Thursday, October 25, 2012

November musters up a lot of writing--both fiction and nonfiction--because of two distinct writing events: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and National Nonfiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo), also known as Write Nonfiction in November (WNFIN). Although writers can take on any number of different nonfiction projects during NaNonFiWriMo, finishing a book in 30 days tends to be one of the larger goals writers set out to achieve because so many novelists are doing the same.

"Maybe this gives these nonfiction writers a sense that they are paralleling NaNoWriMo with its contest rule of writing a full novel (50,000 words) in a month," says Write Nonfiction in November founder Nina Amir, an author of 11 books, including How to Blog a Book, Write, Publish and Promote Your Book One Post at a Time, and a book coach and editor. Anyone who reaches this word count during NaNoWriMo "wins."

To support those writing complete books, NaNonFiWriMo kicks off with a teleseminars to teach participants how to write a book in a month. Amir teams up with Rochelle Melander, author of Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It), for a 1-hour teleseminars called "How to Write a Book in a Month." It will be held on November 1 at 5 p.m. PT. (More information can be found at here.)

Even though NaNonFiWriMo is not a contest, this year participants who do, indeed, write a book in a month during the WNFIN challenge can win a post challenge prize. This year the San Francisco Writers University, part of the non-profit San Francisco Writers Conference, and The Writer Entrepreneur Network, as well as four literary agents, have teamed up WNFIN/NaNonFiWriMo to reward non-fiction writers for their hard work in November. Anyone who starts and finishes a book during the challenge can enter a virtual pitch slam. They can enter their pitch, a 25-75 word "elevator speech," to the team of agent judges, who will select a grand prize winner as well as a second and third place pitch winner.

Book pitches are often uses at conferences during pitch slams or pitch fests. Aspiring authors may get as little as three minutes to meet with an agent and describe a book idea using an elevator speech. The agent, after responding with a few brief questions, then tells the writer if he or she would like a manuscript or proposal sent for further review. This can be the "big chance" aspiring authors are looking for to get their work out of a slush pile and into an agents hands—the first step to a possible traditional publishing deal.

The first place, grand prize in the 2012 post-WNFIN pitch slam consists of:

• a 45-minute in-person or phone consult with literary agent April Eberhardt, an advocate for authors exploring traditional as well as independent publishing options, focused on how best to hone his or her work for any form of publication, be it traditional or independent, as well as discussion of the best strategy for the writer's overall body of work
• a free 30-minute phone consultation about your non-fiction work with non-fiction literary agent Michael Larsen
• a free one-year membership in San Francisco Writers University (value $49), along with 10 downloadable writing classes of their choice (value $100). 
• a free membership in The Writer Entrepreneur Network www.theWENet.ning.com
• copies of literary agents Jeff and Deborah Herman's Write the Perfect Book Proposal and Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents

The second place winner receives:

• a copy of Chuck Sambuchino's Create Your Writer Platform: The Key to Building an Audience, Selling More Books, and Finding Success as an Author
• WNFIN founder Nina Amir's books, How to Blog a Book, Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time
• a 15 minute platform or blogging consult with Nina Amir

Third place winner receives:

WNFIN founder's Nina Amir's books, How to Blog a Book, Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time and How to Evaluate Your Book for Success.

Agents will review the pitches in the weeks following the end of the WINFIN challenge, and winner will be contacted by the end of December.

"You can write a book any time," says Amir, "but why not do it during November when so many other writers are doing so as well? Plus, during Write Nonfiction in November you can learn all about writing, publishing and promoting your book by following the WNFIN blog and learning from 27 or 28 great experts in the publishing industry." You can find the blog at http://www.writenonfictioninnovember.com