Teresa Jade LeYung's BLOG

NAMW Members Only

Click on the title bar of this post so that you can see the boxes to enter your comments.

Thank you, Linda Joy Myers, for being a magnificent resource center for memoir writers!

I created this post just for you–members of NAMW.  After the June 18, 2010 Members-Only Teleseminar, let me know what steps you’ll take to further build your name to attract more fans (before or after publication). More fans lead to bigger platform/fame . . . which attracts agents / acquisition editors & publishers / advocates /endorsers / media attention . . . which leads to even more fans . . .

Remember to click “submit comment” after you have composed yours. When I receive your comment, I will add your name to this post and “tag” you (you’ll know what this means after the teleseminar).

“USE WHAT YOU KNOW TO BUILD FAME:  Fun & Simple Steps for Memoir Writers”

• Understand the need to build one’s name/fame in today’s publishing arena.
• Identify your advocates, endorsers and fans.
• Gain recognition through your words and your community.

How do you thrive in the fiercely competitive industry?  You hold the power to beat the game.

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

“Reach out, not stress out, to build your name.”

“When you make your name synonymous with the themes/subject matters/issues in your writing, you are building your fame/career/platform.”

Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook)

Visit: http://www.WritingCoachTeresa.com

Zelda-the-Fortune-Teller, teenagers, and writing?

My dear friend Olga asked me to be a fortune-teller at her daughter’s graduation party.  “40 teenagers celebrating completion of eighth grade and they’ll have questions about their future.”

I told Olga I would focus on archetypes.  “The bearer of the question is also the bearer of  the answer.”

So, Saturday, I got into my “Zelda the Fortune Teller” attire and entertained bright teenagers who had questions relating to high school life and whether they would have boyfriends/girlfriends.  I asked each teenager to write out her/his question. “The power of the written word,” I said.

I had so much fun listening to their questions and helping them identify archetypes for their answers…I can see myself being Zelda again and again.  Seeing how their faces lit up (when they acknowledged their own powers) gave me joy.  Thanks, Olga, for introducing me to a new part-time career. I’ve been helping writers identify their mission statements to build their names; I’d like to help young people identify their unique gifts and see how they can thrive in their world.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Advocate for public schools and libraries

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

Even if you missed the writing workshops and author presentations this weekend or can’t attend the upcoming ones, you can go to the presenters’ websites to check out their other events. Use search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) to find people & events.

2010 San Mateo County Fair, California

FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT STAGE SCHEDULE

Our stage is located in the Fiesta Hall

Try to park as close to Gate C (where the big white tent is) because that’s closest to Fiesta Hall (the second building from the south end of the fairgrounds)

Literary programs are free.

https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/ or 650 574-3247 for county fair admission/ticket info.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

12:00 12:45  Entertainment by Red Desert Dance Company, under the direction of Marie

Soderlund: a Bay Area Dance Troupe

12:45 1:30  Fine Arts Dept Awards Ceremony

Tribute to Darlene Harney

Special Fine Arts Awards, Best of Show, category sponsors & winners

1:30    2:30  Creative nonfiction workshop with Geri Spieler: “The Housewife Assassin:

Local Girl Takes Aim,” Or, how a sweet girl from a nice family turned deadly

2:30 3:30  Sci Fi/Fantasy Workshop with Laurel Anne Hill: Building New Worlds and

Creating Compelling Characters:  Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction

3:30  4:15  Awarding the Heroes Arise novel chapter contest and winners’ readings

4:15  6:30   Awarding SciFi/Fantasy short story contest and winners’ readings

Literary Winners Circle readings – short stories, essays, and poems by winners Philip Gin, Yvonne Dechant Lorvan, Roberta Woo (Best of Show, Poetry), Bwawna Panwar, and others

Sunday, June 13

9:00 1:30  Regional youth piano recital

1:30  2:45     Music by COPUS, an indigenous fusion Renaissance funk ensemble

2:45  3:15     Verna Dreisbach’s Capitol City Young Writers literary/musical group

3:15 4:15    Workshop with literary agent Verna Dreisbach

4:15 4:30  Presenting The Why We Ride award and winner’s reading

4:30 5:30  The Power of Memoir Workshop with Linda Joy Myers

5:30 6:00  Presenting the Power of Memoir prize & winners’ readings

6:00  7:00  Literary Winners Circle readings – short stories, essays, and poems by

contest winners Lucy Murray (Best of Show, Essay), Melanie Denman, Philip Gin, Yvonne Dechant Lorvan, Roberta Woo and others

Monday, June 14

12:30 1:30  Teen writer SeanTraynor reading his award-winning children’s short stories

Celeste McCarty: Performance poetry

1:30 2:30  Theater Games: Lead with your Team! for children ages 7-12 with Royd Hatta

2:30    3:30  Shu-Hsien Ho Step into a World of Fantastic Creatures: Creative Writing for Kids 3:30 4:30  Beth Barany 12 Stages of the Writer’s Adventure Workshop

4:30 5:15  Music by Maureen Brennan, Harp Soloist

6:00 7:00  Entertainment by Red Desert Dance Company, under the direction of Marie

Soderlund: a Bay Area Belly Dance Troupe

Tuesday, June 15

3:30 5:00  Open Mic readings: Ida Lewenstein, Ollie Welch, Larry Stewart, Jo

Carpignano, Darlene Frank

5:00 6:00  Joyce Robins Memoir Workshop: “Aunt Lydia’s Trousseau”

6:00 6:40  Open Mic readings:  Sal Zohar, David Hirzel, Margaret Davis

6:40 7:00  Tory Hartmann, President SF/Peninsula California Writers Club Awarding The Most  Promising Writer of the Year & winner’s reading

7:00 8:00  Workshop with CWC member Mary Hanna: How to Write Funny: Tips and

Tricks to Liven Up Your Writing

8:00 9:00  Workshop with CWC member Mary Knippel: Coaxing Creativity

9:00  10:00  Poetry performance by Celeste McCarty

Wednesday, June 16

11:00 4:00  Onsite Painting with Karlene Ryan in the Fine Art department

3:00  6:00              Self-publishing Workshop with Celeste McCarty

Poetry performance

Fiction Genre Workshop with Frank Kahren, “Brand Loyalty,” and Anastasia

Blackwell, “The House on Blue Lake”

6:00 7:00  Performance by Judgement Day, a three piece “string metal” band

7:00 8:00  Performance by singing group Ol’ Blue Genes

Thursday, June 17

3:00 4:00  Blessing Ceremony by the Deeksha Givers

Honoring “Carry the Light” recipient Bob Squeri

4:00 5:00  Stacey Grewal Gratitude Workshop

5:00 6:00  Soldiers Angels presentation

6:00 7:30  Entertainment by Red Desert Dance Company, under the direction of Marie

Soderlund: a Bay Area Belly Dance Troupe

Friday, June 18

2:00 3:00  Performance by Judgement Day, a three piece “string metal” band

Saturday, June 19

Local Authors Book Day with Beth Barany, Anastasia Blackwell, Elizabeth Block, Jo Carpignano, Ellen Chong, Jon Cory, George Cunningham, M.D., Margaret Davis, Darlene Frank, Stacey Grewal, Mary Hanna, Tory Hartmann, Vinnie Hansen, David Hirzel, Kimmelin Hull, Frank Kahren, Mary Knippel, Ines Villafane-Leon, Judith Marshall, Celeste McCarty, Joyce Robins, Teresa LeYung Ryan, Geri Spieler, and others.

12:00 12:45  Author check-in and set-up

12:45 1:15  Roving MC Tory Hartmann introducing book fair participants

1:15  2:00  Audience participation: Guess Who’s the Liar? with mystery writers Vinnie

Hansen, Frank Kahren, and Beth Barany

2:00 3:00  Panel: So You Want to Write a Novel: Four Bay Area novelists discuss

their experiences and offer tips for aspiring fiction writers.  Meet Teresa

LeYung Ryan, Margaret Davis, Judith Marshall, and Jon Cory; moderated by

Geri Spieler

3:00 3:30  Q&A: Author Q&A: Publishing –the traditional route or self-publish?

3:30 4:30  Where Memoir and Fiction Cross Over with Elizabeth Block

4:30 5:00  Q&A: OK, so you’ve written your book.  Now how do you promote yourself?

5:00 and on  Anastasia Blackwell presents: Creative Marketing for Authors: an evening of

collaboration using various artists and art forms to market your book.

Sunday, June 20

Mid-day Entertainment by Red Desert Dance Company, under the direction of Marie

Soderlund: a Bay Area Belly Dance Troupe

Other performances to be announced

Thank you, <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.gi {mso-style-name:gi;} span.gd {mso-style-name:gd;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

Bardi Rosman Koodrin!

See you there!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Writing Career Coach Teresa says: “Build your name, beat the game, be happily published.” http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

 

Teresa LeYung Ryan uses her novel Love Made of Heart to:

• celebrate immigrants
• inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas that their parents suffer
• help survivors of family violence find their own voices

http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

 

 

April is National Poetry Month but every day is poetry.  When I listen to songs, I tend to remember the lyrics before I can remember the melodies.  Commercials hook me when I hear poetry in them.

Here are poets I pay attention to.  They all wear many brilliant hats.

• Martha Clark Scala.   This YouTube video shows Martha the poet on April 2, 2010 at Escape from New York Pizza, San Francisco   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5e7v716WQ0 To see what other hats Martha wears, please visit  www.mcscala.com

• Joan Gelfand.  A powerful speaker.  http://joangelfand.com/listen http://joangelfand.com/main/ has the link to the video of Joan with Kim McMillon with Janice Edwards on Bay Area Vista.

• Deborah Grossman, City of Pleasanton Poet Laureate!   Delightful.  You can meet Deborah at events this summer, autumn and winter: http://www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us/community/arts/civic-arts-literary.html http://www.deborahgrossman.com/

• Yolande Barial, founder of Your Words Project.  You just have to meet Yolande and hear her poetry, her spoken word.  Please add audio to your blog.  http://yolandebarial.wordpress.com/

• Maxine Hong Kingston.  Her book The Woman Warrior had inspired me to write my stories which turned into Love Made of Heart the novel.    Lunch Poems: Maxine Hong Kingston.  She is SO funny!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeaOmyZk4U0 And mesmerizing.  Zen circles; Chinese 4 word poems.

My hat off to you, Martha, Joan, Deborah, Yolande, Maxine!

Sincerely,

Teresa

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan says: “Build your name, beat the game, be happily published.”  http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

What are the themes in these forceful literary works?

• Les Miserables novel by Victor Hugo; 1933 movie (script by André Lang, directed by Raymond Bernard)  http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_Les_Miserables_1933_rev.html

• Forbidden 1932 – screenplay by Jo Swerling; directed by Frank Capra (story)  http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=205128&mainArticleId=202017 Barbara Stanwyck as Lulu Smith

• Back Street, novel by Fannie Hurst http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1868821.Back_Street

• The Story of Temple Drake (1933) Movie Review by Mordaunt Hall for The New York Times May 6, 1933 http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904E4DF1538E333A25755C0A9639C946294D6CF Miriam Hopkins as Temple Drake

• The movie is a pictorial conception of the novel Sanctuary by William Faulkner  http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Sanctuary_%28novel%29

What powerful dialogue and metaphors!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

author of Love Made of Heart

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

Last year on a panel at the San Mateo County Fair/Peninsula Festival,  I had so much fun with buddies Martha Alderson and Luisa Adams and moderator Tory Hartmann.  This year buddy Margaret Davis asked if I would like to be on a panel with her. So, two months ago,  when Bardi Rosman Koodrin at San Mateo County Fair asked me if I wanted to present again, I said “yes!” She’s a joy to work with.

How to Prepare for a Presentation as a Panelist

Margaret Davis did a load of work identifying California Writers Club members who have published novels, and would be available on Saturday June 19, 2010 at 2:00pm to be on the panel at the San Mateo County Fair/Peninsula Festival. The four panelists:  Margaret Davis, Jon Cory, Judith Marshall, Teresa LeYung Ryan.

Margaret came up with a fabulous title and description for our talk:

“SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A NOVEL”
Four Bay Area novelists discuss their experiences and offer tips for aspiring fiction writers.

Margaret also asked us for our bios and photos and she emailed the compilation to Bardi.

Geri Spieler graciously said “Yes” to being our moderator and asked each panelist to provide questions and topics that we would like to cover.  Here are Geri’s questions and the answers I emailed to her:

Geri:  I’ll introduce you so please send me no more than three sentences about you and your work.

• Author Teresa LeYung Ryan wears two hats.  As a novelist, she uses her book Love Made of Heart to shed light on secret agonies suffered by mothers and daughters in domestic violence.  As a writing career coach and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published, Teresa helps writers identify their mission statements to attract agents, publishers and fans.

Geri:  Send me two questions regarding writing craft.

• Teresa, in interviews you’ve revealed that the themes and subject matters in Love Made of Heart are autobiographical.  Did you start out writing a memoir or a novel?
• Teresa, would you share one trade secret about story-telling?

Geri:  Please communicate with the other three panelists if you don’t already know each other. I know Margaret Davis and Judith Marshall; I will study Jon Cory’s website.

Geri:  Please tell me anything particularly unique about you that pertains to your writing

• “I am the only Teresa LeYung Ryan (my middle name LeYung was created to honor my mom), but, my protagonists represent the many women, children and men who survived similar experiences that I have.  I was a witness to domestic violence–a girl who felt helpless, ashamed, angry, guilty and voiceless. Decades later, I found a way to help the child-in-my-heart. Through the characters in Love Made of Heart, I encourage survivors of violence and witnesses to violence to find and fortify their own voices through writing.”  Teresa LeYung Ryan   http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Panelists:

Margaret Davis (Straight Down the Middle) is a sociologist who is also the author of Families in a Working World and A Practical Guide to Organization Design.  Her second novel, Katie Carlisle, will be available soon. www.margaretdavisbooks.com

Jon Cory (A Plague of Scoundrels).  Retirement enabled him to return to creative writing after a career in business.  His debut novel received the 2009 Independent Publishers’ Silver Medal Award for popular fiction.  www.joncory.com

Judith Marshall (Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever) is the owner of Kelso Books, a publishing house.  Husbands has been optioned for the screen and her second novel, Staying Afloat, will be available soon. www.judithmarshall.net

Teresa LeYung Ryan used her novel Love Made of Heart to shed light on secret agonies sufferered by mothers and daughters in domestic violence.  She is also a writing career coach and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published. http://writingcoachteresa.com

Moderator:  Geri Spieler, author of Taking Aim at the President http://www.gerispieler.com/

https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/ 650 574-3247  for ticket info. Parking lot is on Saratoga, 1 block before the street dead-ends at Delaware (south side of fairgrounds).

Stage is located in the Fine Arts Dept, which is in the Fiesta Building on the San Mateo Event Center fairgrounds. https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/fair-info/fairgrounds-map Vendors have the center block of space, we are in our own separate 2 large room type space and the stage is midpoint. (the technology dept is on other side of vendors).

So, after I attend the Saturday June 19, 2010, 10:00am-noon  California Writers Club  meeting with fellow members for our last meeting before the summer http://www.cwc-peninsula.org ,  Margaret Davis and I will head out to the San Mateo County Fair, Fiesta Hall, Fine Arts stage to meet up with Judie, Jon, Geri and Bardi.  Hope to see you there!  2:00-3:00pm June 19, 2010

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

This is a glimpse into what happens when you are invited to present at a teleseminar:

Linda Joy Myers, president of The National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW), invited me to be a guest on her teleseminar for members only on Friday, June 18, 2010    Time: 11 AM PDT    12 PM MDT   1 PM CDT     2PM EDT

Staci Motherwell, the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at NAMW, asked me to provide a title and description of my talk.

“USE WHAT YOU KNOW TO BUILD FAME:  Fun & Simple Steps for Memoir Writers”

How do writers thrive in the fiercely competitive industry?  Find out for yourself in this delightful session with Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan who created Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook). Visit: http://www.WritingCoachTeresa.com

In response to Ms. Motherwell’s request to provide a list of 3-5 talking points that I plan to discuss with Linda Joy Myers during the NAMW Members-Only teleseminar:

• Why do memoir writers have to be concerned with building name/fame?
• How does a writer identify advocates, endorsers and fans?
• Would you like to know more about gaining recognition through your words and community?

Not already a member of NAMW?   Visit   http://www.namw.org

Teresa LeYung Ryan says: “When you make your name synonymous with the themes/subject matters/issues in your writing, you are building your name/career/platform. You too can be happily published.”

Author/Self-Publisher Seeks Advice from Writing Career Coach Teresa

Here’s a question from a hard-working author:

“Dear Teresa,

One of my friends is planning to publish her book.  I want her to get the best price for her money…  The main thing I’m interested in is distribution, selling online, and creating DVDs.  I would love your comments. Thank you.”   Kim

Here’s my reply:

Hi, Kim,

Amazon has a new self-publishing program:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-summary-page.html?ie=UTF8&ld=AZFooterSelfPublish&topic=200260520
Do read up on that program.

Also, 2 organizations in the Bay Area to help authors/publishers:

http://www.baipa.org/
http://www.norcalpa.org/

Even if you find a publisher that has a huge distribution channel, the challenge “how big is the author’s platform?” still exist. That’s why I wrote my workbook –to help authors build that platform before the book is published, to beat the game.

If you send your friend to http://WritingCoachTeresa.com and also tell her about Amazon Create Space program, and Bay Area Independent Publishers Association, and Northern California Publishers & Authors, then she’ll be armed with resources.

I want you to be armed too (and have fun).

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

“Reach out, not stress out, when building your writer’s name.”

Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published is the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook

My motto:

“When you make your name synonymous with the themes/subject matters/issues in your writing, you are building your name/career/platform. You too can be happily published.”

Below is the list of “special dates” in June (from the Chase Calendar of Events) to help you, the writer, find recognized dates linked to what you write about. Of course, Father’s Day is in June too.

Sincerely,
Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan
Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published is the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook. http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

June

• Accordion Awareness Month, Natl
• Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month
• Aphasia Awareness Month, Natl
• Bathroom Reading Month, Natl
• Cancer from the Sun Month
• Candy Month, Natl
• Child Vision Awareness Month
• Childhood Cancer Campaign Month, Intl
• Children’s Awareness Month
• Dairy Alternatives Month
• Effective Communications Month
• Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month
• Fireworks Safety Months
• Gay and Lesbian Pride Month
• GLBT Book Month, Natl
• Great Outdoors Month
• June Dairy Month
• June Is Perennial Gardening Month
• Men’s Month, Intl
• Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism
• Potty Training Awareness Month
• Professional Wellness Month
• Rebuild Your Life Month
• Rivers Month, Natl
• Rose Month, Natl
• Safety Month, Natl
• Skyscraper Month
• Soul Food Month, Natl
• Sports America Kids Month
• Steakhouse Month, Natl
• Student Safety Month
• Surf Music Month, Intl
• Vision Research Month

Many Chinese people (especially my generation and preceding ones) don’t like the number 4 because the Chinese word for “four” (in Cantonese, pronounced saay) sounds like the word for “dead” and “death.”

 

I like the number 4 – 4 legs to hold up the table I write on; 4 wheels to keep my vehicle on roads; 4 seasons; 4 compass directions; 4 parts in the Chinese word for “love”; 4 letters in the English word for “love”; 4 colleagues working on some of my projects; The Four Agreements by Don Miguel   Ruiz   http://www.miguelruiz.com/

 

Speaking of four, Theresa Stephenson’s friend Jill Lebeau, MS, MFT has co-authored Feng Shui Your Mind: Four Easy Steps to Rapidly Transform Your Life! with Maureen Raytis, MA, L.Ac.   www.fengshuiyourmind.com

Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan

I am so happy to announce the opening of the Love Made of Heartonline store where you’ll find gift items for yourselves, women, children, moms and babies, friends and pets.  http://lovemadeofheart.com/Love-Made-of-Heart-Online-Store-&-Gift-Shop.html The Chinese word for “heart” is inside the word for “love.”

Love Made of Heart -  purple heart inside pink love

* * *
For Writers:
Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published is the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook. http://WritingCoachTeresa.com