IT’S NOVEL OR NEVER ,,,,
The folks at National Novel Writing Month have devised a plan so simple that even a knucklehead like me has trouble messing it up. My mistake: not taking advantage of the opportunity to stretch out. Me thinks I doth text too much. Hence, the bad facial hair to conceal my identity until I get it write. (more…)
Roger Housden has a new book out. And as we are huge fans of his collections, we want to mention it here. It’s a new anthology of 99 poems with his commentary. It’s available in November. Perfect for the holiday season.
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For an evening of readings, laughter, wine and more wine, why don’t you come to Writers with Drinks after Litquake’s Off the Richter Scale reading on Saturday? OTRS ends at 6pm and we begin at 7:30! Come early for a good table. A line-up of awesome presenters. Check it out.The long-running spoken word series Writers With Drinks has finally gone too far—in every possible direction!
Saturday, October 10, 2009, 7:30 to 9:30 PM, doors open at 6:30 PM
Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St. between Mission and Valencia, San Francisco
How much: $3 to $5 sliding scale, all proceeds benefit the CSC.
Join Left Coast Writers Pamela Bass, Laurie McAndish King and others for an evening of challenging, amorous, dangerous, elegant, amusing, courageous, poignant, and possibly downright foolhardy women’s travel adventures. Local contributors to Travelers’ Tales’ The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009 will read at the Larkspur Library, 400 Magnolia Avenue on Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. (more…)
FCCFREERADIO 107.3 FM SAN FRANCISCO’S ALTERNATIVE RADIO
Lilycat on Stuff
Sunday, October 4, 2009
12-2pm
Host Melinda Adams chats with Linda Watanabe McFerrin on things dark and delectable, including Linda’s upcoming reading at Writers with Drinks on Saturday, October 10th. (more…)
West Marin Review, a literary and art journal sponsored by the Tomales Bay Library Association and Point Reyes Books, is now accepting submissions of literary works and visual art for the 2010 volume. Submissions should be of previously unpublished work. Members of the Review’s steering committee and review boards may not submit works. Submissions for Volume 3 must be postmarked no later than October 7, 2009.
Submission Guidelines
1. Prose (fiction and nonfiction) or poetry: Submit written works on 8 1/2” x 11” loose (unbound, unstapled, unclipped) pages. These pages should not show your name or address. Submit prose and poetry using 12-point type, in either Times New Roman or Courier, with one-and-a-half-line spacing. (Remember, no name or address on these pages.) Please number prose pages. Note: Written submissions will not be returned.
Length:
2. Visual art: Submit an individual piece or up to 4 works of art. Works must be submitted as good quality color prints on 8-1/2” x 11” hard copy. (Note: Art selected for publication will require a hi-resolution scan, 300 dpi, sized no less than 8-1/2” x 11”.) Please note: If you wish art materials returned, please provide a SASE of adequate size with sufficient postage.
3. On a SEPARATE sheet than your submission(s), include a cover page with your name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number, and the title of each work enclosed. Remember NOT to put identifying information on the work itself. The cover page will be removed and a number assigned; submissions will be reviewed anonymously by an editorial committee of West Marin writers, editors, and artists.
4. Submissions should be mailed to: West Marin Review, c/o Tomales Bay Library Association, P.O. Box 984, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Compensation for published material will be in the form of two copies of West Marin Review.
LCW member and how-to writer Elisa Southard loves to stir up new perspectives and take the guesswork of out risky endeavors. In October, Elisa’s article, Make Road Kill out of Three Myths for Beginning Riders, will be published in HelmetHairMagazine.com, the online quarterly magazine serving the female motorcycle fan.
The author of the Amazon best seller, Break Through the Noise, 9 Tools to Propel Your Marketing Message, Elisa cruised into the California DMV with her Motorcycle Safety Foundation certification just this summer, and now cruises on a Honda Rebel 250. Elisa is also working on her second book, Bring Your Inner Newbie Out for professional women launching into a new sport or pursuit.
What is it about mountains—super-high mountains—that is so attractive? Is it the challenge they represent? The excitement they provoke? The wonder they inspire? Even if it weren’t the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, rising 19,304 feet above the Great Rift Valley in northern Tanzania, would be awe striking. I remember seeing it from a distance on a long-ago trip to Africa when I was writing a story on the Lunatic Express for the San Francsico Examiner/Chronicle travel section. I was reading Ernest Hemingway’s classic The Snows of Kilimanjaro at the time. I’m crazy about mountains, but I never dreamed of climbing Kilimanjaro, so I was delighted to hear about the 2009 publication of Michel Moushabeck and partner Hiltrud Schulz’s book, Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa (Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., 2009). If, like me, you are mesmerized by this particular mountain and have no immediate plans to scale it, you should get the book. Moushabeck’s pleasant, diaristic narrative and Schultz’s well-edited images make you feel as if you are along for the climb.
A few years back a dear friend, photographer Alison Wright, author of Learning to Breathe, decided to exercise the body she’d damaged in a major bus accident by climbing Kilimanjaro for her 40th birthday. She called us at a Christmas party where we, her assembled friends, were celebrating many things, one of which was her big day. “Hey, I’m calling you from the top of Kilimanjaro,” she gasped over the phone. I think we were all dazed and impressed. It was hard to imagine her summit: the slow, slow (pole, pole) climb, the altitude sickness, the way your strength is sapped and every step requires tremendous exertion, the exhilaration of making it to the top. Now, thanks to Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa, I get it … in great detail, in living color. The book makes “Kili” accessible. Enjoy the climb.
Other favorite books on mountain adventures:
Self-Publishing in the 21st Century
Saturday – October 10, 2009, 10 am – 4 pm
You’ve plotted, planned, revised, agonized over, edited and re-written three books just to finish one. Still, you can’t find an agent or publisher to carry your project forward. But you don’t want to self-publish, because a “real” writer… a SERIOUS writer… wouldn’t dream of resorting to that. Well, not necessarily. Did you know that many notable writers self-published:
. . .and scores of others, including many of your contemporaries (Dave Eggers, Jeff Greenwald, Louise Hay), some of whom got noticed and eventually picked up by major publishing houses because of their self-published books.
In today’s world of publishing, the advent of the Internet (not to mention the other mind-boggling computer advances) has revolutionized the options for publishing, PR, and marketing. Self-publishing is no longer a dirty word; it’s simply another way, as viable and as valuable as any other, to get your work out into the world.
So how do you go about it without making major mistakes?
During Self-Publishing in the 21st Century, we’ll discuss manuscript preparation, book layout & design, cover design, printing methods (including print-on-demand), binding choices, ISBN, marketing and distribution, fulfillment services and the associated costs. The workshop covers the role of new media marketing opportunities such as social networks, websites and other online marketing tools for self-publishing writers.
Lowry McFerrin learned to love the smell of printers’ ink as a teenager while working for his family-owned, San Francisco-based lithography company. He has served as VP of Distributor Sales for a barcode label manufacturer and today is President/CEO of ProForma Mactec Solutions, a printing and marketing services provider. In addition to supplying these services to publishers such as Lonely Planet Press, Travelers’ Tales, Hunter House Books, Birdcage Books, and Left Coast Writers, Lowry has helped numerous authors self-publish and market their books.
A successful self-publishing journey begins with a small investment in the basics.
Space is limited. To reserve a place please respond by return email to easeintoprint@pacbell.net
Directions will follow.
Comments from past workshop participants:
I…wanted to personally let you know how much I enjoyed the class and your honesty about the whole process. I can see I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it’s better than watching re-runs all night!—Dorothy C., Writer
What fun to be your student! I really learned a lot and your guidance will be invaluable as I (cautiously) make the leap from the wee chair to the brave new frontier of cyber-self-pub, or whatever of the dizzying combinations I end up choosing. It did just what I wanted it to: it gave me a good overview of the options and a sense of the pitfalls for various kinds of “do-it-yourselfing”.—Joanna B., Teacher/Writer
Very, very useful and inspiring! All my questions were answered.—TC, Author
Literary luminaries will join members of Homeward Bound’s creative writing groups to present a special fundraising event from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at The Next Key Center.
“How I Became a Writer … An Afternoon of Inspiration” will feature readings and commentary by a stellar lineup of Marin’s published talent along with residents of Homeward Bound programs who participate in focused writing groups that work on journaling, poetry, and more.
The speakers include Sheldon Siegel, writer of bestselling thrillers.
Tickets cost $50 and include refreshments by Fresh Starts Catering, a program of Homeward Bound of Marin. You may purchase tickets at the door or call 415-382-3363 x211 for advance reservations.
For more information, please contact Homeward Bound at (415) 382-3362 ex. 211 or visit www.hbofm.org.
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