CWC-Sacramento Meeting

Saturday, July 19th, from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm at

The Unitarian Church, 2425 Sierra Blvd, Room 7/8 (Park in the Rear) Sacramento

Karen will facilitate the Open Poetry segment, drawing on her experience at similar events.
Attendees are asked to respect others and help create a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere by following these “Rules of Engagement”:

• Practice ahead of time to ensure you won’t be cut off by the timer!
• Poetry reading sign-ups will be on site. You Must sign up by 1pm.
• Each poet will have a 3-minute time limit.
• Time will begin when you start to speak.
• The 3-minute limit includes reading the title(s)
• Readers may read multiple poems.
• There will be no time to
• explain; let your work speak for itself!

WOW! This could be a LOT of FUN!

Karen Holladay Durham.

Karen Durham is a long-time member who has presented to the club many times, Karen writes in several genres, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Karen will also present a micro-workshop entitled “Cross-training for Improved Writing Health“

Finaly, we will close with the Micro-Workshop Query Work with Michael Larsen. Due to time constraints, we missed this in the last Saturday meeting. Please note Michael’s contact details are as follows;

Michael at epml@aol.com.

We have to pay for this room, so we have to charge an admission fee of $15. You can pay on the day or get your ticket below.

Book online here

CWC-Sacramento Meeting

Saturday, June 21st, from 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm at

The Spaghetti Factory, 1625 Watt Avenue, Sacramento

Publishing your own book can be every bit as impactful and potentially more lucrative than working with a traditional publisher—but you have to do it professionally. Learn how in this hands-on workshop that will cover everything from understanding a successful financial model, assembling your team, exploring your distribution options, pricing your book competitively, optimizing your metadata, getting reviews, developing your marketing plan, and much more! Whether you’re doing picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, or YA, the framework of how you professionally publish is the same—though some of the financials and processes are different.

This interactive session will give you the tools—and the roadmap—to be a successful Author Publisher.

Detailed information for Andrea’s presentation is coming soon

What you will learn from Heather

• How to prepare financially for publishing your own book
• Who you will need to help you with the process
• Options for distributing your books to readers
• How to develop a marketing plan
• Why reviews are important and how to secure them

Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, Chief Executive Officer

Andrea began her tenure as CEO of the Independent Book Publishers Association in November 2022. Prior to that she was the founding vice-president and publisher of HarperCollins’ lifestyle imprint, Harper Horizon. Andrea spent fifteen years in sales, digital media, and business operations at Workman Publishing and was Director of Content Acquisition at Ingram Content Group. She also formerly served on the board of the Book Industry Study Group and remains active in multiple industry organizations including the Authors Guild, SCBWI, BMI, and ALA and others.

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Plus: Micro-Workshop Query Work with Michael Larsen

This event is a luncheon with a buffet served. The menu includes;

• Salad
• Spaghetti Marinara Sauce (Meatless Red Sauce)
• Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
• Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter
• Ice cream desert

Coffee is included but all other beverages must be paid separately.

Book online here

CWC-Sacramento Meeting

Saturday, May 17th, from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm at

The Unitarian Church, 2425 Sierra Blvd, Room 7/8 (Park in the Rear) Sacramento

Former Big Five editor Heather Lazare pulls back the curtain on what really happens when you book goes out on submission to a publisher. When your literary agent submits your proposal or manuscript, there are dozens of decisions made before an editor is allowed to make an offer—what are those and who’s involved? We’ll talk about all of this and more, and leave plenty of time for questions!

What you will learn from Heather

• What “comp titles” are and what role they play on the financial side of publishing.
• What to ask when you get a chance to meet with an editor.
• What does a publisher mean by “platform” and what role it plays in the acquisition process.
• Don’t quit your day job—even if you get a six-figure book deal.
• What is an advance and how does an author earn out their advance.

Heather Lazare is a developmental editor and publishing consultant who specializes in editing adult fiction. She worked at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and both Random House and Simon & Schuster before starting her own business in 2013. She teaches courses on publishing for Stanford Continuing Studies and is the director and founder of the Northern California Writers’ Retreat. Visit her online at heatherlazare.com and norcalwritersretreat.com.

Plus: Micro-Workshop Query Work with Michael Larsen

We have to pay for this room, so we have to charge an admission fee of $15. You can pay on the day or get your ticket below.

Book online here

CWC-Sacramento Meeting

Saturday, April 19th, from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm at

The Unitarian Church, 2425 Sierra Blvd, Room 7/8 (Park in the Rear) Sacramento

A short story versus the novel or novelette. What’s involved? How to get published in a magazine or journal. The SS as a major marketing tool.

What you will learn from Michael

• How to write a short story: the Art
• How short is short? The Craft.
• Genres: Does it matter?
• Who decides if it is ready for publication?
• Finding a publisher?
• Driving readers to your website.

Michael Barrington,  MA., M.Ed., Ph.D., is from England, has a Diploma in Marketing from Harvard, written twelve books, published two collections and more than 60 short stories in the US, UK and Europe. He has taught workshops on the craft of the Short Story, and Marketing. He is an assistant editor for The Brussels Review, and blogs on his website www.mbwriter.net. He is the VP of CWC Mt Diablo.

Plus: Micro-Workshop “Your Author Platform” by Christina Brabham and Query Work with Michael Larsen

Members who sign up by Friday, April 18, will receive a copy of Agent Michael Larsen’s Superpower 2. Based on this article, please come ready to share literary and publishing goals. These goals will determine how and whether a letter and a proposal are needed.

We have to pay for this room, so we have to charge an admission fee of $15. You can pay on the day or get your ticket below.

Book online here

CWC-Sacramento Meeting

Saturday, March 15th, from 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm at

The Spaghetti Factory, 1625 Watt Ave, Sacramento, CA 95864 Open to the Public!

Writing Coach and MFA faculty member, Sierra Nevada College

Imprudent, impulsive, poorly planned, wildly exciting—writing a short story is, as Lorrie Moore once pointed out, like having a brief intense love affair. Whereas a novel is a marriage. Marriages are fine and well, but if you’re writing and reading for fun, you might want to play the field a bit—fall in and out of love a few times, maybe get your heart broken without destroying your life. In this talk, we’ll focus on the craft (and process) considerations specific to this most exhilarating of literary forms.

A streetcar named desire?

What you will learn from Peter

• Short stories require play and improvisation. They resist planning.
• The ingredients and basic approach that ensures the play goes well.
• Short means move fast – the crucial role of information management.
• The key craft difference between shorter short stories, and longer short stories.
• How to get end a short story? The role of theme and a surprisingly early narrative climax.

Popular writing coach and instructor Peter Mountford is the author of the award-winning novels A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism, and The Dismal Science. His work has appeared in the Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Atlantic, New York Times (Modern Love), The Sun, Granta, Guernica, and elsewhere. He teaches at UNR’s low-residency MFA at Lake Tahoe. His collection of stories Detonator, will be out in fall, 2025. Learn more: mountfordwriting.com

Tickets are available here

Tickets are $30 if you buy 3 days before the event. Menu selection must be chosen at time of purchase. The buffet includes salad, bread, ice cream, and coffee. Walk-ins and late purchases will be $35.