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January 28, 2025

Concept is King: Elevating Story Concepts

What makes a good concept? And how do you make sure you fulfill its promise on the page? In this symposium, veteran screenwriter and teacher Tom Vaughan defines concept and shows how to exploit it your narrative projects. This session will offer a whole new insight in what is meant by commercial viability.

Book Pipeline

Book Pipeline connects writers to publishers, agents, and the film industry through competitions and workshops, providing hands-on support to bridge the gap between emerging authors and the industry since 2014.

Script Pipeline

Script Pipeline connects writers with producers, agents, and managers, facilitating over $8 million in sales through competitions and ongoing industry support, helping launch major films and secure high-profile representation since 1999.

Film Pipeline

Film Pipeline connects filmmakers and writers with agencies and executives, focusing on diverse storytelling and playing an active role in developing and promoting projects, reviewing thousands of submissions annually since its launch in 2018.

Beyond the Book: Creating a Writing Career

Recorded

January 19, 2022

Duration

2 Hours

Cost

$35

Subject

Publishing

Topic

Business

Stop thinking about your book and start thinking about your writing career.

Most writers don’t think beyond writing “The End,” but if you intend to be a professional author, you need to have a plan and make smart career choices to stay on the path to meet your long-term goals—from mapping your next books out, to landing the right agent, and signing with the right publisher.

Chantelle Aimée Osman, the editor of Agora Books, discusses a solid strategy for laying the foundations to career success.

  • How to diagnose your manuscript is ready, standard editing mistakes new authors make and how to avoid them.
  • Starting to build your team: finding the right agent, and how to get your query to the top of the pile (finding agents: including having more than one agent for film, foreign, etc., how to know if they’re right for you, query letter, synopsis, pitching: in person and in writing). 
  • Building your team, step two: finding the right publisher (the difference between small, independent and major, considerations in making these decisions as it relates to an author’s overall career plan).
  • Ways to make money writing while you write.
  • Identifying long-term goals and interim plans to make money and build your brand.

Host

Chantelle Aimée Osman
Chantelle Aimée Osman (she/her) is acquisitions editor at Lake Union Publishing, and the former editor of Agora Books, an award-winning imprint focusing on socially and culturally unique crime fiction and horror from publisher Polis Books. Since its founding in 2019, Chantelle's Agora titles  won three International Latino Book Award medals, been nominated for Edgar, Stoker, Dagger, Anthony, […]

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Upcoming Events

January 28, 2025

Concept is King: Elevating Story Concepts

What makes a good concept? And how do you make sure you fulfill its promise on the page? In this symposium, veteran screenwriter and teacher Tom Vaughan defines concept and shows how to exploit it your narrative projects. This session will offer a whole new insight in what is meant by commercial viability.
February 4, 2025

One-on-One with J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is not only a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels, she's also an EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS, and one of the most generous professional writers in the industry. As always, our Symposium one-on-one conversations are a community event. While Jeanne Veillette Bowerman and J.T. converse, your questions will be addressed, too!
February 11, 2025

A Crash Course in Novel Writing

Your story matters, and "someday" is not the time to write it. If something has been holding you back from writing your novel—whether it be lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of knowing how to write it, or just plain fear—then Grant Faulkner, former Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month, can help you get your creative juices flowing and take the first steps to planning your novel.

Latest Streaming

January 15, 2025

Troubled Waters: Navigating the Agent/Author Relationship

Agent Stacey Graham from 3 Seas Literary Agency will share how to recognize the signs of when your agent/author relationship may be headed for the rocks, what to try to right the ship, and when it's time to head for the lifeboat in this fast-paced presentation. 
January 7, 2025

The State of Hollywood: A 2025 Primer for Film & TV Writers

Screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup brings a new Symposium, exclusively for film and TV writers—both new/emerging and semi-established—focusing on the current state of the industry, the hard truths rarely discussed (yet every writer has to confront), and exploring all that is required to move your writing—and your career—forward.
November 19, 2024

Christmas for Cable: Writing Cable Network Films

Writing for cable networks such as Hallmark, Lifetime, or UpTV is specialty writing. Same with any of the streaming services looking for a “Hallmark” type of Christmas film—and they all are. They each have their specific brand. For their specific audiences. They have guidelines you have to write to. This class will lay those out […]

Symposium, presented by Pipeline Artists, is a year-round virtual conference empowering creatives with honest, no-nonsense guidance across the arts. Through seminars, industry panels, and Town Hall discussions on screenwriting, filmmaking, publishing, and career-building, Symposium offers grounded advice from working professionals to help you forge your own unique path.

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