Coach Teresa here . . . I received an email from Local Hero/San Bruno Patch columnist / Bardi Rosman Koodrin (“The Healing Chronicles”), informing me that Matt Cranford, Fair & Festival Event Manager at the San Mateo County Fair, would like to know how I implemented the writing contest (THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE: NOVEL, MEMOIR, OR SHORT STORY Sponsored by Teresa LeYung-Ryan, author of  Love Made of Heart and Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW ) earlier this year and what were its achievements.

Well, the magnificent forum was already in place–the San Mateo County Fair.  In October 2010 when Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director for the Fine Arts Department of San Mateo County Fair, invited me to create and sponsor a writing contest that would carry a theme close to my heart, I said “Yes.”

I had been a judge for other writing contests before; this was a chance to create a category!

Thanks to Bardi and the other sponsors who had participated in the previous year, my being “the new kid on the block” was an easy job in terms of writing the “ad” for my contest.

In my professional life, I wear 3 hats–an author, a manuscript consultant, and a writing career coach.  Under all those hats and behind my fifty-plus years is also a protagonist who lived/is living the immigrant experience.

What do the Immigrant Experience Writing Contest and a Main Character’s / Hero’s Journey Have In Common? They are all stories about a protagonist leaving or having left a familiar place for a strange new world and how she/he is transformed.

So, immediately after receiving the hardcopy and the electronic version of the San Mateo County Fair 2011 catalog, I began publicizing not only my contest but also all the writing contests under the auspices of the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Department.  Then I linked my role in the contest to my role in other causes as well as the roles of my colleagues who were promoting causes close to their hearts. Immigrants. Literacy. Libraries.  Heroes. Wisdom. Mental Health. Mothers and daughters.

Fast forward . . . after I read all the entries, I asked writing mentor Mary E. Knippel to read and rate them too.  We agreed that while all the entries had distinct voices and compelling themes, one entry was exceptional.

Here’s the excerpt (from the first-place winner “My Chinese-American Experience” by Patricia Tsang) that hooked me:

As with most Chinese families, the patriarch, my paternal grandfather, was responsible for giving Chinese names to his grandchildren.  My eldest brother was named Forever Bright; my second brother was named Forever Clear.  Because my grandfather died before I was born, I was destined to be Forever Nameless . . . .

Patricia Tsang first place winner in 2011 Immigrant Experience Writing Contest sponsored by Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Brava to Patricia Tsang!

What was my reward to sponsor the contest? The creation of THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE writing contest gave me a fresh way to celebrate immigrants and descendants of immigrants.

At this time, I wish to say again “Thank you, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers Victor Turks, Miriam Queen, Patricia Costello and your wonderful students at City College of San Francisco, for having read Love Made of Heart.” http://www.lovemadeofheart.com/The-Immigrant-Experience.html

Thank you, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director for the Fine Arts Department!

Thank you, Matt Cranford, Fair & Festival Event Manager!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Writing Career Coach/Manuscript Consultant

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition & eBook edition)
Author of Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)

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

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Below are the links to my blog posts demonstrating how I broadcast the writing contests and the fair:

June 18, 2011 blog post:

Coach Teresa, how do I build fame as a writer?

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here to say: “Use what you know to build fame. Use your three intertwining circles. Be yourself. Have fun.”

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/coach-teresa-how-do-i-build-fame-as-a-writer/

June 15, 2011 blog post:

What Do Dr. Andy, Poetry, Technology, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, San Mateo County Fair, Oakland Libraries, and Coach Teresa Have In Common?

Promoting literacy, literary arts and underdogs (a.k.a. libraries) . . .

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/what-does-dr-andy-poetry-technology-bardi-rosman-koodrin-san-mateo-county-fair-oakland-libraries-and-coach-teresa-have-in-common/

June 10, 2011 blog post:

Congratulations to the Writers Who Entered The Immigrant Experience Writing Contest

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/congratulations-to-the-writers-who-entered-the-immigrant-experience-writing-contest/

Dear Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Sue Barizon, Elliotte Mao,

Bardi had invited me to attend the award ceremony on June 11, 2011 (San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts writing contests). I had wanted so much to be there, to thank everyone in the SMCF offices and the writers who entered the contest I sponsored  – “The Immigrant Experience”

A previous commitment prevents me from being there with you on June 11th.

Could you  3 wonderful hearts Bardi, Elliotte, Sue (Sue, I read what you said about Bardi in The Patch) please print the attachment and bring it to the June 11 ceremony and one of you read it for me?

May 12, 2011

Where Do We Find Heroes? They Show Up–Young, Middle-Aged–What They Do–All Inspirational

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/where-do-we-find-heroes-they-show-up-young-or-middle-aged-what-they-do-all-inspirational/

April 8, 2011

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.

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/writing-contest-immigrant-experience-asian-heritage-street-celebration-2011-wisdom-has-a-voice-anthology-mothers-and-daughters/

April 5, 2011

Our 5^th Annual Local Heroes have been selected and it’s time to celebrate them!

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/5th-annual-local-heroes-have-been-selected-and-its-time-to-celebrate-them/

March 15, 2011

General Rules for 2011 Writing Contests from 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/

March 13, 2011

Is There a Writing Contest for Novels, Memoirs, Short Stories that Invites the Theme of the Immigrant Experience?

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/is-there-a-writing-contest-for-novels-memoirs-short-stories-that-invites-the-theme-of-the-immigrant-experience/

Dear Lynn Henriksen,

I miss my mom so so much. Your inviting me to guest-blog is a huge gift and I thank you. Today is Labor Day. I salute you, your mom, my mom, and all moms who labor/labored with love and hope for their families.

Sincerely,

Teresa

“What Does Your Protagonist Want?”

By  Teresa LeYung-Ryan, aka “Writing Career Coach & Manuscript Consultant Teresa”

“If you’re writing a novel or memoir, what does your protagonist want?”
“What are your themes and who are your archetypes?”
“If you’re writing a how-to book, what are the issues?”
“Do you want to build your platform to attract agents, publishers, and fans/readers?”

These are the questions I ask when writers hire me as their coach.

For many writers, the first question (“What does your protagonist want?”) is not an easy one to answer. What does your main character want when the story opens? As the story moves forward?

For memoir authors, the protagonist is the Self. You the author lived your story and you know the outcome; now is the chance to engage readers via story-telling techniques and show them what you wanted and how you went about getting (or not getting) what you wanted.

For novel authors, oftentimes the protagonist (or another major character) is modeled after the author; what the protagonist wants is also oftentimes a recurring theme for the author.

In the opening scene of Love Made of Heart (my autobiographical novel about an adult-daughter struggling to understand her mother’s mental illness ), protagonist Ruby Lin asks herself: What have I done? (as she watches police officers escort her mother from her apartment).

Ruby wants her mother to get well; she wants to return to her routines; she wants to forget her past; she wants a wise elder who listens and doesn’t judge. As we get to know Ruby, we find out what her “big wants” are—to find love and forgiveness.

I, Teresa LeYung-Ryan, author of the novel, did not have a maternal grandmother. How I used to fantasize about a kind and wise Grandmama to run to! Writing fiction gave me the luxury to give my protagonist something I never had, so, I created the elderly neighbor Mrs. Nussbaum (embodying the mentor and ally archetypes); she would listen to Ruby and not judge her.

In the introduction of Lynn Scott’s memoir A Joyful Encounter: My Mother, My Alzheimer Clients, and Me, the author reveals: I needed money. I was sixty-seven and living thinly on Social Security… As we read on, we meet the other characters/archetypes and see how they help the author get the “big want” (what money can’t buy) . . .  a spiritual journey to her mother’s love.  Lynn Henriksen’s review of this same book ends with “… Scott’s book made me laugh, cry, and wish I could have my mother back for just a day, even one more hour.”

Aah, to have Mom back for just a day, even one more hour. That is exactly what yours truly wants right now.  I’ve been ill (coping with symptoms from wheat-intolerance) and I yearn for my mom’s hugs and encouraging words: “All will be fine, my darling daughter.” But, I can’t get what I want on a physical level; Mom died over ten years ago of metastasized breast cancer.

My biggest angel is my mom, and, I ask her to help me on a daily basis. “Mom, I want to feel well.”  My muscles and sinuses were hurting; fatigue overwhelmed me; then, when depression moved in . . . I knew that I needed to be an active protagonist. I stopped eating breads and anything made with wheat flour (and that include flaky pie crusts, almond tea cakes, Challah, tortilla that hold a burrito together, Pad Thai, and pasta).

My mastermind colleague Lori Noack reminded me that wheat is in soy sauce (gosh I eat a lot of Chinese food too) and in marinades and salad dressings (yikes).  LN, thank you for your encouraging emails!

Next, I went to see a Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioner. Heather Richmond said “Teresa, the foods you’ve been eating are ‘damp.’ To treat the ‘dampness’ so that you’ll feel better, not only am I advising eliminating wheat from your diet, I’m also recommending eliminating soy as in tofu and corn.” No tofu and corn, in addition to no wheat?  Oh my.  Heather had explained that wheat, soy and corn are the top three most genetically-modified foods in this country.

Mrs. Nussbaum’s voice (my inner Wise Self) stepped into my head.  “Making a lifestyle change calls for perseverance. Go easy. Go gentle.  I’m proud of you.”

I tell my clients “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams.” I too have been reaching out—by telling my friends about what I want—to feel energetic again. I will need their moral support (to cheer for me when I turn down a slice of bread, a fresh croissant or homemade pizza crust).

At a meeting, Linda Joy Myers, author of 3 books and founder of National Association of Memoir Writers, gave me delicious rice crackers, wild salmon, and green beans when she found out about my wheat intolerance. Thank you, LJM!

Thank you to all my friends and family members who are supportive of my goals!  My sister sent me a gift card for shopping sprees in “organic produce” aisles.  Thank you, Maria!

These books continue to be helpful as I want to live well in spite of food allergies:

• Eating Gluten Free: Delicious Recipes and Essential Advice for Living Well Without Wheat and Other Problematic Grains by Shreve Stockton

• Optimal Healing: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine by Patricia Tsang, M.D.

Heather Richmond is recommending I stop eating rice in the next phase of treatment.  Oh oh . . .

I still want hugs from my mom.  I feel them.  Every morning and every night, in my prayers.  And I give hugs back. “Thank you my Main Angel.”

Lynn Henriksen aka The Story Woman, thank you so much for asking me to guest-blog. You’ve given me a lovely gift—a chance to talk about my mom, knowing what the protagonist wants, and how to reach out not stress out!  I cheer for you, your books, blog, and classes!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Author, Writing Career Coach, Manuscript Consultant.

Teresa’s blog http://writingcoachteresa.com for resources.

Teresa uses Love Made of Heart to inspire adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families. (the novel is available in libraries, archived in the San Francisco History Center, and used by teachers in college and universities).

She’s also the author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (a workbook to help writers of all genres gain a competitive edge before and after publication. Available as ebook too! Customers of the workbook are saying that it’s useful for anyone who has anything to promote.)

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: "Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams."

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Lynn Henriksen wrote: “Teresa – it was my pleasure placing your guest post on The Story Woman blog! Thank you for an interesting piece and for speaking from your heart as you always do.”

Kate Farrell, Wisdom Has a Voice wrote: “Teresa–What a great post that speaks to how writers think, yearn, and write for themselves, to connect and to share in a way that makes the world a community!”

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here to say: “Use what you know to build fame. Use your three intertwining circles. Be yourself. Have fun.”

Contact me if you would like to invite me to your writers’ club.  My email address is on my website:  Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

I had so much fun yesterday with California Writers Club–San Francisco Peninsula branch members at the San Mateo County Fair.

Mary Knippel, Teresa LeYung Ryan, Martin Shane Dowd (far right in photo) and California Writers Club Fault Zone anthology contributing authors Ann Foster, Darlene Frank, Tory Hartmann, Lisa Meltzer Penn editor, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Christopher Wachlin

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Congratulations to the Writers Who Entered The Immigrant Experience Writing Contest!

DIVISION 342 – THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE: NOVEL, MEMOIR, OR SHORT STORY
Sponsored by Teresa LeYung-Ryan, author of  Love Made of Heart and Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

Patricia Tsang first place winner in 2011 Immigrant Experience Writing Contest created and sponsored by Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

First place winner:  “My Chinese American Experience” by Patricia Tsang

Second place winner: “Dancing Among the Tombstones” by Ellen Six

Third place winner: “Culture Shock” by Lucy Murray

Honorable Mention: “Message Deleted” by Evie Groch

Honorable Mention: “Caught in the Current” by Uldis Zebergs

Honorable Mention: “The Luck of the Irish” by Martha Traynor

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Thank you, Boris Koodrin, Fine Arts Director at the San Mateo County Fair!

Thank you a thousand times, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Arts Director, for your big-hearted spirit and courage!

“Reach out, not stress out, when building your fame!”

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach 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

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

First place winner:  “My Chinese American Experience” by Patricia Tsang

Second place winner: “Dancing Among the Tombstones” by Ellen Six

Third place winner: “Culture Shock” by Lucy Murray

Honorable Mention: “Message Deleted” by Evie Groch

Honorable Mention: “Caught in the Current” by Uldis Zebergs

Honorable Mention: “The Luck of the Irish” by Martha Traynor

author Teresa LeYung Ryan writes fiction to help mothers and daughters and prescriptive nonfiction to help writers

Dear Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Sue Barizon, Elliotte Mao,

Bardi had invited me to attend the award ceremony on June 11, 2011 (San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts writing contests). I had wanted so much to be there, to thank everyone in the SMCF offices and the writers who entered the contest I sponsored  – “The Immigrant Experience”

A previous commitment prevents me from being there with you on June 11th.

Could you  3 wonderful hearts Bardi, Elliotte, Sue (Sue, I read what you said about Bardi in The Patch) please print the attachment and bring it to the June 11 ceremony and one of you read it for me?

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Greetings from author and writing career coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan , the sponsor of The Immigrant Experience Writing Contest. . .  I wish I were with you today.  I’m visiting my friend Patty in the hospital who is another hero like Bardi.  I thank Bardi, and everyone who helped her, for orchestrating the many wonderful writing contests. I thank all the writers who submitted entries to The Immigrant Experience category.  The manuscripts I read touched me deeply.  A second judge, Mary Knippel, and I discussed the merits of each piece. Thank you, Mary.

I extend this offer to all the contestants:  If  you email me at WritingCoachTeresa…I’m at gmail.comI will give you some pointers to polish your piece.  And, I’d love to meet you.  Please go to my website: WritingCoachTeresa.com and look at my Events Page.  On Friday June 17 I’ll be at San Mateo County Fair with my California Writers Club buddies.  I hope to meet you all in person, on facebook,  or through my blog at WritingCoachTeresa.com where you’ll find lots of resources, including links to my Youtube channel and to Amazon for my 22-day workbook, to help you build your writer’s platform to attract agents and publishers.  Remember me as Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan who says: “Reach out, not stress out, when building your writing career. Stay connected with members of California Writers Club!”

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San Mateo County Fair. Go to Expo Hall, the Literary Arts Stage, San Mateo Event Center, 2495 So. Delaware St., San Mateo, CA

Events at the Literary Arts Stage are free, but there is admission and parking costs to enter the fairgrounds.

Coach Teresa, how do I continue promoting myself after an event or a book signing or a reading?

Here’s my answer:

You’ve spent weeks, maybe even months, publicizing your event.  You deliver the event (and I hope you had fun), then you, the audience, everyone involved in coordination . . .  you all go home or on to another event. Have you forgotten something? That something is “follow up” work.  Who did you talk to at the event?  What did you promise? Below is an example – how to follow up. Angela Pang and her coworkers at AsianWeek work extremely hard each year orchestrating the Asian Heritage Street Celebration.  This is my Email to her; I cc’ed my booth partners Margie Yee Webb and Patricia Tsang, M.D.

May 22, 2011

Dear Angela,

If you need quotes from us for post-event newsletter . . . here goes;  also, 3 photos attached.

Who were the authors at this year’s AHSC? Margie Yee Webb (Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings: Insight and Inspiration for a Wonderful Life), Teresa LeYung Ryan (Love Made of Heart; Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days), and Patricia Tsang, M.D. (Optimal Healing: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine).  Margie Yee Webb says: “California Writers Club is proud to once again be part of the Asian Heritage Street Celebration to encourage everyone to write their stories.  We are also pleased to support schools through donations to the School Raffle Program.” Teresa LeYung Ryan says: “I thank Margie and Asian-Week Foundation for re-connecting me to the Asian-American community. My third year at AHSC, I had so much fun with my friends.”  Patricia Tsang, M.D. says: “A street fair with food, culture, art, literature, martial arts, health science, and more. What can be more enticing to an Asian?  The celebration gave me a chance to reconnect with my roots as well as share information about my book.”

Angela, thanks again for making our experience enjoyable!   Margie & Pat, I’ll email you more photos later 

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan  on facebook!

Check out Teresa’s YouTube videos http://www.youtube.com/teresaleyung

http://writingcoachteresa.com

You notice how I embedded our URLs in our names? (so that if Angela or AsianWeek e-newsletter readers want to read more about us and California Writers Club. . . they’d be taken to our websites).  By the way, my two booth partners and I are also members of Women’s National Book Association -San Francisco Chapter.

Coach Teresa here has a lot of follow-up emails to send and photos to resize and rename. To see a partial list of people I met at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration, please go to my May 22, 2011 post . Thanks.

Have fun building your writer’s platform!

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan (click on my name to get to my YouTube videos)

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Click on book cover to go to Amazon

It’s going to be so much fun!   Saturday May 21, 2011, 11:00am – 6:00pm

Look for me (author and writing career coach Teresa LeYung Ryan) and my colleagues on Larkin Street, Booth F-18 (on the 300 block of Larkin St., between McAllister St. & Golden Gate Ave. ), the block north of Asian Art Museum, same side of the street.

Margie Yee Webb has orchestrated our California Writers Club booth.  I went to Copy Edge (the folks are nice there) on University Ave. in Berkeley to get blow-ups of our book covers.  Dr. Patricia Tsang will join us this year.  Lloyd Lofthouse might be there again this year. Look for Booth F-18 with our beautiful book covers and the California Writers Club “sail on” logo.   See you at Booth F-18 !

I wish I could bring the street fair to my friend Diane . . .

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

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Love Made of Heart - get this book for your mom or sister

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California Writers Club - supportive colleagues

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

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Optimal Healing: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine

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Saturday, May 21, 2011, 11:00am – 6:00pm 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 2011 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 on Larkin Street (between Grove St. and Ellis St.), San Francisco–close to BART Civic Center station.

Free Admission to Asian Art Museum Courtesy of Target – Throughout the day during the Asian Heritage Street Celebration May 21, 2011, Admission to the special exhibit “Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance” is $5.

How does protagonist Ruby Lin want to help her mother?

Teresa LeYung Ryan uses her novel Love Made of Heart (Kensington Publishing Corp NY 2002, 2003) to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and to gain resources for their families.

” What are you selling? Your literary products—articles, columns, stories, poems, essays, speeches, scripts, books.”

“Making your name stand for something–the something being the subject matters, issues, and themes in your writings.”

“Targeted consumers? They are the readers who read the subject matters that you write about.”

My clients ask me: “Coach Teresa, How long does it take to build my writer’s platform?”

My answer: “When you stick to something for 21 days, you develop a new habit.  Do the exercises in my workbook for at least 21 days. On the 22nd day, you graduate with the tools to build your writer’s platform.”

So, how long does it take to build your writer’s platform? Only 22 days!

May 5, 2011:

Author Joan Gelfand asked me today: “Teresa, what happens after you build your platform?”

My response: “After I build my platform, I fortify it, then I retrofit it.  Building my platform and then abandoning it doesn’t serve me.”

Margaret Davis, author of Straight Down the Middle, says: “Instead of the usual pep talks, Coach Teresa’s workbook consists of a series of exercises which are thought-provoking, and always fun.”

Speaking of fun, I had a fun day fortifying my own platform and helping fellow members of WNBA.

Thanks to my pal Mary E. Knippel‘s lending me her Flip camera, I produced 4 short videos today–to share my expertise about platform-building for writers. I’ll post the videos on YouTube next week.

Then, I packed the Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter (WNBA) membership roster, name badges, name tents, the thank-you gift for our chapter president (Lynn Henriksen),  and went cake-shopping for tonight’s celebration. The event was at the San Francisco Public Library-Main Branch.

What an exciting meeting!  Established members (guiding lights) showed up; talented new members showed up:

Lynn Henriksen will mentor the new incoming chapter president or co-presidents

Kate Britton wishes to stay on as Membership Chair

Christopher Payne wishes to stay on as Treasurer

Teresa LeYung-Ryan wishes to stay on as Secretary, mentor committee chairs, and continue to show members how to build their own platforms with the help of the WNBA platform.

Mary E. Knippel wishes to stay on to mentor committee chairs and help them coax their creativity.

Birgit Soyka wishes to be WNBA Liaison to BookShop West Portal

Elizabeth Pomada, former chapter president, will continue to be a guiding light for WNBA, promoting our chapter through San Francisco Writers Conference, ASJA, and other affiliations.

Michael Larsen, former chapter president, will continue to be a guiding light for WNBA, promoting our chapter through San Francisco Writers Conference, ASJA,and other affiliations.

Leon Veal will continue being our liaison at San Francisco Public Library and San Francisco Project Read

Jane Glendinning is also affiliated with California Writers Club-Berkeley Branch

Patricia Tsang, M.D. is also affiliated with California Writers Club-San Francisco Peninsula Branch (and the Asian Heritage Street Celebration this year)

Janine Kovac is also affiliated with LitQuake (San Francisco’s Literary Festival)

Apala Egan is also affiliated with California Writers Club-South Bay Branch

Claudia Boutote is also affiliated with Harper One, publisher in San Francisco

Joan Gelfand is immediate-past president on national board of WNBA; she recommends our chapter sponsoring smaller events, and more of them, so that members get to co-chair one event in their region. This distribution of duties would benefit all members.

Linda Joy Myers, founder of National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW), offered to share her expertise in teleseminars.

Linda Lee, our webmaster and cyberspace guru, offered to share her expertise in webinars and make webinars a benefit to members and a revenue tool when we sell the products to non-members.

* * * * * * * * *

We honored Lynn Henriksen; she made the past 2 years fun for us. Thank you, Lynn!

Vicki, Leigh Anne, Kaye, Barbara, Judith, Ricky, Elisa, we missed you at this meeting/party. See you soon!

Cyberspace Guru Linda Lee and I had a chance to chat after the meeting.

Cheers from Writing Coach Teresa!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan, board member, San Francisco Chapter of Women’s National Book Association

Hope to see members in or near San Francisco on Thursday June 2, 2011,  6:00-7:30pm
Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter MEET UP
Mary E. Knippel (Creativity Mentor) & Teresa LeYung-Ryan (Writing Career Coach) will be present to mentor members and conduct “round-table MEET UP”
San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch, Latino/Hispanic Community Room (you can bring food into this room) at lower level,
100 Larkin St.(or use 30 Grove Street entrance), S.F., CA 94102
http://wnba-sfchapter.org/
RSVP by emailing:  Secretary@wnba-sfchapter.org

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW Available through Amazon.com   Check out the reviews!   Coach Teresa created the fun workbook 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!   After you order Coach Teresa’s workbook, email her to receive an exclusive bonus on platform-building. Teresa’s email address is on her website WritingCoachTeresa.com

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

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