25 Friday Nov 2016
December 12, 2016: Holiday Party (note this is the 2nd Monday, not the 4th!)
IN THE NEW YEAR…
February 2017: Diana Hinds on launching your book, PR, and top tips for social media.
March 27, 2017: Mark Reichenthal, attorney for literary matters, to discuss contracts between authors and agents, publishers and others.
22 Tuesday Nov 2016
BY MARDIE SCHROEDER
From the November issue of The Writer’s Life.
At our October meeting, speaker Jonathan LaPoma presented points to consider on screenwriting.
You need strong characters. People have to care about them. What are their inner and outer goals? What’s going on underneath? And goals can change.
You need a theme. It should be concise, structured, and short (100 pages). If you have these, then you have a story.
When getting started, consider working in layers, i.e. rough drafts. Just get the ideas down, and don’t try to write it perfectly at first. Consider the ending first and work backward.
Dialog should move the story forward, communicate information, create conflict, and move the audience to tears, laughter, or other emotion. Dialog should reveal the characters in the way they speak. Don’t have huge chunks of dialog (3 lines max). Show and don’t tell. Do as much as you can without dialog. Don’t repeat anything the audience has just watched happen onscreen.
Being Successful
Write a great script. Enter contests, competitions, and go to film festivals (a great way to network).
Write a short film. Horror and thrillers are easier to get produced than dark dramas.
Learn how to pitch your work. Research production companies that film your kind of script. You don’t need an agent.
Final Note
No matter how well crafted the script, it will end up entirely different on screen once the director, producers, actors, and others put in their two cents’ worth.
Resources
Websites
21 Monday Nov 2016
From the November issue of The Writer’s Life.
Join us Monday, November 28, for the launch of the fifth edition of The Guilded Pen, an anthology of the works of members of the Guild. Because the program will include selected readings of pieces in the anthology, the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., earlier than usual.
Copies of The Guilded Pen will be on sale for $15 per copy. Payment may be by cash, check, or credit card. If paying by cash, please bring exact change.
Registration will be open at 6:15 p.m., with time for networking until the program begins at 6:30 p.m. A Marketing Support Meeting precedes at 5:30 p.m. Admission for all attendees this month is free, and light refreshments will be served, so bring a friend!
02 Wednesday Nov 2016
Posted in Meetings, Membership, Resources
Each month, on the fourth Monday but adjusted for federal holidays when necessary, the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild invites speakers to share their experience as authors, editors, publishers, publicists, and marketing specialists. There is no cost to SDW/EG members for these presentations. A $5.00 fee is requested from non-members.
Speakers and programs in the past two years have included the following:
The Board of Directors is always interested to know of speakers members would like to invite for meetings. To suggest a speaker, send a message to sandiegowriterseditorsguild@gmail.com.
25 Tuesday Oct 2016
SDW/EG member and The Writer’s Life newsletter editor, Laura Roberts, provided the top ten takeaways from Jonathan LaPoma’s presentation on scriptwriting at the October meeting on her blog, Buttontapper Press, shared below.
Last night I attended the monthly meeting of the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild. The guest speaker was Jonathan LaPoma, author of Developing Minds: An American Ghost Story, and winner of 101 screenwriting awards. He spoke about his screenwriting process, as well as giving the audience tips for punching up the drama in a script, and creating great dialogue. Here are my Top 10 Takeaways from his speech: Read more . . .
25 Tuesday Oct 2016
November 28, 2016: Anthology launch
December 12, 2016: Holiday Party (note this is the 2nd Monday, not the 4th!)
IN THE NEW YEAR…
February 27, 2017: Diane Hinds, How to Promote Your Book
March 27, 2017: Mark Reichenthal, attorney for literary matters, to discuss contracts between authors and agents, publishers and others.
17 Monday Oct 2016
Jonathan LaPoma is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, songwriter, and poet from Buffalo, NY. In 2005, he received a BA in history and a secondary education credential from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and he traveled extensively throughout the United States and Mexico after graduating. These experiences have become the inspiration for much of his writing, which often explores themes of alienation and misery as human constructions that can be overcome through self-understanding and the acceptance of suffering. His eight screenplays have won over 80 awards/honors at various international screenwriting competitions, and his novel DEVELOPING MINDS: AN AMERICAN GHOST STORY won the 2015 Stargazer Literary Prizes for best Visionary and Metaphysical Fiction. He lives in San Diego and teaches at a public secondary school.17 Monday Oct 2016
Posted in Meetings, Publishing, Resources
Tags
September’s guest speaker was David Wogahn, author of Register Your Book: The Essential Guide to ISBNs, Barcodes, Copyright, and LCCNs. He spoke about metadata, which is information about information, and focused specifically on its relationship to publishing and marketing books. Here are five helpful tips to take away from his speech:
While we might chalk up metadata as being optional, it’s really not. In fact, metadata is what helps readers find your book online. So if over half of all print books are purchased online (and they are!), then you want to be sure your metadata is helping steer readers to your book instead of driving them away.
Why would you want to research your competition? Two reasons: 1) To learn how to market your book, and 2) To understand the audience for your book. Wogahn noted that successful self-publishers look for audiences first, instead of writing books willy-nilly. So how can you make use of metadata here? Find out what categories you can put your book into on Amazon, check out the keywords your competition is using in their titles and subtitles, learn more about how series books are described, figure out how to best price your book, and even find potential reviewers and blurb writers.
It may sound counterintuitive, but Wogahn recommends writing the back cover copy first. It will help you summarize your book, figure out how to best approach your audience and sell them on the benefits of your book, get your point across quickly, and be crystal clear about what you’re really writing about. Another bonus? You can use the back cover copy as your Amazon description of the book, too!
When it comes to personal metadata, Wogahn mentioned content topics (what you talk about in your book and on social media), bios and “about” pages, imagery, and a branded email address. Accurate and consistent metadata is the key to success, so he recommended starting a file for author bios and another for metadata, so you can be sure every piece of information will be the same across all platforms, including social media, publishers, distribution channels, and aggregators. Remember to stay on topic when blogging and using social media, and continue to develop your brand with an email address that reflects your website’s name.
Metadata is forever, so be sure these pieces of information are absolutely decided upon before you upload any information about your book: Book Title,
Subtitle, Publisher Name, and Assigned ISBN. You should also be sure you own and control each of the following: Domain Names, ISBNs, LCCNs, and Copyrights. If you’ve got each of those pieces of the puzzle put together, you’ll live happily ever after.
BONUS: Check out David’s Self-Publishing Flowchart at http://www.authorimprints.com/publishing/ for a timeline of all the different steps you’ll need to take, whether you’re planning to create an ebook or printed volume.
14 Friday Oct 2016
Posted in Board of Directors, Meetings, Uncategorized
SDW/EG has four positions on its Board of Directors expiring at the end of this year. These are two-year commitments. The Nominating Committee has named the following four members as the slate for the positions:
According to our bylaws, the positions are open to all members, and we will be accepting nominations from the floor during our October 24th general meeting. The election of Board members will also be held at the October meeting.
30 Friday Sep 2016
Posted in Meetings, Programs, Publishing, Uncategorized
Tags
Barcodes, copyright, independent book publishing, ISBN, LCCN, Library of Congress Control Number, metadata, registration
SDW/EG member and newsletter editor, Laura Roberts, shared the following thoughts about Monday evening’s presentation by David Wogahn on her blog, Buttontapper Press. Because she said it so well, I’m letting her words speak for themselves.
Last night I attended the monthly meeting of the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild. The guest speaker was David Wogahn, author of Register Your Book: The Essential Guide to ISBNs, Barcodes, Copyright, and LCCNs. He spoke about metadata, which is information about information, in relation to publishing and marketing books, packing in a ton of information in just an hour. Here are my Top 10 Takeaways from his speech: Read more. . .
