SFWC Presenter Handouts 2022
Welcome to the San Francisco Writers Conference 2022.
This page will provide links to handouts from presenters as they become available.
Links to 2022 Handouts:
Researching the NonWestern Voice:
Researching for Non Western Elements
Writing for Hollywood Summit:
TAKING BOOKS TO FILM – Rocky Lang
Questions for Fantasy & Sci-Fi Worldbuilders:
Questions for Fantasy World-Building– CS Lakin
What is Microtension:
What Microtension Is– CS Lakin
Using your 21 Senses as a Writer
21 Senses Writers Can Utilize in Their Writing – Beth Barany
Here is a wealth of information available from the 2020 SFWC. Enjoy!
Links to 2020 SFWC Handouts
Make This Your Best Writers Conference Ever (Lissa Provost)
Publishing Options: Traditional, Self, Hybrid & Partner Publishing: How to Choose! (Kathy Meis, Mark Coker, Christopher Locke, Gordon Warnock. Moderator: Carla King – with appearances by Robin Cutler, Brooke Warner, Kathy Meis, and Chelsea Bennett)
Breakout 1
Fiction Session: Premise: Make or Break Your Story (C. S.Lakin, Jordan Rosenfeld)
Nonfiction Session: Craft of Writing Memoir preview (Brooke Warner)
Mktg/Biz Session: Master-pitch Theatre preview (Katharine Sands)
Craft Session: Crossing Genre Boundaries preview (Jonathan Maberry)
BREAKOUT 2
Fiction Session: First-Page Critique (Amanda Clay, Meredith Jaeger, Heather Lazare, Monica Wesolowska)
Nonfiction Session: First-Page Critique (Mary Rakow, Brenda Knight, Paul S. Levine)
Mktg/Biz Session: Find Your Tribe of Readers (Grant Faulkner, Paul Kilpatrick, Brian Meeks. Moderator: Joey Garcia)
Children’s/YA Session: The Dos and Don’ts of Writing YA: What Agents Love & Hate (Karly Caserza, Jennie Kendrick, Dorian Maffei)
Friday, Feb. 14th, 2020
Breakout 3
Marketing/Biz Workshop: Develop Your Online Brand: The About Page (Elisabeth Kauffman)
Fiction Session: Your Cast of Characters (Amanda Clay, Monica Wesolowska, Dorothy Hearst, Tanya Egan Gibson)
Nonfiction Session: Craft of Writing Nonfiction (Seth Greenwald, Barbara Santos, Joey Garcia)
Mktg/Biz Session: Audiobooks for the Win! (Ransom Stephens, Kevin Tumlinson)
Sponsored: The Year Before You Publish: Positioning Your Book for Success (Kathy Meis-Bublish)
Special Youth Session with Armand Baltazar (Open to the Public by Reservation)
Breakout 4
Marketing/ Biz Workshop: Kindness Marketing: How to Influence Others, Establish Trust & Build Lasting Relationships (Jill Lublin)
Publisher Workshop: Publishing Popular Fiction: What Makes it Commercial (Jodi Warshaw)
Fiction Session: Crafting High Stakes for Your Protagonist (Jordan Rosenfeld, Meredith Jaeger, Tanya Egan Gibson)
Nonfiction Session: Self-Publishing for Nonfiction (Carla King, Chelsea Bennett, Robin Cutler)
Children’s/YA Session: How to Write Like A Kid When You’re Not Anymore: Creating a Compelling Kidlit Voice (Mary C. Moore, Eric Smith)
Sponsored: Ebook Preorder and Presales Strategies to Grow Your Readership (Mark Coker-Smashwords)
Breakout 5
Marketing/Biz Workshop: What Happens to Your Book Inside the Newsroom (Joey Garcia)
Fiction Session: Terrify Your Readers (Jonathan Maberry, Ransom Stephens, Tanya Egan Gibson)
Nonfiction Session: Podcasting Power: Become a Guest or a Host (Mark Coker, Carla King, Kevin Tumlinson)
Mktg/Biz Session: Creating a Sustainable Book Promotion Platform (Elisabeth Kauffman, Jill Lublin, Claire McKinney)
Sponsored: All About Women’s National Book Association-SF chapter
Tech Session: Building a Bestseller Website: What you Need to Get Started (Linda Lee)
Breakout 6
Marketing/Biz Workshop: Amazon Ads for Fiction and Nonfiction Authors (Brian Meeks)
Fiction Session: Infusing Theme into Your Story (Victoria Zackheim, Anne Perry, Cara Black, Ransom Stephens)
Nonfiction Session: Nonfiction Book Deal Success Stories (Andy Ross, Liz Kracht, Meghan Stevenson, Paul S. Levine)
Mktg/Biz Session: Traditional Publishing is Thriving in New York and Everywhere (Rachelle Gardner, Amber Oliver. Moderator: Katharine Sands)
Sponsored: All about Distribution (Robin Cutler-IngramSpark)
How to Use Self-Hypnosis in Your Writing (Suzette Standring)
Breakout 7
Marketing/Biz Workshop: Creating the Perfect Platform (Rusty Shelton)
Marketing/Biz Workshop: Perfecting the Soundbite (Joey Garcia)
Fiction Session: Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing (Amanda Clay, Anne Perry, Victoria Zackheim, Monica Wesolowska)
Nonfiction Session: Advanced Book Marketing for Influencers (cancelled)
Mktg/Biz Session: Book Auctions: What Are They Really Like … a dramatization (Cara Black, Heather Lazare, Katharine Sands)
Sponsored: 10 Things to Know about Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication (Chelsea Bennett-Lulu)
Saturday, Feb. 15th
Breakout 8
Writing for Hollywood Summit Screenwriting: Perfecting the Mechanics (Christine Conradt, EJ DeBrun, Sarah Granger, Paul Zeidman)
Breakout 9
Mktg/Biz Session: Social Media 101: The Ever-Changing Landscape and How to Make It Work for You (Claire McKinney)
Craft Session: Practicing the Craft: Veterans from The Writers Grotto present their new Lit Start series to Help You Write Action, Character, and Dialogue (w/prompts) (Connie Hale, Laurie Ann Doyle, Dorothy Hearst)
Fiction Session: Putting the Mystery in Mysteries (Cara Black, Anne Perry, Amanda Clay. Moderator: Victoria Zackheim)
Mktg/Biz Session: Build Your Author Business Plan (Nina Amir)
Writing for Hollywood Summit Books to Screen: Turning Books into Movies, TV and Streaming Successes (Rocky Lang, EJ DeBrun, Aya DeLeon, Jonathan Maberry, Bob Saenz)
Poetry Summit: Habit Breakers: Writing (on the) Outside of the Box (Richard Loranger, Joyce Jenkins)
Children’s/YA Session: Picture This! How to Write Picture Books That Reach a Wide Audience (Pam Berkman, Monica Wesolowska)
Tech Session: WordPress Websites for Non-Techies: Creating a Website That Sells Books (Linda Lee)
Breakout 10
Mktg/Biz Session: How to Pivot Your Brand Using a Pen Name (Jodi Warshaw)
Craft Workshop: Enrich Writing with Imagery (Jordan Rosenfeld)
Fiction Session: A Sense of Place (Meredith Jaeger)
Nonfiction Session: Marketing & Publicity for Subject Matter Experts (Kira Ming, Kevin Tumlinson, Joey Garcia)
Writing for Hollywood Summit Writing for Television (Christine Conradt, EJ DeBrun, Aya DeLeon, Cali Gilbert, Jonathan Maberry)
Poetry Summit: Editing for You & the Reader (Andy Jones, Maw Shein Win)
Children’s/YA Session: There’s Nothing Middlin’ About Middle Grade: Agents Share What’s Hot & What’s Not (Karly Caserza, Jennie Kendrick, Emma Sector)
Nonfiction Session: Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Sells (Liz Kracht, Karla Olson, Andy Ross)
BREAKOUT 11
Craft Workshop: Editing & Polishing Your Prose (Jill Roberts & Jacob Weisman)
Mktg/Biz Session: Rise and Shine! Rising to the Top of a Publisher’s Slush Pile (CamCat Publishing’s Sue Arroyo)
Fiction Session: Crafting a Compelling Protagonist (Aya DeLeon, Jordan Rosenfeld, Heather Lazare, Meredith Jaeger. Moderator: Tanya Egan Gibson)
Nonfiction Session: The Profitable Author: Revenue Streams for Nonfiction (Karlyn Hixson, Seth Greenwald, Kira Ming, Paul Hobday)
Writing for Hollywood Summit: Filmmaking: Breaking Into Hollywood (Steven E. Browne, Sarah Granger, Rocky Lang, Bob Saenz)
Poetry Summit: Pathways to Publication (Diane Frank, Jennifer Joseph, Jim Azevedo)
Children’s/YA Session: What Makes a Great Kidlit Series (Alec Shane, Eric Smith)
Craft Session: Graphic Novels – When Words are Not Enough (Em Lysaght, Jonathan Maberry, Gordon Warnock)
Breakout 12
Fiction Session: First-Page Critique, Part 2 (Dorothy Hearst, Heather Lazare, Michelle Millet, Monica Wesolowska)
Nonfiction Session: Harnessing the Power of Writing for Public Speaking Success (Seth Greenwald)
Writing for Hollywood Summit: The Business of Screenwriting (Phil Cohen, Christine Conradt, Barbara Hall, Rocky Lang, Bob Saenz)
Poetry Summit: Cultivating Your Market (Joyce Jenkins, Jennifer Joseph)
Children’s/YA Session: Top 10 Truths About YA Publishing (Rachel Diebel, Sylvan Creekmore, Eric Smith, Tanya Egan Gibson)
Mktg/Biz Session: How to Edit Like an Agent (Liz Kracht, Georgia Hughes. Moderator: Joey Garcia)
Craft Workshop: Making Silence Part of Your Writing Practice (Mary Rakow)
Sunday, Feb. 16th
Breakout 13
Fiction Session: Moments of Brilliance: Three Techniques for Creating a Sticky Story (Rebecca Hunter)
Mktg/Biz Session: Ask Madame Counselor: Legal Clarity for Authors (Alex Tillson)
Mktg/Biz Session: Building Authority as an Expert for Nonfiction Writers (Nina Amir)
Sponsored: How to Work with a Virtual Author Assistant (Nancy Cavillones, Carla King)
Mktg/Biz Session: Getting Read and Getting Fed! (Rob Weinstein, September Williams, Cedrick O’Bannon, Edward Hasbrouck, Brigid O’Farrell – National Writers Union)
Craft Session: Writing a Realistic Crime Novel (Adam Plantinga)
Breakout 14
Fiction Session: Learn from the Masters: Techniques of the Literary Greats (Laurie Ann Doyle)
Craft Session: Cross-Genre Boundaries (Louisa Morgan)
Mktg/Biz Session: How to Market Your Self-Published Book … a sneak peek (Kevin Tumlinson)
Sponsored: How to Get Book Reviews and Build Buzz with your Self-Published Book (Christopher Locke)
Sponsored: How to Attract Early Readers and Turn Them into Superfans (Paul Kilpatrick)
Craft Session: Story Power: From Traditional Folklore to Personal Narratives (Kate Farrell)
Nonfiction Session: Food, Travel, Lifestyle: How to Turn Your Adventures into Books (Carla King, Carole Bumpus, Barbara Santos)
Sponsored: All about the Editorial Freelancers Association
Breakout 15
Fiction Session: World-Building Past & Future (Louisa Morgan, Alex Tillson, Ransom Stephens)
Fiction Session: What’s Hot in Romance (Amanda Clay, Rebecca Hunter)
Craft Session: Where to Begin: How to Develop and Write Your Book … a sneak peek (Anne Perry, Victoria Zackheim)How to Publish Independently without an Agent or Publisher (Mark Coker, Robin Cutler, Kathy Meis. Moderator Carla King)
Book Written, Conference Attended, Notes Taken … Now What? (Darlene Frank, Kristen Caven, Kimberly Edwards. Moderator: Carole Bumpus – California Writers Club)
Fiction Session: What’s Missing: How Absence Can Drive Narrative (Laurie Ann Doyle, Louise Nayer, Eleanor Vincent, Lyzette Wanzer)
Nonfiction Session: Rad American Women: The Phenomenon (Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl)
Plenary Session: Taking the Conference Home with You (Carla King & Laurie McLean)