Query Competition

Writers,

Submit for your chance to win One Free Entry to our Spring Conference! 

Submissions are open with an easy to follow online guide.

Competition ends December 15th. 

Winner announced December 20th.

Click here and happy quering!

Thank you, Dear Members

Dear Members,

It must’ve been fate as I’ve had two completely different President’s Message be deleted over the course of a week. The first was an apology over a miscommunication with the last speaker, the second was an all-out beggar’s plea for volunteers and now this—a newfound gratitude for the literary community.

My daughters began a kindness campaign roughly two years ago and although publicly it appears their message has resonated but behind closed doors and through the veiled darkness that only anonymous emails and profiles can provide, there’s been a deep ugliness. Pure, unadulterated kindness somehow threatens the very souls of people—not unlike raw and well told stories. Books take readers outside of themselves, asking them to stop looking through their own glasses but their neighbors’.

One by one, authors, editors and agents have extended beautiful messages of hope to my daughters. It’s this community (that is sadly is used to being silenced) that has linked arms with this rising generation and their Kindness Revolution. It is November, the month we tend to stop and glorify gratitude—and today, I am no different.

I am grateful for the stories, the lives and the books we read and write—and more importantly, share. We are the storymakers, the “changer of lives” as my youngest daughter likes to say. And so, I say, thank you.

Thank you for chugging along on the uphill battle to publication.

Thank you for submitting despite the mountain of rejection letters.

And thank you for rallying around the under dogs and the silenced.

-       Clarissa Kae

Young Writers of Kern

As a board we’re in constant communication, our members at the forefront of every decision. With that, we’ve taken extra care this year in helping our members, beginners or advanced, in their publishing journey—including our Young Writers of Kern, students from sixth grade through high school.

The YWOK Essay Competition is Writers of Kern’s flagship community service project. The purpose of the competition is to promote critical thinking, writing, and research skills. Up to twenty awards of $150 (middle school) and $200 (high school) are given each year. 

In addition, winning essays are published in an annual anthology (a publishing credit before the student graduates high school).

Ava, one of our budding young writers, has enlisted the help of her sisters and Kind Girls Make Strong Women volunteers to strengthen YWOK’s foundation. During the month of October KGMSW will donate all proceeds from their apparel sales and online donation drive.

For parents, students and teachers interested in joining/inviting writers to participate, click here or sign up for our newsletter here. You do not need to be a YWOK member to participate.

If you would like to join WOK/YWOK, all student memberships (18 and younger) are $10 a year and include meeting fees with membership. 

If you’d like to donate via check, (Tax ID# 77-0383293) send to KCSOS, 1300 17^th St, Bakersfield CA 93301 c/o Stephen L. Sanders. To purchase Kind Girls’ apparel or donate via credit card, click here.

Word Crush Wednesday

Join us for our Word Crush Wednesday Goal: 3,000 words

Don't edit, don't backspace. Just write. 

Word Crush Wednesday & Monday Madness Kick-Off

Ever so slowly, the temperatures dip along with our daylight hours and we welcome the season's change. It’s tempting to toss our writing goals aside with the starting of school (whether it be for our children or grandchildren—or even ourselves) and holiday season just around the corner.

Tempting—yes, but not for the publishing industry. Fall is when agents and editors are coming back from vacations and tackling projects with gusto. While most authors are sitting back with a steaming mug of cocoa, the industry is gearing up for their end of the year mad dash. Just like authors are ranked by their book sales, agencies are ranked by their book deals.

To help, I’m kicking off Word Crush Wednesday and Monday Madness. Every Wednesday I’ll give a set amount time with a word count goal while every Monday we’ll do the reverse—instead of writing, we’ll be editing.

Join in via Facebook or right here with your own set time and goal. Together, we’ll finish (and polish) your manuscript.

Workshop: How to Create Realistic Characters for Your Fiction

Great storytelling relies on great characters. And now there’s a fun system to help you develop yours.

Join Writers of Kern and creative writing instructor, Joan Raymond, for our September meeting and workshop.

Joan will walk writers through all the easy steps and fun questions that lead to those realistic characters in breakout stories. She’ll show you “how to get inside a character’s head and discover hidden secrets and emotions” that go beyond basic description and outer appearance.

Joan Raymond teaches creative writing through Bakersfield College’s Levan Institute and served as Writers of Kern president for four years. Her short stories have been published online and in print.

Workshop Details

When:     September 15, 2018 8:45 - 11:30 a.m.
Where:   Hodel's, 5917 Knudsen Drive, Bakersfield CA
Tickets:  $10 for members, $15 for guests, includes a buffet breakfast and can be paid at the door or online.

August President's Message

For years I’ve visited clients and conferences alike. The greatest frustration writers expressed was the lack of community in local cities. It’s easy for those of us here in California. We to take for granted our WOK family and all that it entails. Writers pretend to be lone wolves but we secretly crave that pat on the back from our fellow bibliophiles. To create characters worthy of sharing is a passion—or cross to bear, depending on the writing day. It's what binds us as authors.

Yet in the last month, I received nearly thirty emails from shocked Bakersfield residents. Each and every email expressed pleasant surprise that California’s Central Valley had a writing group of its own. It’s a little ironic that an organization uniting writers has yet to “spread the word” to our own family and friends.

And so, I challenge you (and myself) to open our mouths, extend an invitation and invite budding writers to a meeting. We’ve revamped our Student Membership with a lot $10 annual fee. For those eighteen and younger, they won’t pay for meeting fees. Not now. Now ever.

We hope to expand our reach and include members from all walks of life whether they are young in years, young in spirit or on the verge of society—Writers of Kern has a place you.

Mentorship Survey

We're getting ready to kick off our Mentorship Program and need your input. 

Click here to take survey.

Win a Pitch Critique!

Snag that agent with our Pitch Critique!

All you have to do is post a pitch (good or bad, rough or polished).
Every pitch counts as an entry, so pitch away!

Bonus: double entry if you share the post (via blog, Facebook or instagram)

Forget the Siesta, We have First Draft

While most of the publishing world is throwing their yearly siesta, we're gearing up for another fantastic workshop. Our writers asked for help and Writers of Kern snagged First Draft Publishing.

Here's a sneak peek:

To make any task easier you need structure and publishing a book is no different. Self Publishing can be simple if you have the right system to work with.

Donnée and Marcus Harris have spent seven years writing, formatting and creating books to share with the world. In the process, their experience as a journalist, creative writer and publisher has prompted them to share their experience with other writers that have an interest in self publishing their books.

Our Self-Publishing System will give you everything you need to create an Ebook and Print book from your edited manuscript. This course includes video lectures, step-by-step instructional videos, templates and industry resources needed to complete your book.