During our semi-annual Planning Retreat yesterday, we got down to business, but, as you can see by this snapshot, laughter trumped the agenda. Judith Marshall, Sarbjit Rai, and I were not the only ones in the group laughing, we just got caught in the act by Teresa with her candid camera.

I especially like this photo, because it will be a great reminder, when I’m deep in overload, that we truly do have so much fun interacting, networking, planning, and hosting events. And this is exactly why we choose to belong to WNBA-SF, along with the fact that as a national organization our influence reaches far and wide connecting women and men to the greater literary community across the country, as well as, promoting literacy world wide as a member of the United Nations and UNICEF.

Speaking of literacy, September is National Literacy Month, so we begin our fall season of events with Zen and the Art of the Book Deal and the Great Book Giveaway. October promises lunch with a bestselling author during National Reading Group Month, and November offers members the extra benefits of Authors’ Showcase & Silent Auction, just in time for holiday gift buying.

I will detail the teaser notes, above, by sending each of you a Fall Calendar of Events in the near future, which will also be posted on our website and sent out via email.

Come to the August 5th meeting at the San Francisco Main Library (6-8 p.m.) and have a good time making WNBA-SF your own!

Lynn Henriksen, President

http://www.telltalesouls.com

WNBA-SF chapter President Lynn Henriksen http://www.telltalesouls.com has invited 15 agents, acquisition editors and publisher to the March 27, 2010 event.

Writing Career Coach Teresa will help you practice your pitch at WNBA’s  “Meet the Agents, Acquisition Editors, & Publishers”

on March 27, 2010   http://wnba-sfchapter.org

“Make Every Word Count When Pitching to Agents or Acquisition Editors” by Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

You have spent months, perhaps years, writing and rewriting your project/work.  And, you’ve decided to pursue either an agent (who earns his/her commission when he/she sells a client’s work to a publishing house) or an acquisition editor (whose job is to buy authors’ works for the publishing house he/she works for). Let’s say you’ve done your homework and have compiled a list of agents or acquisition editors who specialize in the kind of project (commodity) you wish to sell.

An agent or acquisition editor receives hundreds of pitches/query letters each week.  What can you do to catch these folks’ attention?  Use the right bait.  Make every word count.

Whether you’re pitching in person, over the telephone, through an E-Mail, or by old-fashion mail, keep this in mind—the pitch (bait) has three components:
•    who needs your project (start the pitch with the “marketing hook”)
•    the unique qualities about your commodity
•    why you are the perfect author for this work (How big is your platform?)

Agents are having tough times pitching their non-celebrity authors to publishers; thus the importance of the marketing hook.  The marketing hook is a must for prescriptive non-fiction/self help.  The hook is also a must for memoirs, narrative non-fiction and novels; these genres can longer reply solely on story).  Here are 6 examples:

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Genre:  Self-Help/Metaphysical/Psychology

Most people over the age of ten dream at least 4 to 6 times per night.
Through My Dreams: A Simple Guide to Dream Interpretation, I can help everyone  interpret dreams by combining their feelings with personal symbolism, dream what they want to dream, and improve their waking lives through their dreams.
I am Angie Choi, a certified hypnotherapist who has utilized radio, television, workshops, classes, articles, and website to educate and inspire people to tap into their dreaming potential.  I’ve worked with school districts, youth groups, and community-based organizations. http://www.alivehypnosis.com

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Genre:  Journal/Guide/Inspirational

More than 50 million people provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year.

You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers allows these caregivers to process their stress and celebrate what is right by giving them open-ended instructions on spilling their guts in the safety of a private journal and offers two hundred sentence starts to help them begin writing.

I am B. Lynn Goodwin who teaches workshops on caregiving.  I write for numerous publications, and, I am the founder and managing editor of WriterAdvice which has been helping writers for twelve years.  http://www.writeradvice.com/

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Genre:  Self Help / Relationship / Marriage

The 50% and 60% divorce rates, for first and second marriages respectively, are a wake-up call for the United States 55.2 million married couples.

Through my book, I empower couples to get the marriage they’ve always wanted. The Marriage Meeting Program: 45 Minutes a Week to Guarantee the Long Term Relationship You’ve Always Wanted shows how to conduct a weekly meeting that increases intimacy, romance, teamwork, and smoother conflict resolution.

A proactive, preventive approach is crucial. Regardless of how good a relationship is, there is always a need to keep it on track and room for it to grow. The Marriage Meeting Program’s step-by-step approach makes it easy to conduct the meetings. Follow-up studies show a 20 to 80 percent increase in marital happiness for couples who implement the program.
I am Marcia Naomi Berger, a psychotherapist, writer, speaker, workshop leader, and instructor of a class for therapists and counselors at the University of California Berkeley Extension. http://www.marriagemaven.com

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Genre:   Memoir

There are more than 38-million boom-generation women in this country.  Through my book, I show middle-aged women how to cope with family and social pressures while dealing with their own mortality issues.

My memoir, Oldham Street, is about my journey from east coast to west bearing the pain of a son in prison, the long slow death of my father, the end of my counseling career and a ten-year relationship.  I knocked on a lemon-colored door on a short block in San Francisco.  In the next twelve years, the woman who opened that door, along with the other quirky characters in the neighborhood, inadvertently joined me in a process that brought me home to myself and into a comfortable role as the matriarch of my tribe.

I am Lynn Scott:

• author of A Joyful Encounter: My Mother, My Alzheimer Clients, and Me (a memoir about the abundance of spirit that I found among my Alzheimer clients).
• contributor to eight anthologies of fiction, memoir, and poetry.
• a guest on Oprah and other talk shows trying to educate others about the mental disorder causing child molestation.

http://lynnscottbooks.com http://lynnscott.wordpress.com

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Genre:  Women’s Fiction

Recent survey data indicates that 22% of the 55,000,000+ married women admit to having an extramarital affair.  STAYING AFLOAT is the story of one of these women –although she wouldn’t have admitted it if she hadn’t gotten caught.

Crystal Scott is a stable and stalwart, stay-at-home wife and mother, aiming only to run an efficient home, care for her children and avoid confrontation.  Whatever her private thoughts are, she keeps them to herself.  But when her husband loses his job and shows no signs of looking for another, fault lines in their marriage are exposed.  She’s forced to re-enter the workforce, and when her dazzling, dynamic boss takes a personal interest in her, she slips into territory that most women have fantasized about, even if they don’t want to admit it — she morphs into a sex-starved adulteress.

I am Judith Marshall, author of the award-winning novel, HUSBANDS MAY COME AND GO BUT FRIENDS ARE FOREVER.  I’ve been writing for thirteen years and am a member of the California Writers Club and the Women’s National Book Association. In addition, I am the President of Human Resources Consulting Services and a member of the faculty of the Council on Education in Management, for whom I teach a number of public seminars on a variety of HR-relates topics. I’m currently working on my third novel, BITTER ACRES.

http://judithmarshall.net/

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Genre:  Women’s Fiction / Humor

39%  of the 68 million women employed in the U.S. work in management, professional, and related occupations. Through my book Katie Carlisle, I show women how to hold onto their integrity, humor, and vision . . . in spite of having to fight sexism in the corporate world.

Katie Carlisle has been lucky enough to have a mentor (her boss) who has taken her to a point where her promotion is pretty well guaranteed.  Only then everything goes wrong.  Her beloved mentor leaves the company under a cloud; his successor is a man whom Katie hates and fears; and a downward spiral in her fortunes starts.  This is the story of a smart woman’s struggle to hold onto her integrity, humor and vision in spite of the tumult around her—and her eventual triumph.

I am Margaret Davis.  I have a doctorate from Stanford University in Sociology, with a specialization in the structure and behavior of formal organizations.  I have had two non-fiction books published in my field.  Katie Carlisle, a humorous spoof on everyday life in a large corporation, is a work of fiction.  Yet, as many of my readers have commented, “Everyone who has ever worked in a big company will relate to and love this book.”

I am also the author of Straight Down the Middle, a family drama involving a young mother’s efforts to do what is best for her child while trying to come to terms with her own sexuality.

http://margaretdavisbooks.com/

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Teresa LeYung Ryan is:

• Board member at WNBA-SF Chapter since 2004
• Author with agent and NY publisher
• Writing career coach
• Past president of California Writers Club-SF Peninsula Branch
• Library advocate

Writing Career Coach Teresa is the author of  Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (the 22-minutes/22-days workbook for writers to build their names and attract attention before and after publication).   http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

As a community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan uses her novel Love Made of Heart to:
• shed light on stigmas suffered by women, men, and children who have mental illness
• celebrate the immigrant experience
• help survivors of violence find their own voices through writing
www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

WNBA SF Chapter Members and Friends

Gracious host & hostess Michael Larsen & Elizabeth Pomada

Christmas lights Victorian home with books and books and books

WNBA members and friends, share nosh, click glasses.

Treasurer Christopher Payne represents executive board President Lynn Henriksen, Vice President Allegra Harris, Secretary Sara Videtto, and Immediate Past President Mary Knippel.

Shulamit Sofia, Linda Joy Myers, Verna Dreisbach had to leave before book exchange.  So did Chris.

Warmed by friendships, old, new.

The Honorable Teresa Cox represents her cousin Effie Lee Morris whom we miss so much.  Adele Horwitz reads the tribute that she, Elizabeth and Michael wrote for WNBA Bookwoman.

Looking forward to January 30, 2010 when Mary Knippel will lead us in:

Decide, Declare, Design

Your Writing Life for 2010!

http://www.wnba-sfchapter.org/

We tell children: “Be quiet when you’re in a library. People are reading.”

Those children/library patrons need us to use our mighty voices now.  All across our beloved country, libraries are in danger.  In the San Francisco Bay Area, 6 branches in Oakland deserve our rallies.

Case in Point:
The mayor’s budget proposal, scheduled to go into effect July 1st 2009, will slash the open hours for Lakeview, Temescal, Golden Gate, Elmhurst, Martin Luther King and Melrose library branches in Oakland.  These branches would only open 2 or 3 days per week!   Schools that don’t have libraries, neighborhood kids, seniors, people without computers, and the unemployed looking for work will be severely affected.

77.2% voters had voted YES to Measure Q (to increase libraries hours and services, not to cut them)

Keep ALL Oakland Libraries open 5 or 6 days a week!  How can we help?

Visit:

http://savethelibraries.spaces.live.com

Wherever you are, you can use the strategies proposed by the Oakland groups:

• Ask questions and offer resources

• Create an action plan, organize and more organize–strength in number

• Craft consistent talking-points to hook politicians’ attention

Contact your library to find out if any branch in your city or county are in danger. We can use our mighty voices not only through public speaking but also through writing, spreading the word, and letting cyberspace carry our messages far and wide.

Hope to see WNBA members at the San Francisco Library Main Branch on June 2 for the Effie Lee Morris Lecture.     Please RSVP by visiting home page  http://wnba-sfchapter.org for instructions.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

WNBA-SF Chapter Member-at-Large

On receiving word on Friday that volunteers were still needed for the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference, there was no question that my housework wouldn’t be done this weekend, the yard would suffer, and resting to tend to the tail end of an exhausting cold would be left for later. It was worth every bit of the extra work piled up on Monday.

As a first time volunteer and new member of WNBA, this connection brought extra comfort to the always nurturing atmosphere of the San Francisco Writing Conferences. Instead of being another face in the crowd and traveling alone, volunteering added a sense of being part of, with friendly helpfulness coming from fellow volunteers.

Being assigned to certain workshops was part of this pleasurable weekend, making additional surprise and new intrigue part of the experience. In each session, I found myself in awe of what people have done, and in gratitude for the sharing of their knowledge and accomplishments.

Mike Farrell’s keynote talk at lunch on Saturday definitely took care of a certain inner urge of this Bay Area lefty. Knowing his words were a bit controversial, I enjoy every bit of his speech.

Sunday morning, and back at the beautiful Kabuki, I filled in at a couple of morning workshops, and left again before lunch. It was time to head off to the Mechanics Library for an afternoon workshop given by Rosemary Daniell, and co-sponsored by the WNBA. The workshop was based on Rosemary’s book “Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women’s Lives”.

The strength of Rosemary’s focus on each person in turn, drawing more out of them and helping them put more into their writing, was deeply inspiring. Most of the women present petitioned to be part of a new sub Rosa writing group, wanting to be part of the supportive writing community Rosemary is building.  This workshop brought a solid end to a very stimulating and enjoyable weekend.

Jane Glendinning

One of the unsung and if -you- are- lucky benefits of being a member
of WNBA is that Linda Lee, a long time WNBA member is also the
coordinator of volunteers for the Writing for Change conference in
SF. She gave me the opportunity to volunteer at the conference. Not
only was I royally treated by having meals in the beautiful setting
of the Kabuki Hotel, able to hear the powerful keynote luncheon
address by Mike Farrell, but I served as a monitor for five
workshops. I was jazzed by several workshops, but being an older
Berkeley kind of gal, (shocking to turn 60 this year!) I feel a
little like I am not quite up to the task of trying to present myself
or create my “platform” as a sophisticated, great hair, huge
broadband kind of gal, which often seems necessary in the writing
world. (I don’t even dye my hair!) So I was blessed with the magic of
serendipity to have found myself in the workshops of Susan Griffin
and China Galland, whose work I have read and admired for years.

I can remember hearing Susan Griffin read poetry in the Full Moon
Cafe in the Castro in the early 70s. Forty years later, her hope and
and vision for what is possible in this ever-evolving project of
democracy filled my eyes with tears, especially because of the last 8
years of this country being thrown so greatly off its democratic
path. Even within this, Susan has found a way to uphold our best
traditions, our best selves, and the most humane possibilities for
the future. This was a joy to behold especially after having been in
China Galland’s workshop. The take away from this beautiful and
deeply spiritual woman, was about listening to her heart to find her
way in the writing, using her nose to get the story that needs to be
told, and trusting her intuition about what she is being called to
do. Yes – we have to market ourselves, yes- we need to build a
platform, but mostly we need to write from our hearts, let our
intuition guide us and let our owns souls speak. These two women took
their vision and ideas seriously, spoke from their hearts and their
souls, and their books have changed the world. May we all have the
courage to do this.

Micky Duxbury, author of Making Room in Our Hearts: Keeping Family
Ties Through Open Adoption,(Routledge 2007)
www.mickyduxbury.com

I joined WNBA in 2007 when I attended the annual Author’s Showcase at the Mechanic’s Institute Library. I am a teacher, writer and lover of books, so the organization is a good fit for me. I am presently working on a novel of the Crime Fiction genre. Writing is a struggle but as I have learned through the many published authors I have met through WNBA it is only half the battle. Being a writer today means understanding how to market your work and networking with like-minded people. In the short time I have been with the organization, I have met a variety of creative women who have inspired me to move forward with my work and get over that dreaded “writer’s block.”

Patricia Costello

“Why volunteer on a committee or serve as a board member when I can just
be a card-carrying member?”

Working with talented WNBA members has further my career beyond my dreams.
To give you just a few examples:

While being the coordinator for the WNBA exhibit at a book festival, I
got to develop relationships with readers, booksellers, media folks,
fellow authors and WNBA members.
. While I was treasurer for our chapter, I gained organizational and
budget-management skills, and, I had the opportunity to work with the
national treasurer who was a kind mentor.
. While helping other committee members at our fundraiser in November last
year, a new member who is a school teacher saw me in action and invited me
to speak to her class.

You too will have similar success stories when you volunteer your time,
energy and talent for this supportive group we belong to; the personal
rewards are priceless.

Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart
www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Teresa LeYung Ryan is Co-Chair, Literacy Liaison Committee