Guest Speakers in April: Victorine Lieske and Brittany Larsen
When: Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 10 AM PST
Workshop Title: Writing to Market
Agenda (Pacific Standard Time):
Online via Zoom: Please register before 5 pm Friday, April 11, 2025 PST to receive the Zoom link.
- 10:00 am Meeting Opens with OCRW Announcements
- 10:15 am Speaker Session: Making Your Characters Sing!
- 11:30 am OCRW Business Meeting
- 11:45 am Break for Lunch
- 12:15 pm Meeting Resumes
- 12:30 pm Small Group Breakout Sessions: Everything About Contests
- 2:00 pm Meeting Adjourns
Morning Workshop: Writing to Market
What is writing to market, and how are authors using this to make six and seven figures? In this class, we’ll talk about what writing to market is, what it isn’t, and how to create fiction that sells. There are many misconceptions about writing to market, and we’ll dispel those as well as give tricks on how you can write to market while still writing what you love.
About Victorine Lieske
Victorine self-published her first book, Not What She Seems, in April 2010. In March 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6-week run on The New York Times best-selling eBook list. By May 2011, she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine’s first romantic comedy novel hit the USA Today Bestselling books list in January 2015. When she’s not writing, she’s watching swoony Korean Dramas, or making something with her extensive yarn collection.
Afternoon Workshop: Girl Power: Writing Romance Without Sacrificing Women
Is it possible to write a satisfying romance that also includes female empowerment and gender parity?
Yes! And nine out of the ten current bestselling romance authors have the sales to prove it, but only when using the baseline measurement of the Bechdel Test, which means there is still room for improvement.
Why should we, as romance writers, care about whether our own books can pass the Bechdel Test? And why should we strive to write romances that can pass even more stringent examinations of gender parity?
The number one reason is because our readers are predominantly women, but the number two reason is that the gap between female and male romance readers is shrinking , particularly in romances that offer unique perspectives, diverse themes, and complex character dynamics. Which means, as romance authors, we have a distinct opportunity to not only change the way people see, think about, and treat women, but also how women see, think about, and allow themselves to be treated.
Please join me in this workshop to discuss questions and ideas of female empowerment in romance, along with data about the importance of gender parity, and suggestions for how we can give women power in our own writing.
About Brittany Larsen
Brittany Larsen was born and raised in Idaho but is now a permanent resident of Southern California where she thrives on comfy pants, Australian licorice, and sunshine. She’s published thirteen sweet romantic comedies and a couple of historical romance novellas set in the Old West. When not writing, she teaches hot yoga and takes naps. Her sweater-sporting, mini Aussi-doodle Bo, is her favorite writing companion, but her favorite people are her husband and three daughters.
Online via Zoom: Please register before 5 pm Friday, April 11, 2025 PST to receive the Zoom link.
The Zoom link will be emailed on the evening of Friday, April 11, 2025, after registration closes.
Registration: To register for the meeting use the meeting ink below. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Please select whether you’re an OCRW member or non-member and whether you are attending in person or online using the drop down menu.
IMPORTANT: Please fill in your email address for Zoom Registration purposes when you register–we need to know where to email your Zoom link. We need time to collect email addresses and email out the link.
Click here to see the current Speaker Schedule.