May 24 – 26, 2013 ~ Session Descriptions

 

Join us for a jam-packed weekend of insights, education, workshops, networking, good eats and great fun. All these presentations are General Session (no tracks).  The final itinerary is provided on-site.  

  • JUST ADDED!  The “Business of Me,” Not Just My Blog >> RaShelle Roberts, inVision — It’s no easy task navigating a personal brand that relies on your own creativition/passion/ideas. Learning strategies to help you visualize, plan, run and flourish are essential parts of not only achieving a sense of accomplishment, but earning the elusive status of “successful.” Mastering stages to getting there just plain feels good, helps you grow, and impacts your bottom line. After a full weekend of “all about blogging,” our Sunday morning will have a final, special treat:  popular business coach and creativity guru, RaShelle Roberts.  RaShelle is known for her keen ability to help Creative Service Professionals see the biggest picture of their “business of me.” RaShelle will help us dig deep to produce an overall better product, which in turn produces better results AND a better life.
  • Strategies to Keep a Blog Going and Not Run Out Of Steam >> Jessica Fisher, Life As Mom and Good Cheap Eats & Stephanie O’Dea, A Year of Slow Cooking ––  Imagine not only dreaming up a different slow-cooker meal for a dinner every night for a year but blogging those recipes for 365 days straight!  Imagine running a household with SIX homeschooled kids while publishing not one blog, but TWO blogs! And… each also published books along the way. Dynamos Stephanie and Jessica are an inspiring example of how passion can fuel blogging and authoring success. But wait… were there glitches along the way? Burnouts? Bugaboos and other bummers? Stephanie and Jessica give their experiences and strategies for full-steam-ahead blogging to help YOU not run out of steam.
  • Down and Dirty, Honest-to-God Truth About Being a Cookbook Author >> George Geary, best-selling Cookbook Author & publicist and marketing expert, Trina Kaye, The Trina Kaye Organization – With eight published cookbooks under his belt, chef and cooking instructor George has PLENTY to share about the realities of being a published cookbook author.  Popular book publicist, Trina will get to the bottom of it all interview-style as she asks George the really tough questions about agents, publishers, advances, timelines, processes, recipe development, testing, deadlines, book names, publicity, book tours, social media/marketing, and obviously MONEY.
  • How Bloggers Trip Themselves Up and Savvy Tips to Avoid Traps  >> Sarah Henry, Lettuce Eat Kale – There you are, blithely blogging along, gaining attention, and building community, when WHAM… you do something unwise and your 15 minutes of fame flames out. As a traditional journalist as well as a food blogger, Sarah has witnessed the pitfalls, where bloggers (naively or otherwise) make avoidable mistakes and create their own challenges.  She’ll present observations and insights of her own as well as from popular bloggers on content, voice, photography, advertising, contests, rants, Twitter, Facebook and more.
  • Blueprint for Cobbling Together a Bona-Fide Food Career  >> Karen MacKenzie, The MacKenzie Agency Public Relations & Bonnie Tandy Leblang, Syndicated Columnist ,  Bite of the Best – Culinary Talent Agent. These two longtime food industry entrepreneurs (PR side and media side) have seasoned strategies and advice for building sustainable, enviable food careers.  After all, both single moms have “made it!”  Yet, theirs were no overnight successes –  lesson #1 for anyone planning on building a viable food career.  Karen and Bonnie will deliver roadmaps and roadblocks to help you visualize your future in food.
  • E-books – Could This Be Your Path to Becoming a Book Author? >> Nancie McDermott, Cookbook Author & Amy Treadwill, Chronicle Books.  Nancie is the author of ten cookbooks, seven of which have been converted into e-books.  Amy, an editor at Chronicle Books, is part of a quickly growing group of publishers producing e-books as a way to complement and enhance their lists. Hear the balance of insights between publisher and author perspectives on e-books vs. traditional books. They’ll compare the challenges facing potential e-book authors: e-reader platforms, technological skill sets, content considerations, costs, selling, and marketing your digital book. Should you self-publish your e-book or work with a publisher? Who are the e-book players and how have food-bloggers done in the digital cookbook marketplace? If you’ve got book ideas and dreams, this session is for you.
  •  “What’s Wrong With My Shot?” – Food Porn Rejection! >>  Denise Vivaldo of the Denise Vivaldo Group. Now a Camp Blogaway Classic, our 2013 photo showcase will once again be analyzed by award-winning food stylist, chef, caterer, author of eight books, journalist and blogger, Denise Vivaldo.  Her tome, The Food Stylist’s Handbook was named World’s Best at the 2011 Paris Cookbook Awards. She conducts food styling courses in such faraway places as Singapore and Spain and has styled food with top photographers around the globe. Denise possesses THE critical eye to review food porn rejections and deliver an honest analysis of What’s Wrong.  Lighting, camera angle, props, styling touches, Denise will hold no punches, delivering valuable insights and tips to succeed on your very next shoot.  Registered campers, submit your rejections when requested to be included in this constructive showcase.
  • Polishing Your “PR Friendly” Online Presence — Sponsors / PR Agency panel >> From the brand ambassadors’ perspective, how do food bloggers get on their radar and what happens when good connections are made?  These folks are on the firing line helping their companies and clients connect with bloggers, and they have a million to choose from! So, why not YOU?  Learn how to do it right, including (a Camp Blogaway tradition), HORROR STORIES.
  • Breakout Sessions >> Dorothy Reinhold of Shockingly Delicious orchestrates. Consider it “personal therapy” for your blog. Suggest topics/choose a topic on-site, gather in a tranquil camp location, and discuss your nitty gritty issues. There are NO bad ideas here!
  • Parade of Bloggers >> Camp Blogaway is an intimate conference where important connections come through.  Our first evening together, every attendee is introduced to the group, lead by Camp Blogaway Fearless Leader, Patti Londre of Worth The Whisk. The goal: no missed meetups at Camp!
  • Sponsors’ Activities >> A limited number of relevant sponsors attend Camp to get to know you, and help you better your blogging with sessions including Farm to Fridge insights, sensory tastings, and hands-on activities.
  • Face Time / Free time >> Saturday, you’ll have an added opportunity to closely mix, mingle and network with fellow bloggers, speakers and sponsors. Our speakers will do book signings and sales during this time, too. Have a seat, start a chat, make a great professional friend!
  • And don’t forget to appreciate your serene surroundings here at Camp. Take a Refreshing Hike, chat with newfound friends by the Roaring Fireplace, soak up some California rays on a Quiet Deck, stay up late with peers in our Mountain Lodge, stargaze while soaking in the Bubbly Hot Jacuzzi, socialize during Wine Tasting, and more.