Thursday, Feb. 17th, 2011, 6 to 9 pm- $149
Presented by Literary Agent Katharine Sands, author of Making the Perfect Pitch. Learn how to effectively pitch your project to the agents and editors at the SFWC…or anywhere!  http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=206

Friday February 18, 2011 While Talking Tagline Mentor Elisa Southard author of  Break Through the Noise, 9 Tools to Propel Your Marketing Message & I (Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW) will be presenting “Get a Grip: Be Your Own Best Promoter” at the exciting San Francisco Writers Conference . . .

February 18, 2011, 11:00am PST / noon Mountain Time Author Judith Marshall (Judith & I were in a critique group with Lynn Scott and Marcia Naomi Berger!)  will be interviewed on BlogTalkRadio show Page Readers.  If you miss the live broadcast on Feb. 18th, you can listen to Judith Marshall (she’s delightful!) when the show is archived.  Go, Girlfriend Judith!!!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/show.aspx?userurl=page-readers&year=2011&month=02&day=18&url=judith-marshall-on-page-readers

Judith Marshall is a third generation native Californian, born in St. Helena and raised in Concord. After leaving a successful career as a human resources executive, her lifelong dream of writing fiction was realized with the completion of Husbands May Come and Go But Friends Are Forever, winner of the Jack London Prize awarded by the California Writers Club and recently optioned for the big screen. She is an active member of the California Writers Club and a regular participant in writing classes and workshops. She continues to hone her craft and is currently working on her second novel, Staying Afloat, the story of a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother who morphs into a sex-starved adulteress. She lives in Northern California with her husband. For more information, go to www.judithmarshall.net

MONDAY, February 21, 2011  FULL-DAY AND HALF-DAY WRITING INTENSIVES

Sponsored by San Francisco Writers University and the San Francisco Writers Conference  http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=206

These classes will be held at the Mark Hopkins InterContinental Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

Each of these intensive workshops takes one subject and breaks it down
into parts to give attendees a deep understanding of the topic. Each
workshop is taught by an expert on the subject who is also a good
teacher.

Full Day Classes (9 am to noon, break for no-host lunch, 2 -5 pm) — $297 for either class

1. Social Media for Authors with social media gurus Tee Morris and Linda Lee
By the end of this nuts and bolts workshop, authors will know how to effectively use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Linked-In, how to create a website and blog and how to podcast your writing. And you’ll also know how to select which of these tools is right for you. A must have for writers in today’s online world.

2. Self-Publishing Boot Camp with Carla King, Alan Rinzler, Joel Friedlander, Mark Coker, Tammy Nam, Alexis Masters, Karen Leland and many more
Listen up, soldiers! Today is the best time ever to be a writer. With eBooks and self-publishing options never before available to get your book in front of a reading audience, you need to understand the whys, whats and hows of self-publishing. Taught by the creator of the Self-Publishing Bootcamp and a whole host of experts in every aspect of self-publishing. Go to Carla King’s Self-Publishing Boot Camp web site.

Morning Half-Day Classes (9 am to noon) –$149 for each class

1. Micro-Tension: The Secret of the Best Sellers with Superstar Literary Agent Donald Maass
This workshop has been given to rave reviews throughout North America by the man who wrote the book (and workbook) on writing the novel that will break you out of the pack. In the course of two decades Mr. Maass has arrived at a number of definite and highly perceptive conclusions on just what the differences are between an ordinary, pedestrian but enjoyable novel and an ostensibly similar work that catapults the book and its author into an entirely new plane of literary success.

2. Writing Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror
With best selling author Katharine Kerr, editor/assoc. publisher Gabrielle Harbowy and rising star fantasy author Philippa Ballantine

3. Writing Romance and Women’s Fiction
With literary agent Christine Witthohn and romance author Elizabeth Jennings

4. Writing Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers
With NYT best-selling mystery and thriller authors Bob Dugoni and Sheldon Siegel

Afternoon Half-Day Classes (2 pm to 5 pm)–$149 each

1. How to Write a Book Proposal (non-fiction)
With the man who wrote How to Write a Book Proposal. literary agent Michael Larsen and Consulting Editor Alan Rinzler

2. Making Your Memoir Bigger Than The Story of Your Life
With writing teacher and memoirist Adair Lara, author of Naked, Drunk and Writing: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay

3. How To Make Money in the Hot Young Adult Market
With author Doug Rees and Annette Pollert from Simon and Schuster

You have spent months, perhaps years, writing and rewriting your project/work.  And, you’ve decided to pursue either an agent (who earns his/her commission when he/she sells a client’s work to a publishing house) or an acquisition editor (whose job is to buy authors’ works for the publishing house he/she works for). Let’s say you’ve done your homework and have compiled a list of agents or acquisition editors who specialize in the kind of project (commodity) you wish to sell.

An agent or acquisition editor receives hundreds of pitches/query letters each week.  What can you do to catch these folks’ attention?  Use the right bait.  Make every word count.

Whether you’re pitching in person, over the telephone, through an E-Mail, or by old-fashion mail, keep this in mind—the pitch (bait) has three components:
•    who needs your project
•    the unique qualities about your commodity
•    why you are the perfect author for this work

Here are 4 examples:

Genre: Self Help / Relationship / Marriage

The 50% and 60% divorce rates, for first and second marriages respectively, are a wake-up call for the United States 55.2 million married couples.

Through my book, I empower couples to get the marriage they’ve always wanted.

The Marriage Meeting Program: 45 Minutes a Week to Guarantee the Long Term Relationship You’ve Always Wanted shows how to conduct a weekly meeting that increases intimacy, romance, teamwork, and smoother conflict resolution.

A proactive, preventive approach is crucial. Regardless of how good a relationship is, there is always a need to keep it on track and room for it to grow. The Marriage Meeting Program’s step-by-step approach makes it easy to conduct the meetings. Follow-up studies show a 20 to 80 percent increase in marital happiness for couples who implement the program.

I am Marcia Naomi Berger, a psychotherapist, writer, speaker, workshop leader, and instructor of a class for therapists and counselors at the University of California Berkeley Extension. http://www.marriagemaven.com

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Genre: Memoir

There are more than 38-million boom-generation women in this country.  Through my book, I show middle-aged women how to cope with family and social pressures while dealing with their own mortality issues.

My memoir, Oldham Street, is about my journey from east coast to west bearing the pain of a son in prison, the long slow death of my father, the end of my counseling career and a ten-year relationship.  I knocked on a lemon-colored door on a short block in San Francisco.  In the next twelve years, the woman who opened that door, along with the other quirky characters in the neighborhood, inadvertently joined me in a process that brought me home to myself and into a comfortable role as the matriarch of my tribe.

I am Lynn Scott:

• author of A Joyful Encounter: My Mother, My Alzheimer Clients, and Me (a memoir about the abundance of spirit that I found among my Alzheimer clients).

• contributor to eight anthologies of fiction, memoir, and poetry.

• a guest on OPRAH and other talk shows .

http://lynnscottbooks.com

http://lynnscott.wordpress.com

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Genre: Women’s Fiction

Recent survey data indicates that 22% of the 55,000,000+ married women admit to having an extramarital affair. STAYING AFLOAT is the story of one of these women –although she wouldn’t have admitted it if she hadn’t gotten caught.

Crystal Scott is a stable and stalwart, stay-at-home wife and mother, aiming only to run an efficient home, care for her children and avoid confrontation.  Whatever her private thoughts are, she keeps them to herself.  But when her husband loses his job and shows no signs of looking for another, fault lines in their marriage are exposed.  She’s forced to re-enter the workforce, and when her dazzling, dynamic boss takes a personal interest in her, she slips into territory that most women have fantasized about, even if they don’t want to admit it — she morphs into a sex-starved adulteress.

I am Judith Marshall, author of the award-winning novel, HUSBANDS MAY COME AND GO BUT FRIENDS ARE FOREVER. I’ve been writing for thirteen years and am a member of the California Writers Club and the Women’s National Book Association. In addition, I am the President of Human Resources Consulting Services and a member of the faculty of the Council on Education in Management, for whom I teach a number of public seminars on a variety of HR-relates topics. I’m currently working on my third novel, BITTER ACRES.
http://judithmarshall.net/

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Genre: Women’s Fiction / Humor

39%  of the 68 million women employed in the U.S. work in management, professional, and related occupations. Through my book Katie Carlisle, I show women how to hold onto their integrity, humor, and vision . . . in spite of having to fight sexism in the corporate world.

Katie Carlisle has been lucky enough to have a mentor (her boss) who has taken her to a point where her promotion is pretty well guaranteed.  Only then everything goes wrong.  Her beloved mentor leaves the company under a cloud; his successor is a man whom Katie hates and fears; and a downward spiral in her fortunes starts.  This is the story of a smart woman’s struggle to hold onto her integrity, humor and vision in spite of the tumult around her—and her eventual triumph.

I am Margaret Davis.  I have a doctorate from Stanford University in Sociology, with a specialization in the structure and behavior of formal organizations.  I have had two non-fiction books published in my field.  Katie Carlisle, a humorous spoof on everyday life in a large corporation, is a work of fiction.  Yet, as many of my readers have commented, “Everyone who has ever worked in a big company will relate to and love this book.”

I am also the author of Straight Down the Middle, a family drama involving a young mother’s efforts to do what is best for her child while trying to come to terms with her own sexuality.
http://margaretdavisbooks.com/

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Writing Career Coach Teresa will help you practice your pitch
at WNBA’s  “Meet the Agents, Editors, & Publishers”
on March 27, 2010   http://wnba-sfchapter.org

Teresa LeYung Ryan is:
*   Board member at WNBA-SF Chapter since 2004
*    Author with agent and NY publisher
*   Writing career coach
*    Past president of California Writers Club-SF Peninsula Branch
*    Library advocate

Writing Career Coach Teresa is the author of  Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (a 22-day workbook for writers to build their names and attract attention and fans before and after publication).   http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

As a community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan uses her 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
www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com