Want to do writing on the side or thinking of taking that leap from corporate into full-time freelance work? Know the ins and outs of the freelance industry before you do. Join our flagship workshop so you’ll learn how to market and brand yourself as a writer before taking that big leap!

Who is this workshop for? How will this workshop benefit me if I am –

An aspiring writer who has not yet been published

“Jumpstart Your Freelance Writing Career” (JYFWC) has very practical tips on how to get published, finding stories, and living a sustainable life as a creative entrepreneur. It also aims to dispel the myths—and highlight the realities of freelance writing and help the participant start out with the proper mind frame needed to start a career as a writer.

Already working as a freelance or full-time writer

JYFWC is all about creating a career as a writer. If you are already working as a freelance or full-time writer, this workshop can help you learn about the other different writing opportunities that are available, to help diversify your income.

Who should attend the event?

You don’t have to be a published writer to join the workshop. As long as you have an interest in pursuing writing as a career—and are 18 years old or above—you can sign up for the event.

This is especially ideal for the following:

freelance writers
bloggers
employees and/or stay-at-home folks who have passion for writing
retirees who want to pursue writing

How much is the registration fee?

There is a P2,000 fee per person, which simply covers the course fee. We’ll take care of the substance, but you take care of your sustenance, that okay?

How can I reserve a seat?

Simply sign up through our online registration form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHXvIegvYBEr5rSXo5SWOdljqGa3Fvf4uDC_MN7Gjo1AtIng/viewform) to signify your interest and we’ll email you the details on how to confirm a slot.

Note: Those who have registered online have no guaranteed seats yet. Participants will get confirmed slots once they have settled the payment.

How can I pay for the event?

You may settle the course fee by making a deposit to our bank account or via Paypal. Details as follows:

Bank: BPI

Account name: Writer’s Block Creative Enterprises Co.

Account number: Current account 1751 0828 82

If you have the BPI app on your phone, you can also pay via bank transfer without having to enroll our account in your Bills Payment Roster. Simply click on the option, “Transfer to Anyone”.

Once you’ve made the deposit/funds transfer, please immediately notify us of your transaction by emailing us a copy of the deposit slip/screen cap so we can confirm your slot. Please include your complete name and contact details in the email.

You may also pay via Paypal. Just let us know so we can email you an invoice.

Is it acceptable to pay with a WBP gift certificate?

Yes, using a gift certificate is perfectly acceptable. If you have a P500 gift certificate, you may offset it from the full price. Just inform us how many gift certificates you would like to use, give us the gift certificate number, and surrender it during the event registration.

Is the payment refundable?

Writer’s Block Creative Enterprises Co. does not allow refunds on event payments. Failure to claim the seat during the said event will be deemed as a forfeiture of workshop reservation. In the event of such cancellation, the said participant agrees that any and all money paid to Writer’s Block Creative Enterprises Co. will be unrefundable.

Is there a deadline for signing up?

There is no deadline but please note that we will close the registration once all the slots have been filled up. Walk-in participants who will pay on the day itself will only be accommodated if there are still available slots.

Who is hosting the event?

It will be conducted by Writer’s Block Philippines, a duo of editors and communicators who have collectively had more than 20 years of experience in freelance lifestyle and corporate writing.

Ana P. Santos: reproductive health rights and women’s issues

Ana has had over 12 years experience in advertising and marketing communications. She left her post as Assistant Vice President of a financial institution five years ago to pursue a career as a freelance writer.

As an independent journalist and foreign correspondent covering sexual health rights and women’s issues, Ana has received media grants from Newsbreak, Probe Media Foundation and the Philippine Press Institute to cover population and development issues.

In 2014, she was named the Persephone Miel Fellow by Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and did a series of reports on Filipino migrant mothers in Dubai and Paris. Her other Pulitzer Center grants include reports on HIV in the Philippines and young Filipino women who go to Denmark on a cultural exchange program as an au pair.

Ana has a regular column in Rappler while some of her full-length features have been published in the The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Deutsche Welle – Germany and Foreign Policy.

Nikka Sarthou-Lainez: lifestyle

With the belief that writing can take you places and traveling can inspire you to write, Nikka pursued a career as a lifestyle journalist. Her work has taken her to her dream destinations, which she has written about, and which have been immortalized in various print and online publications.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Arts from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, she got her feet wet in the local publishing industry before becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, she has written several features for asianTraveler, Travelife, Spark, Celebrity Mom, Business World, Highlife, Mango, Metro, Metro Society, ClicktheCity.com, Spot.ph, Herword.com, Homegrown.ph, GMA News Online, Philippine Tatler, Rappler, and WayToGo powered by Smile magazine.

Nikka has also been published in Filipino publications abroad such as Filipino Star News in Michigan, Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, and Dubai-based magazine Illustrado. With her work, she was able to interact with movie celebrities, former ambassadors, inspiring entrepreneurs, and other interesting personalities. Aside from meeting and interviewing different characters, she particularly enjoys writing about travel, food, and other lifestyle-related features.

In 2012, she was chosen as one of the five Asian representatives for Moleskine’s Modern Nomads and was included in its exhibition of travel writers’ kits where some of her travel paraphernalia were shown on display. She was the only featured travel writer from the Philippines, the others were from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

She was formerly a Contributing Editor in Smile, the in-flight magazine of Cebu Pacific Air.

She never takes off her writer’s hat even when on vacation since she believes that anything can be turned into a story. View Nikka’s portfolio at www.nikkasarthou.com.

Featured speaker: Karen Ferry-Fernandez

Karenis a storyteller by passion, a writer by profession, and an artist by frustration.

Within 20 years, she has worked her way up from an ambitious copywriter to an Executive Creative Director in multinational advertising agencies. Once at the top, however, she started dabbling in freelancing.

Nine years ago, she took the leap into becoming a fulltime independent professional. It was a young industry then, but she’s always been driven. She made a mark as a consultant for advertising boutiques and design studios, a formidable partner to production houses, and a go-to creativity churner for a roster of local and international clients. Her experiences laid the groundwork for a mission to help fellow freelancers survive this insane industry of self-sufficiency.

Despite her seemingly workaholic mien, Karen is, in fact, a firm believer in work-life balance, She is married for 15 years. She is the mother of two amazing boys who look up to her as a superhero. So she tries her best to be one for them everyday.

Who do I contact for more information?

You can call us through this number (0917) 397.9927 or email [email protected]. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WritersBlockPHL.

Outline

Speaker/s

Featured speaker: Karen Ferry-Fernandez

Karenis a storyteller by passion, a writer by profession, and an artist by frustration.

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Our story started in 2009, when writers–Ana P. Santos and Nikka Sarthou-Lainez–met at a professional blogging and Internet marketing class and realized that freelance writers had many unique needs that the current landscape was not able to address.

Where do we go to find clients? How do we deal with pricing and competition? Pitching and editors? How can we build a sustainable career as a creative entrepreneur?

While school had taught us the basics of looking for story ideas, drafting news and features, and dealing with the technical realities of our craft, there were many things that we had learned only along the way–things that we felt other writers also needed to know about if they were going to pursue writing as a career.

Our passions and purpose

It is from this desire to share our knowledge and further professionalize the standards of our craft that Writer’s Block Philippines was born.

At Writer’s Block Philippines, we are passionate about words, and even more passionate about the idea that we could make a life (not just a living) doing what we love most.

Nikka had long left the corporate world to combine her two loves–travel and writing; Ana left a lucrative career in banking–foregoing the vice presidency and the designated parking space–to pursue her passion for reporting on women and gender issues and sexual health rights. ...

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