Teresa Jade LeYung's BLOG

Posts Tagged ‘Love Made of Heart’

Writers are asking me:  “Coach Teresa, how do I go about promoting myself, my writings/books/causes year-round and not run out of ideas?”

Let’s take this month – May

Did you know that May is:
•   National Arthritis Month
•    Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
•    Better Hearing and Speech Month
•    National Bike Month
•    International Business Image Improvement Month
•    Creative Beginnings Month
•    Family Wellness Month
•    Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
•   Get Caught Reading Month
•    Gifts From the Garden Month
•    Haitian Heritage Month
•    Heal the Children Month
•    National Hepatitis Awareness Month
•    Jewish American Heritage Month
•    Latino Books Month
•    National Meditation Month
•    Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month

•    National Mental Health Month
•    Motorcycle Safety Month
•    Older Americans Month
•    National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month
•    Personal History Month
•    National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
•    National Salsa Month
•    National Stroke Awareness Month
•    Teen Self-Esteem Month
•    International Victorious Woman Month
•    Women’s Health Care Month

Whether you’re sending out press releases or blogging or broadcasting via social media, be sure to link your name and work to these recognized dates.

For example, I use my novel Love Made of Heart to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and to gain resources for their families. For my press release, my headline could be:  Author Honors Her Parent & National Mental Health Month with Love Made of Heart.

Cheers from Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan!

To find more ways to link your name to recognized dates, get Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (paperback) $22.00

Introduce yourself and tell me about your writing project by submitting a comment to this post. To do that, click on the blue title bar of this post, fill in the boxes, then press the [ submit comment ] button.  See my examples below.

I cheer for you.

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

author / manuscript consultant / writing career coach

author of Love Made of Heart (the story that inspires adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and to gain resources for their families)

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (the workbook that helps fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge)

This blog post is to encourage my clients and all the writers who are on their umpteenth rewrites.

When you’re writing a novel, a memoir, or any lengthy story, keeping track of the elements (plotlines, character arcs, archetypes, themes, hooks, foreshadows, metaphors, dialogue, front story, back story, internal monologue, exposition, irony) becomes a monumental task.

My analogy:  The elements in your story make up the pieces of a ten-thousand-piece puzzle.  Revising a piece of the puzzle could mean adjusting all the other pieces, especially when you’ve been rewriting and rewriting. Has your overall puzzle become a fuzzy picture?

Here’s my advice: Work in sections. Start with the first quarter of your story. Print your pages and read them out loud, chapter by chapter.  As you read, take notes; use color coding to track each element.  Example:  you might use yellow highlight to track your “hooks.”  Whatever method you choose to track, ask yourself these questions:  What’s my intent to introduce this hook?  Am I going to keep the reader engaged by re-baiting this hook in successive chapters?  At what point will I satisfy the reader by releasing the hook (delivering the “aha” moment)?

Happy rewriting and tracking!

I salute you!

Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

author / manuscript consultant / writing career coach

author of Love Made of Heart (the story that inspires adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and to gain resources for their families)

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

http://writingcoachteresa.com

30th Annual Northern California Book Awards

When:  Sunday April 10, 2011, 1:00pm

Where:  Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, lower level, 100 Larkin Street (at Grove), San Francisco, CA 415-557-4277

http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1002986601

Categories:

Fiction

General Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction

Poetry

Children’s Literature

Translations

My best wishes to all the nominees.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry, edited by Neelanjana Banerjee, Summi Kaipa, and Pireeni Sundaralingam, University of Arkansas Press

Congratulations to Tamim Ansary–Afghan American writer, lecturer, editor and teacher who is the recipient of the FRED CODY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT—COMMUNITY & LITERATURE.

Readers Bookstore will be selling books after the awards ceremony.

Author Elisa Southard tells me that Readers Cafe & Bookstore is located at Fort Mason Center, Building C, San Francisco.  I’ll visit them the next time I’m in the area.

Cheers!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan,

author of Love Made of Heart;

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

Writing Contest, Immigrant Experience, Asian Heritage Street Celebration 2011, Wisdom Has a Voice Anthology, Mothers and Daughters, Mental Health

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan here, looking forward to four related events/projects.

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Thanks to Bardi Rosman Koodrin’s encouragement, I’m sponsoring a writing contest through the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Dept.

DIVISION 342 – THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE: NOVEL, MEMOIR, OR SHORT STORY Writing Contest
Sponsored by Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of  Love Made of Heart (the story that inspires daughters and mothers to speak from their hearts)

Contest entries must be received by 7:00 pm, Friday, April 29, 2011 or postmarked by April 25^th, 2011

http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/competitive-exhibits/departments/literary-arts

After you go to above link, look at left side of the webpage and click on [ Entry Book Pages ] for general rules.

http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/pdf/guide_book/creative_arts.pdf

Scroll down to page 66 for details of  THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE: NOVEL, MEMOIR, OR SHORT STORY writing contest.

http://lovemadeofheart.com

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Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter’s Memories of Mother

This groundbreaking anthology, to be released October 2011, will include 25 true and compelling stories about mothers (or mother figures) that express the wisdom shared or learned from a particular experience with each woman.   http://wisdomhasavoice.com

Editor-in-Chief Kate Farrell has asked me, Teresa LeYung Ryan, to write advance praise; the other two members of the editorial team are JC Miller and Ana Manwaring; they are only weeks away from completing final edits. I so look forward to reading stories written by women representing each continent. Kate, I’m honored.

I’m a fan of Kate Farrell’s literary works. Take a look at her young-adult novel Girl In the Mirror

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Saturday, May 21, 2011 Asian Heritage Street Celebration (AHSC), organized by the AsianWeek Foundation

Two years ago author Margie Yee Webb helped me reconnect with the Asian-American community by inviting me to exhibit my book Love Made of Heart at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration (AHSC). Thank you, Margie!

This year, Margie Yee Webb (author of Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings), Lloyd Lofthouse (author of My Splendid Concubine), Patricia Tsang, M.D. (author of Optimal Healing: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine) and yours truly Teresa LeYung Ryan (author of Love Made of Heart and Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days) will share a booth.  Please stop by the California Writers Club booth and say hello if you’re going to the Asian Heritage Street Celebration

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May is National Mental Health Month in the United States of America.

Thank you to mental health professionals and advocates and organizations including National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI, Stamp Out Stigma (founded by Carmen Lee), and BringChange2Mind (created by Glenn Close, the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation CABF, Fountain House, and Garen and Shari Staglin of International Mental Health Research Organization IMHRO.

BringChange2Mind Walks with NAMI BringChange2Mind is forming NAMIWalks teams across the country, and a portion of the funds they raise will benefit their mission to combat the stigma associated with mental illness via a national communications campaign.

Twelve million children and adolescents suffer from diagnosable mental health disorders.

1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Yet, for many, the stigma associated with the illness, can be as great a challenge as the disease itself. This is where the misconceptions stop. This is where bias comes to an end. This is where we change lives. Because this is where we Bring Change 2 Mind.   The video  BC2M Nami Walks 2010 is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it2S0ja2GlU

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“My beautiful mom suffered mental illness and its stigmas all her life. I celebrate National Mental Health Month, Mother’s Day, and all mental health advocates.  Mom, I celebrate you!”

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Writing Career Coach Teresa here.  I just received an invitation from the Media Center. I send hearty congratulations to the Local Heroes.  I know one of the heroes–BARDI ROSMAN KOODRIN!  This is the same Bardi who is the Literary Arts Director at the San Mateo County Fair; the same Bardi who writes for the San Bruno Patch, the same Bardi who works so hard for California Writers Club; the same Bardi who got me to say “yes, it would be an honor” to sponsoring a writing contest focusing on “The Immigrant Experience.”   A thousand cheers to Hero Bardi !!!!!

Bardi

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Dear Friend of the Media Center,

We will honor our winners and screen highlights of their interviews. Many of you submitted nominations; others may want to meet our Local Heroes. Either way, we hope you will be able to attend. Refreshments will be served! To help us with our planning please let us know if you can make it.

This year’s winners are:

It is always difficult to choose among the many incredibly gifted and deserving nominations we receive and we are very proud of those who have been selected this year.

We look forward to seeing you!

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Here’s my blog post about the writing contests that Bardi Rosman Koodrin is orchestrating through the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Dept.  http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/general-rules-for-2011-writing-contests-from-san-mateo-county-fair-literary-arts-dept/

Thank you, Bardi, for being YOU!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan,

author of Love Made of Heart;

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

Available through Amazon.  Read success stories (on Amazon) from writers who have finished the 22-day workbook I created to help fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge.  Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers and more readers now!  http://writingcoachteresa.com

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/is-there-a-book-to-help-a-writer-build-platform-and-fanbase/

Women in Women’s National Book Association have related news.

The Women’s National Book Association announces that Masha Hamilton has been chosen the winner of the 2010 WNBA Award. The award is presented by WNBA to a living American woman who derives part or all of her income from books and allied arts, and who has done meritorious work in the world of books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her profession or occupation.

Ms. Hamilton also established the Afghan Women’s Writing Project in 2009 “to foster creative and intellectual exchange between Afghan women writers and American women authors and teachers.” The website publishes the work of Afghan writers under the mentorship of AWWP participants, including authors, poets, essayists, memoirists, and others.

Previous winners of the WNBA award included Kathi Kamen Goldmark and Dr. Perri Klaas. NEW YORK  www.wnba-books.org

Thank you, Joan Gelfand, immediate-past president (and poet extraordinaire), for the news.

Meanwhile, WNBA member Diane LeBow has this new:

March 30, 2011  11:30am-1:00pm  Kabul Restaurant in Burlingame, California

The Afghan Friends Network  is holding a benefit lunch on March 30, 2011 at Kabul Restaurant in Burlingame: “Connections: Joining Hands and Hearts for Afghanistan” Guest speaker is Fariba Nawa, an award-winning Afghan-American journalist.  Join us in a traditional, celebratory Afghan luncheon. More info:  http://afghanfriends.net/

Thank you, award winning writer and photojournalist Diane LeBow, for telling me about this benefit luncheon. Recently Dr. LeBow read from her Afghan stories for Left Coast Writers at Book Passage in the Ferry Building, San Francisco.  There were about 50 in the audience.

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In San Francisco, we have 2 events to cheer for:

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

Meet-the-Agents Live. Writers Speed-Date to success. Only 15 spaces left. Click here http://www.wnba-sfchapter.org for agent and
editor bios, the scoop on the keynote lunch with Zoe Fitzgerald Carter, and to register.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The 15th Annual Effie Lee Morris Lecture: TRICKSTERS!
Guest lecturer: Gerald McDermott – the Art of the Folktale
San Francisco Public Library, Lower Level, 100 Larkin Street (at Grove), SF, CA www.sfpl.org

5:00pm Reception & Book Signing; 6:00pm Lecture presented FREE by
Children & Youth Services and the Fisher Children’s Center of the
San Francisco Public Library and Women’s National Book Assoc-SF
Chapter.  Board members of WNBA (a co-sponsor of this lecture)
encourage all members (especially authors of children’s literature)
to attend this event… a tradition in San Francisco. Effie Lee Morris
founded the San Francisco Chapter of Women’s National Book
Association. This annual lecture is just one of the many legacies
Effie Lee Morris left for readers and writers.

My best wishes to everyone !  See you at the San Francisco events,

Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart, cheers for brave immigrants.

22-Day Coach Teresa

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW is available through Amazon.  Read success stories (on Amazon) from writers who have finished the 22-day workbook I created to help fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge.  Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers and more readers now!  http://writingcoachteresa.com

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/is-there-a-book-to-help-a-writer-build-platform-and-fanbase/

General Rules for 2011 Writing Contests from San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Dept.

Entries must be received by 7:00 pm, Friday, April 29, 2011 or postmarked by April 25^th, 2011

http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/competitive-exhibits/departments/literary-arts

After you go to above link, look at left side of the webpage and click on [ Entry Book Pages ] for general rules.

The Literary Arts Department at the San Mateo County Fair offering contests in these categories:

http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/pdf/guide_book/creative_arts.pdf for the list of writing contests & descriptions (scroll to pages 64 -  70)

DIVISION 342 – THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE: NOVEL, MEMOIR, OR SHORT STORY
Sponsored by Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of  Love Made of Heart http://lovemadeofheart.com

DIVISION 335 – “HEROES ARISE” SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY NOVEL CHAPTER
Sponsored by Laurel Anne Hill, author of  Heroes Arise www.laurelannehill.com

DIVISION 336 – SAN FRANCISCO/PENINSULA CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB:
THE MOST PROMISING WRITER OF THE YEAR SHORT STORY CONTEST

DIVISION 337 – THE VERNA DREISBACH “WHY WE RIDE” NONFICTION
Sponsored by Verna Dreisbach www.vernadreisbach.com

DIVISION 338 – THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEMOIR WRITERS: THE POWER OF MEMOIR www.namw.org

DIVISION 341– “I’M DYING TO TELL YOU” MYSTERY NOVEL CHAPTER
Sponsored by Frank M. Kahren, author of  Brand Loyalty www.fmkahren.com

DIVISION 324 – CHILDREN’S NOVEL CHAPTER OR STORY CONTEST
Sponsored by Parenting on the Peninsula www.ponthep.com

DIVISION 323 – THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
Sponsored by the Peninsula Arts Council www.peninsulaartscouncil.org

The Capitol City Young Writers Award
Youth Grades 6-12  Sponsored by Verna Dreisbach, President and Founder http://www.capitolcityyoungwriters.org/ Young writers, also check out Capital City Young Writers’ website for other resources. For contest description and rules though, go to the San Mateo County Fair links:

http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/competitive-exhibits/departments/literary-arts

After you go to above link, look at left side of the webpage and click on [ Entry Book Pages ] for general rules.

http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/pdf/guide_book/creative_arts.pdf (scroll down to bottom of page 67 for this contest’s description)

Also, there are contests for essays, poetry, and more !

Thank you, Bardi Rosman Koodri, for orchestrating the Literary Arts Dept.:

LITERARY ARTS GENERAL RULES

PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for all literary contests (including the NDNU scholarship) is 7:00 pm, Friday, April 29, 2011. Registration to compete can be done online, but no literary entries via email will be accepted without three (3) copies of your written material as well, which can be mailed (must be postmarked by April 25^th, 2011) or delivered to the office by the deadline noted above.

GENERAL RULES:

1.   FORMAT: THREE (3) copies of your entry on 8-1/2″ x 11″ white paper with each page numbered and TYPED, double spaced.  Font point size may not be smaller than 12 pt.  Do not submit the original. For judging purposes, author’s name SHALL NOT appear on literary work.  For each piece, include a 3″ x 5″ card with the Author’s name, address, city, zip, home phone, day phone, email address, title, first sentence or line, word count, division, and class.  Literary arts entries must be contestant’s original work and written in English.  DO NOT RESUBMIT ANY LITERARY WORK PREVIOUSLY ENTERED INTO THE SAN MATEO COUNTY FAIR WHETHER IT WON A PRIZE OR NOT.

2.  NEW: Submissions can be made electronically as long as three (3) copies are also printed and mailed in time.

3.   JUDGING:  Literary arts will be judged off site.  Literary arts entries must have correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation in order for each entry to be judged on its own merit.

4.   RELEASE: Author retains all rights; however, the author agrees that all literary arts entries may be displayed; along with each division first prize winner’s name, title, and an excerpt of said winning work, and any/all may be used for publicity purposes at the sole discretion of the Fair management.

5.   RETURN: In keeping with current writing competition standards, no literary arts entries will be returned; for confidentiality, all printed material will be recycled.

6.   PRIZE RIBBONS: Ribbons may not be collected during the fair; they will be distributed after the end of the fair.

7.  AGE:  Age for senior citizen class (55 and older) is determined by having had a birthday on or before

April 1, 2011.

Even if work is electronically submitted, three (3) printed copies of each entry must also be mailed to:

San Mateo County Event Center/Literary contest submission

2495 S. Delaware Street

San Mateo, CA 94403

(650) 574-3247

Thank you, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, my fellow contest sponsors, and everyone involved in making these contests available.

I was a recipient of an award from the Jack London Writers Conference Writing Contest (category:  novel) in 1997.  Mentioning of that award attracted agents’ attention when I queried them.  I encourage writers to enter their work to reputable contests; I encourage writers to check out supportive organizations such as California Writers Club!

My best wishes to writers,

Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart, cheers for brave immigrants.

22-Day Coach Teresa

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW is available through Amazon.  Read success stories (on Amazon) from writers who have finished the 22-day workbook I created to help fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge.  Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers and more readers now!  http://writingcoachteresa.com

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/is-there-a-book-to-help-a-writer-build-platform-and-fanbase/

When is the 2011 Effie Lee Morris Lecture of children’s literature?

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Children & Youth Services and the Fisher Children’s Center of the San Francisco Public Library presents:

The 15th Annual Effie Lee Morris Lecture: TRICKSTERS!

Guest lecturer: Gerald McDermott

Gerald McDermott and the Art of the Folktale

Tuesday, April 5, 2011   San Francisco Main Library, Lower Level.

5 p.m.  Reception and Book Signing–Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room

6 p.m. Lecture– Koret Auditorium

100 Larkin Street (at Grove), San Francisco, CA

(415) 557-4277

www.sfpl.org

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=200382443314716

22-Day Coach Teresa here . . . encouraging writers of children’s literature to attend this event… a tradition in San Francisco.  Effie Lee Morris founded the San Francisco Chapter of Women’s National Book Association. Thank you, Effie Lee!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW is available through Amazon.  Read success stories (on Amazon) from writers who have finished the 22-day workbook I created to help fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge.  Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers and more readers now!  http://writingcoachteresa.com

How did Cat Mulan Author Margie Yee Webb create a fun book launch for Community?

A recipe for a fun book launch:

• 1. Consider your guests – audience – readers
• 2. Choose location location location
• 3. Pick a meaningful date

Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings: Insight and Inspiration for a Wonderful Life

1. For Margie’s delightful gift book–cat lovers, pet lovers, friends of cat lovers, animal advocates.

2. The Market Place in Rancho Cordova, CA – lovely showroom setting in a home and garden improvement mall.  They provide cashiers. Plenty of parking.

3.  People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County (PAWED), Animal Rescue League, FieldHaven Feline Rescue, and Sacramento SPCA were able to send representatives and bring felines to Margie’s book launch on March 12, 2011.

I met Shaun who was taking plenty of photos of author Margie Yee Webb, her festive exhibit, and the representatives and cats from above referenced organizations.

I met authors Kevin “James” Richardson and Don Ricardo.

I chatted with author Hazuki Kataoka of http://storycardtheater.com We had met when I presented “Build Your Name, Beat the Game” at the 2010 Northern California Publishers and Authors Conference (Margie had connected me with NCPA).

It was pure joy to see Margie interact with her old fans and new fans; it was delightful to see Margie’s mom, siblings, nieces and nephews.

Margie had created over half a dozen cat-theme gift baskets–raffle ticket donations support the animal organizations.

Lakshmi Kerner (LakshmiLove), thank you again and again for driving and cheering and staying to meet Kimberly A. Edwards (Lakshmi and Kimberly both write memoirs).

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Margie, I am so very happy for you and Cat Mulan.  Kimberly had the purrfect description of your event–Margie’s book launch is a model for authors.

Look what Angela Pang of AsianWeek wrote about Margie and Cat Mulan:

http://www.asianweek.com/2011/03/10/chinese-american-releases-new-inspirational-cat-book/

Margie Yee Webb promotes pet awareness and encourages people to make a difference in the lives of cats and other companion animals. A portion of every sale of Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings will be donated to animal welfare organizations and shelters.

Cat Mulan and Margie encourage you to support your local animal welfare organizations and shelters.

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