Speaking/Teaching
Ally speaks regularly on writing and publishing related topics for conferences, organizations, and as an adjunct instructor in Maryland colleges. She has moderated panels, led workshops as short as one day and as long as eight weeks, and spoken to groups of varying size and experience levels. She’s looking forward to giving one of her signature talks or creating a customized presentation for your organization or event.
Some panels she has sat on or lead discussed such topics as:
- Getting Published: An Introduction
- The Publishing Labyrinth
- The Business of Writing
- You’re Getting Published…Now What?
- Putting Together an Anthology
- How to Work with Editorial Assistants and Editors
Ally’s talks appropriate for conferences or short sessions include:
Your Author Platform: What It Is and How to Build One
In today’s highly saturated book market, a strong publicity and marketing campaign requires that authors have a solid platform to get the kind of attention necessary for sales. But what is a platform, what is it used for, and how do you build one? How does it affect your book deal, or whether you get one at all? How does it help you sell more books? Discover how acquiring editors and agents think and get the edge you need to get your book published and sold.
Put Your Best Word Forward (at Work and Beyond)
This talk will introduce you to the most common grammar, spelling, and other problems that plague written works and offer simple ways to identify and resolve them. We’ll also discuss ways to communicate more effectively in writing at work such as in emails and memos and how to communicate more clearly in general.
Revisions: Polishing Your Work for Submission/Publication
Every writer knows—or soon learns—that it takes multiple revisions to create a piece ready to compete for book buyers’ attention. But where do you start? This talk will introduce you to the most common problems that plague written works and offer simple ways to identify and resolve them in your own novel, short story, or memoir. You’ll receive tips on keeping readers’ attention, polishing your manuscript at the technical level, and getting objective feedback before you go to press.
Choosing the Right Editorial Service for You
Every year, U.S. book publishers and self-publishers release approximately 1 million new titles. To get an edge against these overwhelming odds, many writers hire freelance editors to review their manuscripts before submitting or self-publishing. This talk will teach you everything you need to know to have a happy freelance experience including information on the types of editorial services available, where to find and how to properly evaluate service providers, what to expect money- and contract-wise, and how to best prepare for maximum success.
Winning Fiction and Nonfiction Book Proposals
It has long been the case that nonfiction writers, instead of penning a complete manuscript, could sell their ideas based solely on well-developed book proposals. But these days, many agents and editors want to see proposals from writers of fiction, too, and in addition to their completed novels! Learn how editors and agents evaluate potential acquisitions and what your proposal must contain to get the coveted attention of these publishing professionals. This talk will also address the differences between fiction and nonfiction proposals and teach you what goes into them, where to find important information, and how to evaluate your own material.
Ally also teaches workshops and classes appropriate for long days or weeknight sessions, such as:
Writing and Marketing Freelance Articles
Let a professional editor and writer show you how to develop, research, organize and market freelance articles. Explore your personal writing style. Learn what kind of ideas editors are looking for and how to find the right kind of publications for your work. Learn to write a query letter. By the end of the course, you will develop the skills needed to write and submit articles for publication.
Jumpstart Your Novel
In this workshop for beginners or more intermediate writers looking to brush up on their writing skills, we’ll review the fundamental elements of story such as plot, character development, dialogue, setting, point of view, and more. Learn what editors and agents want—and what they don’t want—as you’re introduced to the world of book publishing. We will also discuss some useful habits to acquire and build up your writer’s toolbox with new techniques and writing exercises designed to spark your creativity, give valuable insight into the writing process, and help you develop your works-in-progress.
Recent and Upcoming Appearances
Monday, March 12, 2012
For the third year in a row, I was invited to speak at the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference. I gave my popular talk, “Polishing Your Work for Publication,” which teaches you some of the most common problems plaguing creative works and offers tips on how to resolve them and strengthen your writing in the process. Here’s the talk description:
Approximately 3 million new titles were published by traditional houses and self-publishers in 2010. Every writer knows—or soon learns—that it takes multiple revisions to create a piece ready to compete for book buyers’ attention. But where do you start? This talk will introduce you to the most common problems that plague written works and offer simple ways to identify and resolve them in your own novel, short story, or memoir.
This conference sells out quickly every year, and this was year was no exception. My classroom of 50 seats was completely full, with a handful of folks hovering at the door to hear what they could. It’s always exciting to have a packed room filled with fresh faces, though I recognized several friends and repeat attendees in the crowd.
A few attendees had this to say about my talk:
Ally’s energy and obvious joy in the writing craft, not to mention her knowledge, permeates her presentation from the very beginning, a manner that engages the listener and holds his/her attention.—L. William Gibbons, Mardela Springs, MD
…succinctly covered the current publishing landscape, common manuscript pitfalls, and offered practical tools to avoid them.—Christina Brockett, Frederick, MD
I enjoyed this talk very much. I took more pages of notes (by far) during this talk than any of the other meetings I attended at BTO. It was extremely valuable.—Jim Brown, Bowie, MD
I also enjoyed my one-on-one manuscript consultations, especially with my former student Susan Yanguas. I read the first ten pages of Susan’s novel draft, which she’d just started, several years ago in my Build a Better Novel class; it was really great to read the current version and see how far the story and its author have come! The consultation coordinator—Bonnie Feldstein, who writes novels as Anna Gill—had this to say about working with me:
Working with Ally Peltier is always a pleasure. She is a lady who knows what she wants and communicates that clearly. It made my scheduling so much easier and being that Ally is not only articulate but is on the cutting edge of literary issues, I was able to partner her with the appropriate submissions and writers. I very much look forward to working with Ally again next year at the Bay to Ocean Writer’s Conference.
If you’ve never been to the Bay to Ocean conference before, I highly recommend it. The venue (Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, MD) is lovely with all the high-tech equipment one could need and a nice big cafeteria for lunch. The organizers always put together an interesting lineup of experienced and entertaining speakers, too. This year I was pleased to be in the company of my friend and colleague Angela Render, social media maven Mindie Burgoyne, and CityLit founder Gregg Wilhelm and dynamo mystery writer Austin Camacho, neither of whom I got a chance to catch up with, sadly (hi guys!). There were plenty of other great presenters and topics of discussion as well. You can see the full program with all the talk descriptions and presenter bios here.
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Filed Under: News, Speaking/Teaching
Tags: Bay to Ocean, presentations, publishing advice, revising, revisions, self-publishing, submitting, writers conference
Sunday, February 12, 2012
As an active member of the Maryland Writers’ Association, I’m always excited when I get the opportunity to speak to a new chapter. So it was with great pleasure that I drove out to Sykesville on a Saturday afternoon to speak at the Carroll County chapter of the MWA. I did a presentation called “Pitching, Querying, Proposing: How an Author Goes from Shy to Sold.” Here’s the description that was publicized:
You’ve experienced the satisfaction of working hard to learn a craft and producing a quality piece of writing—but now what? If you ever want anyone to read your work outside of your immediate circle of family and friends, you’ll need to get published. Though self-publishing is always an option, this talk focuses on how writers generally approach the submission process. Find out who really decides what gets published, how to approach them without getting the proverbial door slammed in your face, and what these gatekeepers expect from you besides your very best work. You’ll also get tips that will make your pitches, queries, and proposals more effective for best results.
During my talk, I gave attendees insight into who really decides what gets published, how to approach them without getting the proverbial door slammed in your face, and what these gatekeepers expect besides your very best work. I also offered tips for writing more effective pitches, queries, and proposals. There were a lot of new faces in the crowd but I was also happy to reconnect with some old friends, including Frederick chapter officer and fellow blogger Kelly A. Harmon and client Jack Downs (who shared with me the exciting news that the Ambitious Enterprises query letter review service helped him find a publisher for his novel! Congratulations again, Jack.). Chapter President Regina Sokas had this to say:
Ally’s presentation was the best of what the MWA is all about—writers from all levels, genres and disciplines coming together to frantically scribble notes. Seriously, Ally was thorough, detailed, professional yet approachable. Pure gold.—Regina Sokas, MWA Carroll County chapter president
The group currently holds meetings from 1-3pm on Saturdays at different locations including Sykesville and Eldersburg, MD. Learn more about Carroll County MWA at www.carrollcountymwa.org.
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Filed Under: News, Speaking/Teaching
Tags: Maryland Writers Association, presentations, publishing, publishing advice, writing business, writing groups, writing workshops
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Over a decade ago, print-on-demand technology was still new to the publishing world. Ebooks were available but without e-readers, no one really cared. Back then, books that “just weren’t right” for traditional publishers often ended up in a drawer somewhere. Now, low-cost opportunities for self-publishers are everywhere!
And yet, most self-published books average about 100-200 copies sold.
My colleague Angela Render and I want to help people learn to self-publish their books right. While there’s no one set-in-stone, step-by-step plan that everyone must follow, there is a mentality, a set of tools and skills, and an understanding of the industry necessary to get beyond those 100-200 friends-and-family sales.
There are opportunities available to the big publishers that are simply not available to you. But there are also opportunities available to you that big publishers can’t, or don’t, take advantage of.
Learning to recognize and take advantage of these opportunities instead of wasting time on those activities best suited to large publishers can be the difference between success and heartbreak. And that’s just one of the many things Angela and I want to teach you to do.
We’ve combine our expertise and experience to create the Self-Publishing Success Intensive. In one intense, info-packed, enjoyable day, we will give you so much information you’ll be returning to your notes and handouts for years. We’re going to share with you all the tips, secrets, and ideas we’ve learned from our clients and our own work ushering books from manuscript to readers. Just check out the website for the details.
Because we want to make this experience as personalized as possible, we’ve opted for a smaller, more intimate event focused very specifically on self-publishing instead of a general writing conference. Seating is extremely limited. If you know what you want and are willing invest in your dreams, register today before seats sell out! Can’t wait to see you there!
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Filed Under: Ally's Projects, Getting Published, News, Speaking/Teaching
Tags: independent publishing, indie publishing, marketing, marketing platform, publishing, publishing advice, publishing resources, self-publishing, writers conference
Monday, October 3, 2011
I was so pleased to participate as a keynote speaker at the Adirondack Center for Writing’s annual Publishing Conference two weekends ago. Besides the incredibly productive train ride, I got to enjoy a cool, beautiful weekend in the mountains of upstate NY. I also got to meet a whole new community of writers and was invigorated by my conversations with fellow keynote speakers Amy Holman, Jeffrey Lependorf, and Peter Joseph. ACW’s Executive Director Nathalie Costa Thill couldn’t have been a more gracious and lovely hostess.
In the comfort of an Adirondack ski lodge-style room complete with the most gorgeous stone fireplace I’ve ever seen (it was encrusted with garnets, likely from the local mines for which Garnet Hill is named), I gave my talk on Winning Fiction and Nonfiction Book Proposals. The information and advice given in the talk helps writers understand how editors and agents evaluate potential acquisitions and what their book proposals must contain to get the coveted attention of these publishing professionals. The talk also addresses the differences between fiction and nonfiction proposals and what goes into each, where to find important information, and how writers can evaluate their own material. Here’s what a few participants had to say:
I don’t know if I allow myself to think of the marketing side of writing, so your talk on positioning and writing proposals made me realize, once again, how much there is to publishing and how each facet is important. Thank you!–Mike DeDivitis
This was the most thorough explanation of the topic I have read or heard.–April Peterson
What an enjoyable and informative speaker!–Ewa Hammer
Thank you so much to everyone who came out for the conference, and especially to those of you who met with me privately in the one-on-one sessions. I hope you got a lot out of our time together. And thanks again to Nathalie and the ACW for inviting me and bringing me up!
The Adirondacks are really gorgeous in the fall. I encourage you to keep an eye on ACW’s calendar to find out when their conference will occur next year. If you’re local, consider attending some of their other events held throughout the year.
FYI, here’s a copy of the ACW full brochure for the 9-24-11 conference.
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Filed Under: News, Speaking/Teaching
Tags: Adirondack Center for Writing, writers conference, writing workshop
Monday, February 28, 2011
“Breaking and Entering” Into Writing – 14th Bay to Ocean Writers Conference
This year I tried a new take on an old talk: Polishing Your Work (and Query Letter).
Every writer knows—or soon learns—that it takes multiple revisions to create a piece ready to compete for book buyers’ attention. This talk will introduce you to the most common problems that plague written works and offer simple ways to identify and resolve them in your own novel, short story, or memoir. You’ll also receive tips on writing an effective query letter, critical for those going the non-DIY route.
This annual conference boasts five sessions all in one day, allowing participants to choose from 25 workshops and programs presented by experienced authors, poets, film writers, writing instructors, freelance writers, editors, and publishers. With an incredible line-up of folks, I was honored to see my 40-50 person classroom fill up quickly. The crowd was patient as we tried to figure out a technology glitch, and they asked great questions…in several instances, staying one step ahead of my slides! That’s a good sign to me, as it tells me I’m addressing the questions top-most in participants’ minds. I hope everyone enjoyed the presentation as much as I enjoyed giving it.
I also got to meet one-on-one with three authors of quite different stories. These private consulations are always interesting. As a writer myself, I’m deeply interested in how the creative process varies for each writer, where ideas come from, and how they evolve along the way. The biggest challenge is that we only get up to the first 25 pages to review, which can be difficult to evaluate properly without the context of the complete story. I’m recommending to the organizers that in the future, manuscript evaluators also receive at least a one-page synopsis that clearly states the form of the piece (short story, novel, blog posts, memoir, etc.) and also gives the plot overview necessary for putting the opening pages into context.
The Bay to Ocean conference has sold out in advance for the past five years. Advance online registration is required, and I encourage you to make a note to register early next year so you don’t miss out! For conference and registration information, visit the website www.baytoocean.com, or write Bay to Ocean, PO Box 544, St. Michaels, MD 21663, or call (443) 786-4536.
Many thanks to Wilson Wyatt, Jr. for inviting me back, and to Mala Burt, Judy Reveal, Diane Marquette, and their committees for their work coordinating everything. I always appreciate a well-organized conference that runs smoothly!
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Filed Under: News, Speaking/Teaching
Tags: Bay to Ocean, query letters, revising, writers conference, writing
