Teresa LeYung-Ryan

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Katherine Ellison–December 11,  2011   and Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan–January 8, 2012

at California Writers Club, Santa Rosa, California

Katherine Ellison--from investigative reporting to memoir

December 11, 2011 will be Katherine Ellison:
“From the global to the personal: one writer’s journey from investigative reporting to memoir.”

Journalist Katherine Ellison will talk about her career as an investigative journalist covering international events as Central American wars and figures such as Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos to shifting gears and writing nonfiction books including a memoir about her son’s ADHD.

Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist, former foreign correspondent, writing consultant, author of four books, and mother of two sons.

http://redwoodwriters.org/

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps fiction & nonfiction authors "Writing-Career MakeOver"--photo by MKWL

January 8, 2012 “Writing Career Make Over with Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan”

Learn how to:

• reveal  your  “picture-of-success” to create your model
• understand your unique motivators & modus operandi
• blend the “who, what, when, where”  your way, fun way

Coach Teresa will choose 3 writers from the audience—representing the 3 umbrella genres (fiction, narrative non-fiction, and prescriptive non-fiction a.k.a. how-to books)—and guide them in this interactive session. Everyone will receive Coach Teresa’s “Writing-Career-Make-Over” template.  Q&A to please all.

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan wears 3 hats and has helped over 1,000 writers take steps to further their careers.  http://writingcoachTeresa.com

• She’s the author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (a workbook for anyone who has anything to promote—available in print edition and as E-book).

• Coach Teresa edits manuscripts for authors who want to attract agents  & publishers  OR  want to be their own publishers.

• Her using her novel Love Made of Heart (to inspire adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families) demonstrates the power of making one’s name synonymous with the themes/subject matters/issues one writes about.

http://redwoodwriters.org/meetings/

Coach Teresa, How do I fix my children’s story? Agent says it’s too episodic.

In my previous blog post about how to remedy an episodic storyline  . . . here’s an argument from one of my clients who writes children’s books . . .

“But kids aren’t that sophisticated, are they? Shouldn’t stories for that age group be episodic?”

Coach Teresa here . . .  Kids know what a good story is, especially if they’ve read the timeless classics (to name a few:  The Hobbit; The Wind In the Willows; Charlotte’s Web; The Phantom Tollbooth; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. What are other memorable children’s books? Wordsworth the Poet by Frances Kakugawa is a contemporary favorite of mine )

Also, keep in mind that a children’s story has to hook adults (agents, acquisition editors, publishers, booksellers, reviewers, shoppers).  How do you hook adult-readers, even if you choose to be your own publisher?

Answer:  Create memorable characters and follow screenwriting teacher Terrel Seltzer’s advice:  “Someone we care about wants something badly and is having a terrible time getting it.”

Here’s my post from May 26, 2011 about Terrel

I encourage you to set the stage.  Give the reader sensory details—not only sight and hearing but also taste, smell and touch.

To create a story with thematic significance, let your metaphors / similes / inferences move your story forward or provide clues.

Coach Teresa says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Want to attract agents  & publishers?  Want to be your own publisher?

• Get your manuscript professionally edited
• Build your writer’s platform NOW

Email:  writingcoachTeresa    at    gmail.com

http://writingcoachTeresa.com

Coach Teresa  LeYung-Ryan loves to edit:

• novels & memoirs with feisty protagonists and universal messages;
• children’s novels that help young readers understand their feelings and build self-confidence

Coach Teresa, what does it mean when an agent says my story is episodic?

Authors of novels, memoirs, children’s novels–this advice is for you.

Episodic = This happens, then this happens, then that happens… An episodic story is not compelling because there’s no connection between character growth and action plotline.

The answer: Show the transformation of your protagonist(s) . . . not because “things happen to her/him” but because her/his choices/behavior lead her/him to the next step, to the next step, as she/he goes after what she/he wants.

Examine every scene. Ask yourself this question: What does your protagonist want in this scene?  What is she/he afraid of?  Who/What is the antagonist in this scene?

As Plot Whisperer Martha Alderson says:  “When the dramatic action changes the character at depth over time, the story becomes thematically significant.”

Re-read your favorite book that has a similar premise as yours.

Cheering for writers!

Coach Teresa says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Want to attract agents  & publishers?  Want to be your own publisher?

• Get your manuscript professionally edited
• Build your writer’s platform NOW

Email:  writingcoachTeresa    at    gmail.com

http://writingcoachTeresa.com

Coach Teresa  LeYung-Ryan

specializes in:   novels   / children’s novels  / memoirs

Coach Teresa, I’m concerned about my manuscript and someone stealing the work.

Coach Teresa here . . . my clients email me their manuscripts–their work being transmitted on cyberspace. This is why I ask all my clients to submit their manuscripts (mss.) in the same format that agents & publishers want them in–your name and book title in the header on every page.

The following information is from http://copyright.gov/

What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

What does copyright protect?

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “What Works Are Protected.”

How is a copyright different from a patent or a trademark?

Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or discoveries. Ideas and discoveries are not protected by the copyright law, although the way in which they are expressed may be. A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others.

When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?

No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

Mail yourself the entire ms. (U.S.mail) but don’t open the envelope when you get it back–the postal mark/date and the unopened envelope serve as evidence.  Note:  You must register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office before you bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

My trademark attorney is Robert Pimm. He is also a copyright attorney.

Cheering for writers!

Coach Teresa says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Want to attract agents  & publishers?  Want to be your own publisher?

• Get your manuscript professionally edited
• Build your writer’s platform NOW

918-6222  ( 510 area code )

Email:  writingcoachTeresa    at    gmail.com

http://writingcoachTeresa.com

Coach Teresa  LeYung-Ryan

specializes in:   novels   / children’s novels  / memoirs

Coach Teresa, what’s new with your mastermind group members?

Linda Lee is busy writing her book, being co-president of Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter, getting ready for San Francisco Writers Conference, creating beautiful websites for her clients that reflect their businesses.

Mary E. Knippel is busy helping her clients create their vision boards / collage / success stories and perfect content for their websites, facilitating events at Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter and getting ready for San Francisco Writers Conference .

Lori Noack is busy with her new company Vintage San Francisco (women’s clothing and accessories 1950-1980) and managing the Italian Garden Flat.

Luisa Adams, author of Woven of Water, is busy with Spanish class, her book group, being celebrity author at her grandchildren’s school and everywhere she goes, and inspiring your truly and many other fans.

Martha Alderson is busy consulting her clients and promoting her wonderful new book  The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master.

Rebecca Martin and her staff at Dear Jane Inc. help people find jobs!  Cheers to global workforce! Sign up for her helpful newsletter. Watch Rebecca’s videos on her website.

Teresa LeYung-Ryan (yours truly) is practicing  my own mantra: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams.”  I’ve listed my services at Thumbtack.com & Craigslist.org and updated my website http://www.WritingCoachTeresa.com

• Ask editor / manuscript consultant Teresa to help you identify themes and archetypes in your manuscript, book proposal, query letter.

• Ask Coach Teresa to show you shortcuts on your PC; how to crop photos and add captions; create signature block in email setting, a blog, facebook page, YouTube channel, online press room, and more.

• Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (a workbook for anyone who has anything to promote—available in print edition $12.96  and as an E-book $9.81).  You can sneak preview the 2 exercises for Day 1 on Amazon. Customer reviews (from writers and entrepreneurs) also on Amazon.com Please support your local bookseller: http://www.indiebound.org

Meet Coach Teresa at an event; details:  click here

• Thursday Dec. 1, 2011 6:00-7:30pm at WNBA meeting at San Francisco Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Room

• Sunday, January 8, 2012, 2:30-5:00pm at California Writers Club—Redwood Branch
  • networking; general meeting; “Writing-Career-Make-Over with Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan”

• Thursday, January 12, 2012  Teresa LeYung-Ryan will be Linda Joy Myers’s guest on  National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW) teleseminar

• February 16-20, 2012 at San Francisco Writers Conference

• March 24, 2012 at WNBA’s “Meet-the-Agents/Speed Dating”

Happy Writing and Platform Building!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Exactly the right words; social networking; taglines; job seekers; grammar; manuscripts; Chinese word for heart

I started a new format for my blog posts on November 16, 2011. Once a month, I will write a post to include 3 sections.

As 22-day Platform-Building Coach– Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days:

Write Your Story Now! PLAYshop with Mary E. Knippel

Are you frustrated trying to find just exactly the right words
- for your blog posts?
-for that end-of-the-year letter to family or customers?
-to update your profile on your website or social media site?

Come and explore how you can overcome your writing challenges and have fun at the same time!

Nov. 19, 2011   9 a.m. -4 p.m. Free Event
$20 holds your seat (refunded at the door)
Workshop in Half Moon Bay, CA

Click on underscored text to jump over to referenced websites. To submit questions/comments to this article/post:

• Click on the blue header (title bar) of this post
• Scroll down until you see boxes and fill in the boxes (you do need an email address to submit questions/comments; if you have a website/blog, do promote it  by keying in the address)
• After you fill in the boxes, you might want to keep a copy of your question/comment before clicking the  “submit comment” button. Thank you!

Coach Teresa . . . starting a new format with my blog posts

Since I wear 3 hats, as writing career coach & author who helps you Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days / editor & manuscript consultant who helps you identify themes and archetypes / novelist of Love Made of Heart who encourages adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families, I wish to divide my post into 3 sections.

As 22-day Platform-Building Coach:

Promote yourselves by linking your names & your projects to these recognized events.  According to Chase Calendar of Events,  November is:

• Adoption Month, National
• Alzheimer’s Disease Month, National
• American Diabetes Month
• American Indian Heritage Month, National
• Aviation History Month
• Banana Pudding Lovers Month
• Diabetes Month, National
• Diabetic Eye Disease Month
• Family Caregivers Month, National
• Georgia Pecan Month, National
• Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
• Inspirational Role Models Month, National
• Lifewriting Month, National
• Long-Term Care Awareness Month, National
• Lung Cancer Awareness Month
• Marrow Awareness Month, National
• Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month
• Pet Cancer Awareness Month
• Pomegranate Month, National
• PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month
• Vegan Month
• Today November 16, 2011 is United Nations: International Day for Tolerance
• the fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.A.
• November 11, 2011 is Veterans Day

Every month is relevant to marketing your literary work. Day 19 of my workbook Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days demonstrates the beauty of linking your name to a date that is celebrated or recognized for the entire month–you’ll have a whole month to re-use one piece of writing.

As Editor & Manuscript Consultant:

Give yourself reasons to plot & write and replot & rewrite!

November is National Novel Writing Month (founder is Chris Baty)

Write Nonfiction In November (founder is Nina Amir)

December is International Plot Writing Month (founder is Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer)

Read or reread a book – I’m reading Nothing Can Scare Me Now: Managing Breast Cancer So It Doesn’t Manage You by Juliane Cortino (a colleague at Women’s National Book Association)

As author of Love Made of Heart:

I found “Veterans and Mental Health: We Owe Them Better”  blog post by Mike Fitzpatrick, NAMI Executive Director

Last year, more than 1.2 million veterans were treated by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) health care system, about a third for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That is an increase of about 25 percent from four years before, as troops return home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Washington Post reports that approximately 18 veterans die from suicide every day. Yet in survey released in September, the VA reported that 70 percent of its doctors, nurses and social workers believe the system lacks the staff and space to provide adequate mental health care. More than 37 percent said they cannot schedule an appointment for a new patient within 14-days.

* * * * *

Mr. Fitzpatrick,

Thank you for writing this post to shed light on what we can do to advocate for better care of our veterans and their families. I linked your post to mine dated November 16, 2011 http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/ so that my blog fans can get resources for their loved ones. My beautiful mom (not a Veteran but was an orphan during World War II) suffered mental illness all her life and I use my writings to honor her. In September I met NAMI Sonoma County board member Ron Shaw at the Sonoma County Book Festival.  Rosemary Milbrath, Executive Director at NAMI Sonoma County, has contacted me and I hope to deliver my Heroes, Tricksters & Villains interactive workshop to the Sonoma County community in California in 2012. Sincerely, Teresa LeYung-Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart; mental health advocate

* * * * *

I hope to see you when I’m at these forums:

• Thursday December 1, 2011 at Women’s National Book Association get-together at San Francisco Public Library Main Branch
• Sunday January 8, 2012 at California Writers Club–Redwood Branch “Writing-Career-Make-Over with Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan”

Please click here for details.

“Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

How to submit a question/comment to this post or any post in my blog:

• Click on the blue header (title bar) of the post
• Scroll down until you see boxes and fill in the boxes (you do need an email address to submit questions/comments; if you have a website/blog, do promote it  by keying in the address)
• After you fill in the boxes, you might want to keep a copy of your question/comment before clicking the  “submit comment” button.

Coach Teresa here to announce that I have changed the cover price of the print edition of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW from $22 to $12.96

Why? When the workbook was $22, folks had to pay for Amazon.com’s shipping or buy another item to reach $25 for free shipping.  If you already have my workbook (Thank you! And please tell me how you’re building your platform by submitting a comment to this post!). . . . maybe as holiday gifts for yourself and a friend . . .  get another book on writing (like The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master or Blockbuster Plots: Pure & Simple — both books by Martha Alderson or any of the books I recommend click here to see or a movie to study dialogue as I discussed in my post of Nov. 12, 2011) for yourself and Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days for a friend who needs to reach out, not stress out, to build platform/fanbase/client-base.

If your friend prefers Ebook edition it is $9.81

A note to folks who shop only at brick-and-mortar bookstores . . .  I support independent bookstores and encourage writers to do the same. Independent booksellers order books through their distributors and if their distributors do not list the book you want, then your independent bookseller can’t order the book for you. BookShop West Portal in San Francisco carries my workbook and my novel Love Made of Heart.

Example:  If you go to http://www.laurelbookstore.com/ (one of my favorite booksellers) and key in my name [ Teresa LeYung Ryan ] in the search box, you’ll see both my workbook and my novel in their database because Laurel Book Store’s distributor lists the titles.

A note to writers:  If there are bookstores near you, do visit them.  Study new releases (front cover, back cover, jacket copy, table of contents, read the first page) whether you are considering self-publishing or not; let booksellers know you support them; attend readings, meet other folks who are interested in what you’re interested about. The feature-author at a reading could turn into a mentor/advisor; everyone you meet could turn into your fans.

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps fiction and nonfiction writers build their platforms and fanbases before and after publication--photo by MKWL

Please tell your friends who live in the San Francisco Greater Bay Area that I will be at these forums (click here for full schedule and details):

Dec. 1, 2011 San Francisco Public Library-Main Branch

Jan. 8, 2012 California Writers Club-Redwood Branch in Santa Rosa  “Writing-Career-Make-Over with Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan”

Jan. 12, 2012 teleseminar for National Association of Memoir Writers

February 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference

March 24, 2012 Women’s National Book Association presents “Meet the Agents/Speed Dating with Agents”  Teresa LeYung-Ryan will coach registrants on how to pitch.

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Please visit my website http://writingcoachteresa.com

If you wish to email me, I’m writingcoachTeresa at gmail.com

Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!

Who Writes Book Jacket Copy?

Sometimes the author is asked by the publisher to write the jacket copy/marketing piece. Sometimes the publisher has staff to write them or they hire freelancers.

Years ago Libba Bray freelanced for publishers; her job was to read manuscripts/galleys/advance reading copies and write  jacket copy.  I remember when Editor-in-Chief at Kensington Publishing Corp. NY John Scognamiglio sent me the jacket copy that Libba had written for my novel Love Made of Heart, I cried and cried thankful tears.  Thank you, Libba!

Love Made of Heart – Twenty-seven-year-old Ruby Lin has what many women envy: a beautiful apartment in one of San Francisco’s best neighborhoods, a busy social life, and a coveted position as manager of special events for the tony St. Mark’s Hotel. But it’s Ruby’s personal life that’s become unmanageable ever since the day her mother’s emotional breakdown forced Ruby to hospitalize her, shaming the family. Now, Ruby is caught in the crossroads between two vastly different cultures—one in which she is the American girl, raised on kitschy television shows and black-and-white movies, and one in which she is known only as Daughter, the eldest, fulfiller of responsibilities.

In putting together the pieces of her mother’s life, Ruby finds herself exploring the wounds of her own past. Starting with a forbidden locked tin box and the yellowing photograph inside, Ruby embarks on a startling journey of self-discovery that takes her through a family history rife with violence, betrayal and loss that reaches back through generations, from China to America, and finally to the secret pain of a mother’s sacrifice. Like the Chinese calligraphy that adorns her walls, Ruby comes to see that “life is not a straight road,” but a language drawn with many brush strokes, where every misunderstanding must yield to the simple message of the heart.

Filled with warmth and wisdom, this luminous debut novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction as it explores the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, the choices that divide us, and the love that brings us home.

Libba Bray has become a beloved author of novels for young adults/teens. Her literary works include:

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1)
Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle, #2)
The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, #3)
Going Bovine
Beauty Queens

I am so happy for Libba!

I encourage everyone to write a book jacket for your manuscript.  The piece will help you answer the questions: “Is my story as enticing as the book jacket?” and “Does the jacket copy follow the plotline of my story?”

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition $12.96  & eBook edition $9.81)

and the novel Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)

I love helping writers identify themes and archetypes in their manuscripts and make their names synonymous with the subject matters/issues they write about to a attract agents, editors, publishers, readers, and media attention before and after publication. Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!

Please visit my website http://writingcoachteresa.com

If you wish to email me, I’m writingcoachTeresa at gmail.com

Manuscript Consultant/Editor/Coach Teresa Loves to See the Words in Movies/Films

Coach Teresa here…  I love to study the dialogue in movies.  Oftentimes I turn on “English subtitles” so that I can “see” the words.   Such a simple technique to help me be a better editor for my clients and a better writer of my own stories.

Two of my favorite movies?   Bagdad Cafe aka Out of Rosenheim (written and produced by Eleonore and Percy Adlon; screenplay co-writer Christopher Doherty; stars: Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder and Jack Palance) and The Apartment (written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond; stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen, Edie Adams)

Listen and look for metaphors, foreshadowing, and thematic significance in the dialogue.

Of course the acting, directing, music, set design, costumes, filming, editing are superb too in both movies.

In Bagdad Cafe “Calling You” sung by Jevetta Steele (words and music by Bob Telson) is beautifully haunting.

In The Apartment, even the theme-tunes for the major characters follow plot points.

I’ll be blogging more about themes and archetypes in these two movies.

I love helping writers identify themes and archetypes in their manuscripts and make their names synonymous with the subject matters/issues they write about to a attract agents, editors, publishers, readers, and media attention before and after publication. Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!

Happy writing!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Please visit my website http://writingcoachteresa.com

If you wish to email me, I’m writingcoachTeresa at gmail.com

Author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition $12.96  & eBook edition $9.81)

and the novel Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)