros and cons of sharing a writing credit, and offers concrete tips for writers interested in partnering up on a project. 

 

Available in 50-minute through 90-minute workshop formats

 

Recent presentations of this workshop: KEYNOTE with Gail Nall and Amy Cloud, Midsouth SCBWI Annual Conference (Nashville, TN), nErDCamp (Parma, MI)