May 2023 saw the first significant expansion of benefits for patrons: the Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) program. This monthly program features literary agents, acquiring and other editors, and other publishing industry professionals who can answer questions that writers may have. The first few months feature literary agents. The program was launched on May 19 with our own
Read MoreBlog
Making Connections for Your Writing Career
By: Bruce Wawrzyniak It’s ironic that I’m writing this on the same day that I’m scheduled to interview someone I met at the San Francisco Writers Conference for my podcast. Or is it? As you try to meet more and more people to further your writing career and promote the projects you’ve done and are
Read More
GET INSPIRED BY ARCHITECTURE #4 Writing as Resistance
Gajin Fujita, Queen of the Angels, 2019 (digital print by L.A. Louvre for True Colors catalogue) L.A. Louvre, Venice CA 90291. GET INSPIRED BY ARCHITECTURE #4 Writing as Resistance By Mary Rakow, Ph.D. What does this painting by Gajin Fujita say about architecture? Where are the buildings? They’re set right between large spiritual forces, both
Read More
Get Inspired by Architecture, #3 Start With What You Love
By Mary Rakow, Ph.D. A friend texts this photo of a bookstore in Seoul. I love the audacity of it. The architecture saying, “Who says bookstores are dead?!” The audacious joy! It’s gorgeous! I wonder who designed it. Online I learn it’s not a bookstore but a library in Starfield COEX, the largest underground
Read More
ARCHITECTURE AND FOCUS, Part 2
By Mary Rakow Many thanks for the comment posted last month, and for this story by Kasia Ekstrand written to that prompt. 200 word max. Set in the past or future. It was half past two in the night. The ladder was rickety and steep. It had eighty nine rungs and no easy handholds. The
Read More
BE INSPIRED BY ARCHITECTURE #1 INTRODUCTION
by Mary Rakow I look at this image every day because it reminds me to focus–in my life, my work, in the kind of person I want to be. This particular image of this particular building in this particular location does this more than any other image I have. Physical buildings can show us the
Read More
(Almost) Everything We Know About Life, We Learned in a Recording Booth
by Ralph Scott & Kendra Murray You’d be amazed what you can learn by sitting in a recording booth for six to eight hours a day. And none of it has much to do with claustrophobia. Because if you’re claustrophobic, chances are you won’t find yourself in a recording booth to begin with. But if
Read More
Why come to SFWC?
Here are 4 great reasons from co-director Lissa Provost why you should consider attending the San Francisco Writers Conference this year! Why come to SFWC? Access to industry professionals The San Francisco Writers Conference offers the highest ratio of industry professionals to attendees available. It’s actually between a 3:1 and 4:1 ratio, a number I
Read More
A Fun Quiz for Authors and Authors-to-be on the business of being a professional author
By Joey Garcia, author platform coach and editor How much do you know about the business of being a professional author? Most of us spend a lot of time in writing classes but don’t make a commensurate investment in learning about the business we’re in. Think of it this way: Every author runs a small
Read More
Best Holiday Gifts for Writers 2023
by Lisa Tener I’m in the midst of holiday shopping and searching for the best gifts for the writers on my list. Having received some of my favorite writerly gifts from writers, I know how special a thoughtful gift can be. Last year, my friend and editor, Stuart Horwitz, gifted me a lovely hammock. I’ve
Read More