22-Day Platform-Building Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan helps authors with their pitches at "Speed Dating with Agents & Acquisition Editors" at WNBA's signature event

Andria Wagner
Barbara Brunetti
Belinda “Bee” Hylinski
Brittany Pettibone
Nicole Pettibone
Danny Garon
Diana Franco
Jennifer Hewitt
Joan Steidinger
Kimber Simpkins
Rasa Gustaitis
Ronnie Lovler

How to Pitch a Novel, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, or How-To Book to Agents and Acquisition Editors

Saturday March 26, 2011

This morning colleague Jane Glendinning and I had a chance to catch up since October last year when I met the delightful writers (and saw Sarah Clark!) at California Writers Club Berkeley Branch.

Jane and I had shared  an adventure when Oakland public libraries were in danger of severe budget cuts.  This morning 7:40am our walk from BART Embarcadero station to Sinbad’s Restaurant was another adventure in San Francisco.  Rain. Puddles.  We were on our way to help authors pitch their projects at the WNBA signature event “Meet the Agents & Acquisition Editors”

The reward was working with fellow members at Women’s National Book Association. Jane Glendinning and Birgit Soyka helped Meet-the-Agents Event Chair Judith Marshall and  Chapter President Lynn Henriksen set up while Treasurer Christopher Payne and beloved Vicki Weiland greeted attendees at registration.  VP Kate Britton had worked miracles pulling online registration data.  Mary Jo McConahay took photos (We are so happy for Mary Jo. Two years ago at this same event, Mary Jo met agent Andy Ross.  Her book, Maya Roads, will be published on August 1, 2011.)

Tanya Egan Gibson, Mary E. Knippel and yours truly Teresa LeYung Ryan helped authors fine-tune their pitches.

Karen Folger Jacobs & Diane LeBow I always get a kick seeing you two power-women.

Talking Tagline Coach Elisa Southard couldn’t be there because she was at the Bay Area Travel Writing planning retreat. Diane LeBow also headed to that meeting after the pitch fest.

Mathilde Schmidt and Carla Danziger – great seeing you both.   I met new member Janine Kovac.  Welcome aboard!

Valerie Mihalache, it was wonderful seeing you.

The 11 agents/acquisition editors/publishers included WNBA members Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen (who are co-founders of San Francisco Writers Conference and Writing for Change Conference), Laurie McLean, Jennifer Joseph, Amy Burkhardt, Andy Ross, Brooke Warner, Georgia Hughes, Gordon Warnock, Jeanette Perez, and Peter Beren!

Zoe Fitzgerald Carter, author of Imperfect Endings, gifted us with a candid talk about her publishing journal, the folks who helped her share her remarkable story with readers, and what she’s working on now.

Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan and Agent Laurie McLean

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/