Southern California Writers' Conference Delivers the Strategies Writers Need to be Authors in the Digital Age, 2/15

The Southern California Writers Conference (SCWC)hits San Diego February 15 - 18, 2013, seeking writers ready to take their writing to the next level. The SCWC boasts a lengthy list of past attendees who are now successful and best-selling authors and screenwriters. The SCWC has facilitated over $4 million in first-time authors' book and screen deals over the past 26 years.

Writers from around the world attend this unique conference, held twice annually in San Diego and Newport Beach, CA, and widely considered among the premiere writers' conferences in the U.S.

The SCWC focuses on the art, craft and business of getting published in today's dynamic market through dozens of interactive, informational and read and critique workshops.

Executive director Michael Steven Gregory, an accomplished writer and filmmaker, attributes much of the SCWC's success to its vibrant sense of community. He explains, "Many aspiring authors work in isolation and don't get the necessary feedback from qualified professionals on what's not working in their material, let alone how to fix it. Consequently, they're doomed to repeat mistakes and fall into a cycle of rejection. The SCWC provides writers access to the writing community to troubleshoot problematic aspects in material, make crucial publishing connections, understand the latest trends in the business and improve their odds of getting published successfully."

Book deals of past conferences include Stacey O'Brien's internationally best-selling memoir Wesley the Owl (Simon & Schuster), Darlene Quinn's award-winning Webs of Power, Twisted Webs, Webs of Fate and the upcoming Unpredictable Webs (Greenleaf Book Group), Mark Thomkins' Illuminations: Expressions of the Personal Spiritual Experience (Celestial Arts/Ten Speed Press), among many others listed at http://www.writersconference.com.

With over 50 day and nighttime sessions, workshop leaders and speakers for the February conference include such best-selling authors as David Brin (Existence), Drusilla Campbell (Little Girl Gone), Andrew E. Kaufman (The Lion, The Lamb, The Hunted), Janice Steinberg (The Tin Horse), Laurel Corona (Finding Emile) and others in a variety of fiction and nonfiction genres, as well as agents and editors actively seeking new clients.

New to the San Diego conference is a "Do Yourself Independence" (DYI) track devoted to publishing in the Digital Age. With an emphasis on publishing independently, whether through e-books, micro-press, POD or service-assisted self-publishing, Gregory explains that the DYI track's focus is on the attitude today's authors must possess and actions they must take to rise above the din of social media hype in order to distinguish their work.

Exclusive to SCWC is NovelCram, a two day intensive workshop that covers everything you need to know about putting a novel together - plot and scene structure, dramatic development, character development, pacing, narrative drive and more.

Executive Director Michael Steve Gregory tells writers with his trademark acerbic wit, "This IS your year. Some of you will learn what you need to become professional authors and others will learn to, well, suck less. Either way, if you use what you learn here, you come out a better writer, period."

The cost of the full, three-day conference, including workshops, lectures, speakers, and Saturday Night dinner reception is only $425 and just $350 for Saturday and Sunday only. To become a better writer this year, register here.

For additional information on the Southern California Writers Conference at the San Diego Crowne Plaza Hote l, 2270 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, contact Michael Steven Gregory at (619) 303-8185 or email him at msg (at) WritersConference (dot) com. Or visit the SCWC online at http://www.writersconference.com.