Online Writing Workshops Expanded by Lopopolo Literary Management

Writers fine-tune their books with this weekly live interactive workshop

 Harnessing the power of the internet to bring writing workshops to authors around the country, Lopopolo Literary Management offers fiction and nonfiction writers the ability to participate in weekly online classes, beginning in June.
“When I first opened my agency, I noticed that most of the submissions I received were not ready for prime time. I developed workshops to assist first-time fiction and nonfiction writers to master the skills they need to make their manuscripts publishable. These workshops are part of my literary management services and make use of my past experience as an executive editor at Macmillan then St Martin’s Press, to ready manuscripts for submission to publishers. With this convenient online service, I can reach writers throughout the country and they can participate from the comfort of their homes.”

When Toni relocated her company to Santa Barbara, California, she could no longer hold her ongoing fiction and nonfiction workshops for her east coast writers living close enough to attend her classes. Toni tested several services and found that the ooVoo.com worked best, had the clearest sound and image, plus came cost free to writers.

“Toni Lopopolo transformed me from someone who writes into someone who’s a writer,” say Dr. Eydie Ellis Miller, of Philadelphia. “I’m working on a medical thriller and Toni’s workshops are the highlight of my week. The ooVoo sessions provide me with deadlines without which I’d never write a word, all in the comfort of my home. Input from Toni and the other writers in the group provide me with invaluable guidance in plot development and building suspense/tension. Also, targeted input along the way keeps me from writing too far in the wrong direction. Toni’s knowledge of and experience in the publishing world combined with her passion for developing writers make her workshops top notch. Her guidance and encouragement keep me writing.”
 Each meeting begins with a short lecture from Toni re: the mastering of skills and techniques essential to write book-length fiction and narrative nonfiction. “I focus on the killer first sentence and first chapter, plus charged dialogue,” said Lopopolo. “Editors and readers look for the story that grabs and holds their interest. We discuss concept, character, story, plot, pacing, scene, and other important skills. .”

“These workshops are consciousness-raisers,” said Susan Setteducato of Bucks County, PA. “Things they never told you about in college and conference writing classes. We look at character and character arc, voice, writing charged dialogue, constructing a plot. We also learn point-of-view, which is one of the most powerful tools to have in your belt, plus Toni’s laser sharp editing hits home every time”

Online workshops will include no more than six writers. Each writer submits ten pages four to five days in advance. Toni and the other workshop members edit and comment on the work then email to each writer. During the workshop, writers submit their revisions, then listen to Ms Lopopolo read these pages aloud. After the reading everyone comments.

“I find unpublished writers are often too attached to parts of their writing that don’t work,” said Lopopolo. “I tell writers they must learn to: Kill Your Darlings. They must let go of writing holds their story prisoner. Learning to self-edit is a key skill to a writer’s success.”

In a four-week session, writers receive up to forty redlined, i.e. edited pages from Toni as part of the workshop. The $245 fee covers four online workshops. The ooVoo software is free and easy to download.
Writers interested in joining this ongoing, online workshop should contact Toni Lopopolo at: 215-353-1151 or email her at LopopoloBooks@aol.com. To be accepted, writers must submit the first ten pages of the first chapter of their novel, or nonfiction book. To learn more about Lopopolo Literary Management, visit: www.LopopoloLiterary.com.