We’re Growing!

By Beth Burgmeyer

This fall, the Des Moines Writers’ Workshop will be heading into its third year. In just the short time since we’ve launched our website, the Des Moines Writers’ Workshop has been steadily growing. It’s been very exciting to connect with other Des Moines area writers. We’ve grown so much, we’re starting a second critique group in September. In our current group, members submit up to 5000 words (about 15-18 pages) each month to be critiqued. We limit membership to seven people so that everyone has time to workshop their submissions and get quality feedback.

In our new group, members will submit up to 2500 words. This will be a good group for people who don’t have as much material to submit or for people who don’t have the time to read all of the 5000 word submissions. This group will also be limited to seven people.

In addition to our critique groups, we offer a monthly write-in for any Des Moines area writers. You don’t have to be a member to attend the write-ins. Dates and locations are listed on the Calendar page.

Our annual business meeting will be held this August where we’ll discuss how things are going with the group and if we want to make any changes. We’ll also be talking about things we’d like to add in the upcoming year (or years). Some things we’ve talked about are:

  • Mini query and synopsis workshops where writers read and critique each other’s queries, back of the book summaries, and synopses.
  • Discussions about publishing options
  • Discussions about marketing
  • A local writers’ retreat offered once a year to all Des Moines area writers

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to every writer who has ever been a part of our workshop. I know I’m a much better writer because of all of you.

 

Beth Burgmeyer

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