You’ve got skills to share, and we’ve got writers eager to learn; it’s a match made in Denver. We’ve made some changes this year, so please read through the guidelines before you submit your proposal.
Important Considerations
Schedule
February 1: Workshop Portal opens
February 29: Workshop Portal closes (at 11:59 PM MST)
April 30: Presenters will be informed if their workshop proposals were accepted.
May 31: Accepted presenters must register for the conference.
Compensation
Presenters are compensated with a 100% discount on conference tuition for either:
- Two hours of workshop content plus at least one of the following services: panelist, Birds of a Feather session host, table host at Friday dinner, blue pencil critiquer, or mentor sessions
- OR three or more hours of workshop content
*Co-Presenters receive $50 off registration per hour of content presented.
All presenters must be prepared to register for the conference before May 31, 2024. If other arrangements are not made with the conference chairs, another presenter may be chosen instead.
NOTE: the maximum compensation for any presenter is one conference registration fee. Paid add-ons are not included in the base conference registration fee and will not be compensated. RMFW does not compensate for travel, hotel rooms, or other expenses.
Returning Presenters
Colorado Gold strives for a mixture of new presenters and established favorites as well as fresh topics and perennial content. We recommend that returning presenters either pitch a new workshop or make it clear how the material has been updated. The same applies to presenters who’ve taught at other local conferences. Let us know how this version will be different.
Self-promotion
Please do not use your workshop as a marketing opportunity. You may mention your business at the beginning of your workshop to establish your expertise and provide a link to your contact information or mailing list at the end. Otherwise, please do not mention it or solicit workshop participants for your business.
Minimizing the number of examples from your own fiction is also recommended.
Selection Criteria
Major factors:
- Content (Usefulness, Uniqueness, Completeness)
- Teaching ability (Engagement, Experience, Education)
- Expertise (Publication record or professional credentials for non-writing topics)
Minor factors:
- How many workshops you can teach? (More than two is a plus.)
- Length of your workshops (One-hour workshops are preferable to two.)
- The overall balance of levels, genres, and publishing paths
Last year’s conference offerings: https://rmfw.org/conference-2023-workshops/
Content Categories
Writing is a multifaceted discipline. Authors need to understand the mechanics of writing and the artistry of storytelling, but they also need to understand technology, social media, and marketing. We need to understand what our audience might expect from our genre-specific stories as well as how to form an LLC, pick a lock, or describe a fight scene.
We’ve attempted to categorize these multitudes of skills in a manner supportive of diverse and interesting conference programming. Please read the below descriptions to determine where your expertise might best fit!
Craft: Writing, Editing, and Research
Writing: The craft of writing and building stories constitutes about 70% of our programming. Subcategories include but are not limited to: characters (including diversity), setting, dialogue, tense, point of view, plot structure or “pantsing”, emotion, first pages, scenes, voice, and writing other than novels.
Editing: Writing is rewriting, right? If the class relates to editing your work, working with a critique group, or hiring a professional editor, this is the category to choose.
Research and Topic Expertise: To get our stories right, we need to learn about a myriad of real-world issues. This category includes how to do research and interview experts, as well as specific topics of expertise such as law enforcement, martial arts, health care, mental illness, diversity, and science.
Professional
Publishing: This category includes any topic related to publishing, including traditional and self-publishing. Examples include: cover design, formatting software, ISBNs, pitching, query letters, and contracts.
Marketing: This category includes anything relating to an author platform and getting your name out into the world, including: newsletters, website design, blogging, social media use, and paid ads.
Business: This category is all about the business side of writing, covering things like forming a business entity, managing taxes, and contracts.
Creativity and Productivity
This category includes how to generate ideas, enhance creativity, and increase productivity. Examples from the past include getting over writer’s block, distraction-free writing, writing a complete novel in six weeks, and rediscovering playfulness.
Genre-Specific and Other
Some classes apply to a certain genre or set of genres. Examples in the past have included magic systems, how to write a thriller, fiction for younger audiences, horror romance, and writing within the constraints of historical fact.
Other: Feel free to propose something that doesn’t fit in the above categories. We are always looking for new and different topics.
Class Lengths
Regular conference workshops are either one or two hours long, with the shorter classes being preferable. Plan to leave ten minutes at the end of each workshop for attendees to transition to their next class. In a two-hour class, expect some attendees to leave and others to arrive during the transition.
Masterclasses are four hours in length and are always scheduled on Friday morning. Attendees sign up to take the entire class. There are a limited number of these offered.
Class Types
RMFW offers a variety of ways to deliver your content and engage with fellow writers. You may want to spend the time chatting with an expert panel, present your content in a more traditional lecture format, offer an interactive workshop with writing exercises, or something else entirely.
Lectures
Our lectures generally involve one or a couple of presenters discussing a given topic. The style will vary depending on the presenter and may be formal or informal.
Panels
Panels often involve a group of speakers discussing a topic before an audience, typically with a moderator. Format may be formal or informal.
Workshops
Workshops are designed for hands-on experiences of a more physical variety. Good workshop topics might be yoga for writers, lock picking, and martial arts for writers.
Experience Levels
RMFW members range from folks who are just beginning their writing journey to multi-published experts. As such, we look for content to support that entire journey. This year, we are especially looking for more advanced classes or classes that the presenter can tune to be basic or more advanced depending on our needs.
Please note that the levels correspond to the audience’s experience with writing, not the topic in question. For example, classes on expertise (like martial arts or the legal system) would be classified as beginner level because beginning writers need the information, even though they are providing expert-level information within their discipline.
Beginner: Introduction of basic concepts, defining common terms, a general overview of a topic, or a focus on getting started. (Getting Started with FB, Genre 101, What is POV?)
Intermediate: Attendees at this level know the basics and need to grow further. (Deep POV, The FB Editorial Calendar, Generating Blog Ideas)
Advanced: Attendees at this level have stories that have been published – either independently or traditionally – and require tools and techniques to put it all together. Publication, marketing, and business topics are generally all at this level.
Application Checklist
In order to submit workshop proposal(s), you will need the following:
- Headshot (image file)
- Presenter bio (150 words max)
- Teaching credentials or a reference who can attest to your presentation skills (for new presenters) OR Name(s) and date(s) of previous RMFW presentations
- Workshop title(s)
- Workshop blurb(s) (300 characters max)
- Workshop detailed description(s) (25000 characters max)
- Workshop presentation history
- Description of your expertise in the topic
- Co-presenter contact info (if applicable)