Workshops with Ariele Sieling

I love giving workshops, and if your writer’s group, conference, or association is looking for speakers, count me in! My base rate is $100 per hour ( so a 1-hour workshop would be $100). I typically request payment via PayPal. I am comfortable both with Zoom (or other video platforms) workshops and in person. I rarely use PowerPoint unless specifically requested, but I do include exercises, outlines, tools, and resources as part of my presentations.

I have spoken many times for various chapters of the Maryland Writers Association, as well as for the Eastern Shore Writers Association and Bay2Ocean Writers Conference, Yellow Arrow Publishing, the Write Women’s Network, Charm City Books, several smaller groups in the Maryland region, as well as at libraries, schools, and bookstores in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York.

I have developed a wide range of workshops, and am always working on creating more. Below are a few of my most well-received workshops. If you are interested in having me host a workshop with your organization, please email me at ariele[at]arielesieling.com.

Workshop Topics

The following are current descriptions of workshops I offer. I am also actively in the process of developing more, so if you’re interested in a specific or more nuanced topic, please ask and I’ll let you know if it’s something that falls within my realm of experience.

How To Build A Book Marketing Strategy

When you choose to pursue your dream of becoming a full time writer, there's always one pesky little thing that stands in the way: marketing. To make money means to tell people about your work, and this is particularly difficult when you're selling your heart and soul. So how do you decide what marketing activities are going to work and which ones aren't? How do you figure out exactly where to spend your time and money? How do you build a strategy for selling books or art from scratch? In this presentation, author Ariele Sieling takes a closer look at marketing from a high-level perspective. She discusses the "why" behind choosing a variety of marketing tactics, and provides a simple system for growing and building your marketing plan.

Building An Author Brand That Suits You

Branding is a fun, business-y buzzword that people use to mean any variety of things. In the author world, many say a clear and cohesive brand is critical to success. But what does that mean? What is a brand, and how to you build one? More importantly, how do you build a brand that is specific to you, your books, and your business?

In this workshop, join Ariele Sieling for a discussion of the components that make up a brand, which details matter and which ones don’t, and how to go about making decisions about your author brand. This workshop also offers several resources, including an author branding template.

Fostering An Authentic Voice

The term "voice" is a word frequently thrown around by writers. But what exactly is voice? How is it different than style? And how do you find yours? In this workshop, author Ariele Sieling will delve into the different definitions of voice and style, and discuss a variety of strategies for ways that writers can foster their authentic voice through writing.

Your Book, Your Way: Step-By-Step Self-Publishing

Recent changes in the publishing industry have made self-publishing a viable way to publish a book and build a writing career. In this presentation, Ariele Sieling, author of thirty self-published books, takes a closer look at strategies for creating a book that is both a quality product and affordable for the writer. She takes a step-by-step approach, starting with a completed manuscript, and ending with a printed book you can hold in your hands. She discusses the pros and cons of self-publishing, the right and wrong reasons for choosing to self-publish, tips for preparing a book for publication, and how to avoid common pitfalls--all interspersed with tales of her own.

This presentation is designed for beginner, intermediate, and advanced writers who are interested in pursuing publishing as an avenue for sharing their work.

Selling Books In A Digital World

With the sudden onset of the pandemic, selling books online became more important than ever. But shifting from selling books in-person to online is not an easy thing to do. In this workshop, Ariele Sieling will delve into the ins and outs of selling e-books in a digital world, from having a cohesive brand, to developing the skills necessary to survive in a digital landscape, to understanding the tools and platforms available to make your life easier. This presentation will provide a wide range of practical advice, whether you're looking for marketing tactics, ideas for how to expand your business, or just suggestions for how to make your book publishing a little bit simpler.

Creativity In Times of Stress

With the world upside down and everyone stressed, being creative seems like a simple way to de-stress. But how are we supposed to create when we barely have the energy to get out of bed in the morning, make sure the kids get dressed, or to shower? It’s a paradox: being creative helps to de-stress, but how are you supposed to be creative when you’re too stressed to create?

In this workshop, join full-time writer Ariele Sieling as she explores strategies for igniting your creativity despite overwhelming anxiety, an upside down world, and a seemingly never-ending quarantine.

How To Plot A Book

There are a million ways to plot a book, and dozens and dozens of books written on the subject. In this workshop, join Ariele Sieling for a simple, straight-forward way of looking at plot structure. In addition, participate in a high-level walkthrough of a few other commonly-referenced plotting methods. This workshop comes with a plotting template, and offers and several hands-on exercises for participants.

The Intersection of Setting and Story

Although setting is one of the least discussed elements of story, it can still make or break a narrative. Writing elegant description can be fun, but it's not always necessary. Similarly, it can be easy to focus on the dialogue and plot, and only bring in setting when you have no other option. So where is the balance and how do we find it?

In this workshop, join Ariele Sieling in exploring strategies for crafting a setting with depth and purpose that serves not only as a backdrop for your conflict, but also as an important driver of plot in any genre.

How To Launch A Book

You’ve written a book and edited it within an inch of its life, had a cover designed, made the book files and selected your printers and distributors, and it’s time to hit publish. What’s next? Telling people about your book.

Join Ariele Sieling for a discussion about book launches,—the different types, how to choose the right one for you, and methods and tactics for making them a success. Whether you want a pre-planned and organized launch, or to do one on the fly, learn how to approach book launches strategically, and make the most out of the momentum of a brand-new book.

Social Media For Fiction Writers

Social media platforms are often touted as excellent tools for writers to reach wide audiences with their work, but as with any tool, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't.

In this presentation, join Ariele Sieling for a discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of social media, strategies for using social media effectively, and how to best find and engage with your target readers. In addition, you will learn how to craft genre-specific content that will intrigue and delight current and potential readers. This practical, strategic-focused workshop will leave you with a better understanding of social media, and whether or not it is the right tool for you.

How To Create A Target Audience For Your Books

“Know your target audience.”

This piece of advice is thrown around nearly everywhere you look in the indie author world. Whether you’re writing a book (and especially writing to market), marketing the book, or simply trying to post on social media, one piece of advice for doing so most effectively is to know your target audience. But how?

In this workshop, Ariele Sieling will present a simple and straightforward way to develop a better, clearer idea of your target audience, whether you need it for writing, branding, marketing, or business development. The workshop includes an exercise, and at the end, participants will have the beginnings of their own target audience, as well as practical, tactical strategies for refining exactly who falls into their target audience. This workshop also comes with a template and examples.

Intuitive Drafting

Are you a plotter or a pantser? This question is a frequently discussed topic among writers, and with each comes a plethora of feelings and opinions. And while there are many books and methods and advice on plotting and outlining, there are a lot fewer discussions of pantsing (or discovery writing as some like to call it). So how do you write a book with no plan? How do you take an idea and turn it into a whole story… without knowing every twist and turn before you start?

Writing is largely an unconscious process, so this workshop will serve as a discussion on to how to work with your subconscious during the writing process, maximize your effectiveness as a discovery writer, and create a cleaner, more complete product in order to reduce the intensity of the revision process.

How To Write The End Of A Book

“How to write the end of a book” is a phrase I’ve googled dozens of times. But most of the advice is for plotters. What if you’re a discovery writer or a pantser—what then?

Writing a book is a difficult endeavor—and writing the end of the book brings its own unique set of challenges. The final climactic moment and denouement involve bringing together all of your various plot points, characters, and ideas into a cohesive whole and neatly tying the knots in a way that makes the reader satisfied. But sometimes, when you’re near the end and trying to bring everything together, you just… don’t know.

In this workshop, learn a few methods for approaching the ending of a book from the perspective of a discovery writer (or pantser, if you prefer). This is not about perfecting the ending—it’s about how to hammer out those last few details when you aren’t entirely sure exactly what’s supposed to happen. This workshop will incorporate exercises, as well as some thoughts on plot structure and methods for pushing through to the end of the story.