California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch

Dedicated to Educating Writers of all Levels

First Friday, Jun 1 – Avoid the Blogging Blues

HOW TO NAVIGATE SOCIAL MEDIA

Without Sidetracking Your Writing Time

 

Erika Mailman

Friday,  June 1, 2018

9-11 AM Coco’s, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights

 

Everyone claims that authors must be involved in social media to help promote their books—but how do you do this without feeling like you’re stealing time away from producing new work? Join us to hear novelist Erika Mailman give tips to engage in short, effective bursts and to grow a follower base. This presentation will be of interest to writers of novels, nonfiction books, short stories, memoir, poetry, and dramatic formats.

Erika is the distinguished author of four historical novels: The Witch’s Trinity, a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book which Khaled Hosseini called “gripping”; Woman of Ill Fame, which is about a Gold Rush prostitute; House of Bellaver, which is a literary ghost story set in Oakland; and now The Murderer’s Maid: a Lizzie Borden Novel. With an MFA in poetry from the University of Arizona, Erika has been a Yaddo fellow and has also served as a juror for the Shirley Jackson Awards. Under the pen name Lynn Carthage, she writes Y.A. fiction. Her websites are www.erikamailman.com and www.lynncarthage.com.

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at Coco’s Restaurant, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights, at the corner of Madison and Sunrise,  starting at 9 a.m. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.

Luncheon, May 19 – Marketing and Monetizing Your Writing Specialty

Marketing Your Writing Specialty: Tips for Making Money

from Your Writing/Photography in Any Genre

 

Lee Foster, Writer & Photographer

11 AM–1:00 PM

10:15 Early Bird Session, Great Starts:
Bring a first sentence or paragraph to discuss and share.  

Cattlemens, 12409 Folsom Blvd, $15 members/$20 guests (includes lunch)

 

It is good to create, it is better to create and publish, and it is best to create, publish, and monetize.
This “truth” is followed by Lee Foster, who will share 11+ tips for writers and guests on May 19.

By studying the steps that Lee has taken, attendees can better plan their futures, whether their genre is memoir, historical novels, fantasy, or nonfiction.

Lee has published travel writing/photography in every major U.S. travel magazine/newspaper. He advocates a strong website and Social Media presence. Lee has 18 books (listed on his Amazon Author Page), 13 of which are “traditionally published.” Two of Lee’s books sell as ebooks in China via Lee’s USA Amazon Author Page. Lee has converted some of his books to audiobooks.

In order to be artistically and financially sustainable, authors and “content creators” need to understand the revolutions occurring and position themselves as beneficially as possible.

Attendee Takeaways
– how to create excellent and artistic content;
– how connect with an audience; and
– how to earn income.

 

 

Luncheon 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Early Bird special 10:15

 

 

Luncheon Information

  • Monthly Luncheons are open to the public
  • Cost is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers
  • The meeting fee includes speaker,  lunch and beverage
  • Cattlemens Restaurant, 12409 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, CA

The restaurant is located just east of Hazel Ave. at the northeast end of the Nimbus Winery complex along Highway 50. Cattlemens offers CWC a spacious meeting room with free WiFi, quality AV equipment, free off street parking and excellent food.


View Larger Map

First Friday, May 4 – Publishing Decisions

“To Publish or not to Publish,

That is the Question.”

with

Al Zagofsky

Publisher, California Update

Friday,  May 4, 2018

9-11 AM Coco’s, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights

 

So you write. Have you been published? Do you want to be published? Do you want to make money from publishing? As someone once said, Be careful what you wish for, as there may be important things to consider. Speaker Al Zagofsky will review emotional, financial and time considerations of being published.

Al teaches journalist techniques to writers desiring to improve. He has had a varied career. In addition to being a prolific writer and oral storyteller, Al has given storytelling seminars. For the past 15 plus years, he has been a print journalist, an online magazine publisher, a storyteller, and a movement awareness teacher. Al is an interesting presenter. He sometimes uses humor in both writing and speaking.  His original training was as a mechanical and project management engineer. He has also worked as a raft and kayaking guide.

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at Coco’s Restaurant, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights, at the corner of Madison and Sunrise,  starting at 9 a.m. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.

Luncheon, Apr 21 – Using Photographs in Your Memoir

Focusing Your Memoir or Family History

Through Photographs

presented by

Jacqueline Doyle

Author and Essayist

 Saturday, April 21

11 AM–1:00 PM

(10:15 Early-Bird Session – Celebrate National Poetry Month)

Cattlemens, 12409 Folsom Blvd, $15 members/$20 guests (includes lunch)

 

Photographs are often all that remains after a loved one has died. They remind us of those we’ve known well and have lost, introduce us to distant relatives who are no longer here to tell their stories, or conjure ancestors we never knew.

Whether you include the actual photographs or not, spending time on written description and written exploration of what you see in family photographs can significantly deepen your memoir or history project. Photographs can be used not only to illustrate your personal or family story but also to:

*  develop your reflections on those close to you

*  explore the lives of those you don’t know, or the early lives of those you do

*  document the past

*  evoke an historical era

*  focus description

*  deepen characterization

*  inspire imagined recreations of the past

*  inspire imagined interventions in the past

We’ll talk about why and how you can use photographs in your memoir or family history, and look at examples from Dorothy Alison, Paul Auster, Sharon Olds, Judith Kitchen, and others.

Bring a photo of a relative in a previous generation (preferably one or two people, or one or two that you can single out in a group photo) for a short writing exercise

Attendee takeaways:

  1. some written description,
  2. avenues for imaginative speculation, and
  3. ideas on how to use what you’ve written.

Jacqueline Doyle is a prolific author who has published memoir essays in The Gettysburg Review, Under the Gum Tree, Full Grown People, NOR: New Ohio Review, Southern Humanities Review, Under the Sun, and many other literary journals. Her work has earned four Pushcart Prize nominations and numerous awards, including Notable Essay citations in Best American Essays 2013, Best American Essays 2015, and Best American Essays 2017. She is a professor at California State University East Bay.

Luncheon 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Early Bird special 10:15

Download (PDF, 349KB)

 

Luncheon Information

  • Monthly Luncheons are open to the public
  • Cost is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers
  • The meeting fee includes speaker,  lunch and beverage
  • Cattlemens Restaurant, 12409 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, CA

The restaurant is located just east of Hazel Ave. at the northeast end of the Nimbus Winery complex along Highway 50. Cattlemens offers CWC a spacious meeting room with free WiFi, quality AV equipment, free off street parking and excellent food.


View Larger Map

First Friday, Apr 6 – Friends in High Places

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

with

 Roger S. Peterson

Editor, Writing Coach, Business Writer

Friday,  April 6, 2018

9-11 AM Coco’s, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights

 

Maintain Your Credibility by Avoiding Language Misuse

From politicians to sportscasters to company CEOs – people who should know better are mistreating the English language. Writers can avoid common blunders by listening to editor Roger S. Peterson.  A long-time business writer, writing coach, and West Coast editor of The Business Book Ghostwriters, Roger will make us laugh, squirm, and roll our eyes at egregious errors made by prominent people while he reminds us of pesky language traps to avoid.

Roger’s list of article credits spans more than 150 titles, including four cover stories and four guest editorials in The Sacramento Bee. He writes extensively on business communication. Roger is also a frequent manuscript reviewer for Berrett-Koehler Publishers and edits book reviews for the Wild West History Association.

Co-author of numerous books, Roger has served as developmental editor on four volumes. He got his start in college textbook publishing where he published 45 books in psychology and education. Now The New York Times and The Harvard Business Review come to Roger for opinions, as has the NBC Nightly News.

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at Coco’s Restaurant, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights, at the corner of Madison and Sunrise,  starting at 9 a.m. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.