Write Your Career: A Seminar on Writing for Political and Government Staff — Saturday, January 30

January 4, 2010

Write Your Career: A Seminar on Writing for Political and Government Staff

Presented by The Johns Hopkins University Master of Arts in Government and Masters of Arts in Writing programs and American Independent Writers

Saturday, January 30, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

JHU Bernstein-Offit Building

1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20036

Registration from 8:00 a.m. with continental breakfast

Using Writing Skills to Boost Your Career

Former Hill and government staffers and others reveal how they improved and used writing and editing skills to boost their careers or move out of government. This session presents an overview of the many workplace options available for those with solid writing and editing experience, plus how that experience can help you beyond words on the page or screen in just about any job.

Factual Writing

From journalism to advocacy to books, from editing to website content to blogging, writing about reality and facts offers scores of professional opportunities in and outside government. This session reviews the many venues available for new or experienced writers and editors, from magazines, website, trade publications, lobbying firms, and non-profits.

Fiction Writing

They say that everyone who works in Washington has a novel or short story in their laptop. Maybe so, but you first must master the elements of fiction, and then you need to consider how much of your experience on the Hill or in the government you actually can use or adapt.

The Business of Writing and Editing
This session reviews the basics of writing and editing business. For nonfiction, we discuss the query process, targeting, and editing. For fiction, we discuss markets and how to submit. For all writers, we discuss agents, marketing, and how much you should expect to be paid.

Early Registration (before Friday, January 15, 2010)