Need help with your book proposal?

Give me your feedback for a potential mini-residency + July Meeting Invite

📅July Meeting Invite📅

⚠️⚠️⚠️One day earlier than usual!⚠️⚠️

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Authors Meeting

Thursday, July 24 · 5 PM PST, 6 PM MST, 7 PM CST, 8 PM EST

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Thinking of your next book proposal?

Christie Ashchwanden’s Book Proposal Factory
Highly recommended by a member to get your book proposal written and off the ground!
📅 14 sessions at various dates | 💵 $1,000 USD total | 📍Online |💀Currently full but email for future sessions.

🌱Mini-residency for book proposals might soon be in development - Feedback please!🌱

I took this picture while at the Jentel Residency, which is affiliated with, and just down the street from, the Neltje Center. The Neltje Center is where the potential mini-residency would be.

One of the five-ish projects I have on my to-do list is making a mini-residency for writers. I’d love your feedback! Here’s what I’ve got so far:

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Who would attend:
There are only six rooms (the site says maybe up to 10 if we can use the other house), so I’d like to be very specific about who attends. Right now, I’m thinking of professional writers who have a journalistic nonfiction book idea (or several to choose from) and want to make progress during the residency.

🏠Wait, what is a mini-residency?
A residency is different from a conference or summit in that there is very little structured time during a residency. I’m thinking that during dinners we can have productive talks, and possibly even speakers, but residencies are designed to give you time, space, and quiet to get work done. A non-mini-residency would be a lot more than 3-4 days.

📖Why book proposals?
I swear I’m not trying to copy the book proposal factory! I’m thinking of focusing on proposals because I think I’d be best equipped to lead something that I’m also doing. My book, Carcass, is with the publisher, hopefully somewhere on the spectrum of “done,” so I’m really not “writing” it. So I wouldn’t be writing a book when and if this residency happens. The next bookish thing for me to do is another proposal. Also, that leads me into this:

📚Would this happen annually? What is the plan for the future?
My vision for the next year would be a residency for people to spend time writing their books, with priority given to those who had attended the first session and now have book deals. Maybe there’s a third residency idea like “marketing your book,” but I’m so very suspicious of most “book marketers.” So I could go back to “proposal.” But this is getting ahead of me.

💡Theme:
To apply for this, I need to answer “why this location?” (The Neltje center itself, which has lots of abstract art, the Bighorn region, Wyoming, rural America?) I’m thinking of asking the attendees why they want this particular location. But it would be useful if we all had similar themes somewhat involved in our book ideas. Maybe something like:

• Amplifying rural voices

• Understanding interactions between nature and people (my fave rn)

• Bringing in-person nature experiences into science writing

…in journalistic nonfiction book proposals.

🙏Feedback please: what theme would you want/suggest that takes advantage of the location as well as serving you and your ideas?

📍Location:
I’m pitching it to the mini-residency project at the Neltje Center, which is in NE Wyoming.

📅Dates:
Undecided, but the mini-residencies are only supposed to be 3-4 days.

💵Cost to attend:
I haven’t got that far yet. I’d like it to be free, and I’ll be applying for any and all grants I can find that would support it. If I get enough, maybe I can even give stipends to residents. Residency fees run the gamut—some cost a lot, some not so much, some cost less than the food they provide, some are free, and some pay you.

🙏Feedback please: If I can’t get funding or can’t cover the whole thing, would you pay for something like this? How much and how would you frame your budget—like, would you pay the same as the cost of a hotel for the same number of nights? I’m not asking so I can hold people to it and charge them as much as possible, but in case I can’t get enough funding for anyone to even want to go, maybe I’ll shelf this idea.

Or is there a minimum amount you’d need to be paid to take time off and go?

I’d hope to charge or pay all residents the same amount, based on funding.

💵Cost to apply:
Application fees often support residencies. I’m kind of opposed to those—why should I ask you to pay for something that you don’t even get? I acknowledge that application fees for residencies are the norm, but if this happens, I’d prioritize making the application free before the actual residency.