The Pacific Institute for Professional Writing (PIPW) announced two educational workshops that in connection with the Second Annual Ojai WordFest March 24  – 31. PIPW will present a day of education on Saturday, March 31 at World University of Ojai. Additionally, PIPW will hold its first mentoring sessions – personalized one-on-one meetings with publishing industry professionals, to evaluate a writer’s work.

Editor and author, Shelly Lowenkopf, will lead PIPW’s morning workshop titled Genre Fiction: Your Ticket to Publication. The afternoon workshop is Author Promote Thyself, an interactive workshop, teaching the basic social media and press/media skills authors need to know and understand. This session will be lead by Kate Sexton, a career-long publicist, president of the Ventura County Writers Club, and executive director of PIPW. An author, publicist, and social media expert in the literary field will also speak at the event. These speakers will be announced shortly.
“We are very pleased to present these workshops to the local writing community, said Kate Sexton. “Our goal is to educate today’s authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters and essayists through workshops, seminars and master classes. What better location than a new major literary event.”
MORNING WORKSHOP
Genre Fiction: Your Ticket to Publication will take place from 9 to Noon. Participants in Shelly’s interactive presentation will learn what the major selling genres are, what specific promises the readers in each genre expect, how the writer best fulfills them, and which of the genres may be combined (example:  Historical mystery). Shelly will also discuss the nature of genre characters and how to make readers invest in the activities of these characters. Since a thorough grounding in past genre conventions is an absolute necessity, Shelly will also discuss prerequisite reading in the major categories.
       
AFTERNOON WORKSHOP
Author Promote Thyself will take place from 1 to 4 PM and will offer a hands-on session for those attendees who wish to bring a laptop. With Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging and other social media, capturing an audience has expanded many fold. How does an author decide which to use, or even concentrate on? Each of these outlets will be discussed, their strengths and audience evaluated. Working with the media is also important. Attendees will walk away with their first press release ready to go out. Wi-Fi will be available so bring your laptop and plug in. Participants in this workshop will be shown how to set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and how to design their own free website. The tools are out there. Learn how to use them.
       
Each three-hour workshop will cost $49, before March 20th and $59 afterwards. Seating is limited to fifty people per workshop. People wishing to sign up may do so at PIPW’s website: www.PacificInstituteforProfessionalWriting.com.

About the Pacific Institute for Professional Writing
   
The Pacific Institute for Professional Writing’s mission is to promote the skills and standards of professional writing. Our goals: to bridge the unpublished with the professional community of editors, agents and publishers; to produce quality events for the writing community and book lovers; to inspire a curiosity for written and performance related vision; to deliver professional level education on all types of writing; to encourage all new forms of written communication; to demonstrate effective written communication; and, to mentor the next generation of writers.The Pacific Institute for Professional Writing is a California 501 (c)(3) educational nonprofit, located in Santa Barbara, CA, serving the Central Coast. For more information on the Institute’s programs, visit our website: www.PacificInstituteForProfessionalWriting.com