Selling 2 million DVDs in a year and nearly 4 million books based on it in only six months, The Secret has become one of the biggest overnight sensations in publishing history, earning for its author an estimated $48.5 million fortune. But as the Chicago Tribune reports, before gaining attention from Oprah, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Larry King, Newsweek and the New York Times, "a clever viral marketing campaign that has successfully harnessed the Internet and word-of-mouth buzz to reach the masses" guaranteed blockbuster status long before the book was released.

The man responsible for that campaign, Web marketing strategist Dan Hollings, is joining the Southern California Writers' Conference *Los Angeles to disclose just how he pulled it off.

Others slated to appear at the SCWC*LA (actually, in Irvine)...

• Best-selling novelist Andrea Portes, who's debut title Hick is garnering raves.

• ¡Ask a Mexican! author/columnist Gustavo Arellano, who's become a familiar face on such outlets as The Today Show, Nightline, The Colbert Report and almost everywhere else.

• Raul Ramos to discuss his and his agent's decision to publish the controversial America Libre independently, only to now be courted by the mainstream houses he turned his back on.

• Kirwan Rockefeller, entertainment industry consultant and author of Visualize Confidence: How to Use Guided Imagery to Overcome Self-Doubt.

In addition to plenty of read & critique workshops, craft and execution sessions, advance submission reviews, agents, editors and others, highlights include the total immersion "Novel Cram" writing track in which writers build a book from concept to completed outline, and such topics as writing videogames and graphic novels, constructing the short film from scratch, memoir writing, landing magazine assignments, selling the nonfiction book before actually writing the book and a whole lot more.

The 5th Annual SCWC*LA takes place in Irvine, CA, Sept. 28-30, 2007. For complete information visit www.WritersConference.com or call (619) 303-8185.

WHAT: 5th Annual Southern California Writers' Conference *Los Angeles(ish)
WHEN: Sept. 28-30, 2007
WHERE: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 17941 Von Karman, Irvine, CA 92614
COST: Full Conference - $355