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 24, 2012   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.

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 Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW 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