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Featured Member Interview – Melissa Kirk

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Editor “Grows” Food and Authors

by Nita Sweeney, author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. 

Mental health is close to my heart…

Nita Sweeney (NS):  I must dive right in and ask what drew you to work with psychology and wellness professionals and what keeps you leaning toward people in that field?

Melissa Kirk (MK): It was kind of fate, actually. I had always been interested in mental health. I’d struggled with depression as a kid (still sometimes do) and had always felt drawn to understanding psychology and writing about wellness. I used to write zines and blog posts about my personal experiences with mental health issues.

After college I got a job as an editorial assistant at Jossey-Bass (now Wiley, in San Francisco), but after I made Assistant Editor, there was nowhere for me to go, so I started looking for a new job. I saw an editor position listed at New Harbinger Publications, a self-help and psychology publisher in Oakland, and applied. I was shocked when they asked me for an interview! It was just a lark to even apply.

But I (obviously) got it and it was the perfect job for me for at least a decade: I spent most of my 13 years there reading and researching psychology topics and working with psychology professionals. I learned a lot; I sometimes joke that, considering all the self-help books I’ve read, I should be much saner than I am!

So, when I started my own business, it made sense to make that my niche.

I see so much emotional struggle in the world, and not a lot of effective support for those of us who need to work with our brains every day to stay on an even keel. People who can be honest about themselves, who are self-aware, and who want to keep growing emotionally are my people. I feel safest with them because I know they’re less likely to judge or criticize me for my mistakes (and vice-versa, I hope!) I enjoy working with people in this field; psychology professionals, by and large, really care for others and want to help people create better lives for themselves.

NS: You bring a long history of writing world experience and strong interest in the wellness and psychology field to your clients. What other je ne sais quoi, secret sauce, or distinction have your clients come to love about you?

MK:  My clients seem to really appreciate that I offer constructive criticism with honesty but also kindness, and that I make concrete suggestions for next steps. Because I’ve been in this business for a while, I can usually help a client find a way to pivot if necessary, in order to meet their goals for their project. And because I know how things really work (the good and the bad), I can lead my clients on the path to meeting their goals, but I can also tell them if a goal is unrealistic and what a more realistic path might be. I really strive for honesty, even when it’s challenging to tell someone I’m not sure their book idea is going to work out as they’ve conceptualized it. I’d want someone to be that honest with me. 

NS: Let’s hop back a decade. In 2010, you co-authored a book titled Depression 101: A Practical Guide to Treatments, Self-Help Strategies, and Preventing Relapse. How did that come about and what role has it played, if any, in your professional journey?

MK:  I was working at New Harbinger as an acquisitions and developmental editor, and we had come up with an idea for a series of small introductory books on common mental health diagnoses.  John Preston was one of our most valued authors–he has since passed–and we had the idea of having his name on the book. At the time, or maybe we found out after we pitched the book idea to him, he was struggling with some major health issues, so when the team talked about possibly finding someone to co-write the book (and having John vet it), I signed up. I loved working with John, and I had personal experience with depression, so it was an easy project. The book sold “just OK” (I think I make about $23/year), but it’s definitely helped my credibility. It’s a good book on understanding depression, if I do say so myself!

NS: Switching gears again, tell us about your vegetables. Growing food has found a resurgence. What’s your favorite crop and when did you realize it was something you loved?

MK: I’ve been growing vegetables since I was a kid. My mom always had veggies growing in the yard and at a young age I took to the natural world like a duck to water. I was very shy and didn’t have a ton of friends, so I spent a lot of my childhood alone, and played in our garden a LOT…. building fairy villages in among the plants, paying attention to the plants as they grew, plucking tomatoes and beans from the vine for my lunch. Nurturing plants is just like breathing to me. It’s in my DNA, literally.

I take comfort in the resurgence of kitchen gardens. We should develop the ability to support ourselves, at least somewhat. I think nurturing plants helps us develop empathy for all of life and facing gardening frustrations helps us with problem-solving. I hope this “trend” becomes more than just a trend; gardening is one of my major passions. I would love to work in some kind of plant or gardening aspect, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with writing or editing!

I really love growing tomatoes. I adore them–I love the taste, the smell of the plants, and how they grow. This summer was the worst tomato year I’ve had in a decade. It’s been depressing on top of everything else 2020 has wrought! I’m trying to take it as a message that I need to pay more attention to nurturing my plants.

NS: I’ll hazard a guess that there are parallels between gardening and “cultivating” authors and other business pros. Any you care to share?

MK: Oh, yes, definitely! Also, with friendships. I think once I realized that parallel, I got better at cultivating my relationships, both professionally and personally.

Basically, successful gardening is about paying attention to a lot of factors: soil, water, climate, protecting plants from pests, encouraging beneficial animals and insects, reading the plant in order to understand what it needs. Working with clients, in any capacity, demands the same: you pay attention to multiple factors, and each client has different needs. Clients will only thrive in their work with me if they’re getting what they need. I try to help with that as much as possible. Same with our relationships: we need to pay attention to them and give them what they need in order to thrive.

NS: Has California always been home? Is there anywhere else you would rather live?

MK: I moved to Berkeley when I was 4 and have never lived in any other state for more than a month. My family and friends are here; I have no real desire to leave the state. I do want to leave the Bay Area, though: I’m actively looking for more rural land where I can have more room to grow plants, have more animals, and have the physical space I crave.

In the current climate, I have considered leaving the country, but I honestly can’t think of a place that has more to offer than California. I mean, we can drive 2 hours in any direction and be in a new ecosystem and terrain! I just wish the state didn’t burn down every late summer. I live in a city, so I haven’t been personally threatened by fires, but many friends have.

NS: What about writing or publishing tips to share with our WNBA-SF members? Any “must do” things you recommend?

MK: Generally speaking, for writing:

  • Write to your intended audience, not to yourself, your peers, or colleagues. 
  • For most genres of books: avoid passive voice. This probably in the list of the top 3 things I spend a lot of time fixing in manuscripts.
  • Even in nonfiction, information needs to flow in a way that feels intuitive for the reader and is easy to integrate into their brains. I suspect fiction writers tend to think more about this than nonfiction writers. But it’s always important. 

For publishing, so much depends on how you’re publishing–self-publishing, traditional publishing, or publishing with a hybrid publisher. But in general:

  • Do your research and deeply understand your target audience, the comparative books, how successful authors in comparable genres are marketing themselves, and how your book fits into the niche. 
  • If you want to be successful in any sense, you’ll need to do much of your own marketing. Nobody can talk about and write about their book like the author. If you’re writing a book, take the time to learn basic marketing strategies FAR before the book is due to be published. If you wait until the book is published, it may be too late for many marketing strategies to work. 
  • And remember that marketing is really all about community-building. 
  • If you end up hiring any professional to do work on your book (such as developmental editors, copyeditors, proofreaders, cover designers, and page designers): be ready to pay what those professionals are worth. If you pay $2 for a cover, you’ll get a $2 cover. Many publishing professionals have been doing this work for many, many years and can heighten your book’s quality. I see this conversation often in author communities where people resist paying real money to their editors or cover designers. Some even question why they can’t just do it themselves, and I can tell you: even editors don’t edit their own books. And most author-designed covers (unless the author is a graphic designer) are not good. Don’t think of publishing professionals as afterthoughts; we’re vital collaborators who will help your book’s success. 

NS: Your bio hints about a new book. Would you care to tell us more about that?

MK: Well, let’s just say it’s still mostly just an idea. Even though I’m in publishing and I make my living helping other people get their books published, that doesn’t mean I have the discipline to write a book! I do have most of the intro written.

It’s about relationships, particularly how women can get into patterns of unhealthy relationships and how to get out of that pattern. The book really encourages those who are in that pattern to do some hard soul-searching about their own assumptions and expectations about relationships. It comes from my personal experience with this pattern and with leaving it behind, but as a self-help editor, I’ll obviously include lots of research and possibly even seek a co-author with a professional psychology background.

NS: Do you have anything else on the horizon?

MK: So, so much on the horizon! Professionally I want to do much more video content and also produce some courses and some group coaching opportunities. And I want to write more useful content to offer authors on their various publishing journeys (how to write a book proposal, how to organize a nonfiction book, etc). Funnily enough, with my work with clients, I just never seem to have the time or energy. I’m going to take some time off in October to try to get some of this stuff done.

Personally, I’m looking for rural land in the Sierra foothills where I can expand my gardening and live closer to nature. Typical “city girl goes to the country” stuff. But I feel happier surrounded by trees than surrounded by cars.

NS: And is there anything else you would like to add, anything you wish I had asked?

MK: Your questions have been great!

One thing I see very often in publishing and author communities is that people use the word ‘editor’ without specifying what kind of editor they mean. I’ve seen this in social media postings, job listings, even books about editing. I always point out that there are at least two different kinds of editor, three if you include proofreaders (four if you include video editors, who are becoming more involved in the book industry these days, but I won’t include them in this list).

The types of editors are: 

  • Developmental Editors – They typically take a more birds-eye view of the manuscript and look at the book concept, the organization, whether the writing and elements in the book help the author meet their stated goals, and whether those elements are going to effectively reach the target audience. 
  • Copyeditors – They usually focus on line-level and paragraph-level edits: fixing the writing, correcting grammar and syntax errors, making sure the logic is sound in each sentence, etc. They may also query the author on organizational and thematic questions. 
  • Proofreaders – They focus specifically on fixing errors in the pages, which by then have usually been typeset. Proofreading is usually the last stage before the book goes to the printer (or is uploaded to the e-book service). 

Many editors offer more than one service. I offer developmental editing and copyediting, but not proofreading. I just don’t have the patience. I really value and respect good proofreaders.

I have a goal to educate publishers and authors about the importance of identifying what kind of editing they’re talking about. Probably that’s partly because people typically use the term ‘editing’ to mean copyediting and I always think, “Hey! What about me??”

Melissa Kirk is a developmental editor, writer, book coach, publishing consultant, and agent in the psychology, health, and wellness genre. She works with wellness entrepreneurs who are ready to level up their businesses by creating engaging writing and video about how to live better and healthier lives. She has been working in publishing for 20 years in editorial and acquisitions, including 13 years at New Harbinger Publications where she grew to love the wisdom that comes from studying human psychology. She has been running her own business, Words to Honey Content Services, for 4 years, working with psychology and wellness professionals to get their messages out to the people who need to hear them. In her leisure time, she grows vegetables and is working on a book about her own quantum leap towards mental wellness. Her website is: https://wordstohoney.com/

Effie Lee Morris Writing Contest – Meet the Judges!

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2021 Effie Lee Morris Literary Contest – get set! GO!

We honor and celebrate women authors and diverse writers and hope to include YOU with our 2021 Effie Lee Morris WNBA-SF Literary Contest, launching October 1st and running through March 31st, 2021. 

Effie Lee Morris

The Women’s National Book Association San Francisco Chapter is pleased and proud to continue the Effie Lee Morris WNBA Literary Awards in honor of our founder. Ms. Morris was a pioneering Black librarian and the founder of this chapter of the Women’s National Book Association in 1968. She became the first female chairperson of the Library of Congress and was the president of the National Braille Association for two terms. She was dedicated to literacy for children as well as children in underserved communities, and those who learn differently.

For full information, rules, and to submit your work starting October 1, 2020, please go here:

2021 Effie Lee Morris Literary Contest – get ready!

And now, meet the distinguished judges!

Sharifah Hardie is a business consultant, talk show host and influencer. Sharifah was a Long Beach City Council Candidate in the 2020 March 3rd Primary Election and is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Expert. With over twenty five years of business experience, Sharifah Hardie has positioned herself to become one of the top executives in entertainment, business, politics and a person on the rise. Sharifah is the author of  Signs You Might Be An Entrepreneur – How to Discover the Entrepreneur in You

Lyzette Wanzer’s work appears in over twenty-five literary journals. She is a contributor to The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie), The Naked Truth, Essay Daily, and San Francisco University High School Journal. A three-time San Francisco Arts Commission and Center for Cultural Innovation grant recipient, Lyzette serves as Judge for the Soul-making Keats Literary Competition Intercultural Essay category. She is currently helming an anthology entitled Trauma, Tresses, & Truth: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narrative.

Sumbul Ali-Karamali, a former corporate attorney with an additional degree in Islamic law, is an award-winning writer and speaker. She grew up in California, answering questions about her religion, which is why her books engagingly introduce readers to Muslim beliefs and practices and include The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing and her just-released Demystifying Shariah: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It’s Not Taking Over Our Country.

Pushcart Prize nominee Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte is an Oakland multidisciplinary writer. Her autobiographical and fictional short story collections, along with her lyrical and stunning poetry have been described as “rich in vivid imagery,” “incredible,” and “great contributions to literature.” Her first novel, Betrayal on the Bayou, was published in June 2020. She is also a popular literary reader, presenter, storyteller, curator and emcee for local events.

Fourth-generation native San Franciscan, Kathleen Archambeau, is an award-winning writer and LGBTQ activist. She is author of four nonfiction works, Climbing the Corporate Ladder in High Heels (2006), “Seized,” an essay in The Other Woman (2007), edited by Victoria Zackheim, Pride & Joy (2017), and We Make It Better (2019), with gay dad, Eric Rosswood. Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black wrote the Foreword to Pride & Joy and endorsed We Make It Better. Archambeau’s work has been favorably reviewed in global and national literary publications and she has been a featured speaker at national and global Pride literary events. Her book was included as part of the Oakland Museum of California store’s Queer California Exhibit and she is a founding member of the James Hormel LGBT wing of the SF Public Library.

Michael Larsen co-founded  Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in 1972. Over four decades, the agency sold hundreds of books to more than 100 publishers and imprints. The agency has stopped accepting new writers, but Mike loves helping  all writers. He gives talks about writing and publishing, and does author coaching. He wrote  How to Write a Book Proposal and  How to Get a Literary Agent, and co-authored  Guerrilla Marketing for Writers. Mike is co-director of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference.

Rose Castillo Guilbault is the author of the highly acclaimed memoir Farmworker’s Daughter: Growing Up Mexican In America. Her essays have been published in dozens of textbooks and anthologies. She also wrote the book The Latina’s Guide to Success In the Workplace. Rose was the first Hispanic columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle; her column “Hispanic USA” was honored by a number of journalistic and community organizations. A longtime television journalist, she was awarded an EMMY for her work. Ms. Castillo Guilbault was featured in the award-winning book Latinas and Their Muses. Her community activities include Chair of the Commonwealth Club of California’s board of directors and serving as a judge on the Book Awards Committee for several years.

Featured Member Interview – Barbara Brooker

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Anti-Ageism Activist Urges Everyone to Celebrate “Age Pride!”

by Nita Sweeney, author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. 

I hope WNBA-SF members reading this interview hear the way Barbara Brooker’s energy and passion pulsed through our conversation. What a tremendous opportunity to learn from a woman determined to make her dreams come true!

Nita Sweeney (NS): You are an anti-ageism activist who founded the first “Age March.” What brought you to that role?

Barbara Brooker (BB): I am 83, and want to be a movie star. I am on the path of dreams. For decades I have experienced ageism. When I was thirty-five, single, divorced I went back to college. I wanted to be an author and teacher. I was forced to wear a nametag marked “Re-Entry Woman.” I earned my MFA/Teaching Credential and published my first novel at fifty. I was told I was too old to hold a tenure position. Each decade, I have written stories about my personal experiences about ageism. Like racism, ageism for all ages is worse than ever. We have gay pride globally so why not “Age Pride?”

So, I founded www.agemarch.org, and produced the first age march in history—a march to celebrate age pride for all ages, race, sexuality, genders, and to promote a generation where numbers don’t count. I have produced three marches and hope that some organization or foundation will take it over and like gay pride, and that “Age March” will go global and grow every year.

Please endorse and put your names on www.agemarch.org. You can see the former march videos on the press button. You can also see TV interviews and press about it on my website, www.barbararosebrooker.com.

NS: Do you have any thoughts about the “OK Boomer” meme?

BB: What is “OK Boomer?” But I will tell you that I detest labels—senior, elder, age appropriate, boomer—all of it. Labels segregate people. We’re people. Why do we need these labels which are only for product, profit and a billion-dollar business?

NS: How does your passion about this topic influence your writing?

BB: Writing is expressing your inner life as well as a story. My emotions and passion about any discrimination, especially ageism, which affects all communities from the LGBTQIA, to Hispanic, African American, Asian, causes isolation, low self-esteem, and marginalization.

NS: Your new novel, Love, Sometimes, is receiving early praise and your previous novel, The Viagra Diaries, also garnered tremendous reviews. What has been your most treasured writing-related accomplishment?

BB: I have published thirteen books. Each one is a different growth and part of me. Particularly, I honor God Doesn’t Make Trash, my memoir about the first women and men in San Francisco who had AIDS. Next, I am most proud of Love, Sometimes. For two years or more, I existed under the surface of the book, into the protagonist’s psyche, to show that at all ages we can find our true selves and authentic voices.

I’d so appreciate it for those of you who buy and read the book, if you’d post reviews on Amazon. As the publishers are watching and I want to show other women in their seventies, eighties, etc., that anything is possible at any age.

NS: Tell us something about your latest novel, Love, Sometimes, we would not know from reading the jacket copy?

BB: It is very much a coming of age story for a 68-year-old woman. It is about a woman’s inner struggle, her regrets, buried pain and denial, and how through her experiences with the ageist Hollywood networks, and falling in love, she sheds her quest for fame, Hollywood, and identifies and finds her own true values.

NS: You have taught writing for decades. How did you begin teaching and can you share some outstanding moments from that part of your life?

BB: Every moment I have and still am. Teaching writing classes is a highlight of my life. First, I consider it collaborating with men and women who have hidden voices, or stories that they want to tell. I first started teaching, in the early nineties at San Francisco State University extended learning and then continued until now teaching at SFSU/OLLI to men and women over sixty who have always wanted to write a book but think they’re too old. I see miracles. As a result of my work with them, several of my former and present students have and are publishing books. It’s a constant joy and birth and I believe that our stories document life and our true legacy.

NS: More recently you have begun working with writers who have stage four cancer. Will you share an important moment from that experience?

BB: For years I have trained and volunteered at SF SHANTI-a place that helps the marginalized, those with HIV, cancer and other illnesses. It is a glorious safe haven and all the moments our support group is together are very important.

What’s really important is that we bond and share trust and friendships and support. It was very moving when the women wrote letters to cancer and trust me to put them into a book. I too am a cancer survivor and I want to inspire those women who have stage four cancers and we inspire each other.
 
NS: If you could give the WNBA-SF members your best piece of advice (writing or otherwise) what would it be?

BB: Be true to yourself. Accept yourself, who you are. Celebrate your authentic voices. As far as writing, I say just write whatever you feel and don’t think about workshop rules, grammar and all that. Break the rules. It’s the emotions that drive the writing.

NS: The media loves you. Do you have any tips on how to garner the kind of tremendous media appearances you have achieved?

BB: You know it’s been a long journey and I don’t have a publicist—can’t afford one—but I have been very persistent, collecting names, e-mails pitching, etc. If you believe in yourself and keep doing it, someone will respond. Then you build on it. Also, you have the internet and there are many ways to post your platform on social networking.

NS: You are a busy woman! Is there anything else on the horizon?

BB: I have a podcast in process called “RANT” about ageism in our anti-age culture. I plan on speaking around the country. A TV series is in the works on my novel, The Viagra Diaries and Love, Sometimes is also being considered.
 
NS: Is there anything I did not ask that you would like to share with the WNBA-SF members?

BB: I am glad I’m a member. I hope I will meet the people in the San Francisco branch where I live.

 

Barbara Rose Brooker, MA, is an age activist, teacher, painter, poet, and author. She has published 13 books, won a National Library Award for her poetry, and has appeared often on “The Today Show,” “The Talk,” “ET” and Andy Cohen’s, “Watch What Happens Live.” Also a columnist, she has published “Boomer in the City” for the JWeekly and the Huffington Post. Currently she teaches writing at San Francisco State/OLLI, and holds private writing workshops for clients and students over 50. She believes, anyone at any age can write and publish a book. She is the founder of agemarch.org, the first march in history to celebrate age pride! Barbara lives in San Francisco, has two daughters, and loves dogs. She is at work on a book of short stories about aging with glamour and never giving up on dreams. She also volunteers and teaches writing at San Francisco SHANTI, an organization helping women with stage 4 cancer.

For more information, visit her websites: www.barbararosebrooker.com and www.agemarch.org.

October 16 – San Francisco Values

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While San Francisco is ground zero for global technological innovation, it is also renowned as being in the vanguard for a variety of cultural movements: Literary, musical and sports. And, San Francisco policies were among the first of all US cities to institute committed environmental laws.

But culture isn’t all San Francisco is famous for; It also has been a hotbed of political change. San Francisco legislation addresses the needs of all citizens, demonstrating compassion and fairness.

Come listen to, and converse with three award winning authors who have captured a world-changing megalopolis in new, thought provoking books: Joan Gelfand, Geri Spieler, Aya de Leon, and moderator Kathleen Archembeau, native San Franciscan and WNBA-SF Board member.

Folio Books has created an order page of books for this event. Please check it out here:
https://foliosf.indiecommerce.com/san-francisco-values-wnba-sf

Where: Zoom  (link provided via email – RSVP below)

When: October 16, 2020 Noon PDT

 

The author of three poetry collections, Joan Gelfand’s work appears in national and international journals. Her chapbook of short fiction won the Cervena Barva Fiction Award. Joan has won over 20 awards for poetry, fiction and reviewing. Her book, “You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C’s of Successful Authors” published by Mango Press, is an Amazon #1 best seller. Joan’s debut novel, “Extreme” published by Blue Light Press is set in a Silicon Valley gaming startup.

Geri Spieler is an award winning journalist, research director and investigative reporter working with several newspapers and online investigative sites. She is the author of the award winning Taking Aim at the President and her latest book, San Francisco Values. Geri is a past president of the California Writers Club, member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Authors Guild, Women’s National Book Association, the Internet Society, and Book Critics Circle.

Aya de León teaches creative writing at UC Berkeley. Kensington Books publishes her award-winning Justice Hustlers feminist heist series, including SIDE CHICK NATION the first novel published about Hurricane Maria. In December, Kensington will publish her first spy novel, A SPY IN THE STRUGGLE about FBI infiltration of an African American eco-racial justice organization. Aya blogs for Daily Dose: Feminist Voices for the Green New Deal and working on a Black/Latina spy girl series, GOING DARK. Visit her at ayadeleon.com.

Fourth-generation native San Franciscan Kathleen Archambeau is an award-winning writer and LGBTQ activist. She is author of four nonfiction works, Climbing the Corporate Ladder in High Heels (2006), “Seized,” an essay in The Other Woman (2007), edited by Victoria Zackheim, Pride & Joy (2017), and We Make It Better (2019), with gay dad, Eric Rosswood. Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black wrote the Foreword to Pride & Joy and endorsed We Make It Better. Archambeau’s work has been favorably reviewed in global and national literary publications and she has been a featured speaker at national and global Pride literary events. Her book was included as part of the Oakland Museum of California store’s Queer California Exhibit and she is a founding member of the James Hormel LGBT wing of the SF Public Library. kathleenarchambeau.com

 

Featured Member Interview – Mag Dimond

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World Traveler Credits “Patience, Courage, Compassion, and Perseverance” for Writing Success

by Nita Sweeney, author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. 

Interviewing WNBA-SF member Mag Dimond offered yet another opportunity to learn from this fine, diverse, talented, intelligent group of women writers. I hope her answers inspire you as much as they did me.

Nita Sweeney (NS): I’m so intrigued by your extensive travel. Do you have a favorite place you would visit again and again if you could? If so, what draws you there?

Mag Dimond (MD): There are two places:

Italy because it is another home for me, dating back to the time I lived there as a young girl. I speak the language, adore the culture, and feel as though I belong there – particularly the region of Tuscany/Umbria/and Venice…. In Italy, there is deeply familiar comfort and sensual pleasure, and in Africa, a vast adventure with wildlife that has so much to teach us…

Africa – In the African bush I met the elephant, and it was then that I felt this mysterious connection with this wise matriarchal creature for the first time. Being a human being in the African bush is to understand how small we really are in relation to other living creatures, and I find this awareness hugely refreshing. It is time we humans stopped considering ourselves center of the universe.

NS: You are an avid meditator. Would you be willing to share your history around meditation? How did you begin and how has that woven into your life?

MD: I was living in Taos, NM, working hard at my teaching and trying to hold on to the belief that the person I loved was going to love me eventually. I was carrying a great deal of suffering – both physical (as I had been neglecting my body for many, many years), and psychic. I had left a long marriage to create a new life with this person, only to find out that he was incapable of responding to me emotionally. A friend – also a bodyworker – noticed my suffering and talked about the healing that comes with mindfulness practice. Eventually her gentle words sunk in and I decided to join a meditation group. From the first time I sat amidst quiet and gentle people on their cushions I realized that this was my path. Everything I heard of the Buddha’s teachings made infinite sense and reminded me of my beloved grandmother’s wisdom. Do no harm? Love yourself and respect your fellow beings? Be present so you can understand how you feel, who you are? Absolutely sensible! I became a weekly meditator, eventually taking the practice into my daily life. That was over 20 years ago, and my heart is filled with gratitude for the wisdom and goodness that has come my way as a result. The practice has helped me in challenging circumstances, whether I’m in India dealing with the injustice of the caste system, or in Cambodia, feeling the deep dark despair of their holocaust, or in Paris, just dealing with my family and their issues…

NS: Does meditation feed your writing? If so, how?

MD: Staying in the present moment, which comes about from a continuing practice of mindfulness, allows you to both see and translate what you see with immediacy. It also allows you to peel away layers of the stories you’ve lived with and discover the core of your life’s path. You can travel back in time and look deeply into your past and discover what you actually experienced. No matter what our creative medium, meditation practice allows us to see the moment by moment unfolding of our journey.

NS: Tell us about your teaching career. Is there a moment you would like to share? 

MD: When I was teaching in Taos, NM, I had a young married woman in my creative writing class who felt driven to write a story about an elder in her family. When her husband found this out, he harshly objected, telling her it was not her business to write such stories. When she shared this with me, I told her without hesitation that as long as she was telling the truth to the best of her ability, and not intending any harm, she had a perfect right to write the story that lived in her imagination. She went ahead and followed my guidance and wrote the story; I was so proud of her. All humans have stories in their lineage that need to be told.

NS: How did you find your way to Taos? 

MD: A busted-up marriage and a brand new (ultimately misguided) relationship were the catalysts. I left my family and the Bay Area to head to Taos with a charismatic artist so that he could build a studio in Taos and I could start a “new life.”

NS: How did living there impact you?

MD: A great deal unfolded during the thirteen-year period I lived in Taos: my spiritual practice was born, my college teaching career took off, and I explored jewelry design – not to mention discovering a close and intense community of friends. I was always a bit of a misfit (being an urban girl), but somehow, I trusted that this path was taking me where I needed to go, and when I looked at the vast and exquisite northern New Mexico skies I realized I didn’t miss the Pacific Ocean so much!

The most powerful pieces of the Taos experience were the beginning of my mindfulness practice, and my teaching experience at University of New Mexico – Taos, where I taught creative writing and literature courses that I designed myself. With the wonderful mix of ages in all my classes and the sense of real commitment to the work of writing, I was able to open up doors for my students.

Additionally, Taos offered me a close-knit multicultural landscape to discover myself in, and this felt somewhat natural, given that I had lived abroad as a young girl and was comfortable with people who were different from myself. I learned a great deal about the Taos Pueblo culture, and I worked alongside Hispanic Taosenos. Though these different ethnic cultures here were often separate and distinct, it was a privilege to learn from them up close.

NS: What led you back to the Bay Area?

MD: I came to San Francisco as a three-year-old with my young parents who moved there from the East Coast. So, you could almost say I was “native” to San Francisco! I have traveled all over the world, but I have always carried San Francisco inside me, have always thought of it as my home.

NS: What prompted you to volunteer as a tutor?

MD: I dearly missed teaching since leaving Taos and giving up my teaching job there. Though I launched a jewelry business and worked as a hospice volunteer, I never forgot the joy and inspiration of being a writing teacher. I longed to return to some form of teaching…

NS: Tell us about Bowing to Elephants. Is there something we might not know from reading the blurb?

MD: This book is an affectionately crafted narrative I would have loved my beleaguered and confused mother to read, for if she had she would have seen the love I held for her despite all that separated us. In peeling away the layers of my past with careful attention, I discovered that my mother had given me some great gifts – not only of my life, but also art, beauty of all kinds, humor, good food, a love of cats, a sense of daring and adventure, the notion of standing out as different from all the rest. When I pause to feel the gratitude for those gifts, I feel a great warmth in my heart that I hope is evident in Bowing to Elephants. It would have been a great thing if she had been able to understand this…

NS: The book has received high praise. What has been your proudest moment?

MD: Sitting in front of 60 people or more at the launch event for the book at Book Passage in Corte Madera and really hearing myself read my own words – words that I had agonized over, played with, questioned, and delighted in for so long as I worked on completing the manuscript. In that moment I had the heart-warming experience of offering up my own experience to the world and loving what I was hearing. There was a welling of pride, a voice inside that said, “Yes, you’re a good writer … you finally made it!!”

NS: Do you have any writing tips to share with the WNBA-SF members?

MD: Patience, trust, more patience, courage, compassion, and perseverance – Without these, you will have a hard time finishing your project. And I also have some words of wisdom from my writing coach Sean Murphy, words that literally saved my sanity as I flailed about in fear and trepidation… these words: don’t believe everything your brain tells you. Use the Buddhist wisdom that reminds us that the supreme truth teller is the heart, while the mind often operates contrary to our best interests as it tries to dictate non-existent perfection. Trust the heart and tell that brain of yours to take a break every so often!

NS: What’s on the horizon? Do you have any other projects in the works?

MD: I want to write a book about elephants from a historical and personal perspective. I want to educate readers about this magnificent endangered species and galvanize people to advocate for them. Not sure exactly what this would look like, but it is calling to me. I’m also keen on writing a book about food – have been a foodie all my life since living in Italy – I want to share the history of certain foods and talk about the role they play in healing our bodies and minds. I see it as a book that would include an array of lovely illustrations of food.

NS: Would you like to add anything else?

MD: I want to put some gratitude out there to all the writers who are busily trying to make their written dreams come true. It takes amazing courage and stamina. I was surrounded by a community of such writers back when I worked on Bowing to Elephants, and they provided a scaffolding that held me in place and provided continual support. I don’t think I could have completed the book without them. There are communities of writers large and small all over the world who are working hard at this very lonely job, and I want to say that I’m glad for the bravery and heart they all have to muster to do their work, to tell their very important truths, to give their gifts to the world. Hooray for the writers!

  1. Mag Dimond has been a world traveler since her mother took her to live in Italy from ages eleven to fourteen. She traveled extensively in Europe and Central America, and ventured to such exotic landscapes as India, Cambodia, Bhutan, Japan, Kenya, China, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cuba. In her seventies now, she continues traveling, the most recent adventure being to Machu Picchu and the Amazon jungle. After a career teaching writing to college students in San Francisco and Taos, she often volunteers as a writing tutor at 826 Valencia, an esteemed literacy program launched by David Eggers. She has been a practicing Buddhist for twenty years and is a dedicated member of Spirit Rock Meditation Center north of San Francisco. She is a mother to two daughters, grandmother to five grandchildren, and great grandmother to a young boy living in Oregon. She is a classical pianist, photographer, gourmet cook, animal rescuer, and philanthropist.

    Most recently, Mag’s memoir, Bowing to Elephants, has been honored by Kirkus Review as one of the best Indie memoir/biographies of 2019 (it received a starred review). Prior to publication, excerpts from Bowing to Elephants were honored in American Literary Review, Travelers Tales Solas Awards, the Tulip Tree “Stories that Must be Told” awards, and the 2017 William Faulkner Wisdom awards. Additionally, Dimond has published essays in Elephant Journal, an online magazine with a readership of almost two million. You can find her essays on her website: www.magdimond.com. Dimond is offering a 10-minute lovingkindness meditation for all new readers at this site: www.bowingtoelephants.com/gift. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Meet the Agents & Editors: Virtual Pitch-O-Rama Plus 2020

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We’re going virtual!

Saturday, June 13, 2020
8:00 am – 12:30 pm 

It’s Pitch-O-Rama PLUS!
Includes pre-pitch coaching.
$65 WNBA members, $75 Non-members
Men Welcome!
Limited to the first 60 ticketed attendees


Meet the Agents and Editors for Pitch-O-Rama Plus 2020!
These impressive publishing professionals bring years of experience and will provide advice, direction, and next steps for your literary project!  Pitch-O-Rama

Jim Azevedo is the marketing director at Smashwords, the largest distributor of self-published ebooks, serving over 130,000 independent authors, publishers, and literary agents. Since 2008, Smashwords has helped authors around the world release more than 470,000 titles and distribute their work globally to top ebook retailers, subscription services and public libraries. Prior to joining Smashwords in 2011, Jim built his career in marketing & PR for high-tech companies. Although Smashwords is a self-publishing platform, Jim loves helping authors sharpen their pitches and book descriptions. He credits his journalism education when it comes to guiding authors, and himself, to “get to the point” with messaging. Jim is open to discussing all genres.

Peter Beren, formerly Vice President, Insight Editions, Publisher of Sierra Club Books, Publisher of VIA Books and an Acquisitions Editor for Jeremy Tarcher. Peter Beren is a literary agent and a book publishing consultant to authors and independent publishers. He is the founder of The Peter Beren Agency, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also author or co-author of eight books, including The Writers Legal Companion (Basic Books), California the Beautiful (Rizzoli) and The Golden Gate (Insight Editions). As a publishing consultant, Peter works with independent publishers, self-publishers, and authors to help them make the most of their publishing opportunities. He represents selected nonfiction projects as a literary agent to help authors obtain publishing contracts. https://peterberen.com/

Karly Caserza, Associate Agent,  Fuse Literary, was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Northern California as a child. She obtained her Business Marketing degree and has been a Freelance Graphic Designer for over 10 years. In addition to designing a wide range of print and web promotional material for clients, Karly creates book covers for Short Fuse and promotional graphics for Fuse authors. Karly has a deep love for characters with a strong voice and seeks out stories she can get lost in. Diversity in genre fiction is a major bonus. She specializes in middle grade and young adult genre fiction (fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary). https://www.fuseliterary.com/karly-caserza/

Michele Crim is the West Coast literary agent for Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management, a boutique agency based in New York City. They represent authors such as Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Cal Peternell and Mads Refslund, co-founder of Noma, and MBG recently signed Moby to do a cookbook for his new award-winning restaurant, Little Pine. They work with chefs, food, and lifestyle writers and also represent fiction and narrative nonfiction writers, worldwide. Among others, Michele now represents Yumiko Sekine, founder of the beloved international brand Fog Linen Work; Allison Arevalo, best-selling cookbook author with a new book, The Pasta Friday Cookbook, coming out in September of 2019; and Charleen Badman, James Beard nominee and celebrated chef-owner of FnB Restaurant and Bar in Scottsdale.

Suzy Evans (remote access only) is a literary agent, attorney, and author who holds a Ph.D. in history from UC Berkeley. In the adult market, she’s looking for narrative nonfiction, history, science, big idea books on controversial social issues, riveting, elegantly-written memoir (recent favorites include Barbarian Days and When Breath Becomes Air), self-help, parenting (bonus points for humor!) and small quirky books that make her smile and think about the world in new and surprising ways. On the children’s front, she’s seeking MG nonfiction, YA fiction that tackles difficult issues in bold, daring ways, and graphic novels that bring history, literature, and fascinating historical figures (think Socrates! Machiavelli! Hamilton!) to life. She’d also love to find a thriller that has “MOVIE!” written all over it. Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency 

Nancy Fish: In her long career in publishing, Nancy Fish has worked in almost every iteration of the book business. Having been publicity and marketing director for major houses including  Farrar, Straus & Giroux, HarperCollins and Pereus as welll as small indies, freelance publicist and copywriter, and bookseller at legendary shops on both coasts, Nancy now manages the Path to Publishing Program, and all the writers programs, at Marin County’s three-store treasure trove, Book Passage. Ask her about them. Nancy is open to discussing all genres.

Becky Parker Geist is CEO of Pro Audio Voices and has been in the audiobook industry since 1981. As an audiobook publisher and producer, Becky has produced and/or narrated hundreds of titles, helping authors leverage their content through audio – even if it is the first or only format of their book to get publishedTypically working with authors and publishers who are challenged in reaching their widest audience, the Pro Audio Voices team provides audiobook production, including complex and unusual projects, and the Audiobook Marketing Program™ to help authors increase their impact. Committed to leadership, Becky serves as President of Bay Area Independent Publishers Assoc. and a Chapter Leader of Nonfiction Authors Association. proaudiovoices.com

Georgia Hughes is editorial director at New World Library, publisher of the Joseph Campbell Library and The Power of Now. She acquires and edits nonfiction books in the areas of spirituality, sustainability, animals, business, women’s issues, and personal growth. Recent acquisitions include Spiritual Envy by Michael Krasny, Dreaming the Soul Back Home by Robert Moss, Dogs and the Women Who Love Them by Allen and Linda Anderson, Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee, and The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner. 

Jan Johnson is Publisher Emeritus at Red Wheel Weiser & Conari Press acquiring select books for each imprint. Before launching Red Wheel/Weiser, Johnson worked at Tuttle Publishing, HarperOne (when it was known as HarperSanFrancisco), Winston/Seabury Press and as an independent book doctor, rewrite editor and editorial consultant for corporate and independent publishers. Johnson has worked on many bestsellers including Codependent No More, Random Act of Kindness, Oprah pick The Book of Awakening, and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2014 at the ALA, American Library Association. Knight is the author of Wild Women and Books, The Grateful Table, Be a Good in the World, and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. Knight is Editorial Director at Mango Publishing and acquires for all genres in fiction and nonfiction as well as children and photography books. She also serves as President of the Women’s’ National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter and is an instructor at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.

Georgia Kolias is an Associate Acquisitions Editor with New Harbinger Publications, the foremost publisher in proven-effective psychology and personal growth books for adults and teens. Before joining New Harbinger, she worked in nearly every other aspect of the book world, including: literary management, publicity, book selling, the public library system, and teaching creative writing. She is actively acquiring books in the areas of psychology, self-help, spirituality, social justice, gift books, women’s issues, third phase of life, teen empowerment, spiritualism/occult, practically applied spirituality,  LGBTQ+ queer, and POC issues. She is always interested in work from authors who are emerging leaders in their fields and actively engaged with their potential readers. She welcomes proposals from LGBTQ+ queer, POC, and all other underrepresented voices interested in making positive change. Georgia holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, The Advocate, Role Reboot, The Manifest-Station, and various anthologies. Her debut novel, The Feasting Virgin, will be published July 2020.

Lisa McGuinness is a twenty-five-year veteran of the publishing industry. As publisher of Yellow Pear Press, Lisa has worked in the editorial, sales, and production divisions during her tenure at Chronicle Books. In addition, as a writer, developmental editor, and project manager, she has worked on books for Running Press, Barefoot Books, Chronicle Books, and Accord Publishing, as well as custom publications for Starbucks, Gap, the Exploratorium, Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Nordstrom. She has authored several books including Hoppy Trails,  Catarina’s Ring,  Meaningful Bouquets,  Caffeinated Ideas Journal, Bee & Me and Baby Turtle’s Tale (the later two co-authored under the pen name Elle J. McGuinness ), and The Dictionary of Extraordinary Ordinary Animals. She is the founder of Yellow Pear Press (yellowpearpress.com) and acquires books in the categories of lifestyle, gift, self-help, inspiration, children’s and fiction. You can find her at lisamcguinnesswrites.com. 

Laurie McLean, Partner, Fuse Literary, Laurie McLean spent 20 years as the CEO of a publicity agency and 8 years as an agent and senior agent at Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco. Following her stint as the CEO of a successful Silicon Valley public relations agency bearing her name, Laurie was able to switch gears in 2002 to immerse herself in writing. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the State University of New York and a Master’s Degree at Syracuse University’s prestigious Newhouse School of Journalism. At Fuse Literary, Laurie specializes in adult genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thrillers, suspense, horror, etc.) plus middle-grade and young adult children’s books.

Randy Peyser sells non-fiction manuscripts in all genres and speaks nationally about how to get book deals. She also serves on faculty for CEO Space International where she teaches about writing book proposals. She is the author of: The Write-a-Book Program; Crappy to Happy as featured in the movie, Eat Pray Love; and The Power of Miracle Thinking. Her clients’ books have been in Oprah and Time Magazines, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestseller Lists, in airport bookstores, Office Max and FedEx/Office stores, and on Hallmark TV. Her work is featured in: Healing the Heart of the World; The Marriage of Sex and Spirit; Secrets of Shameless Self-Promoters; and the national bestsellers, Networking Magic, Guerrilla Publicity, and The Profit of Kindness. AuthorOneStop.com.

Andy Ross opened his literary agency in January 2008. Prior to that, he was the owner for 30 years of the legendary  Cody’s Books in Berkeley. The agency represents books in a  wide range of subjects including: narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, religion,  children’s books, young adult,  middle grade, literary and commercial  fiction, and cooking. However, he is eager to represent projects in most genres as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will  appeal to a wide readership. In non-fiction he looks for writing with a strong voice and robust narrative arc by authors with the authority to write about their subject. For literary, commercial, and children’s fiction, he has only one requirement– simple, but ineffable–that the writing reveal the terrain of that vast  and unexplored country, the human heart. (AAR).  www.andyrossagency.com,  www.andyrossagency.wordpress.com   

Lara Starr has made her mark in publishing starting at Collins, Conari Press, and Chronicle Books. A bestselling author of several books, she is also a producer to KGO Radio. Starr is a creative professional with expertise in public relations, marketing, media production, and special events. Currently at Insight Edition, Starr is a children’s book specialist for Path to Publishing.

Elisabeth Kauffman is an editor, an author, and an artist. She is NOT taking pitches, but will help you hone your pitch. She edits fiction and memoir for independent clients as well as for publishing companies, and coaches writers to find their voices and connect to the magic in their creative lives. Using creative writing exercises along with tarot, visualization, and more tactile forms of art, she encourages her clients to take risks and tell stories that matter. She volunteers for and speaks at the San Francisco Writers Conference, and with local writers’ groups. She is currently represented by Bradford Literary Agency and hopes to publish her first book (a tarot deck and guide for writers) in the near future. Elisabeth grew up reading Mary Stewart, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the like. She loves creative, imaginative storytelling, and regularly obsesses over board games, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. Learn more about her at www.writingrefinery.com or email her at ekauffman@writingrefinery.com.

If you want to see what they all look like, click here!
Better yet, register and meet them in person with your pitch!

register-now 

Virtual – Pitch-O-Rama PLUS 2020!

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Dear San Francisco WNBA community –

After much thought and discussion, we have decided to postpone Pitch-O-Rama to a new date of June 13th at the same venue of Bethany UM Church. We are acting in accordance with and on the advice of various public health officials, and the guidelines from Mayor London Breed’s guidelines to not host an event of over 50 people at this time, since ours would be close to 100.
We deeply regret any inconvenience and disappointment any of you may experience as result of this decision, but as a small non-profit community-based organization we are placing the health and safety of you and our community first. We hope you understand that concerns of spreading the COVID-19 virus necessitated this decision.

The Women’s National Book Association San Francisco Chapter is hopeful you can find your way to join us on the new date of June 13th at the same venue and same time. We have contacted the registered attendees via email, and have extended our refund policy through April 15.
Please let us know if you have any questions regarding this event by emailing registrar@wnba-sfchapter.org; we are very happy to help in any way we can.

We really appreciate your understanding in this matter and hope to see you in June.

Many thanks and take good care,

Brenda Knight, President WNBA-SF Chapter

NEW DATE: Saturday, June 13, 2020Register for Pitch-O-Rama!
8:00 am – 12:30 pm 

Pitch-O-Rama PLUS – now in Noe Valley!

Bethany UM Church
1270 Sanchez Street (at Clipper) SF, CA 94114

Includes a continental breakfast and pre-pitch coaching.

Registration:
$65 WNBA members,  $75 Non-members, Men Welcome!
Limited to the first 90 ticketed attendees.

Come join the fun – register here!

 

 

 

Hone your book’s pitch at Pitch-O-Rama PLUS 2020!

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You’ve polished your manuscript, now polish your pitch! Pitch-o-Rama, hosted annually by the San Francisco chapter of the Women’s National Book Association, is a great opportunity to not only practice your pitch with coaches and fellow writers, but also try that pitch on publishing professionals who can provide advice, direction, and next steps for your writing project.

Pitching your book to an agent or editor might seem like a daunting or terrifying experience. But it’s necessary if you want to publish traditionally. We’ve assembled top agents and editors from all genres for this event, who are excited to hear about what you’ve been working on. Pitch-o-Rama provides a welcoming, encouraging atmosphere to talk with them, and you’ve got six whole minutes per session. That’s twice as long as other pitch events.

Author Nisha Zenoff loves to tell her Pitch-o-Rama success story. “I walked in with a book project that had been turned down a dozen times. I was giving my book one last shot at Pitch-O-Rama. When I left, I was on cloud nine as I got excellent feedback on a new title and ideas to make my project more viable. I got an agent who sold my project to a big New York publishing house, and all because of the support I got from the Women’s National Book Association, SF Chapter at their event. Brava!” 

Pre-pitch coaching

If you’re feeling those pre-pitch jitters, coaching can help you get in the zone. We have two coaches this year to give you feedback and be the sounding board you need to get your pitch down. By practicing in front of others, you can build confidence so that you don’t get stuck when you’re trying to pitch to an agent. The atmosphere is supportive and encouraging, with personal, targeted feedback that helps authors succeed at sharing what their books are about. Michelle Travis, now published author of My Mom Has Two Jobs, says, “The pleasant atmosphere that provided an initial coaching session to get into the proper frame of mind, and then the possibility of speaking for six minutes with our agents of interest, was valuable.”

And Dr. Susan Allison says, “I really liked the pre-pitch session. Hearing other people’s pitches helps me hone my own. Plus, people were so very helpful, a very supportive/non-competitive group! Thank you for putting it on!”

Meet your Pre-pitch coaches

Betsy will again be sharing her expertise in a group setting, as part of your Pitch-o-Rama experience. Or if you’d like one-on-one coaching to get your pitch down, you can sign up on the day of Pitch-o-Rama for a time-slot with Elisabeth.

Betsy Graziani Fasbinder MS, MFT, is an award-winning author, a licensed psychotherapist, and a communications trainer. She has coached the reluctant and the phobic in public speaking in Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and abroad, helping even the most introverted to be comfortable, engaging, and inspiring to their listeners. She coaches presenters to conquer stage fears and connect to listeners. Her favorite clients are writers and artists. For the past five years she’s offered pre-pitch coaching to help nervous writers practice their pitches. And she’s watched newbie writers and seasoned authors alike walk away from these pitches with pros requesting their work.

Elisabeth Kauffman is an editor, an author, and an artist. She edits fiction and memoir for independent clients as well as for publishing companies, and coaches writers to find their voices and connect to the magic in their creative lives. Additionally, she’s been coaching writers with National Novel Writing Month for the past six years, helping them overcome writing blocks and get their stories out. Using creative writing exercises along with tarot, visualization, and more tactile forms of art, she encourages her clients to take risks and tell stories that matter. She regularly volunteers for and speaks at the San Francisco Writers Conference, and with local writers’ groups. She is currently represented by Bradford Literary Agency and hopes to publish her first book (a tarot deck and guide for writers) in the near future.

Saturday, March 21, 2020Register for Pitch-O-Rama!
8:00 am – 1:30 pm 

It’s Pitch-O-Rama PLUS – now Virtual!

Includes pre-pitch coaching.

Registration:
$65 WNBA members,  $75 Non-members, Men Welcome!
Limited to the first 70 ticketed attendees.

Come join the fun – register here!

 

 

 

Featured Member Interview – Annemarie O’Brien

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Desire to Share Overseas Experiences Prompts Dog-Lover to Write

by Nita Sweeney, author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. 

Each time I interview a WNBA-SF member, the opportunity reminds me how fortunate we are to be part of a group of such interesting women. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Annemarie O’Brien and learn as much from her as I did.

Nita Sweeney (NS): As a fellow dog-lover, I must ask about yours. Please tell us about your dogs.

Annemarie O’Brien (AO):  When I wrote Lara’s Gift, I had two borzoi, Zola and Zar. They inspired the key fictional canine characters in Lara’s Gift of the same name. Borzoi are also known as Russian wolfhounds. They were the dogs of the Tsar during the Imperial era and considered a national treasure. They are very tall, slender, super-fast dogs that belong to the sight hound group. The Tsar and his court used them to hunt wolves. Today, many Russians use them to hunt hare. Beyond the squirrels who dare to steal fruit from the trees in my garden, neither of my borzoi hunt. Unfortunately, Zola passed away two years ago. She was a sweet, outgoing borzoi with a golden retriever personality. To keep Zar company we now have a silken windhound named Zeus. This is a newer breed of sighthounds developed in California, I believe, that looks like a miniature borzoi. Both of my dogs like to go to Stinson Beach and play tag with other dogs. They are both loyal and great companions.

NS: Each of your dogs sounds lovely. I’m sorry to hear about Zola. Our pets are such gifts. Changing the subject a bit, can you tell us more about Lara’s Gift, perhaps something that isn’t in the blurb?

AO: Lara’s Gift is a girl empowerment, father-daughter, historical fiction, dog story for young adults. It is set in Russia in the early 1900s during the Imperial era. The main character, Lara, wants to breed borzoi worthy of the Tsar, just like her father and her ancestors have done for hundreds of years. Lara has a special gift, or sixth sense as I’d liked to call it, regarding the borzoi such that she sees things before they happen. I got the idea from my own sixth-sense sort of experiences I had with my first childhood dog, Emma. Once when she was at a kennel while we were on vacation, I had a strong feeling that she had escaped and was lost. I begged my parents to call the kennel to check on her, but they assured me that there was no way she could escape from the kennel. Sure enough, when we picked her up upon our return, they told my parents that she had escaped and had, indeed, been lost on the same morning I had felt that something was wrong. I have other examples I could share, but I think you get the point. Well, as I researched these types of things in Russia, I learned that there was no real word in Russian for ‘sixth-sense’ and that what was more common were visions. If you read Nabokov’s memoir, you will learn that he had visions. I have dozens of other sources of Russians during this period who claimed to have visions, as well. My choice to add visions to Lara’s story reflects what people in Russia believed at that time. It is not intended to be fantastical.

NS: How interesting that dogs have played such an important role all of your life. Your bio explains that you worked in Russia which inspired the setting for Lara’s Gift. Which part were you in? 

AO: I spent about ten years in Russia. In my early years, I worked as a consultant for Soviet small businesses interested in doing business in the United States and Europe. Because of all the contacts I developed, I started a venture capital group in Philadelphia with three other people that established one of the first oil and gas joint ventures. I also launched Bill Blass menswear in Moscow. It produced $25,000 in the first hour of opening at a time when hard currency wasn’t legal. 
When USAID provided technical assistance to Russia to set up a privatization and capital markets program, I joined the PriceWaterhouseCoopers team as an economics advisor to the Russian government. I travelled all over Russia to cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, and Irkutsk, as well as former Soviet republics like Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. During this time, I lived in Moscow, Russia and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It was the greatest adventure of my life.

NS: What was your favorite thing about the country?

AO: There are a number of things I adore about Russia. But my favorite would have to be the people. I have never met a more well-read, intellectual, resourceful, salt-of-the-earth group of people anywhere else in the world. When I lived there, so many people had PhDs and valued books and their friendships. Their homes (one-bedroom apartments) often consisted of one or two walls of floor to ceiling bookcases for their beloved books. In space that was limited a good chunk of it was reserved for books. Russians somehow found happiness without materialism and showed me what was important by the way they lived. Their values regarding education shaped me tremendously. A lot has changed since I lived in Russia during the 80s and 90s. I like to think that Russians still value books.

NS: Are there other things about the time you spent in Russia that inspire your life or work?

AO: I became a writer because of an experience I had in Russia. Lara’s Gift is the first part of the bigger story I want to tell from this experience. I don’t want to reveal too much about this experience or story just yet. What I can say is that it will be my best story because it comes from my deepest passion.

NS: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

AO: No. When I was in middle school, I took an aptitude test that pointed me to three potential careers: writer, veterinarian, and engineer. The veterinarian option seemed likely and was exactly what I wanted to be until I discovered I didn’t like blood and saw a veterinarian try to spay a male dog. That’s right, a spay, not a neuter. I come from a family of engineers so the engineer option didn’t seem far-fetched. But the writer option? I seriously thought that that had been a mistake. It wasn’t until decades later when I worked overseas that my interest in writing took root. It was because of these overseas experiences I was having and my desire to share them that turned me into a writer.

NS: What is the most difficult part about writing for you?

AO: Time. I work full-time for Bio-Rad in marketing where I create stories and the branding/communications for my division. I’m also a soccer mom with two daughters who aspire to play soccer in college. In the fall of 2020, my oldest daughter will play for the University of Portland where World Cup legends like Megan Rapinoe played. The dogs need exercise so it’s my job, despite promises from my kids, to walk them three miles every day. After I take care of everyone, it’s a challenge to carve out time to write. But I put it on my calendar and hold myself to it. Fortunately, I never get writer’s block. When I sit down to write, I know I have to use my time efficiently, so I don’t waste it. If I have a hard getting back into my story, I read and revise the last thing I wrote. It always jumpstarts the ideas and gets the fingers moving!

NS: What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing?

AO: When I was getting my MFA, I attended a lecture about theme. The person giving the talk had said, “The theme of your story will often come well after you’ve completed your story.” Really, I thought? Wouldn’t I know the theme as I’m writing? I recall thinking this didn’t make sense until I was in the second round of revision edits with my editor at Knopf. That’s when it dawned on me what the theme of my story really was about: girl empowerment. 
In another lecture, the speaker stopped me when she said, “There’s a little bit of ourselves in the characters we create.” Even if I’m writing historical fiction, I wondered? My character, Lara and I had nothing in common besides our love of dogs. 
After I turned in my manuscript for publication it surprised me to discover how closely Lara’s struggle with her father mirrored my own childhood struggle with my father. Although my father always told me that I could do anything I wanted, if I put my mind to it, he also didn’t think I needed to go to college. He came from a generation that believed women got married and would be taken care of by their husbands. Luckily, I was able to persuade him that I had another plan and got to go college and get two master’s degrees.

NS: Do you have a personal writing tip you would care to share with the WNBA-SF members?

AO: Read like a writer, write like a reader. Read or listen to books on audio while you’re driving, exercising or doing chores every day. Put writing on your calendar and guard this time. Join a writing group. There’s nothing like community to help you develop your craft.

NS: That’s great advice. Thank you. Are you working on something new you would like to tell us about?

AO: I am nearly finished drafting a rhyming picture book. An early draft of it was a finalist at a recent SCBWI conference. 

NS: Congratulations! Any other projects in the offing?

AO: I also co-wrote a young adult/crossover book that’s on submission. It’s about a Thai girl who is sold into slavery by her uncle and how she escapes and starts a new life. I spent some time in Thailand and feel very strongly about empowering girls and preventing human trafficking. My co-author is a Thai-American writer who works for a non-profit that helps to educate Thai girls that are at risk of trafficking. It was wonderful collaboration. 

NS: What a worthy cause. You stay busy. Any others?

AO: I am currently working on a middle grade novel, the one that inspired me to become a writer.

NS: I look forward to seeing that as well. Thanks so much, Annemarie, for taking the time to share your experiences and insights.

  1. Annemarie O’Brien writes books for young adults. She is the author of the debut middle grade novel, Lara’s Gift, published by Alfred A. Knopf of Penguin Random House with subsidiary rights to Scholastic.  Lara’s Gift is a girl empowerment story set in imperial Russia. It is also a dog story inspired from a former life when Annemarie worked in Russia and was gifted her first borzoi puppy.  Lara’s Gift has received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews among other accolades.

    Annemarie grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts, attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she earned a BBA in marketing and economics, and studied Russian at Smith College. She later earned an MBA in international business from the University of South Carolina and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Today, Annemarie lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her family. She is a global marketing manager and teaches writing courses at UC Berkeley Extension, Stanford Continuing Studies, and Pixar.

    Connect with me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AnnemarieOBrienAuthor/), Twitter (@AnnemarieOBrien) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemarieobrienauthor/).

    Learn more about Annemarie O’Brien by visiting her website. (www.AnnemarieOBrienAuthor.com )

Featured Member Interview – Geri Spieler

By

Self-Proclaimed “Political Junkie” Reveals Her Writing Secrets

by Nita Sweeney, author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. 

The members of the Women’s National Book Association of San Francisco come from a variety of backgrounds and careers. I’m grateful for the opportunity to ask questions of smart, successful authors like Geri Spieler. Every interview provides splendid takeaways. I hope you enjoy the ones I heard in our conversation.

Nita Sweeney (NS): I have to start by asking about the ten chickens and 19 fruit trees . . . in Palo Alto. Surely there’s a story there!

 

Geri Spieler (GS): Ha. There is a story. As for the fruit trees, we live on a double lot on a corner so we have some room. The house came with six fruit trees. It was wonderful to be able to go outside and pick fruit, so I started planting additional trees with different fruit. I kept adding until now, we don’t have any more room.
As for the chickens, my husband can’t tolerate any kind of dander in the house. It’s way beyond allergies. I was raised with all kinds of animals and need them to define myself. Chickens produce amazing fresh, organic eggs, I don’t have to walk them and I can pick them up and cuddle them. They get to know you and respond. We started with three and it’s grown to ten. I take their welfare seriously because they are vulnerable to predators. 

NS: What draws you to the type of writing you do?

GS: I’m strictly nonfiction. Fiction is much too difficult for me. I’m sure it has to do with being a newspaper reporter and total political junkie. My book, Taking Aim at the President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, was written in the creative nonfiction genre. It was very difficult for me to write it the way I wanted–like a novel but, entirely nonfiction. I took writing courses to understand things like “scene.” I hired a number of editors along the way.

NS: Your publication credentials are impressive. Please tell us how you got started and what helped you land those projects.

GS: Thanks. My interest in writing started with an awareness of news and politics. My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor in that she realized early on things were going downhill for the Jews in Poland. She left before it got really bad and tried to convince her siblings to come with her to the states. They thought she was over reacting and hence were killed by the Nazis. She taught me early on to pay attention to the government because things can get very bad and you need to be alert. My mother was a political junkie and she taught me the same lessons. 

I realized pretty fast that if an event did not get covered in the press it might as well not have happened at all. I wanted to have that control, so to speak. I was always interested in news and politics. 

Landing projects was sheer chutzpa. I often went after jobs and assignments by pushing my way into a role. I always say that I wanted something so bad I had fire in the belly. It takes that to make a success in any form of writing or job. You have to want something and do whatever it takes to “get it.” I talked my way into many of my news jobs and did whatever I had to do to get published. It’s all about clips.

NS: Taking Aim at the President has been optioned for a major motion picture. How did that come about and what has that process meant for you?

GS: I need to remind people that I didn’t write the screenplay or do anything but research and write the book. It was published by Macmillan in 2009.

My fabulous literary agent, Sharlene Martin, worked very hard to get the attention of the movie and cable industry with no luck. I did a lot of outreach at first but slacked off after a while. I had people approach me to who wanted to make a documentary about Sara Jane Moore, others who said they would make a movie, but nothing ever came of it.

So, when I got the contact from my website from some guy named Andrew Logan, I passed it along to her as usual with no thought that it would not go anywhere. Half an hour after I sent her the note, she called. “Geri, these guys are the real deal.” It took nine months to negotiate the contract, so that gives you an idea of how long it takes to make a major motion picture. 

These are the screen writers for the movie, Chappaquiddick, so, have a track record. They won several awards for their screenplay for that movie. They didn’t even start working on the Taking Aim screenplay for two years. Nothing in the contract says they have to consult with me, but they have involved me in writing the screenplay. They are super nice and very generous with the process. 

The movie is still on track, but I don’t think about it. Who knows how long it will take? I know everything could fall apart at any time. However, it really is a kick to have my book optioned for a movie.  

NS: Do you have a writing quirk we wouldn’t know by reading your biography? If so, do you feel it helps you in some way? 

GS: I have a timer on my desk set for 45 minutes. I can do nothing except my writing task during that time frame. After about 45 minutes I get up or check email for just 5 minutes, then go back to work. Our best attention span is somewhere between 11 and 20 minutes at a time. I also organize a ShutUp & Write one night a week. I get a ton done during that one hour. I always have some kind of assignment that I need to accomplish at the MeetUp. I don’t recognize myself if I’m not writing. That’s why I have a blog, contribute to Medium, and link the piece to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

NS: What are you currently reading and why did you choose it? 

GS: Co-incidentally, I’m reading Joan Gelfand’s book, You Can Be a Winning Writer. It’s been on my shelf for many months, staring at me. I need a lot of reinforcement. I need to surround myself with confident and accomplished writers. Her book is helping me a lot. Also, coincidentally it was Joan who encouraged me to join WNBA. 

NS: If you could offer our WNBA-SF members a bit of writing or marketing advice, what would it be?

GS: Never give up and never listen to naysayers. Some people will tell why you won’t get published or why you won’t succeed. Don’t listen to them. Again, I call it the “fire in the belly” syndrome. Believe in yourself. It will happen. 

NS: Do you have any tips as to how you manage what sounds like a full and productive life?

GS: Deadlines. It’s all about deadlines with me. Self-imposed and outside deadlines. Deadlines are what drives my work. I must admit as we don’t have children in the house any longer, it’s a lot easier to control my time. There is always a reason you don’t have time to write today. The old adage that even 15 minutes of writing is true. When I look back, I was working on my book even though I had a full-time job. I was able to have control. Also, I guess I “wanted it” enough to find time. It’s a cliché, but it’s worked for me. Everyone has inside and outside obligations. Each of us has to look at our lives and obligations to see where there are corners one takes.

NS: What is the most interesting writing project you have done to date and why? 

 GS: I’m a full-time freelance writer these days and only to take assignments I like. I love research and also teach Internet Research skills. So far, I have loved writing for Truthdig.com, a news and opinion website, much like ProPublica. Their stories require a lot of research. I’ve a written a number of fascinating assignments. They are great to work with. But I haven’t done anything for the past several months as I’m “heads down” working on my new book.

NS: What’s next for you? Tell us about the new book!

GS: I never thought there would ever be another book. I always said and still do, books take too long to write, and they are very difficult. Taking Aim was brought about by circumstance. There wasn’t going to be a situation where I knew a potential presidential assassin for 27 years. However, as it happens, I am working on a new book, again, due to circumstance. My husband, Rick Kaplowitz, is my co-author. The working title is San Francisco Values: The Real Story. This book began when Bill O’Reilly said, “Al Qaida, you can come and bomb Coit Tower and no one will care.” San Francisco Values became a pejorative. I will counter that with San Francisco Values as American values.

NS: Is there anything else you would like to share with the members?

GS: I think it’s important not to compare yourself to others. I have to be careful not to because I’ll come up feeling “less than.” There are always others who are more successful, better marketers, and seem to have it all figured out. The truth is, I could never write your book and you can’t write mine.  I’ve learned it’s important to surround yourself with other writers. I owe a ton to my branch of the California Writers Club, San Francisco/Peninsula. I learned a lot from them and they were there for me in every way. I’m reaching out now to WNBA—long overdue for me.

NS: Thanks so much, Geri, for the inspiration.

  1. Geri Spieler is a former contributor for the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and has written for Forbes. 

    She was a research director for Gartner, a global technology advising company and edited two technology publications for Philips Publishing in Washington DC.

    Also, she is a past president of the San Francisco Peninsula Branch of the California Writers Club. She also is a member of the Internet Society, the Society of Professional Journalists, Author’s Guild, a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, a member of the National Book Critics Circle and a regular contributor to Truthdig.com, an investigative reporting website. She is also a Signature Blogger for the Huffington Post and a member of Women’s National Book Association.

    Geri is the author of a creative non-fiction book, Taking Aim at the President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, which was published by Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press and has been optioned for a major motion picture by the award-winning screenwriters Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen.

    Currently she lives in Palo Alto with her husband, ten chickens and 19 fruit trees.

    Contact Geri at gspieler@gmail.com

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009876341086

    Twitter https://twitter.com/home

    LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/geri-spieler-32675391/

    Blog https://gerispieler.com/blog/