RSVP for February 2024 Meeting

Topic: Perfect Pitch

Co-hosted by CWC Marin and the Mill Valley Public Library
Both sessions will take place in-person in the Library’s Creekside Room.
RSVP at the Library website: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11602407
FREE

You may not be ready to make a formal pitch to agents and publishers, but you should always be ready to talk about your book with clarity and confidence. You never know who you will meet. The time to practice your pitch is before you find yourself sitting on the plane next to a publisher. This special two-part event will get you ready!

Session A: Create Your Elevator Pitch. Thurs, Feb 8, 6 – 7:30 pm. Pitch-O-Rama and veteran publisher Brenda Knight will coach us through the basics of a great elevator pitch: what do publishers and agents need to hear? What will turn them off, and what will pull them in? RSVP here: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11602407

Session B: Now, Practice It! Thurs, Feb 15, 6 – 7:30 pm. Stand up before a friendly, informal audience and deliver your 3-minute pitch. If you wish, the audience can provide feedback. CWC Marin President Daniel Bacon will moderate. RSVP here: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11602408

About the Coach

Brenda Knight is a twenty-year publishing veteran, starting at HarperCollins.  She authored American Book Award-winning Women of the Beat GenerationRituals for Life and Wild Women and Books. She is the President of the Women’s National Book Association, which hosts the annual Pitch-O-Rama. Knight has worked with many bestselling authors including Mark Nepo, Phil Cousineau, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and Paolo Coehlo. She is founding editor of Viva Editions, a division of Cleis Press. https://wnba-sfchapter.org/participant/brenda-knight/

 

RSVP for January 2024 Meeting

Topic: Creating Characters that Resonate with Emotional Truth

Wednesday, Jan 17th
6:30 – 8:00 pm PT
Online (Zoom) Only
$5 for CWC Members, $10 for Non-Members

Jan 2024 Meeting -Cleland – Creating Characters

If agents or readers can’t connect with your characters, your book will not sell. You need to know how your characters should dress, decode the nuance of body language, determine what they should say (and avoid saying), and have a clear understanding of how they should act so they connect with readers (and agents) on a deep, meaningful, emotional basis. We’ll explore these crucial concepts while providing tips and tricks to create relatable characters every time.

About the Speaker

Jane K. Cleland writes both fiction and nonfiction, including the award-winning and long-running Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries [St. Martin’s & Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine] and the Agatha-award winning bestsellers, Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists [Writer’s Digest Books]. She is a member of the faculty at Lehman College, part of the City University of New York, a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest Magazine, and the chair of the Wolfe Pack’s Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA) in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She is a frequent workshop leader and guest author at writing conferences, association meetings, and MFA Residencies. Jane offers free monthly virtual workshops on the craft and business of writing, and Mystery Masterminds, a series of small group virtual workshops. See her website for details: www.janecleland.com

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