Teresa Jade LeYung's BLOG

In spite of my being very careful not to shake hands and later rub my eyes, I caught a virus earlier in the week.  Turned out to be a pleasant week though, nursing the cold or flu, whatever it is.

Tuesday I went to my half-time day job and got all caught up with voicemail and email.
Wednesday I knew I had to stay home and not push myself.  So, this week I missed a memorial, a Chinese meal with my aunt & uncle to celebrate Lunar New Year, and the Women’s National Book Association event at Castro Valley Library.  However, I had a chance to “chat” with a pal in Australia on Yahoo; I’m not a speedy typist but that worked out fine.

It’s Sunday. Rain is lovely. Got up around 9:30am.  Prioritized my work for next week.

I’m drinking green tea, watching old  movies on YouTube and working as the writing-career-coach.

Colleagues and friends made my day:

Margaret Davis, author of Straight Down the Middle, with her email acknowledging receipt of the CD of photos (of her beautiful book launch) I created for her.

Mil Pribble emailed to tell me about Chinese in Mendocino County.  Mil said: “…a very well done mostly pictorial account, published last year by Arcadia Publishing,  (Available through The Temple of Quan Tai in Mendocino.)  It was assembled and written by Lorraine Hee-Chorley, a friend of mine who is the great grand-daughter of  John Song Lee, aka Joe Lee, who in the early 1850s organized a  flotilla of seven junks and attempted to cross the Pacific, intending to land at Monterey.”

Kate Farrell, author of Girl in the Mirror www.girlinthemirror.info and Workshop Leader www.wisdomhasavoice.com , says the Redwood Branch of California Writers Club http://www.calwriters.org/ has grown so big that they had to change meeting place to Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa in Santa Rosa, CA

Pal Olga offers her home to host a private party.

My hubby started a new job a month ago and he’s studying for a course, so, it’s not like I’m missing weekend outdoor fun.

So, I’m working (with Carole Lombard movies on YouTube as inspiration), pumping vitamin C, and resting.

Webpages getting my immediate attention:

http://www.americanshortfiction.org/

http://savingcinderella.ning.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-close/mental-illness-the-stigma_b_328591.html

It’s almost 4:00pm; time to rest a bit. Being under the weather is nothing to “sneeze” at.
Happy Writing!  Happy Name Building!

Writing Career Coach Teresa

Creator of  Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (a
http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

As an author and a community member, I use my novel Love Made of Heart to:
• shed light on stigmas suffered by immigrant women, men, and children
• advocate understanding of mental illness/traumas to the mind
• help survivors of violence find their own voices through writing

http://lovemadeofheart.com/Love-Made-of-Heart-journey-of-an-adult-child-of-a-mentally-ill-parent.html

Writing Career Coach Teresa here, waking up at 7:30am on Feb. 15, 2010 (day after the 3-day ultra motivating San Francisco Writers Conference). I invite everyone I talked to at SFWC to comment on this post and let the world know that you were there this weekend. Click on the title of this post to get the comment box.

Talking Tagline Coach Elisa Southard & Writing Career Coach Teresa and audience having fun at San Francisco Writers Conference

Talking Tagline Coach Elisa Southard & I presented on the first day at 9:00am. “Build Your Fan Base Before & After Publication” What fun we had!  We coached everyone to craft a purposeful talking-tagline to hook attention; this simple yet powerful tool helps writers communicate with agents, acquisition editors, booksellers, endorsers, media, prospective fans…with ease.

When the talking-tagline is used to link your name, I call this union the mission statement. So, when you comment on this post, be sure to show your full name, your website/blog address (the URL), and your mission statement.

Thank you, Michael Larsen & Elizabeth Pomada, a.k.a. publishing- community angels, for inviting Elisa and me to present at SFWC, seven straight years.   Every year, we get to catch up with colleagues and receive  inspiration from each other. High energy.  High professionalism.  Graciousness.

What woke me this morning was a high-concept for a book that would be perfect for colleagues Elisa Southard, Deborah Grossman, Barbara Santos, me, and my agent Stacey Glick. Top secret for now.

I’ll be writing more posts about SFWC. For the time being . . .

Here are some websites I recommend to help further your writing career.

Elisa Southard, my marketing coach http://breakthroughthenoise.com/
Women’s National Book Association    http://wnba-books.org/ I’m a board member at the San Francisco Chapter http://wnba-sfchapter.org/
California Writers Club http://www.calwriters.org/ I’m a past-president at the SF Peninsula Branch http://cwc-peninsula.org/

If you didn’t get a chance to attend our session on Friday morning “Build Your Fan Base Before & After Publication” you get get the CD or MP3 from http://www.vwtapes.com/sfwriters2010.aspx
If you didn’t get a chance to go to the conference bookstore (Brenden from BookShop West Portal was there) to get Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (my 22 minutes for 22 days workbook for writers to build their names before and after publication), please go to my website http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

Happy writing!  Happy name-building!
Writing Career Coach Teresa
http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

What are your 2010 resolutions for your writing life?

Click on the title of this post. Then scroll down and fill in the boxes.

I’m cheering for you!

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa

Build Your Name, Beat the Game:  Be Happily Published

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

March 23, 2010

Dear Anne M. Baxter,
Thank you for taking photos for me at California Writers Club. And for following up by submitting your comments to my blog.

For your children’s books, I recommend the talented agents at Andrea Brown Literary Agency  http://andreabrownlit.com/agents.php
I saw Laura Rennert at the San Francisco Writers Conference in February when she and Robert San Souci http://www.rsansouci.com/ were on the same panel. I’m a big fan of Robert’s children’s books; and, if I were writing children’s books, I would be honored to be represented by Laura Rennert (she is agent and author)  http://www.laurajoyrennert.com/

To identify prospective agents or acquisition editors for your historical novels for adults, read acknowledgment pages of your favorite historical novels (authors usually thank these folks); also go to: Association of Authors’ Representatives “AAR” to find agents for specific genres http://aaronline.org/Find

Use search engines to find authors’ interviews; after you find names of agents or acquisition editors, use search engines again to find their websites; then study their submission guidelines.

Go to: http://WritingCoachTeresa.com Click on “Teresa LeYung Ryan’s Events”
I’ll be glad to answer questions at any of my events.  I’m also available for private coaching or group-coaching if you round up 2 or 3 colleagues.

Cheering for you and your books!
Writing Career Coach Teresa

“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.”

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com has resources for writers

Yesterday February 2, 2010 turned into a strange yet motivating day for me as a writer.

A dear friend said yes to driving down to Palo Alto with me to attend the 7:00pm Other Voices TV  “Why Did Haiti Collapse? More Than an Earthquake” at Community Media Center.  I got onto North 101 instead of South 101, so, lost 15 minutes there. Then, relying on MapQuest wrong directions, we lost another 20 minutes. Asking people for directions to 900 San Antonio Road [Community Media Center] led us to the Jewish Community Center instead.
So we did “follow the numbers.”.  I drove to the 800 block of San Antonio and got onto the side of the street with even numbers and headed in the direction of higher numbers than 800.  900 San Antonio Road was tucked away in a strip of buildings partially hidden behind a sound wall.

We made it!  20 minutes late but we made it!  Paul George of Peninsula Peace and Justice Center http://www.peaceandjustice.org was moderator.  His articulate speech on KZSU 90.1 FM http://kzsu.stanford.edu/ on February 1, 2010 had propelled me to attend this program.
The 2 panelists gave compelling eyewitness accounts and the audience learned how we can really help Haiti right now (right now to help lessen the suffering).

Seth Donnelly, a longtime Haiti solidarity activist, has visited Haiti many times, assisting grassroots projects and documenting human rights abuses by the UN occupation forces, was a calm eloquent speaker.

Walter Riley, a longtime civil rights attorney, peace activist, and Haiti Solidarity activist, was in Port-au-Prince when the devastating earthquake struck Haiti.  For three days, he and his family aided in the frantic rescue efforts and witnessed the scope of the devastation.  Walter is the Chair of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund.

What did I learn from Mr. Donnelly and Mr. Riley?  Many organizations are raising money. Great. Is that money really going to the Haitian grassroots agencies? Is the money to buy food, medical supplies, and building material waiting for red tape (supplies and materials sitting on tarmacs while Haitians are dying)?  Apparently, Haiti’s grassroots (women’s groups being a huge component) are the ones who can help most effectively because they’re right there helping neighbors; they know their infrastructure. What else did I re-learn?  Natural disaster on top of abject poverty = brutal suffering. Medical personnel, disaster relief workers, and compassionate souls are all heroes.

Channel 27 Mid-Peninsula, California http://www.communitymediacenter.net/

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund   http://www.haitiaction.net/About/HERF/HERF.html

I don’t have the means to write big checks; I do have a big voice as a writer though.

Writers, keep on writing!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

Dear Mary Knippel  http://openuptoyourcreativity.com/,
Thank you for an empowering day (Saturday, January 30, 2010) at the Creativity Workshop for Women’s National Book Association.

I had a good time with the dozen fellow writers as you led us in “Decide, Declare, Design Your writing life for 2010!”

I’m a writing career coach who helps my clients build their names/platforms by identifying the themes in their books (pre and post publication).  I thought I would put all my energy in promoting my new workbook the first half of this year.   Not.  While creating my vision board at your workshop, the message [ that I need to continue using my novel Love Made of Heart to shed light on stigmas on mental illness ] appeared “loudly and clearly”  in words and pictures.   My new mission statement:  I, Teresa LeYung Ryan, use my novel to shed light on the secret agonies suffered by women with mental illness.
Thank you, Mary and WNBA colleagues!
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan
a.k.a. Coach Teresa
Creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published
http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

Coach Teresa here with my resolutions for February 2010:

• Finish up January resolutions

• Attend “Other Voices TV: Why Haiti collapsed – More than an earthquake” A conversation with Seth Donnelly and Walter Riley (Paul George as moderator) on Feb. 2nd at Community Media Center in Palo Alto  http://www.peaceandjustice.org/.

• Meet with Kim McMillon playwright, first mentor; Elisa Southard http://breakthroughthenoise.com/ to rehearse for our session at San Francisco Writers Conference

• Attend Margaret Davis’s book launch  http://margaretdavisbooks.com/;

• Present at SFWC with Elisa Southard on Feb. 12, 2010 and help attendees at Ask-A-Pro and Book Doctor consultations on Feb. 12 & Feb. 13  http://sfwriters.org/;

• Celebrate Chinese New Year 2010 with cousins;

• Celebrate Library Lovers’ Month  http://savethelibraries.spaces.live.com;

• Celebrate Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month;

• Help WNBA-SF Chapter promote “Meet the Agents & Publishers” March 27, 2010 http://wnba-sfchapter.org/

• Submit proposals (Major League Tryouts with Coach Teresa for Writers to Build Their Names) to Writing Salon http://www.writingsalons.com, Book Passage  http://bookpassage.com/, Media Bistro  http://www.mediabistro.com/.

• Submit comments to blogs relating to women and mental illness.

• Contact WNBA colleague Elizabeth Maynard Schaefer, author of Write Out of Depression (who was also at the Jan. 30th workshop) regarding creating a workshop together  http://writeoutofdepression.blogspot.com/

Blog  is the abbreviation for  weblog (a blog is a website which provides opportunities for readers to submit their comments)

Verb:  To blog = to write posts (entries) in, add material to, or maintain a weblog.
Noun:  A blog = a shared on-line journal where you can publish your posts (entries about your experiences, observations, expertise, and hobbies); the most recently published post appears first to readers; readers can interact by submitting comments.

Examples:

This post you’re reading is on my blog which is on my website http://lovemadeofheart.com/ (I own this site; I have to pay for domain name renewals and web hosting services)

I have a second blog (free from WordPress.com ) http://writingcoachteresa.wordpress.com/ to show my clients how a free blog works.

I have a third blog http://www.redroom.com/author/teresa-leyung-ryan at Red Room http://redroom.com/ (a wonderful website where authors can sign up to receive a webpage as a Red Room Author).  However, I don’t own this blog either.

To get comfortable submitting comments to blogs,  click on the title of a post on my blog (in order to see the entire post); scroll down to get the comment boxes.  Go to: http://lovemadeofheart.com/ Click on “TERESA’S BLOG”  and scroll down your screen; choose a post that interests you; click on the title of the post to get the comment box.

I’d encourage any writer who do not have a blog website to get one so that  you’ll have an on-line address/URL.  These days, a blog serves as an answering center (give your fans a chance to find you and to communicate with you and still offers you privacy).  If money is an issue, then get a free blog from http://wordpress.com . Because WordPress.com blogs are free, they will not offer you the features you’d get on a blog website that you own. Although you could upgrade your free blog by paying fees to get extra features.  If you go with a free blog now, and, later when you get your own website, ask your webmaster to help you import your posts from the free blog to your site. If you need a guru of a webmaster, check out Linda Lee at http://askmepc.com/

Your blog = a body of work that you publish on cyberspace.

After you get a blog and write some posts, remember to copy the keywords and key phrases (tags) in each post and add them to the tag box for each post. Your blog will compile a list of your tags.  Help search engines help people find you and your work through the tags.

Visit my blog often to learn how I use tags and links in my posts.  http://lovemadeofheart.com/

After you submit a comment to one of my posts, wait a day or so  before going to Google (or another search engine), then key in a string of words (tags) you used in your comment . . . press the “search” key . . . let cyberspace go to work.  Voila!  This is how people will find you.  I’ll tell you more in my  workbook  Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW .

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

ebook Kindle edition $9.81

print edition $11.66

Coach Teresa’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/teresaleyung

Teresa LeYung Ryan on facebook!

Invite Coach Teresa to conduct “Major League Tryouts with Coach Teresa to Build My Name” at your writers’ club or group.

Form a study-group, split the cost and hire Coach Teresa to:

* coach you in name-building to attract the right agent or publisher or more fans
* guide you in designing and growing your blog (to showcase your expertise and experiences)
* show you computer-navigating shortcuts and how to easily “find stuff” on the World Wide Web

Monday night, January 18, 2010
Three weeks ago, I thought I would be working today at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. REGIONAL SHORELINE in Oakland. However, because of overwhelming registration, the organizers didn’t need me.

In a way, I did have a Day of Service. I made phone calls on behalf of my friend (to report elder abuse from a home-care agency).

The phone numbers below came from mental health advocates from Alameda and Contra Costa counties; they encouraged me to file reports.

Adult Protective Service 925-646-2854 serving Contra Costa County, CA

http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/

Disability Rights CA 510-267-1200 (formerly State Protection & Advocacy) http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/

Consumer Assistance 1-800-779-0787

After I made the phone calls (left voicemail at the second & third numbers; a person answered at Adult Protective Service and told me a social worker would call me back even though today was a holiday…so professional and reassuring).

Jan. 22, 2010

I learned from  Adult Protective Service and Disability Rights CA that because  home-care services are “businesses”I would need to make a complaint and also report abuse http://ccld.ca.gov/ as well as contact Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/us/ Complaints: http://www.bbb.org/us/Consumer-Complaints/

While researching, I found http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/home-care-services/HO00084 Mayo Clinic website which has and answers regarding home care services. The text below inside [   ] came from the Mayo Clinic website:

[ If you’re considering a home care services agency:

• How does the agency hire and train caregivers? Does the agency provide continuing education?
• Are the caregivers licensed in their fields and insured?
• How closely does the agency’s supervisor evaluate the quality of home care?
• Do the agency’s employees seem friendly and helpful? Make sure you feel comfortable with the agency’s representatives.

If you’re considering a home health aide:

• Does the home health aide have a good temperament? Make sure you or your loved one feels comfortable with the home health aide. ]

http://www.hcbs.org/ which I will review later.

Jan. 18, 2010

I’m blogging about this because: 1) I want to share those phone numbers and URLs; 2) I think writers make for great advocates (writing down our observations; reporting the observations); and 3) I need to remind myself to be true to myself and honor the powerful voice of the written word.

On Saturday, 40 writers at California Writers Club-SF Peninsula Branch heard how VP Linda Okerlund introduced me.

“Teresa LeYung Ryan wears 3 hats . . . [the third hat] She is a community spirit who uses her first book Love Made of Heart to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly and unabashedly about the stigmas their parents suffer.”

To speak openly about illness and stigmas and continue being aware–these are my duties.

Today after I made the calls, I was rewarded by wonderful comments on my blog post from the writers at Saturday’s “Major League Tryouts for Building Your Name.”
I thought about my mom (who’s my biggest angel); I remember how she needed someone to speak up on her behalf.

I’d like to think that Mom is watching over me, inspiring me to use words to help people. Writers need help too. A dear writer-friend said to me today: “How do we find time to blog and build our names when we’re writing books?” My respond was: “Our books deserved to be read by people. But, how would people read our books if they don’t know that our books exist?”

To all writers who want others to buy your work, read your work, talk about your work, I encourage you to tell yourself this everyday: “My work deserves to be read by many. My work deserves to be promoted; I’m the best person for the job.”

Sincerely,
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung Ryan

If you wish to own the 22-playbook Build Your Name, Beat the Game, click on the title of this post so that when you scroll down this page you can see the boxes to submit your comment.

Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published $22 plus postage.

“Thank you, Coach Teresa! This 22-day playbook is a treasure full of insightful information delivered in manageable segments culminating in a masterpiece.” Mary E. Knippel, Creativity Mentor who helps busy women embrace simple shifts and celebrate change with grace and gratitude. http://openuptoyourcreativity.com

“Coach Teresa, my brain has been on fire since the coaching session. There is so much I want to do with my blog and the ideas keep on coming. Thank you!” Yolande Barial, a sensually spiritual writer who knows that with God all things are possible! A contributing author in If Women Ruled the World. http://yolandebarial.wordpress.com

“Coach Teresa, you are such a bodhisattva! You have always been available for help, and now you are finally putting all you know into your new manual. Gratitude!” Lynn Scott, author of A Joyful Encounter: My Mother, My Alzheimer Clients, and Me; Oldham Street http://LynnScottbooks.com

I cheer for hard-working writers who deserve to be recognized and honored.
Sincerely,
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung Ryan