Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting for Writers

To get what you want, you need to know what you want. Setting the foundation for your writing goals is key. Whether you’re starting a new project, finishing a manuscript, building your author platform, or figuring out your next steps, having clarity and a game plan will help you move forward.

Hosted by goal strategist, author, and The Book Proposal Expert Debra Eckerling, this session will introduce you to The DEB Method®, her system for goal-setting simplified. DEB stands for Determine Your Mission, Explore Your Options, and Brainstorm Your Path. Writers will define their goals, prioritize projects, and create a plan to turn their vision into reality.

During this session, you will:

Whether you are just starting out, working on a current project, or planning your next chapter, this workshop will set you up for success for the new year and beyond. 

Finding Your Niche: Buck Trends to Build a Career with Purpose

Most filmmakers are told to “stay open”: to write anything, direct anything, be everything. But in today’s industry, that approach often leads to a pile of scripts with nowhere to go.

In this Pipeline Symposium, writer/director Zach Bandler challenges the myth of the generalist filmmaker and makes the case for something far more effective: finding your niche. Drawing from his own shift into storytelling at the intersection of healthcare, empathy, and neuroscience, Zach will share how this evolution led to partnerships with medical institutions, an artist residency, and new pathways for funding and distribution outside traditional industry channels.

Zach will offer a practical framework for identifying the thematic lane you’re uniquely positioned to explore, and connecting that work to communities, institutions, and ecosystems that are actively seeking those stories.

Attendees will learn how to move beyond chasing traditional industry pathways and instead build a personal storytelling identity that attracts collaborators, funding, and audiences.

Because the goal isn’t to do everything. It’s to do something that only you can do, and build a career around it. 

What attendees have said ...

"Substantive recommendations and specific advice.  Very helpful, thanks so much!"

"I like Zach's approach and perspectives on establishing one's creative identity. It's helpful to me right now in solidifying mine."

Finish Your Project This Year

How to reignite your passion for a long-term project and complete it by the end of the year.

Whether it’s a screenplay, novel, or memoir, it takes a long time to complete a longform project. And yet many projects stretch out longer than they need to, the finish line receding farther in the distance as we wonder if we’ll ever reach our goal: a complete manuscript. January can be a painful reality, leading us to lament all we did not achieve in the prior year, to doubt we’ll ever get there.

But this year will be different. This year you CAN finish your project. If you have a plan.

In this session, we will explore what it means to finish a project, how to create structures that create forward progress, common obstacles that slow writers down, creative solutions to the ever-present challenge of finding time and space in this busy world, and what relationships are essential to getting to the finish line.

In this session you will learn:

You will walk away with renewed determination to tackle a project you really care about and a clear path toward achieving your creative goals. This year, you’ll finish it.

What attendees have said ...

"I really enjoyed Julia’s presentation. Her honesty and self-compassion are qualities we writers need reminding of. I hope I have opportunities to enjoy her work more in the future. She is very inspiring to me."

"I loved the concrete suggestions!"

Privacy for Writers: Why Writers Should Care about Privacy in a Connected World and What They Can Do About It

Facebook. Twitter. Tiktok. Snapchat. You’re a writer and you thought writing books meant, well writing books. But now you have to be online, build a platform and be accessible. But in today’s hyper connected world, the risks to an author’s privacy are exponential. 

But privacy is hard and its designed to be hard by the companies that profit from surveilling our lives.  How do you protect your privacy so that you can both have an online platform and connect with readers while protecting yourself, your family, and your reputation? 

As an author and a privacy professor, she understands that privacy often doesn’t matter to people - until it does. 

By the end of this presentation, you will be better prepared to understand what you’re giving up when you sign click agree to the terms and conditions, why it matters for actors, and specifically what the minimum steps are to take to raise the bar on personal privacy without having to sell your firstborn to hire a personal security consultant.  You’ll get actionable steps to take to start protecting your privacy, cleaning up your information from the internet, and giving yourself piece of mind that in the event you end up going viral for something you didn’t plan, you’ll be better able to keep the conversation online instead of showing up on your doorstep.  

This presentation will cover:

What Attendees Have Said ...

"The speaker was super informed, I only wish we had had more time for discussion around the specificities of writers sharing/virtual rooms, etc."

"Depth of information more than expected. I appreciate that we will get Jess’ slides as there is much to absorb."

"The speaker knows her subject matter; the content is excellent."

Writer Therapy: Creating Opportunities in Film, TV, and Beyond

Get comfortable ... it's therapy time!

With screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup and writer-turned-therapist Phil Stark (Dude, Where's My Car?), we'll not only discuss the state of the industry but also the mindset needed to stay in the game.

Perhaps, the biggest question for survival is, “Are you a screenwriter or a storyteller?” We'll discuss the pitfalls of writers painting themselves into a corner by not at least exploring other writing avenues. Let's dispel the myth of “all I need is a manager” or “all I need is to sell one script.”

Yes, it’s hard out there, but it’s always been hard. A writer won't get anywhere unless they put themselves out there and be as efficient as possible in jumpstarting their career.

Lee and Phil will share advice on getting your mindset straight, and words on the page.

Mindset Shift: Set Yourself Up for Writing Success

The beginning of a new year is a great time for authors to set goals: you may want to start (or finish) a draft, find a literary agent, or get published. With goal-setting, of course, comes fear and doubt and resistance. Not to mention the fact outcomes can rely heavily on market conditions, industry trends, and individual agent or editor preferences—all of which are beyond your control. 

In this session, Amy Goldmacher will take you through an interactive process that will give you tools to: 

You’ll leave with practical techniques and resources you can use immediately, along with the mindset shifts for writing success, to reach your literary aspirations in 2023 and beyond.