January 4^th IS THE Deadline for THE SFWC/SFWU/AUTHOR SOLUTIONS

2012 Indie Publishing Contest!

    

     When Michael Cooper brushed off his manuscript and submitted the first 25 pages to the Indie Publishing Contest last February, he never dreamed he'd finally become a published author with hardcover and trade paperback versions of Foxes in the Vineyard available around the world. Not only that, he won editing and marketing support, signed with a literary agent, and now has a new career. And it all happened because he won the Grand Prize in the 2011 Indie Publishing Contest. It's the best $35 he ever spent!

 

So print out the first 5,0 00 words of your book and send them to:

2012 Indie Publishing Contest,

1029 Jones Street,

San Francisco, CA 94109.

 

The deadline is Wednesday, January 4th, so don't delay!  

Details atwww.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=7 

Michael Cooper (seated between Author Solutions' Keith Ogorek and SFWC/SFWU's Laurie McLean) took First Place in the 2011 Indie Publishing Contest. Also see Mikko Azul Baker's story below.

     The 2010 San Francisco Writers Conference was pivotal in my writing career. My manuscript draft for Askari, at the time called Warrior's Challenge, won first place in the children's/young adult fiction category of the SFWC writing competition (the Indie Publishing Contest). It was the boost of confidence I needed to move forward. I've been unemployed for the past two years and put the last of my resources into hiring an editor to help me polish my work. I'm pleased to say that Askari is completed and waiting for the jacket cover art to be completed. Once the artwork is done, I can submit it to Author House, Inc. for publication thanks to the San Francisco Writer's Conference! I'm so excited to share this novel with everyone. 

   The San Francisco Writers Conference taught me so much about being a writer, my craft and even things that I hadn't yet considered like how to market my soon-to-be-published work. The courses on internet branding, social media and the importance of self-promotion were enlightening and empowering. I'm thrilled to have the power to take control of my own marketing campaign and feel that I have the good information to make it work. In addition to information and the award, the SFWC brought me into a group of like-minded friends who are all writers in their own rights. Writing is a lonely business that is often completed in a vacuum. Having connections with other writers and having the opportunity to share with them in their triumphs is pure joy. My good friend, and SWFC roommate Amy Jaurequi, has published her first work Koicto! How gratifying to have been a part of her journey to publication as well!

Thank you to Laurie McLean, Michael Larsen and the rest of the staff at SFWC for changing my life...watch me soar!

Sincerely yours,

    Deadlines are looming, so here is a quick sampling of our scholarships that are still available:

   The Kevin Smokler Scholarship: Write a 250 word article or story telling us why writing is important to you and/or why you want to write. Send submissions to Elizabeth Pomada at sfwriterscon@aol.com.  Winners will be selected by Elizabeth and Kevin. The prize is a full registration to the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference. Deadline for entries is January 2^nd, 2012.

     Guidelines for the Shirley Fong-Torres Scholarship will be posted on the SFWC website in January. This scholarship will be for juniors and seniors in high school in the Bay Area. Shirley was a sparkling and funny presenter at the 2011 SFWC, but sadly passed away a few months later. Her daughter Tina is going to judge the entries for this competition.

     Then there are other scholarships for adults, but time is running out to apply: The Bharti Kirchner-SFWC Ethnic Writing Scholarship, The Alexis Masters Scholarship For Spiritual Writing, and The Reuven Jaffe Scholarship.

     For young adults there is the SFWC Student Scholarship for high school juniors and seniors going to school in San Francisco. Deadline to enter is January 2^nd.

     See the deadlines in the calendar below and go to the SFWC website to get the details for all of these scholarships and see which scholarship may work for you. (Travel, accommodations, incidentals, optional classes and activities are NOT included in these scholarships.)

Don't worry...if you are already registered and win a scholarship, you'll have the option of rolling it over to the 2013 San Francisco Writers Conference! http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102

    Got an item you want featured in the SFWC Auction?  Now is the time to donate 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. The San Francisco Writers Conference is a nonprofit organization and the money raised through this auction helps fund scholarships to the SFWC event each year. Contact Laurie McLean at laurie@agentsavant.com

       It is time to reserve ad space in the San Francisco Writers Conference event program. Space is extremely limited so don't hesitate. If you have a book you want to showcase, a service or product for writers, or just want to support the nonprofit SFWC, consider purchasing an ad in the beautiful 2012 SFWC event program. Get information and a rate sheet by clicking here: SFWC AD SHEET or contact Barbara at Barbara@SFWriters.org for details.

Follow us on TWITTER at: @SFWC  or http://twitter.com/SFWC  

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.

      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 for the calendar should be free (or low-cost) and be of interest to writers.

            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.

Cheers 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, Author Learning Center, John Wiley & Sons, BookBaby.com, Smashwords, Book Expo America, Bookshop West Portal, Joyce Turley, Harvey Pawl, IBPA, Pubslush Press, PublishNext, Notes and Words, StoryWorld, The Review Review, UC Berkeley Extension, ExpertClick, Open Exchange, Berrett-Koehler, Stephanie Chandler, Antrim Group, www.SFWritersU.com, Alan Rinzler, Victoria Hudson, Kevin Smokler, Ann Seymour, ZYZZYVA 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