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SFWC Newsletter for JANUARY 2011
In this issue:
> The Prose Pros: Linda Lee Talks about the Value of Blogs
> SFWC scholarships are still available! Winner of the Victoria Hudson Scholarship is revealed
> SFWC Success Story: 'Why Attend a Writer's Conference' by David Andrew Simmons
> News, Posts & Tweets: Sneak a look at one writer's resolution list
> Your Writer's Calendar: Events, Contests, and Deadlines
> More Interesting Stuff About Writers You Know
JANUARY
ISSUE SPONSOR: AUTHOR SOLUTIONS
With its leading self publishing imprints--AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford and Xlibris, and through strategic alliances with leading trade publishers, such as Thomas Nelson and Hay House, Author Solutions has helped more than 100,000 authors publish, promote, and bring to market more than 170,000 titles. Click the logo and see how they can help you.
2012 SFWC SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST WINNERS...and yes, there is still time to be one of them!
As of today, there are still three adult scholarships for the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference accepting entries: the Kevin Smokler Scholarship, the Alexis Masters Spiritual Writing Scholarship and the Reuven Jaffe Scholarship. If you have more writing talent than money at the moment and want to attend the SFWC, consider entering today. It's easy to submit your essay for consideration...and there's no fee to do so! Go to http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102 for details.
YOUR SFWC QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
Phyllis Nagel wrote to ask: The SFWC web site doesn't make it clear when the editors have a roundtable and is it open to all attendees? Also, is lunch and breakfast for all attendees?
We are so glad you gave us a shout-out, Phyllis. There are so many exciting sessions going on at the conference, it can certainly be confusing. We will be posting the 2012 schedule to the website soon so the format of the event will be much clearer to everyone. In the meantime this information should help:
EDITORS: There are two ways to interact with editors at the San Francisco Writers Conference (in addition to hearing them speak at their in their sessions):
#1: Most of the editors will participate in the ASK-A-PRO session. This will be on Saturday afternoon and it is open to all SFWC attendees for no additional cost. You get to sit at a table with nine other attendees and ask the editor your questions. There will also be publishers and other publishing professionals at the 30 or so tables. There is a lot of good interaction at ASK-A-PRO and excellent information from the experts.
#2: We also have independent editors who will go over your work and offer feedback. It is free and part of the event, but you need to sign up onsite for a slot (one per person) after the SFWC has started. The sign up sheet will be in the registration area AFTER the first session has started...along with signup sheets for optional dinners in the city with SFWC Advisory Board Member Harvey Pawl (who believes no one should be alone for dinner during the conference!)
MEALS:Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and the keynote luncheons on Friday and Saturday are included with your registration. Seating is not assigned so grab the best possible seat when you arrive--closest to the stage in the gorgeous Peacock Room at the Mark Hopkins! You will be doing much more than just eating at these meals. In addition to meeting fellow attendees at your table, the presenters try to sit at the tables to meet you, too.
If you have questions about the SFWC, let us know! If you go to www.SFWriters.org you will see last year's schedule is up as a guide. It will give you a good overview for now. Once the 2012 schedule is up on the site, we will let everyone know via the newsletter and all attendees will be notified by email.
THE PROSE PROS: LINDA LEE, ASK-ME-PC and SFWC Volunteer Director
You Can Do It...Start an Author Blog for the New Year
When I first volunteered for
the 2005 San Francisco Writers Conference, I was simply agog at the talented
authors, agents and editors that surrounded me. Not just the talent, but the
warmth, open arms and help that was given so freely to a total beginner like
me. It left a huge impression on me.
Back then, I spent hours
telling people about blogs and websites, and trying to convince them they truly
did need to get onboard. Today writers already know they want to "get found",
"be heard", "build their tribe" and create revenue streams online.
The San Francisco Writers Conference has grown online along with many of you. We've consolidated our multiple blogs into one blog and switched to what is called a self-hosted WordPress blog site. We run the blog under our own domain name with our own hosting. (Find it at http://sfwriters.info/blog/)
Being in charge of your own website and analytics is important. When you self host your blog, you have much more flexibility with your site. Free sites have lots of restrictions and they are sending your traffic to their sites instead of your own domain. This can impact your web statistics. Once you get some traffic, you can sell ads to other people on your site and create a stream of income for yourself. Of course you can sell your own books on your website, but consider this: You can promote other writers' books and products through your blog and get 2-5% of each sale.
(Read more following the
Calendar of Events below)
EDITORS FROM MAJOR PUBLISHING HOUSES AT THE SFWC
The SFWC is well-known for bringing top literary agents to its Speed Dating with Agents (there will be more than two dozen agents at the event this year). But editors from top publishing houses also flock to the SFWC. As SFWU Dean and literary agent Laurie McLean once said, "Getting a contract with a major publishing house is still the Holy Grail for writers." So make sure you take advantage of the opportunity to meet the editors from major houses at the 2012 SFWC! This year there will be some new faces and old friends of the SFWC including: Allison Lorentzen (Penguin), Heather Lazare (Simon & Schuster), Jill Schwartzman (Dutton), Ethan Nosowsky (McSweeny's), Jennifer Enderlin (St. Martins), Chuck Adams (Algonquin), Valerie Grey (MIRA), Georgia Hughes (New World Library) Jan Johnson (Red Wheel), and many others.
Go to the website to see the complete list: www.SFWriters.org
Why go to a writer's conference?
David Andrew Simmons tells us his story:
In 2011 I attended my first SFWC. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't get a publishing contact, and none of the talent scouts showed an interest, but I will tell you I left with a renewed belief in my work that comes from the satisfaction of commitment. It is too easy to sit and say you must improve on what you have before you go, but I took what I had and smiled confidently with pride. Others I met did the same and with them I felt a feeling that can only be described as family.
Laurie McLean is gathering the biggest and best ever assortment of writing-related goodies for our next online auction. (One of the prizes is a session with a therapist to overcome writer's block!) The auction helps raise the money to award student scholarships and fund projects throughout the year.
Got an item you want featured in the SFWC Auction? It can be a service, a gift item, a rare book...whatever a writer would find irresistible works best! We will talk it up in the newsletter in advance and it will be on the auction site for ten days garnering tons of exposure. Contact Laurie McLean at laurie@agentsavant.com
YOUR WRITER'S CALENDAR: UPCOMING WRITING EVENTS, CONTESTS & DEADLINES
January 8 "Writing
Career Make-Over with Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan" at California Writers Club Redwood Branch
in Santa Rosa, CA $5 for CWC member; $8 non-member
January 12 Roundtable
discussion "Building
Your Writer's Platform with Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan" free Internet
event. Sign up at National
Assn. of Memoir Writers
January 14 8:30a.m. BAIPA Monthly Meeting: Taxpertise for Self-Publishers with Bonnie Lee, of Taxpertise. Get Tax Advice with a Humorous Approach. First Congregational Church, 8 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael. $10 for non-members. For more info and a great newsletter CLICK HERE: http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102598692699-81/January-2012-bookbeat.pdf
January 14 - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada workshop: Content, Character and Connection: The Three Keys to Becoming a Successful Author in a Bottom-Up World. All Saints Episcopal Church, 2150 Benton Drive, Redding, CA 96003 COST: $69 ($89 for nonmembers): includes coffee, box lunch, more than 20 pages of valuable handouts. For questions, contact: programs@writers-forum.net or Sharon Owen 530-547-5303 or sharonowen@citlink.net.
January 16 is the deadline for The Alexis Masters Scholarship for Spiritual Writing. Go to http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102 for details and rules.
January 21 Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors, publishers, agents and readers; California Writers Club-Sacramento Branch Luncheon Meeting, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tokyo Buffet, 7217 Greenback Lane, Citrus Heights, CA.
January 28 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Content, Character and Connection: The Three Keys to Becoming a Successful Author in a Bottom-Up World. CWC Workshop with Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada. Fee range: $75 member early rate to $99 for a non-member. Scholarships are available. Bay Park Hotel, 1425 Munras Avenue, Monterey. For info: www.centralcoastwriters.org
January 29 New Year "Create Your Success Story" Workshop with Mary E. Knippel. $35 WNBA members; $55 non-members http://wnba-sfchapter.org/
January 31 Deadline for entries. 2012 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for works of fiction and nonfiction. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are intended to "encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation." $50 entry fee. Visit the website for more information, entry forms, and complete guidelines. saroyanprize.stanford.edu
February 2 6:00-7:30pm Women's National Book Association SF Chapter members and prospective members welcomed to "Authors Exchange Solutions" discussions with Birgit Soyka or Teresa LeYung-Ryan or Mary E. Knippel at San Francisco Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Room A.
February 16 Writing Intensive MASTER CLASS sponsored by San Francisco Writers University. An in-depth session starts the day before the San Francisco Writers Conference. Katharine Sands will offer her ever-popular session--Pitchcraft! This Master Classes is open to all for just $99. Also on Thursday: Free orientation and mixer for conference attendees. Details and registration coming to the website next week. We will send you details then.
February 16-19 San Francisco Writers Conference at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. Keynotes by Lisa See, Lolly Winston, Alan Rinzler. Once again...100 presenters, 50+ sessions--and accepting just 300 attendees this year. Seats are going fast! For all the juicy details go to: www.SFWriters.org
February 20 WRITING INTENSIVE classes sponsored by San Francisco Writers University. In-depth sessions follow the San Francisco Writers Conference... with some of the most popular SFWC presenters including Bob Dugoni, Michael Larsen, Linda Lee, Carla King and more. Open to non-conference attendees, too. Details and registration information will be detailed in the next SFWC Newsletter.
March 30 Deadline for 2012 BAIPA Book Awards for books self-published in 2010 and 2011. Entry fee: $25 and you must be (or become) a member of BAIPA--an excellent organization which has monthly meetings in Marin. For details, go to http://www.baipa.org/2012/01/02/2012-baipa-book-awards-contest/
-SFWC PARTNER EVENT-
March 24 (Saturday) 2012 Women's National Book Association--SF Chapter presents "Meet the Agents/Speed Dating with Agents" Lynn Henriksen chairs; Teresa LeYung-Ryan, Mary E. Knippel and Tanya Egan Gibson will coach registrants on how to pitch. http://wnba-sfchapter.org/
June 9 & 10 Call for Entries! 3rd Annual New Media Film Festival in Los Angeles California. Judges Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, and The Caucus. Over $25k in prizes. Choose from 17 Categories... All Ages, All Cultures, All Media, and Affordable. Go to www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com and click on submit.
The Prose Pros: Linda Lee on Blogs (continued from above)
When you self-host your blog site,
you can add fun add-ons and make it more functional. When SFWC Co-Director Michael
Larsen wants to write about various topics year round, between conferences, he
simply places them in the appropriate category, so that you the reader can
benefit from all his years of expertise and knowledge...and find it all in one
place.
Michael loves a good handout.
Readers can turn his blog posts into PDF files...and download them right off the
blog. This print-on-demand model allows him to share his passions (and years of
amazingly good handouts) and help the environment, too.
Michael is a pro at blogging
now. If you have something to say, you will quickly become a pro, too. Don't
worry about the technical side. I train people how to use their blogs and help
them learn the technical side. The real gold lies in the content.
So don't overthink it. If you
are scared of blogging, just jump in, have fun and write.
Please visit and bookmark the SFWC
blog here, http://sfwriters.info/blog/. Tell us
how you like it and leave a comment. Comments and conversations are the life
blood of a blog and make it more fun to read for everyone.
If you want to learn more
about blogging, please visit me at http://askmepc-webdesign.com/ I hope to see you in my sessions at the 2012
San Francisco Writers Conference!
NEWS, Postings, Tweets, Blogs and Websites!
STARTING A BUZZ ON TWITTER... Kat Salazar is still educating the SFWC staff on the benefits of tweeting on Twitter and posting to Facebook. She has created a hashtag for the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference so attendees and presenters can tweet about what is going on using #SFWC2012. Of course you can always follow SFWC on TWITTER at: @SFWC (or http://twitter.com/SFWC)
SFWC Facebook: www.facebook.com/SanFranciscoWritersConference
SFWC YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/SFWritersConference or SFWritersConference
San Francisco Writers Conference WEBSITE: www.SFWriters.org
San Francisco Writers University: www.SFWritersU.com (yes, .com not .org!) Take some free classes.
Last call...YOU CAN BE IN THE SFWC EVENT PROGRAM
The window of opportunity to advertise in the San Francisco Writers Conference event program is about to close. Don't hesitate. We need your ad reservation by mid-January. Do you have a book you want to showcase, a service or product for writers, or just want to support the nonprofit SFWC? Consider purchasing space in the beautiful event program! Get information and a rate sheet at http://www.sfwriters.org/sfwcImages/2012Rate%20Sheet_Contract.pdf or contact Barbara at Barbara@SFWriters.org for details.
SEND US YOUR WRITING NEWS for the February 2012 SFWC NEWSLETTER by January 27th!
If you have a success story or writing-related news to share with us and/or our readers, please send it to us at Barbara@SFWriters.org. Event items should be of interest to writers, free or low-cost, and include contact information.
Please note--We email our newsletters and updates to you, so if you change your email address, please re-opt in with the corrected email address. The easiest way to do this? Use the link at the end of this newsletter.
If you enjoy getting these emails let us know and please feel free to pass them along to your writer friends. Anyone can sign up for this free newsletter at www.sfwriters.org.
Here's to continued writing success in 2012...from all of us!
Michael and Elizabeth, SFWC Co-Directors 415 673-0939/ SFwriterscon@aol.com
Barbara Santos, Director of Marketing Barbara@sfwriters.org
Laurie McLean, Director of Finances & Contests; Dean of SFWU Laurie@agentsavant.com
Rich Santos, Director of Registrations & Website Registrations@SFWriters.org
2012 SFWC SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS
Author Solutions, Writers Digest, The Writer, John Wiley & Sons, BookBaby.com, Author Learning Center, Smashwords, Book Expo America, Bookshop West Portal, Joyce Turley, Harvey Pawl, The Review Review, ExpertClick, Open Exchange, Stephanie Chandler, Antrim Group, www.SFWritersU.com, Alan Rinzler, Victoria Hudson, Kevin Smokler, Ann Seymour, ZYZZYVA, Left Coast Crime, Notes & Words, Folium Book Studio and VWTapes.com.
Contact Barbara at Barbara@SFWriters.org or Elizabeth at sfwriterscon@aol.com if you would like to be a sponsor or supporter of SFWC, too.
WEBSITE: www.SFWriters.org Telephone: 415-673-0939