by CWC Marin administrator | Feb 26, 2020 | Classes and Workshops
We are thrilled to welcome back David Corbett, one of the best writing teachers around, to present “Creating Compelling Stories with Three-Dimensional Characters and Four-Corner Conflict” on April 26.
He will be online. You must RSVP (below) to get the link for the meeting.
Desire drives action, action generates conflict, conflict creates suspense, and suspense keeps readers turning pages.
But desire and conflict operate on three distinct levels—external (real-world goals), internal (sense of self, meaning, purpose), and interpersonal (essential relationships). Building meaningful conflict means pitting your adversaries in struggles on all three levels—and interconnecting those three struggles to create narrative unity. And the more deliberate and focused the adversaries’ attacks on each other’s goals, relationships, and sense of self-worth, the greater the conflict and thus suspense.
Who will prevail? How? Why? Extending this to secondary characters, we can create what is known as four-corner conflict, creating additional thematic, dramatic, and moral complexity.
David Corbett is the award-winning author of the writing guides The Art of Character (“A writer’s bible,” says Elizabeth Brundage) and The Compass of Character. He has published six novels, including The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc HollidayHe has taught at the UCLA Writer’s Program, Litreactor, and at writing conferences across North America, and is a monthly contributor to Writer Unboxed, an award-winning blog dedicated to the craft and business of fiction. More at davidcorbett.com.
RSVP
To sign up, fill out the RSVP below and we will email you the link in advance of the presentation.
The presentation is free, however, we are asking for donations, which will contribute to the honorarium for our presenter. You can donate before or after the presentation.
(In-person meetings are $5 for members and $10 for non-members.)
by CWC Marin administrator | Feb 8, 2020 | Classes and Workshops, Events
If you’re thinking about self-publishing, there’s a lot of learn and no better person to learn from than Ruth Schwartz, book midwife and self-publishing consultant. She’ll be presenting on February 23 at 2 pm.
Ruth will explain the basics of how to get the most self-publishing juice from using KDP and IngramSpark efficiently and in the right order, including
- How to set your book up on KDP, and why to do your paperback first.
- How KDP makes it easy to add your Kindle edition once the paperback is set up.
- How to order proofs from KDP.
- Why to set up your book with IngramSpark — and why you may not need to bother.
- How to avoid paying any fees to IngramSpark.
Ruth Schwartz brings more than 40 years of book publishing, design and printing industry experience to every author’s project and has worked on over 120 independently-published books since 2012. She works with authors to turn finished manuscripts into finished books, complete with professional cover design, interior layout, and ebook editions — all up online and available for sale.
by CWC Marin administrator | Sep 9, 2019 | Classes and Workshops, Events
If you want your book published by one of the big publishing houses, you need an agent. How do you get an agent? You write a letter.
Mary C. Moore, a literary agent with the Tiburon-based Kimberly Cameron & Associates, will be presenting “How to Query an Agent” on September 22 at 2 pm.
She will review the most important elements of query letters and critique a few live queries if participants print theirs out and bring them in.
Mary C. Moore graduated from Mills College, Oakland with a MFA in Creative Writing and English in 2012, dabbled in freelance editing and copy-writing before started an internship at Kimberley Cameron & Associates. She quickly fell in love with agenting, and dedicated two years as Kimberley’s assistant, before beginning her own client list, making deals with Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, Macmillan and more.
by CWC Marin administrator | Sep 9, 2019 | Book Tour, Classes and Workshops, Events
California Writers Club Marin will be co-hosting two events this fall as part of Reimagine End of Life SF, a community wide exploration of big questions about life and death. More than 150 artists, storytellers, healthcare professionals, innovators, designers, faith and community leaders, organizations, and individuals will be banding together to amplify the end-of-life conversation.
Most events are in San Francisco, but also in Oakland, Berkeley, Petaluma, Mill Valley, and beyond.
We’ll be co-hosting “Why I Wrote an Assisted Suicide Family Thriller” on October 26 at Mo’Joe Cafe in Berkeley and November 2 in Mill Valley. Author and CWC Marin board member John Byrne Barry will read from his book — When I Killed My Father: An Assisted Suicide Family Thriller — and lead a conversation about end of life concerns — family decisions, dementia, dying, and more.
The book is fiction, but inspired by his mother’s last ten years, as she fell deeper into dementia.
The story follows psychologist Lamar Rose, whose father is suffering from cancer and dementia, and has asked his son to help him die. Lamar refuses, but his father keeps asking, and he relents. Then, at his father’s memorial, Lamar’s sister accuses him of murder from the pulpit of the church.
The event in Marin is at the Tam Valley Cabin, 60 Tennessee Valley Road. It’s free, but Reimagine urges folks to RSVP. After John reads from his novel and talks about what he learned while researching and writing the book, he will lead a conversation about the challenges and unexpected rewards that come with the end of life. Such as:
- What happens when families can’t agree about health care decisions?
- How do we respond when loved ones say they want to die?
- How do we treat dementia patients with kindness — reality therapy or compassionate fibbing?
- How we initiate end-of-life conversations when people refuse to talk about it?
Read more at johnbyrnebarry.com. You can also sign up through our Facebook event page.
by CWC Marin administrator | Jul 14, 2019 | Classes and Workshops, Events
We had such a positive experience the past two summers hosting evening salons that we’re doing it again this summer. Open to a maximum of ten participants, the salons are hosted at a member’s home and everyone gets a chance to read and get feedback.
The first salon, on Thursday, July 25, 7 pm, will give participants the opportunity to read their book pitch — whether to a prospective agent or the blurb on the web.
Each reader will get five to ten minutes total for reading and feedback. The events will be potluck style so bring an appetizer or a bottle of wine and come join us!
RSVP to marincwc@gmail.com for directions and additional information. If you’re one of the first ten people, we’ll guarantee you a slot. We may have time for more.
We’ll host our second salon on August 22, where participants will be able to get feedback on their first pages.
by CWC Marin administrator | Jun 12, 2019 | Classes and Workshops, Craft, interview
Becky Parker Geist will be presenting, “How to Bring Your Book to Life in Audio—and Make It Work for You,” on Sunday, June 23, 2 pm, at Book Passage, hosted by the California Writers Club Marin.
I asked her some questions on the phone earlier this week.
Q: Tell me about your journey to creating your audiobooks business. I don’t imagine that was your goal way back when.
No, it wasn’t. I started out training as an actor, and one of my first jobs after grad school was narrating books for Talking Books for the Blind. Through the Library of Congress.
I was living in Louisville, Kentucky, at the time, also reading scripts for the Actors Theater of Louisville. I fell in love with reading books out loud.
Most of the narrators for Talking Books were contracted one book at a time. Due to my popularity with listeners, I became one of the two narrators they hired full time. I narrated over 70 titles in the two years I was there. Then, in 1984, I had a baby and moved to California.
I wanted to start my own business, but at the time, home studios were not affordable. It was years later when the youngest of my three daughters was taking a voice-over class that I got back into it.
It was a master class, part of the Kids on Camera program, and I thought, hey, I do that. It stirred things up for me. Made me realize that I wanted to get back to that. I talked to my daughter’s teacher. We did a session. He said, “You are SO ready.” We did a demo, he introduced me to his agent, I signed and soon I was getting some work.
But after a few years, I decided it was time to take my career in my own hands. My friend Sandy Shepard told me about BAIPA. I joined in 2011, and started Pro Audio Voices in 2013. Now I do it full time.
Q: Don’t you also do some theater work — stage manager, props master, actor?
Yes, I love all the ways to bring stories to life. It’s good professional work, but audiobooks are my main focus.
Q: Tell us about the process of making an audiobook. You’ve made an agreement with someone. What’s next?
The first step is casting. Sometimes, there’s also pre-production work, like preparing a manuscript that has pictures or exercises — figuring out the best way to handle each item that doesn’t automatically translate to the audiobook experience.
For your average novel, casting means one person, though our company does a lot of multivoiced projects too. What we do depends on the manuscript. For example, we did a zombie book that called out for music and sound effects.
Sometimes we have a book that’s in three parts. As a way of setting it apart, we might put a bit of music in between. We’re always looking for the best listening experience. That’s what sets us apart. We always have a producer, who asks questions and can make recommendations based on years of audiobook experience, like would you like music or what would you like your listener to do in response to this part of your book – things like that.
Q: So you’ve cast the narrator. What happens now?
We’ll do a call where we have the narrator and author together, so that the narrator can ask questions about the book. Learn about things like target audience. The narrator will record the first fifteen minutes. The author listens to it, makes sure we’re on the right track. Then we record the whole book.
We have an editor who goes in and listens to the whole thing as well, takes notes. Maybe the narrator missed some key words. We expect the narrator to send in files that they believe are ready to go, so they do their own edit first.
If I’m narrating, and I’m reading a sentence, and I realize I have the emphasis wrong, I read it again, and then cut the first instance. Then the project editor gets it.
Q: Might that be like a writer who does a final edit of their own work and then gives it to a copy editor?
Very much the same. The editor makes corrections. We sent it to the clients for any additional corrections and adjustments. Fix those and the author listens again.
Then we head into the submission process. We use Author’s Republic as our distribution services—they have the broadest range of distribution. We take a look at their metadata, keywords. Many authors are uncertain about metadata or really need help crafting a stronger book description. We review metadata to offer suggestions to make it stronger if possible.
Q: You need a different sized cover image than for the book, right?
That’s right. 2400 pixels square.
Q: What kinds of books, or what elements of books work best for audiobooks?
It’s easier to answer what kinds of books don’t make good audiobooks. Like coffee table books, because they’re so heavily image-driven. Or reference books, which you don’t read from beginning to end.
Frankly, many nonfiction authors do not take advantage of opportunities that audiobooks provide. For example, creating incentives within the audiobook that makes listeners want to go to the author website. We also provide audio clips that authors can post on social media to drive people to their website.
Q: I’ve heard you do voices—on your answering machine. How you decide how to deal with multiple characters? For example, I have a scene in a kitchen with four characters who are talking to each other, over each other. How to distinguish who is talking in the audiobook?
We look for narrators who are actors, who have those skills to differentiate voices. So you can tell who’s speaking. The general rule is there’s one person narrating the full story. Usually, they do the of all the voices in the scenes. Another actor in the mix can sometimes be jarring for the listener.
We can do overlapping voices, though it’s not something we do often. It’s always a question of whether it will better bring the story to life versus being a distraction.
Q: What would you say to authors who want to record their book themselves?
I often have authors who want to narrate themselves. If they’re a local author, I give them a chance to record part of the book. Then I do the same narration, and have them listen to both. Even if you’re an experienced speaker, it’s a very different thing to work with a microphone in a studio.
Most of the time, they decide to have it professionally narrated.
But sometimes it does make sense for the author. Because they’re very good, or their topic and their voice is recognized by their following.
Q: What if they want to do themselves? What do they need to pay attention to?
There are a couple main categories. First is the physical studio setup. They need to create a space that is quiet enough. They need a decent microphone and professional audio software. And then there’s the learning curve of dealing with all those elements.
As for the performing side, the biggest thing I notice is problems with mouth sounds and audible breathing. Many people are not used to speaking so close to a mic. Listeners hear those sounds and it can drive them crazy.
From the acting perspective, many authors tend to read their material on the flat side. Because it’s so alive in their minds. They’re not used to having to translate that aliveness into verbal expression.
Q: Tell us about the audiobooks market. And marketing to it.
Audiobooks are hot now. Very popular. More and more people are listening. It’s a good place to be. Audiobook listeners are only going to find you if you have an audiobook.
It can be an expensive proposition. And you still have to be found. That’s why we created our Audiobook Marketing Program. We looked all over and didn’t find anything that already existed, so we pulled together a marketing team and built our own.
There are three main elements. First are the video trailers that we use as the hub of the marketing wheel. Second is we send out a weekly ten-minute marketing memo, with marketing tasks that authors can do in ten minutes or less.
For example, one week we might explain how to get your video onto Amazon’s Author Central.
The third part is community—for example, we ask authors to go watch someone else’s video on our Audiobook Authors YouTube channel and comment on that video and share it. Then follow the author. We leverage the community of audiobook authors to help everyone in it.
Q: What will you do at June 23 session at Book Passage?
I will be introducing writers to the audiobook scene. I’ll cover the things an author needs to know to make good decisions about the choices ahead then answer their questions. What’s the process? What are the challenges? Should I record it myself? I’m the audiobook world tour guide, but the audience will help direct where we go.
