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Author

Publishing: Judith Van Gieson, Albuquerque, NM
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Do you want to be a Fiction Author?

Do you have a story in you just waiting to be told? Are you ready to exercise your intellectual curiosity and dig deep within yourself for creative inspiration? Are you tough enough to accept rejection and determined enough to succeed? Let VocationVacations® mentor Judith Van Gieson help you explore your creativity and love of writing as she shares with you her insights and experience on how to become a fiction writer.

The girls in her dormitory at Northwestern University were Judith’s first audience. As an English major, she enrolled in a writing class and was instructed to write about something she knew. “Every week I wrote a story about the girls in my dorm,” remembers Judith. “The girls were eager to see what I wrote each week, and I was eager to hear what they thought. It was my first experience getting a response to my writing.”

After graduation, Judith took a job in publishing in New York City. Eventually, she and her husband left the hustle and bustle of the city, moved to a ski resort in Vermont and went into the real estate business. When the couple divorced, Judith knew it was time to return to what she loved doing most….writing. “I sold everything and ‘burnt all my bridges’. It was the point of no return, but then I didn’t want to return,” laughs Judith.

Judith traveled to Mexico to attend a creative writing school in San Miguel de Allende. She began writing poetry and short stories, one of which was published in a literary magazine. “I soon realized for all the time it took me to publish that short story, I could write a novel,” explains Judith.

And that was what she did. Her first mystery novel, North of the Border, was published by HarperCollins in 1988. It became the first in a series of eight featuring female sleuth Neil Hamel. “In the early 80’s, authors like Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky began featuring female sleuths in their novels. Before then, men had always been the main characters,” says Judith. Her skill and success as a mystery writer led Judith to write a second series of five novels with heroine Claire Reynier. This series was published in paperback by Signet, in hardcover by the University of New Mexico and large print by Thorndike.

“I have been fortunate to work with the same agent for 20 years who has found the right publishers for my books and brought women mystery writers to the forefront,” explains Judith. She has learned over the years, “It is important to build a strong relationship with your agent and your publisher. And, although writing can be a solitary profession, you have to be able to put yourself out there to promote your work.”

Judith has helped many aspiring writers find the story within them and has taught workshops at the Taos Summer Writers Conference, participated in the annual Tony Hillerman Writers Conference and taught graduate and undergraduate writing classes at the University of New Mexico.

Judith believes there are more opportunities today for writers to get their work noticed. “Amazon sponsors a Breakthrough Novel Award each year which offers great exposure for new writers whether you win or lose,” Judith says. “Self-publishing is more readily available than it used to be so you are able to get your work out there and noticed by
on-line book sellers.” Judith has started her own self publishing business which will be a bonus learning experience for her vocationers.

Judith’s goals as a writer and a mentor? “As a writer, I want to first satisfy myself with my efforts and second connect with my readers,” shares Judith. “As a mentor, I want to help others pursue their love of writing, open themselves up to opportunities and believe in possibilities.” Next on Judith’s agenda is a fictional memoire about her travel adventures….a little fiction mixed in with truth which readers are sure to enjoy.

Check out this Northwestern University Alumni Magazine article about Judith's VocationVacation

*Judith became a VocationVacations mentor through Northwestern University’s participation in the VocationVacations Alumni Affinity Program which provides colleges and universities across the country the opportunity to offer their alumni the chance to share their knowledge and experience with others and give back to their college or university. For more information, go to: http://vocationvacations.com/Mentor/alumni-mentors.php.

While on your Fiction Writer VocationVacations® dream job holiday with Judith Van Gieson, activities will include some or all of the following:
  • Get in touch with creativity and imagination
  • Identify the tools that can help finish the work
  • Develop a network for support, encouragement, critiques
  • Learn how a private writer becomes a public marketer
  • Use the Internet to connect, sell, promote
  • Take advantage of conferences, contests, awards
  • Adapt to changes in publishing and bookselling
  • Discover ways to pitch fiction in the current market
  • Explore the possibilities of genre fiction
  • Examine the roles of editors and agents and how they are changing
  • Discuss the importance of an agent with suggestions for finding one
  • Learn the value of subsidiary rights sold to book clubs, magazines, audio books, movies, large print and foreign publishers
  • Compare small presses to major publishers
  • Evaluate the self-publishing option
  • Share the joys and rewards of getting published
The Fiction Writer VocationVacations® dream job holiday with Judith Van Gieson includes:
  • Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a Fiction Writer
  • The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post- VocationVacations career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job coming to reality
  • Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on mentor's availability

Price: $1099 Per Person

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Suggested Accommodations

Los Poblanos

Hotel Albuquerque
(Not included in the price of your VocationVacations® holiday)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:

Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:
Full payment of the VocationVacations dream job holiday is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacations adventure cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases. In the US, Grounded Nomads, LLC and VocationVacations holidays encourage all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling. In the UK, Grounded Nomads, Ltd and VocationVacations holidays must require all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling and provide verification of such travel insurance to Grounded Nomads, Ltd.