Past Events 2021

Hooking Readers: The Power Of The First Line

Webinar
Month Day 2021

This month we present this online Webinar as our monthly Seminar.

In this interactive seminar we’ll be discovering the secrets of how you can hook readers, wooing them to go beyond the first line, and in fact turn the page, and then the next page, and on and on until they get to The End.

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Presented by: Ina H

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Writers’ Agents Panel 2021

in Panel / PastEvent21

Panel
Monday, September 29, 2021

With the economy only beginning to recover from its worst moments since the Great Recession a decade ago, and with never-ending changes in technology and business models in both publishing and Hollywood, it’s more important than ever now for writers to know what agents want, and how they (and the industry) want it.

This month, TheWGroup will be presenting a stellar bi-coastal panel of top New York and Beverly Hills literary agents seeking writers.

Topics will include…

Moderator: Telly Davidson
Dara Hyde
Lynn Johnston
Alec Shane

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Westside Satellite for Writers – Write What You Don’t Know — Yet

in PastEvent21 / Satellite

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Host Robin Quinn presents author Christina Hoag.

Research is a fundamental part of writing both fiction and nonfiction, yet it is one of the most overlooked yet fascinating aspects of the craft.

Journalist-turned-novelist Christina Hoag will share her experience researching Skin of Tattoos, a crime novel set in the closed world of street gangs, as well as research she had to do to write Girl on the Brink, a novel about abusive relationships inspired by her personal experience. Christina’s message is not to be daunted by writing about the unfamiliar. The key is to write what you’re passionate about.

Journalist-turned-Author, Christina Hoag

Ghostwriting and Written With Collaborations

in Panel / PastEvent21

Panel
Monday, June 28, 2021

Ghostwriting books for the business, academic, self-help, and biographical/memoir markets can be a lucrative way for someone with a firm skill set as a writer to establish their writing business, or just add an extra stream of income to fall back on. And almost every emerging journalist or movie/TV critic hopes to get a job as a “written with” on a celebrity or politician’s memoirs or book of ideas. So how do you go about it and get started? What’s involved, and how do you make your best impression?

This TheWGroup Panel of top experts will address all that and more, as some of America’s top “ghosts” come out into the open, and share some of their top trade secrets. Some of the topics we’ll be discussing include…

Moderator: Telly Davidson
Claudia Suzanne
Roberta Edgar
Michael Levin

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Members-only Green Room June 2021

in Member / PastEvent21 / upcoming

Monday, June 14, 2021
7:00 p.m (Pacific)
Free to members

Steven Sanchez and Gary Young share a program that will be of service to many of you.

This is our free, once-a-month meeting where you can discuss issues that pertain to writing–perhaps your latest book, a question about your writing, a gesture toward collaboration with another writer or publisher, a great book that you are reading, another event that people might enjoy, or whatever. We will concentrate mostly on anything having to do with writing.

Taking Great Photographs for Fun & Profit

in PastEvent21 / Seminar

Webinar
Saturday, June 19, 2021

This month we present this online Webinar as our monthly Seminar.

Today we can take pictures anywhere anytime with our phone. It’s easy to just click and get the shot.

But do you ever wonder later on why that pole is sticking out of a child’s head? Or why is everyone’s face so dark when the sun was so bright?

Can you make adjustments to get better shots on your cell phone? What are the best settings if you’re using a regular digital camera?

Could you take a contest-winning picture? Or illustrate an upcoming article with your shots?

These and other aspects of photography will be addressed during Erika Fabian’s photo-illustrated presentation. She will cover…

Presented by: Erika Fabian

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Westside Satellite for Writers — Talking Sci-Fi Book Writing & Publishing

in PastEvent21 / Satellite

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Beginning to write in retirement, Carole Stivers PhD managed to get a book deal with Penguin Random House, and her sci-fi novel The Mother Code was one of the most highly anticipated titles of 2020. Her book was even optioned by Hollywood.

For our May TheWGroup Westside Satellite, Host Robin Quinn will interview Stivers about her experience of publishing during a pandemic and the tools of the writing trade she has learned. How did Stivers go from a science career in medical diagnostics to an agented literary contender?

Getting Ready to Publish Your Book

in Panel / PastEvent21

Panel
Monday, May 19, 2021

Getting ready to take your book out to the world? Wonderful! Got questions about how to go about getting published? Such as whether to publish yourself or try for a traditional publisher, and what the steps are for each? Our experts will talk about these questions and more, and provide a number of handouts to help you take concrete steps to get your unique voice heard.

Specifics include…

Speakers:
Gerald Everett Jones
Ina Hillebrandt

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Westside Satellite for Writers – Meet Jennifer Village Well Books – new bookstore

in PastEvent21 / Satellite

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Westside Satellite hostess Robin Quinn interviewed Jennifer Caspar, the Founder and Owner of Village Well Books & Coffee, a new independent bookstore in Culver City, California.

Jennifer, a community-minded bookstore owner opened her store in the middle of the pandemic last year, at first operating online and now welcoming customers in-store at recommended levels.

Jennifer Caspar, owner of Village Well Books & Coffee, a new (in 2020) Independent bookstore in Culver City, California

Writing Successfully For Children In Today’s Complex Time

in Panel / PastEvent21

Panel
Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Are you working on a children’s book, play, TV or film project? Have you got questions about age appropriateness, for writing your story and developing characters? For marketing? About the form young people are choosing to read books, and is that different in this time of quarantine?

Our expert panelists will talk about these questions, and more.

Moderator: Ina Hillebrandt
Jennifer Murphy
Marilyn Scott-Waters
Laura Taylor Name
Mara Alpert
Elizabeth Martin
Gary Young

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TheWGroup Reads Its Own – February 21, 2021

in PastEvent21 / Reads

TheWGroup Reads Its Own – February 21, 2021 Sunday, February 21, 2021 — The first of two RIO this month. Free to all — You don’t have to be a member to attend For the second time, TheWGroup’s biannual Reads Its Own program was online via Zoom. Because we aren’t bound to to physical limitations of geography while online, we had so many readers that we’re decided to do this twice this month! TheWGroup members come from all sorts of backgrounds. Ask a member what he or she is working on writing and you are bound to be surprised by […]

Write More in 2021

in Panel / PastEvent21

Panel
Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Have your creative juices and energies dried up this past year? This month, we bring you a special program, starring the eminent Oakland-based career and personal coach and bestselling author, Dr Marty Nemko.

Marty Nemko has written 13 books — half for major publishers and half self-published, plus over 4,000 well-published articles.

How does he do it? He’ll tell all, and try to answer all your questions.

Our goal is for each of you to leave with at least one new idea for becoming more productive.

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New Opportunities writing In Film & TV 2021

in Panel / PastEvent21

Panel
Wednesday, January 27, 2021

For years, new writers of novels, biographies & memoirs, and nonfiction advice books have had to do a cost/benefit analysis — should we self-publish or partner with a small or specialty press to get our work out there — or should we try for an agent and a shot at the majors?

Now, with the rise of digital and streaming platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Vimeo, and the continued expansion of indie film and film festivals, aspiring filmmakers and TV content creators are faced with similar issues and opportunities:

• What are the pros and cons of going the independent, “self-published” route in indie film and digital TV?

• More

Moderator: Telly Davidson
Maggie Viale
Joel Eisenberg
Chris Redish
Matt Stoner
Jeff Porter

[To read more, click the title!]