With the I AM Writing Festival now a (hopefully!) happy memory for those who attended in person or online, here is the chance to feel the festival fever again and again! Access plenty of advice and resources to help your writing along through the 11 talks which made up the very important virtual element, accessible for writers living anywhere.

Learn how to tighten your editing, build upon your characterisation, self-publish, self-promote, overcome shyness when chatting about your book to a room FULL of people, and how to pitch to an agent! All these topics and more are part of the I AM Writing Festival learning experience and all 11 Virtual Talks can be accessed online for just £37. The replays have been converted into videos with Start/Stop functionality so you can press pause to collect the children, answer the door, chop your vegetables, pay heed to a creative urge that must be acknowledged… all without having to miss a thing!

All talks were presented live in front of a global virtual audience with the exception of Talk 2 which was pre-recorded. The deadline for watching all replays is 31 August.

WHAT'S INCLUDED?

1. MARKETING YOUR WAY TO A BESTSELLER
NICOLA MAY

The fabulous Nicola May kicked off our festival in style with her positive energy and vast experience as she explained how taking the decision to self-publish her standalone and series romcoms turned her into a no.1 eBook bestselling author. Nicola chatted through various self-publishing options available in the digital world today and what marketing strategies work for her, and what simply do not. Expect plenty of tips and most importantly, a whole shelf load of inspiration.

2. THE DEBUT AUTHOR, THE IMPOSTER-SYNDROME-SUFFERER AND THE PUBLISHER
ZOE ANTONIADES

Even when you can finally say you're a published author there are still plenty of challenges ahead that perhaps no one has warned you about. What’s it like working with a real publishing house? And when do you start celebrating your right to be there and stop feeling like the newbie? Hear a fresh, honest account from Zoe Antoniades' experience of working with publishing house Andersen Press on her own children's series, Cally and Jimmy, and find out how a team of people bring your book to life through editing, art direction, illustration and marketing.
(This event was pre-recorded and not presented in front of a live audience).

3. PICTURE BOOKS: BEYOND THE FIRST DRAFT
EMILY ANN DAVISON

So, you have the first draft of a picture book? Congratulations! But now what do you do? In this session, the brilliant Emily Ann Davison uses examples of her own successful picture book Yoga Bunnies to demonstrate how editing your picture book text can make it stronger and take it from that daunting first draft to a perfectly polished picture book text. Emily explains formats and narratives in simple terms which are useful for beginners and authors some way along their writing path.

4. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY IN PUBLISHING
ZOE ANTONIADES, NEEMA SHAH AND ALEXANDRA SHEPPARD

Three authors with different cultural backgrounds and readership audiences take to the stage to chat about the levels of diversity and inclusivity within the world of publishing. Middle grade author Zoe Antoniades, adult fiction author Neema Shah and YA and soon to be Middle Grade author Alexandra Sheppard chat with Elane from I AM in print about their own experiences of becoming published authors and how barriers may or may not be shifting in respect of writers from different cultures and races, disabilities, LGBTQ+ communities, societal class and more.

5. HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON
SCOTT PACK

If you're toying with the idea of self-publishing but aren't sure you'll master the technology side of things without paying an extortionate amount of money for someone's help, sit back and see how simple and cost effective it can really be. In just one hour, in front of a live audience, writer and publisher, Scott Pack, publishes a book in both digital and print editions on the Amazon website! Pause your screen at any point to make notes as Scott takes you through the process step by step, taking questions as he goes. Watch as he first formats the document into an Amazon compatible style, then navigate the KDP platform before sending your finished book off into the world. You'll thank yourself one hour after watching when you too can say "I'm a published author!"

6. CHASING DOWN THE ANTAGONIST
NEIL LANCASTER AND MARION TODD

We knew we could rely on the amazing Neil Lancaster and Marion Todd to chat live from their homes in Scotland about their favourite thing - how to create and catch a villain! Marion is well-known for the careful planning of her pacy police detective series See Them Run while Neil openly admits he never uses a plan, but the ideas just whisk him away for his two gripping series Going Dark and Dead Man's Grave. So how can two entirely different approaches result in some of crime thriller's most convincing criminals coming to life with protagonists we really root for to chase them down? If you want to create tension and that all important page-turning quality in your novel, listen as Marion and Neil bring an antagonist to life and discuss examples of well-written bad guys in thrilling literature.

7. THE EDITOR’S TOOLKIT
HELEN CORNER-BRYANT

With over 20 years of launching writing careers, founder of editing house Cornerstones Helen Corner-Bryant is very well-placed to help with something ALL writers need to know about – how to tighten up your editing skills. She thoroughly explains the three act structure of novel writing and the three different types of editing your book will go through with an editor. With Helen's help, take a look at how characters and plot sit inside setting, and how changing a tense can have a remarkable effect. From adding apostrophes to deleting a whole chapter, this detailed hour covers everything you need to know about how editing really does transform your story for the better.

8. DEMYSTIFYING BOOK PUBLICITY
ANA MCLAUGHLIN

With her vast experience in the world of book publicity and promoting herself as a published author Ana McLaughlin’s workshop will share insight into how publicity works within trade publishing. Ana turns your desire to become published on its head by inviting you to ask how to present yourself to agents and editors as someone whose work is promotable. What, in a publisher's view, makes you promotable? And once you have your book deal how will your publicist support you? If you are self-publishing, querying or seeking to gain a wider readership outside the traditional publishing model, pick up Ana's tips on how can you become your own publicist too.

9. HELPING SHY WRITERS TO SHINE
NADIA FINER

When it comes to the writing, you’re a pro! But, when it comes to actually talking about your work, and “putting it out there” you feel all kinds of resistance. Nadia Finer is an expert on shyness, having been told since childhood to "speak up", "don't be shy" and all manner of quotes that to a child could only be damaging. This hour is a fascinating account of how being shy is acceptable and actually an important part of making our society diverse. If you're dreading having to present in front a room full of school children, or take part in a book shop panel or an online event, this hour with Nadia is truly empowering as she teaches how to turn shyness into a strength so that opportunities, recognition and success can be owned, even when we're quiet.

10. TEN THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOUR SIGN YOUR FIRST (OR NEXT) CONTRACT
RHODA BAXTER

When you sit down each day to write, you are probably a million thoughts away from knowing that being a published author involves more than just writing; understanding the business side of today’s publishing world is all important too. Fortunately, the brilliant Rhoda Baxter understands Intellectual Property (IP) as much as she knows how to write bestselling novels and is here to encourage you to think of your novel as your own IP, and consider publishers and agents to be your business partners. As a writer Rhoda has been tempted to sign contracts in the past without being fully prepared and, now armed with lots of experience working with IP, she is here to help you ask the right questions before you sign that contract of your own.

11. ASK THE AGENT
JADE KAVANAGH AND TANERA SIMONS (from Darley Anderson Agency)

Writers often tell us that the submission process is a long and painful one. "Slush pile", "dreaded synopsis" and "another rejection" are familiar phrases among the writing community. Why is it that you send out your book baby to an agent only to hear absolutely nothing in response? What appeals to an agent and makes them ask to see your full manuscript? And how do you know if your story is even marketable? Jade Kavanagh and Tanera Simons, literary agents at Darley Anderson offer advice to help writers understand how to give a literary agent (as Tanera describes it) "that tingly feeling" when they read a submission they fall in love with straight away. What should your cover letter sound like? How can you keep your synopsis succinct and on one page without narrowing the font to size 4? And what does commercial appeal look like in just 5,000 words? A fantastic hour of learning to close our virtual festival sessions.