American Christian Fiction Writers
Angie Breidenbach

Angela Breidenbach is Mrs. Montana International 2009 working with Hope’s Promise Orphan Ministries, the Jadyn Fred Foundation, and drawing awareness to Fair Trade practices. Angela’s calling is as a purposeful life coach and educator. She’s also certified in mentor/peer counseling as a Stephen Minister and Assisting Minister. She serves as the American Christian Fiction Writer's Publicity Officer and is a multi-award winning inspirational author and speaker. Not only did she walk the hard line of deciding to donate her mom's brain, but she is also on the brain donation list at the Brain Bank-Harvard McLean Hospital. She is married, has a combined family of six grown children, one grandson. Purposeful Living Educator & Coach. Personal growth = Powerful living! You can interact or learn more about Angela Breidenbach at these sites: http://www.MyGemofWisdom.com http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com http://GodUsesBrokenVessels.blogspot.com http://WritingByFaith.blogspot.com on Wednesdays each week.

What Do Appointments At A Conference Do For You?

The world never stays the same; it’s always changing. For those attending the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, look for some wonderful changes! Most writing conferences offer editor and agent appointments. They are crucial to building an author’s career through presenting work and networking. But ACFW is always on the cutting edge to make our conferences not only educational but also stellar in career-building opportunities.


During the opening of our ACFW conference registration, you will see some new registration opportunities. You’re going to want to jump on them right away because they are limited. We are offering Mentoring Appointments. Be sure to look at the career and genre of those who are volunteering as mentors and find out who would best be suited to mentor you. When you meet with your mentor, you will have fifteen minutes to ask questions. Be ready with those questions, but also be ready to listen. One of the biggest mistakes mentees make is to talk too much and listen too little. Your appointed mentor will want to know who you are, what your goals are, and what you write, and then they will want to pour into you. Bring a pen and notebook! Remember ears open, pen ready to fly across the page.


As a result of many meetings and brainstorming sessions, this year we have added some spectacular new concepts to the appointment process for our authors. You won’t get this anywhere else! We will not only have editors (who represents publishers) and agents (who help connect you to the right publisher and manage contract law) available, but we have added two more incredible appointment opportunities.


I (Angie Breidenbach) will be available for Media Training 201. Media Training 101, taught in April, is a prerequisite to the forty-five-minute appointment that will focus on how to plan, contact, and present with confidence to the media. Anyone meeting with me can feel free to go back over any questions from Media Training 101, but our focus will be conquering the nerves and understanding the concepts of media presentation. These appointments will be for contracted or published authors only because of their immediate need to connect publicly.


Phenix & Phenix Publicity Firm is the official publicity firm of American Christian Fiction Writers. Two representatives, Rusty Shelton and Merritt Talbott, will be attending conference and giving thirty-minute one-on-one sessions in Media Training 301 for television and radio—not just training how to do TV and radio, but how to get your individual platform and message powerfully delivered! Being in the spotlight can be tough, especially with unknown interviewers. Phenix & Phenix will specifically focus your message and help you learn how to get it across regardless of who is interviewing.


Those authors who have taken Media Training 101 are eligible to request the special appointments for additional media training. If spaces are available for Media Training 201 or 301, we will open them up to other interested attendees, because our goal is to equip and prepare ACFW authors to be the best-educated professionals in the industry.


Have you heard of ACFW’s www.fictionfinder.com? If not, you can check it out at http://www.fictionfinder.com and sign up as a reader, bookseller, author, publisher, or publicist. You’ll be amazed at the tools available. Find authors by genre, name, book title, and even search the amount of suspense or romantic element in a story. Authors can upload their Christian fiction titles from standard publishers so readers and booksellers can find them too.


What if you want your bookstore or library to know about www.fictionfinder.com? Easy peasy, just e-mail Angie Breidenbach at pr@acfw.com and ask for the bookmark with ACFW’s www.fictionfinder.com information. Make sure to include your address and the number of bookmarks you need and I’ll send them right out. On that note, the bookmark is two-sided. One side has the fictionfinder.com information and the other has ACFW’s information. Take them to your critique groups, churches, book clubs, and any place you might run into a reader or writer. It’s a gorgeous tool to share about the organization you love and to promote all your friends’ work too.


One last teaser: Be sure to keep your eyes peeled and ears open during the ACFW conference in Indianapolis this September. We will broadcast another big announcement! Be sure to find ACFW on Facebook and Twitter, or become a member at http://www.acfw.com to get all the insider scoops, build your career, and fellowship with other Christian authors!


Joyous to bring so much good news,


Angie Breidenbach




Share/Bookmark