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

The San Francisco/Peninsula Branch of California Writers presents a one day workshop to polish up the great speaker within you!

Let’s face it, we’re all a little terrorized by the public arena. Writers are expected to speak to agents and editors and sell books to the public. Are you ready? The San Francisco/Peninsula Branch of California Writers presents a one day workshop to prepare for success and polish up the great speaker within you!

When opportunity knocks, will you be prepared?

One day Public Speaking Seminar June 26, 2010

$95 for CWC members, $110 for non-members

For more information and to register today click here:   cwc-peninsula.org/Jack-London-Media-Clinic

Also check out our in-studio Television Training!

Fault Zone: Words from the Edge

Writing Contest! Winner to be published!

Fault Zone: Words from the Edge, an anthology of short stories, will be published this fall by the SF/Peninsula Branch of California Writers. Contest is open to non-members of the SF/Peninsula Branch. Your short story should relate to the anthology’s theme in some way. Interpret as you wish and have fun. We can’t wait to see it!

First Prize is $300 and publication in our Fault Zone anthology. Second Prize is $100. Third Prize is $50. Contest deadline is August 15, 2010. Reading fee is $15.

For more information and submission guidelines go to cwc-peninsula.org/Fault-Zone-Contest

(l-r) Lisa Meltzer Penn, Birgit Soyka, Adele Langendorf, Pam Reitman, Mary Hower, Joe Ramelo, (seated l-r) Kate Britton, Juliane Cortino, Mary E. Knippel

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the WNBA-SF Open Mic Reading at Keplers last Friday. Members and guests networked, sharing what they are working on and milestones they had achieved. Both published authors and writers with works-in-progress took us on a creative journey with their inspirational and moving pieces. Subjects ranged from the frozen tundra of Alaska, classroom interactions, the glories of gardening, the courage to face life’s challenges, battling breast cancer and more.

My sincere thanks on behalf of WNBA-SF to Keplers for providing us with such a welcoming environment, to everyone who joined me at the podium, and to those who came to witness our readings.

Mary E. Knippel,

WNBA-SF Open Mic Chair and Immediate Past President

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:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

Linda Joy Meyers at previous WNBA-SF Networking event

In order to have enough nibbles and bubbly for everyone, please RSVP by April 20 to hospitality@wnba-sfchapter.org and let us know you will be joining us.

After you’ve set up you blog or website, you need to join and participate in online communities — and I mean participate, so don’t over-extend yourself.  I started with the usual Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, but I’ve now found several sites that cater to readers and authors.  Here are a few I belong to:

http://www.shewrites.com/ This site is specifically for women writers. You can invite friends, customize a page and add content.  There’s a group asking “What Did You Blog About Today,” where you can direct people to your site.

http://publishedauthors.ning.com/ A place to share thoughts about writing, publishing or marketing books

http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/searchGroups.bt?categoryId=3 If you’re over 50 (or even if you’re not) join Book Talk or one of the other book groups on AARP. 

http://www.classmates.com/community/groups/groupHome?communityId=120 There are 13,862 members of the Books group on Classmates and over 60,000 posts – and its free to join 

http://www.bloggerlinkup.com/ A free service that will allow you to ask for or offer guest posts.  This is great when you want another point of view or you’re just burned out from blogging and can’t think of another thing to say.

http://tagmybookonamazon.wordpress.com/ This is a new site that offers to tag your book on Amazon.  Authors submit their books for tagging and tag each other’s books so they move up on the list.  You must participate in the tagging process or you’ll be cut — seems only fair.

Anyway, the point is there are numerous ways to have a presence online for free. Even if you’ve written the next great American novel, it won’t matter if not one knows about it. We authors need all the help we can get. Best of luck! 

Regards,

Judith Marshall
Author of HUSBANDS MAY COME AND GO BUT FRIENDS ARE FOREVER
www.judithmarshall.net

http://wnba-sfchapter.org/ Saturday, March 27^th, 2010 in San Francisco

Pitch Tips for WNBA-SF Chapter’s Speed Dating/Meet the Agents, Acquisition Editors, & Publishers Event

“Make Every Word Count When Pitching to Agents or Acquisition Editors”
by WNBA-SF Chapter Board Member and 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
•    the unique qualities about your commodity
•    why you are the perfect author for this work

Here are 4 examples:

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Writing Career Coach Teresa will help you practice your pitch
at WNBA’s  “Meet the Agents, Editors, & Publishers”
on March 27, 2010   http://wnba-sfchapter.org

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 (a 22-day workbook for writers to build their names and attract attention and fans 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 immigrant women, men, and children
• advocate understanding of mental illness/traumas to the mind
• help survivors of violence find their own voices through writing
www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

12 writers benefited from WNBA-SF’s Coaxing Creativity Vision Board Workshop led by Mentor Mary E. Knippel.  “Decide, Declare & Design Your Writing Life for 2010,” said Mary Knippel.  “P.L.A.Y.  Pause. Love. Access your Artist/Adjust your Attitude.  YES to You.”

This post invites every writer at the workshop to submit her comments and declare a goal. Click on the title  [12 Writers Benefited from . . . ] to see the entire post; scroll down to comment boxes and key in your name, your email address, your website URL compose your comment; click SUBMIT button.

Thank you, Creativity Mentor Mary Knippel!

Visit Mary’s website for calendar of workshops: http://openuptoyourcreativity.com/

Mary Knippel & 12 writers showing their vision boards

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