Guidelines for Guest Speakers Thank you for agreeing to be a guest speaker for the Young Writers of Western Loudoun. We are a group of teen writers who seek to improve our skills, share our talent and identify opportunities for publication. We are excited to work with you and look forward to learning more about your professional experiences in the publishing industry. YWWL meets on the last Saturday of every month from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. in Carruthers Meeting Room upstairs in the Purcellville Library. We ask that our speakers join us 15 minutes early, so we may go over any last-minute details. 1. Please email a brief professional biography to Kelsey Baker at Digit91@aol.com and cc a copy to bcarducci@adelphia.net no later than two weeks before your scheduled appearance. 2. Please plan to discuss your personal and professional experiences as they are relevant to teen writers ( i.e., how did you become interested in writing, when did you first become published, who helped you become a professional writer, what it’s like to be a professional writer, etc.). Please their work published and the dos and don’ts of writing. Please plan to spend at least 30 minutes on this part of your presentation. 3. Please prepare a brief writing exercise that our group can complete during the meeting. This can be given after your presentation and should not take more than 10-15 minutes. Please also plan to lead us in 5-10 minutes of sharing our exercise responses. 4. Please prepare a writing prompt to be given at the end of your time with us. The writing prompt will be used for the next month’s meeting, which will be a time of sharing and critique. 5. If possible, please bring copies of a handout that lists upcoming publishing opportunities, internships, writing contests and/or other events of interest to young writers. 6. If possible, please stay a brief time after your presentation to answer questions and to talk with individual students. Thank you again for generously offering your time to foster young writers in our county. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Kelsey Baker (group organizer) at (540) 338-5338 or Bobbi Carducci, president of Community Voice Media, LLC, at (540) 751-2214.