pencon – Almost An Author

PENCON, Fifth Annual Editing Conference By: Tisha Martin

The best investment is a good investment, but what is a good investment? One that has lasting personal and professional value.

As a writer, you may also edit part-time or even own your own publishing imprint and operate a small publishing press. In addition to writing, perhaps you edit professionally. No matter your place in the industry, you value the authors and publishers and clients you work with, as well as the readers you write for. And, you value your professional editing skills.

PENCON is a professional conference for editors, and it’s also for anyone who desires to strengthen their personal editing skills. This includes but is not limited to self-publishers, small presses, publishers, authors who are also editors, homeschool groups whose high school students are interested in the editing industry, and educational institutions whose departments focus on the publishing industry.

At PENCON 2018, we guarantee you lasting personal and professional value. Value in friendships. Value in a community that thinks—and speaks—just like you. Value in professional networking. Value in continuing education. Value in stretching your business—and yourself—as you meet new professionals in your field of expertise and learn from their experiences.

How much value do you want?

We’re celebrating our fifth anniversary and are meeting in the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan, May 3–5, 2018. Collectively, our faculty comes prepared with more than 100 years of experience in the publishing industry and backgrounds in

indie publishing,
marketing,
business,
children’s and YA editing,
graphic design,

Our faculty also represents several Christian publishing houses. And our keynote speaker is Robert Hudson, the author of The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style.

You want to sign up! We know you do—and we’d love to talk with you. Early-bird registration ends January 31, 2018. Get a deal and snap up more than a handful of value by registering early for PENCON. We can’t wait to see you there!

Visit us online at www.penconeditors.com. Check out our faculty. Review the sessions. And register now.

Like and share our Facebook page, and keep up to date with upcoming sessions and PENCON news.

Bio:

Owner of TM Editorial, Tisha Martin specializes in historical fiction, academic editing, and creative nonfiction. An active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN, she appreciates the writing and editing communities. Tisha is editor and proofreader for beginning and best-selling authors, professional editing agencies, and publishing houses. As Assistant Director of PENCON, she enjoys organizing the conference, networking with others, and creating advertising content for the Facebook and LinkedIn pages. Connect with Tisha on Facebook or follow her Pinterest board for writers and editors.

PENCON From the Eyes of a New Editor-Cristel Phelps

PENCON is hosted by The Christian Pen https://thechristianpen.com/

It has taken a year, but the new release by your favorite author is sitting on the store shelf. The cover is bright and shiny and calling your name. You take a moment to decide if you want the hardcover or the ebook. Hardcover, definitely! Its cost is hefty but well worth the price. Anticipation of a well written story is making you feel impatient. So after hurrying to the cash register, the next step is running home, brewing the coffee, and settling down in your favorite cushy chair. The aromas of the coffee and the brand new book are enough to put a smile on your face, and you start reading.

Things are going well until you run into your first typo. Really? In a hardcover book that cost almost half of a rent payment? Sigh. You decide to forgive your favorite author and realize that everyone is entitled to a mistake every once in a while, so you commence reading again. The story is everything you hoped it would be (once you forgot about the typo). The heroine is enjoying her life among the magnolias in South Carolina. Wait! Two pages earlier, she lived in Boston! What? Which is it?

Those are only two kinds of errors that a good editor looks for and corrects before a book goes to print. Whether a story, article, or marketing piece, the writer wants their publication to be presented with the highest impact on the reader. But even with the best intentions and excellent writing skills, ideas a writer tries to convey sometimes don’t come across as intended. That is when an editor comes alongside an author to enhance the finished product.

On May 4-6 in Atlanta, a community of Christian editors met for their yearly conference, PENCON, hosted by The Christian Editor Network LLC. These special wordsmiths spent days focusing on training and encouraging each other. The mandate of the organization is to empower and equip editing professionals in the Christian market. They certainly met their objectives.

Best Selling Author Cecil Murphy at PENCON

Opening with keynote speaker Cecil Murphy, lovingly called “Cec” by his friends. Mr. Murphy has been in the industry as editor and author for over 40 years with more than 140 published titles. His friendly and engaging style started the event off on a high note. In addition to Cecil, the line-up of quality speakers included Amy Williams, Don Catlett, Karin Beery, Katie Morford, Kristen Stieffel, Linda Harris, Rachel Newman, Ralene Burke, and Cindy Woodsmall. Experts in their field, they shared their knowledge and love of books with those who attended. Many of the editors who taught sessions are also accomplished authors in their own right and were able to share their experience from both sides of the pen.

PENCON is a unique experience. It is a small, intimate group of friends who enjoy sharing their love of editing, writing, and the Christian book industry as a whole. The sessions were not the only place where learning was taking place, though. During breaks and late into the evening hours, one could find small pockets of conversations going on, comparing notes and editing techniques. The size of this conference helps foster individualized learning while allowing friendships and networking opportunities to grow. One specific element of PENCON that sets itself above many other conferences in the industry is the opportunity for the attendees to experience a one-on-one session with conference speakers, gleaning individual instruction directly from the experts!

As a relatively new editor, this was my first time at such a conference. There was so much to learn and share with others that at times I felt like I was drinking from a firehose. The other attendees instantly made me feel welcome and part of their editing family. To find out that I was learning from authors and successful industry professionals made my time in Atlanta much more valuable. Then to top it off, meeting one-on-one with Cecil Murphy and sharing his heart for his work and care for others was the highlight of the entire weekend for this newbie editor.

Should you have a passion for the Christian publishing industry and work as a writer or editor, consider joining us in Grand Rapids, MI, for next year’s PENCON conference in May. It is an investment you will not want to miss. You could also consider becoming a member of The Christian Pen and begin enhancing your skills today. Online training by industry experts is scheduled throughout the year. Membership is reasonable and you can start right away helping us save the world from books with typos and storyline errors. Friends don’t let friends read bad books! (Smile) See you next year!

Cristel Phelps

Starting as the Publishing Editor for Decapolis Publishing in Lansing, Michigan, Cristel Phelps is currently a reviewer for CBA and an editor for Elk Lake Publishing. She loves encouraging new authors and saving the world from bad stories…one book at a time.