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January 15 – Free Lunch N Learn: How to Write a Winning Book Proposal with Debra Eckerling

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How to Write a Winning Book Proposal with Debra Eckerling

Thursday, January 15 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Kick off the new year with clarity, confidence, and a powerful plan for your book! Join the Women’s National Book Association – San Francisco Chapter for a Lunch N Learn with Debra Eckerling — The Book Proposal Expert — as she guides you through the essential elements of crafting a compelling, industry-standard nonfiction book proposal. Whether you’re at the spark-of-an-idea stage or polishing your pitch, this session will help you understand what agents and publishers are looking for and how to present yourself and your book in a way that showcases its value and marketability.

This Lunch N Learn is also ideal preparation for Pitch-O-Rama, so your proposal is ready for when you get requests at the event. Debra will walk you through the proposal sections: concept (overview, etc.), context (promotion and marketing), and content (detailed outline and sample chapters) and what it takes to stand out. She will also share tips for how to get it done while juggling everything else in your already busy life!

Bring your lunch, your questions, and a notepad and pen. You’ll leave energized, informed, and ready to take your next step toward getting your book out into the world.

About Debra Eckerling

Debra Eckerling is The Book Proposal Expert, a book proposal specialist who helps authors clarify their message, develop their content, and craft proposals that get noticed. She is the author of Your Goal Guide and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting, host of GoalChat and the Book Proposal Podcast, and the creator of The DEB Method for goal-setting simplified. Debra has spent years helping writers, entrepreneurs, and experts turn their ideas into compelling book plans that get noticed by agents and publishers. Learn more at TheBookProposalExpert.com and connect with Debra on LinkedIn.

 

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

December 18 – Holiday Mixer

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Holiday Mixer

Thursday, December 18 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Celebrate the season at the Annual Women’s National Book Association – San Francisco Chapter Virtual Holiday Party at 12pm PT on December 18! 

Join fellow members, authors, publishing professionals, book lovers, and friends for a joyful gathering filled with connection, creativity, and community. As we close out the year, it is the perfect moment to pause and reflect, celebrate wins, and set goals for the new year!

Whether you’re looking to unwind, get reenergized, or check-in with your fellow creatives, this gathering provides inspiration, motivation, and support!

Grab your favorite mug of something warm, put on a cozy sweater (or sparkly holiday flair!), and join us for an uplifting event. You’ll leave with renewed motivation, a sense of direction, and that wonderful warm feeling that only comes from hanging with your people!

It’s a mixer, so spread the word and bring a literary friend or two!

Hope to see you there!

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

December 4 – Free Lunch N Learn: Comfort Food, Self-Care & Writing

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Comfort Food, Self-Care & Writing

Thursday, December 4 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Feed your body and your creativity! Join WNBA–San Francisco for a deliciously inspiring Lunch n Learn with Chef Rossi, author of The Raging Skillet and The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews, and Jessie-Sierra Ross, author of Seasons Around the Table and creator of Straight to the Hips, Baby.

In this lively conversation — moderated by networking ambassador Debra Eckerling, The Book Proposal Expert — Chef Rossi and Jessie-Sierra will share how food, storytelling, and self-care intertwine. Discover how cooking and writing both nourish the soul, how comfort food can fuel creativity, and how taking time for yourself can make your stories even richer.

Bring your lunch, your appetite for inspiration, and your favorite notebook!

Come for the conversation, stay for the community, and leave feeling full in every sense of the word. 

About the Speakers
Chef Rossi is the director, owner, and executive chef of “The Raging Skillet,” a cutting-edge catering company known for breaking any and all rules. She penned the memoirs, The Raging Skillet and The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews, and has also written two full-length plays, a number of one-act comedies, and a one-woman stage adaptation of The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews. She hosts the Raging and Eating podcast. TheRagingSkillet.com.

 

Jessie-Sierra Ross is a food stylist, photographer, and creator of the award-winning blog Straight to the Hips, Baby. Her debut cookbook, Seasons Around the Table, celebrates the beauty of fresh, seasonal cooking and the joy of gathering. Jessie-Sierra’s work has appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, The FeedFeed, and Taste of Home. She brings her warmth, creativity, and culinary passion to every conversation.

 

Moderator: Debra Eckerling is a goal strategist, author, podcaster, and book proposal expert who helps writers, entrepreneurs, and consultants transform their ideas into sellable book proposals. Debra is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting, and hosts Taste Buds with Deb, GoalChat, and the Book Proposal Podcast. Learn more at TasteBudswithDeb.com and TheBookProposalExpert.com, and connect with Debra on LinkedIn.

 

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

November 20 – Free Lunch N Learn: The Art of the Book Pitch

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The Art of the Book Pitch

Thursday, November 20 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Ready to take your book idea to the next level? Join publisher Brenda Knight (Books that Save Lives) and Debra Eckerling, The Book Proposal Expert, for an engaging Lunch & Learn that demystifies the art — and the heart — of a winning book pitch.

In this practical and inspiring session, Brenda and Deb will walk you through what it takes to grab the attention of agents and publishers, from crafting the perfect hook to presenting yourself as the ideal author for your project. You’ll learn:

  1. What is and is Not a Pitch
  2. How to Craft an Effective Hook
  3. Query Letter 101
  4. The Basics of the Book Proposal
  5. The Art of Pitching Yourself and Your Platform

This is one of the best possible ways to prepare for the San Francisco Writers Conference and our own Pitch-O-Rama 2026!

This interactive event also introduces Pitch Clinic, a new offering, which in part benefits WNBA-SF, where authors can book 30-minute sessions with Brenda and Deb for real-time, personalized feedback on their pitches.

Whether you’re just developing your book concept or getting ready to query, The Art of the Pitch will get you going in the right direction.

About the Experts

Brenda KnightBrenda Knight is a distinguished publishing professional with more than 25 years of experience, currently serving as Publisher at Books That Save Lives and President of the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter. Starting at HarperCollins, she worked with luminaries like Paulo Coelho, Deepak Chopra, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, honing her editorial expertise. In 2015, she was named IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year for her innovative leadership.

Knight authored Random Acts of Kindness, Badass Affirmations (selling over 500,000 copies), and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. As founder of Books That Save Lives, she champions inspirational nonfiction. She teaches at the San Francisco Writers Conference and Writing for Change, mentoring emerging authors. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Brenda is dedicated to advancing literacy and equity in publishing. She blogs about simple acts of kindness at LowerHaightHoller.blogspot.com. Visit her work at BooksThatSaveLives.net and connect with Brenda on LinkedIn.

Debra Eckerling is a goal strategist, author, and book proposal expert who helps writers, entrepreneurs, and consultants transform their ideas into sellable books. The founder of The DEB Method for goal-setting simplified, Debra specializes in guiding clients from concept to proposal with clarity, confidence, and direction. With more than two decades of experience leading workshops, coaching thought leaders, and consulting with organizations, Debra has a knack for helping busy professionals develop, organize, and articulate their ideas in a way that resonates.

Debra is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting, and hosts The Book Proposal Podcast and Book Proposals Simplified on Substack. She is also a regular contributor to and speaker for WritersDigest.com. Learn more at TheBookProposalExpert.com and connect with Debra on LinkedIn.

Learn More

For questions or to reserve your Pitch Clinic spot, email deb@thebookproposalexpert.com.

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

Featured Member Interview – Daphneleah Schneider

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Daphneleah Schneider is a Rightness Release Mentor, Speaker, Reiki Master, Writer, and Model from Los Angeles, California, where she is creating specialized talks and workshops focused on wellness and healing from Rightness.

Can you describe the moment or reasoning, leading up to deciding to write about abandoning/healing the need to be “right”?

(DS): Before I realized what exactly this book was going to be about, I started writing about some aspects of the origin of humans. I wrote extensively on several topics, and then I realized the work needed to be divided. One division led to sharing my personal journey of healing. I have done a tremendous amount of work to heal from Rightness, and listen to others, and have compassion. The book came about because I wanted to share my experience.

What would you say is your favorite part of writing your book, “Releasing Rightness: How Love Heals the Need to be Right”

(DS): I love the magic of it. I love how sometimes the worst words are written, and a good idea is there; with work and effort, the words transform into something good that makes sense.

I love clarifying my thoughts, which then helps me clarify my life beliefs. I love the honesty of it all. I love how good it feels to express myself creatively.

Your blog mentions your emphasis on divinity in your life.  Does the concept of divinity inspire your writing as well? If so, how?

(DS): In my world, a cigar is never just a cigar; all things are divine. Everything in the universe is the divine, which I experience as love. Some things have a higher love frequency than others, but it’s all love. Creativity is divinely inspired. From coloring to creating a masterpiece, it’s all the divine expressing itself through us. Each one of us is divinity incarnate and a form of love. Some people are better at living it than others. And that is part of the human experience. 

The divine inspires my writing in that it moves through me when I write. Even though my writing has a childlike quality to it, the value of the information and my experience help others. Living connected with Divinity is ultimately how I healed from Rightness. The Divine is love and the most potent force. It heals us and connects us to all things.

Could you please walk us through your writing process?

(DS): I ask for help and guidance from the muses and the divine before I begin. I use a timer and work for 15 minutes at a time, or I set the alarm for an hour and work for that duration. 

I usually type and type and then go back and edit. I can write for 2-4 hours a day.

When I have something, I send it to an editor ( a dear friend or my daughter) to help it make sense and give me direction. 

What piece of advice would you offer to women authors?

(DS): Do it! Your story is valuable, and we want it and need it. If you have an idea for a book, it means the idea seeks to live outside of your mind. It needs to be in the world. Others have asked for it, and you heard the call. Take all the time you need and do it. I started with fifteen minutes a day. It was grueling at first. I felt a great deal of shame taking that much time for myself, but I persevered, and it eventually became easier. Now, I consider myself a writer.

Writing daily makes you a writer. You can do it! 

Much of Daphneleah’s time is currently dedicated to completing her first nonfiction book.  A tale declaring how being wrong saved her life. This account of Rightness chronicles how she left the drama behind and entered the world of good living. She shares her loves and joys along with the pain she experienced in her life journey that allowed her to  awaken and love herself and others. She shares how science and love correlate and how we grow by availing ourselves to both. (via https://www.daphneleah.com/)

November 6 – Free Lunch N Learn: Befriend Your Writer’s Block

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Befriend Your Writer’s Block: How to Have More Fun During Creative Challenges

Thursday, November 6 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Writing is a creative process, and it’s natural to go through ebbs and flows. Many writers have moments of struggle and stress. But when we find ourselves in episodes where good ideas seem to grind to a halt completely and attempting to get words on the page feels like a Sisyphean task, we may consider it writer’s block. Focusing on being blocked, however, can create more of the same. Let’s sensitively unpack some of the real challenges writer’s face, and lessons we can learn, while exploring ways to bring more fun into the process!

In this presentation we will explore:

  • Why writers sometimes feel “blocked.”
  • How to be compassionate with yourself during rough spots.
  • What you can do to put more fun and joy into writing.
  • Ideas to help ignite motivation and productivity.
  • Playful tips for more ease and joy in your creative life.
  • This is for nonfiction and fiction authors. You don’t have to be experiencing a creative challenge to find some fun tips in this presentation!

About the Presenter
Laurie Sue Brockway is a seasoned writer of thousands of articles, 25 books, and many once-unfinished manuscripts. She developed her unique approach to tapping into creative magic after years of writing panic, fear, and frustration! Her books have been published by Penguin, Random House, Kensington, Sterling, and Llewellyn. Now running her own self-publishing company, she is sharing her wisdom to help other writers. Her books include Writer’s Flow, She Who Scrivens, Meet Enheduanna, Lakshmi Magic, The Goddess Pages and several fiction titles. She is a former editor of an iconic national women’s magazine, and of local newspapers and online publications. She holds degrees in psychology, history, and ministry. Find out more at www.revlauriesue.com.

 

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

October 30 – Making AI & Publishing Less Scary: Discussion + Halloween Mixer

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Making AI & Publishing Less Scary: Discussion + Halloween Mixer

Thursday, October 30 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is casting a long shadow over the creative world. But when modern technology meets outdated federal (copyright and trademark) and state (right of publicity and defamation) law, things can get a little… frightening.

Join WNBA-SF for a spine-tingling discussion with Paul Levine, a literary agent and seasoned entertainment lawyer with 43 years of practice and Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at USC Gould School of Law. 

Discover the tricks and treats of how AI is haunting the world of book publishing—and what authors and creatives need to know to protect their work.

Stick around for WNBA-SF’s annual Halloween Mixer, where you can share your scary publishing stories around the virtual campfire.

It’s a mixer, so invite a literary friend or two. Bring your own s’mores. Costumes optional.

About the Speaker

Paul S. Levine “wears two hats:” he is a lawyer (www.paulslevine.com) and a literary agent (www.paulslevinelit.com). Mr. Levine has practiced entertainment law for more than 40 years and established his first solo practice in 1992. Seeing an underserved niche on the West Coast, he decided early on to focus on serving book authors. This naturally evolved into his work as a literary agent. Seeking to expand the range of services he could offer his clients to include the representation of books, Levine opened The Paul S. Levine Literary Agency in 1996, which he has recently expanded. With a preference for politically and socially important works, he represents more than 200 book authors, the vast majority of whom are new, unpublished, or self-published writers. Levine presents extensively at writers’ conferences throughout the country and at entertainment law-related classes and seminars.

Your Mixer Host

Debra Eckerling, aka WNBA-SF Networking Ambassador, is a goal strategist, book proposal specialist, and award-winning author of Your Goal Guide and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting & Goal-Getting. Founder of  the D*E*B METHOD® for goal-setting simplified, she hosts GoalChat, Taste Buds with Deb, and the Book Proposal Podcast. Check out Debra’s articles on WritersDigest.com, subscribe to her Book Proposals Simplified Substack, and connect with Deb on LinkedIn. Learn more at TheDEBMethod.com.

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

October 16 – Free Lunch N Learn: Debunking Myths of Hybrid Publishing

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Debunking Myths of Hybrid Publishing

Thursday, October 16 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

You just finished writing your manuscript, now what?
 
Traditional publishing, self-publishing, vanity presses, hybrid publishing…the publishing world is complex and difficult to navigate, with hybrid publishing gaining traction in particular. But lack of knowledge and confusion about the term has led to many misconceptions and myths.
 
So what exactly is hybrid publishing, and what is not? Learn about the different methods of publishing and find out what might be your best option during this free Lunch N Learn presented by publisher Audrey Zurcher!
 
Meet the Presenter:
A business owner experienced in book publishing technologies and procedures, Audrey Zurcher launched Spring Cedars in 2019, a hybrid publishing solution that provides writers a publishing alternative, one that is integrated, affordable, personable, and fun.

 

 

 

 

To register, please fill out the form below: 

Registration is now closed. Visit our homepage to sign up for email notifications and never miss a WNBA-SF event!

September 18 – Free Lunch N Learn: Book Marketing with Dr. Judith Briles

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Book Marketing with Dr. Judith Briles

Thursday, September 18 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

When it comes to authors and book marketing, it may be an Apple Pie and Ice Cream experience … or Crème Brulé with a Dill Pickle Topping. Kinda … ugh. Whether marketing is fun or an overwhelming tsunami, there are tips, tricks, and tools that can calm your author resistance and get things moving once again. 

During this WNBA-SF Lunch N Learn, Dr. Judith Briles will open your eyes, ears, and get you moving forward on your book marketing endeavors.

About the Presenter 

Dr. Judith Briles is the award-winning and best-selling author of 48 books earning over 60 book awards and recently awarded the Author Laureate honor. To date, her books have been translated into 17 countries with over 1,000,000 copies sold! Judith’s books, and work, have been featured in over 1,500 radio and TV shows. She is the host of the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast that has received over 21 million downloads, posts less than three minute “how to publish and market” videos daily on her YouTube channel Dr. Judith Briles-The Book Shepherd and is the founder of the Colorado’s Authors’ Hall of Fame. Today, she will explore the wide, wide world of book marketing that leads to author success … that is, if you do it.

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September 4 – Free Lunch N Learn: Growing an Online Audience with TikTok

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Growing an Online Audience with TikTok

Thursday, September 4 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

TikTok is one of the most powerful tools authors have today to build visibility, grow a loyal readership, and connect directly with audiences…but it has its own issues too. Join author Kiri Callaghan and Ana Visneski as they talk about how Kiri built an audience of 390k, and the state of author engagement expectations online.

Whether you’re launching your debut novel or looking to breathe new life into your backlist, you’ll walk away with practical strategies, examples of what works (and what doesn’t), and the confidence to show up authentically on one of the world’s fastest-growing platforms.

Meet the Presenters

Kiri Callaghan

Born from Ink & Stardust, Kiri Callaghan is an author of fantastical fiction, performer and poet. Existing work consists of The Terra Mirum Chronicles (Alys, Changeling), The Seek Anomalie Podcast and a collection of original poems performed live at the Los Angeles Poetry Brothel. When Kiri is not telling stories or pretending to be other people, she is likely exploring the world, dancing under the moon, or crafting something with superglue, paint and sheer audacity.

Her debut into traditional publishing The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic and Murder will release in Fall 2025.

 

Ana Visneski

Ana Visneski is a member of the WNBA and the author of F*ck it, Watch This. When not writing, she runs a crisis management firm, Merewif, and teaches crisis communications at the University of Washington.

 

 

 

 

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