We love sharing success stories that come out of our San Francisco Writers Conference. It gave us so much joy to recently learn about one of our alumnae, Janet Garber, who found inspiration and a connection at our 2019 SFWC.
Here’s what Janet had to say:
“In February 2019 I decided to fly to San Francisco for the annual conference to see if I could learn anything useful about finding an agent for my novel, The French Lover’s Wife. I had literally been working on the story–no joke–for about forty years! For the last two years at least I had been searching for an agent to no avail. I’d gotten a few positive comments but found no one eager to take on the book itself. At that point, I had retired from an active career (thirty years) in New York City as a Chief Human Resource Officer for prestigious medical and then legal education firms. I had always promised myself I would finish the novel when I retired. I finished another novel, Dream Job, Wacky Adventures of an HR Manager, a satire, at the same time.
Like many writers, I feel more comfortable in small gatherings. Fortunately, I made a friend pretty quickly at the SFWC. We attended the sessions and practiced interviewing with an editor. It was a little nerve-wracking, but the comments I received were very positive. One interviewer, a publisher, hailed from New York. We quickly saw that we spoke the same language. He appreciated my dark humor. His advice: develop the book into a one-woman show! Either taking it on the road or finding someone else to do so!
I provided him with excerpts of the novel and his comments were very positive. He renewed my confidence. Upon returning home, I applied to She Writes Press and was immediately accepted. The book was published April 11, 2023, and to my surprise, men, as well as women readers, seem to be enjoying the story.”
Congratulations to Janet!
Do you have a success story that happened because of the SFWC? Let us know!
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