Mentoring for writers on Patreon! Workshops, Master Classes and (soon) live Zooms! Over 153 videos and posts so far and I’m adding more all the time. I’d love to see you there! patreon.com/BrandyVallance

I had a wonderful time chatting with Erin Nieto, author of Love & Conductivity! Erin had a real life adventure as an art appraiser and what she found became her lovely novel! Within the first couple of pages of her book, you just might find a blurb from me. 😉

You can buy Erin’s book here: https://amzn.to/4gMmJdc 

Visit Erin’s website: https://esnieto.com

I’m back with Robert Spiller and this week we’re talking about our experience with critique groups. Some things worked for us, and some things didn’t. Sometimes it’s just preference, but here’s what we’ve found…

How do you start a critique group? What should the rules be? How do you create synergy with the members? And most importantly — how do you get the best feedback to make you a better writer and see your book on the bookshelves?

Robert and I unpack these points… and more! Comment and tell us your experience. What’s worked for you? What hasn’t? We’d love to know!

If you’d like to pitch to me via Zoom at an online conference, or meet me in person, here’s my 2025 conference schedule for the year so far:

San Diego Writing Workshop (online)

February 7 – 8, 2025

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South Carolina Writing Workshop (in person)

March 1, 2025

Charleston, SC 

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Cascade Christian Writers Conference (online 

March 7 pitch appointments 

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Texas Writing Workshop (online)

March 7 – 8, 2025 

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Alabama Writing Workshop (in person)

March 14, 2025

Birmingham, Alabama

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Atlanta Writing Workshop (in person)

March 15, 2025

Atlanta, Georgia 

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Ohio Writing Workshop (online)

April 4 – 5, 2025 

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Pittsburg Writing Workshop (online)

May 9 – 10, 2025

Writing Day Workshop is running a First Pages Contest for 1) young adult fiction, 2) romance, women’s, historical, and 3) adult sci-fi & fantasy. FREE to enter. Ends on Feb. 4, 2025: 

I’m judging romance, women’s fiction, and historical. You can check out the page below: 

https://www.writingdayworkshops.com/blog/first-pages-contest-2-romance-historical-womens-fiction-judged-by-agent-brandy-vallance

I’m back with Robert Spiller and we’re talking about a different way to think about a writing rule. Here, we go draft by draft and show you ways to deepen your writing, and some things to watch out for.

As an author, how do you get your readers to feel? Is there some skill that has to be learned or does it happen naturally? Here, Robert T. Spiller & Brandy Vallance discuss some advanced writing techniques, as well as some stories that do this well.

15 Query Letter and Submission Mistakes To Avoid, taught by Brandy Vallance. Once you understand some basics about crafting a query and submitting your work, it’s time to review what NOT to do when contacting agents and editors. This class, taught by a literary agent, addresses common agent pet peeves, submission errors, things that come off as unprofessional, cliche wording in a query, and more. Learn what small mistakes may be torpedoing your submission, and what you can do to fix them.

I received some wonderful news yesterday! My screenplay, THE LADY ILLUMINATORS, was named in the Final Draft Pro Screenwriting Competition! Here’s the link. 

Social Media Post: I’m thrilled that I’m a quarterfinalist in the @finaldraftinc Big Break Competition! My screenplay, THE LADY ILLUMINATORS is under the Sci-fi category. Wow, I’m so grateful! I wrote the book during some of the hardest times in my life then adapted it into a screenplay this year. What a long journey TLI has been on so far. I’m excited to see where the journey goes!