⸞ 1 ⸟

Join us on Monday the 25th

when Karl Keating shares

with us his expert views on

book covers.

Using real-life examples of

"the good, the bad, and the

blah," he will show us what

flies and what flops in

graphics, typography, and

word choice.

Whether you design your

own covers or outsource

the work, you will learn why

your book covers are your

most important marketing

tools.

⸞⸟

Author Karl Keating, our

next presenter at the Feb-

ruary 25 meeting.

He has authored fifteen

books that have sold, cu-

mulatively, nearly half a

million copies. He writes in

multiple genres: religion,

history, science, the out-

doors, publishing, and fic-

tion. He is finishing a se-

ries of four books on hiking

and backpacking, and a

collection of quotations

from Samuel Johnson.

Those five books should be

published by summer

2019.

Dedicated to supporting local authors since 1979

Let’s Welcome...

to our new members

Maureen Stratton

John Yamada

Lara Yamada

We are thrilled to have you with us!

February 2019 www.sdwritersguild.org

The Writer’s Life

Note from the Editor:

Deadline for submissions to

The Writer’s Life is the 28th of

each month, for publication no

later than every 2nd Tuesday.

Please e-mail copy and photo-

graphs (preferably .jpg file) to

Patricia Bossano

editor@sdwritersguild.org

Thank You!

Inside this issue:

What You Missed 2

Officially 2

Upcoming Events 2

Tip of the Hat 3

The Month of Love 3

About SDWEG 4

Karl Keating, Author

A warm

Michael Herman

Cheryl Lendvay

Phyllis Morgan

He hopes later in the year

to write a beginner's guide

to Dante's Divine Comedy

and an account of walking

Italy's Cammino di San

Benedetto.

⸞⸟

“Many self-published or

‘indie’ authors give insuffi-

cient attention to their

books' covers, and then

they're surprised when their

books don't sell as well as

expected. However fine their

writing, their words can't be

seen if prospective buyers

can't get past the covers.”

Odin is considered one of the most enig-

matic characters in Norse mythology, per-

haps because of the glaring contradic-

tions attributed to his character; A seeker

and giver of wisdom. The di-

vine patron of rulers, and out-

laws. A war-god, but also a

poetry-god. A ruler of deities,

and a solitary wanderer—and

Perceiver of the Runes!

A writer may display any one

of his qualities, but a writing

community embodies Odin

himself. For 40 years, the San Diego Writ-

ers and Editors Guild has recognized

those attributes as they surface among

its members and the community.

The Odin Award has been presented to

San Diego wordsmiths whose body of

work has stimulated the writing arts with

bold, distinctive contributions.

As the Guild prepares for our

40th anniversary, we are also

evaluating nominations for this

year’s recipients of the Odin

Award.

There is more to come on this,

and as the date approaches, look for

posts highlighting past recipients here:

https://sdwritersguild.org/the-odin-

award/

On the horizon...

⸞ 2 ⸟

What you missed… By Mardie Schroeder

Leon Lazarus commanded our attention with his presentation

on effective marketing through irresistible e-mails, to build rela-

tionships and credibility.

E-mails keep your name in front of those you want to communi-

cate with, they are inexpensive, and they drive interest to your

website. Consider that 91% of users check their e-mail every

day—that’s better than social media!

Following is what we took from Leon’s presentation:

* Perfect the subject line with 65 characters or less, use strong

action words and numbers.

* Be personal, use a natural voice, use the word “you,” reward

readers (a tip, a discount, etc.)

* We must write our e-mails to a 6th grade level; check spelling,

grammar, punctuation, and readability.

A Calendar of SDWEG Events is now

available on the Guild's website.

Members who have upcoming events

are invited to submit information in-

cluding date, time, address, title of the

event, related image, and brief descrip-

tion to webmaster@sdwritersguild.org

for inclusion in the calendar.

February 9: Renowned poet Quincy Troupe (past Odin Award

recipient) will read from his new books Ghost Voices: A Poem in

Prayer, and Seduction: New Poems, 2013-2018, at D.G.Wills

Books, 7461 Girard Avenue, La Jolla, at 7PM.

www.dgwillsbooks.com

February 18-21: Organizers of the Point Loma Nazarene Univer-

sity Writer's Symposium by the Sea announce the 24th annual

symposium to take place Feb 18-21, at Point Loma Nazarene

University. For more information please visit: https://

www.pointloma.edu/events/24th-annual-writers-symposium-

sea

February 21: Reading, signing & discussion of award-winning

Seven Ghostly Spins. Patricia Bossano will be hosted by Adam

Ross, at Young Hickory, East Village, 810 13th Street, San Die-

go, 6PM. Hope to see you there!

https://www.facebook.com/events/312248542730238/

February 25: Our meeting’s featured speaker will be Karl Keat-

ing, presenting a critique of book covers.

February 28: at Barnes & Noble, Mira Mesa, Henry Herz will be

signing his new picture book, Sherlock Chick & Bunny Watson

during the Walker Elementary Book Fair at 4PM

and other directors and members to serve in ex officio capaci-

ties to non-officer positions:

Greeter at meetings: Gered Beeby

Newsletter editor: Patricia Bossano

Webmaster and social media manager: Sandra Yeaman

Additionally, designated heads of ad hoc committees to serve in

2019:

Bylaws Committee chair: Bob Doublebower

40th Anniversary Celebration Committee chair: Gered Beeby

Officially, at your service

Upcoming Events

* Great e-mails have compelling

images, and video. Video is particu-

larly powerful and can increase open

rates by 300%. (BombBomb.com)

* Write simple messages with a sin-

gular focus; make your point quickly

and tell your reader what you want

them to do.

* Avoid buying e-mail lists and go with your own generated list

to reduce the risk of messages ending up in spam.

* To create safe, effective e-mail lists and messages you can

check out MailChimp.com, ConstantContact.com, BriteVeri-

fy.com, HemingwayApp.com, SendCheckIt.com.

* If you create multiple subscriber lists, use tags, i.e. fiction vs

nonfiction; begin taking advantage of targeted campaigns.

Congratulations to the following officers, elected by the Board

of Directors during our January meeting:

President: Mardie Schroeder

Vice President: Bob Doublebower

Secretary: Laurie Asher

Treasurer: Marcia Buompensiero

Membership Chair: Adolpho Sanchez

President Mardie Schroeder appointed Rivkah Sleeth to fill the

11th Board member position established by the Guild's Bylaws,

⸞ 3 ⸟

Way to go, Bob Boze, the luck of the Irish surely is with you!

A hearty congratulations for your Blog Series on Editing on

Books Go Social in the Emerald Isle! Check out Part I of the

blog here: https://booksgosocial.com/2018/12/05/editing

-part-i-why-do-you-need-an-editor

A wholehearted Thank You to all contributors to The Writ-

er’s Life! Mardie Schroeder, Laurie Asher, Sandra Yeaman,

Marcia Buompensiero and all others—I love being the bear-

er of wonderful news!

SDWEG members were on hand as the San Diego Central

Library hosted its 53rd Annual Local Authors Exhibit on Fri-

day, January 25. Recognized for their works published in

2017/2018 were; Marcia Buompensiero for Fatal Little

Lies (pen name, Loren Zahn), Wanjiru Warama for Years of

Shame, FGM Survivor & Other True Stories. The Guilded

Pen, Seventh Edition was on exhibit, and on hand to cele-

to SDWEG Members Flexing their Prowess!

SDWEG is proud to note when its members are engaged in creative activities

with other organizations around San Diego and beyond.

brate were Dora Klinova, one of the contributors, and guild

members Cy Roseman and Rita Sweeting.

“A book is not supposed to be

a mirror. It’s supposed to be a

door.” —Fran Lebowitz

vine, tough, unconditional,

platonic, etc., and then

count how many instanc-

es of it bless your daily life

already.

Even one will suffice—for

in that one seed, you have

all you need to flourish

and expand in love.

Happy Valentine’s Day

2019!

Be it thanks to the evolu-

tion of the ancient Roman

festival of Lupercalia, or

the martyrdom of Chris-

tian monks, we now com-

memorate Valentine’s Day

on the 14th of February.

And by giving ourselves

license to openly express

affection, not just on that

day, but through the en-

tire month, we yield to a

collective consciousness

contributing to February’s

fond makeover, effectively

rendering this winter

month, a season of sow-

ing.

As Valentine’s Day ap-

proaches, consider some

of the numerous forms of

love identified through the

ages; affectionate, roman-

tic, familiar, self-love, di-

English

“A malapropism walks into a

bar, looking for all intensive

purposes like a wolf in cheap

clothing, muttering epitaphs

and casting dispersions on his

magnificent other, who takes

him for granite.” –unknown

Love is a state of heart

⸞ 4 ⸟

Board of Directors

President: Mardie Schroeder

(president@sdwritersguild.org)

VP & Publicity Chair: Bob Doublebower

(vp@sdwritersguild.org)

Secretary: Laurie Asher (secretary@sdwritersguild.org)

Treasurer: Marcia Buompensiero

(treasurer@sdwritersguild.org)

Membership Chair: Adolpho Sánchez

(adolpho@sdwritersguild.org)

Directors-at-Large:

Gered Beeby (gered@sdwritersguild.org)

Marie di Mercurio (marie@sdwritersguild.org)

Janet Hafner (janet@sdwritersguild.org)

Rivkah Sleeth (Rivkah@sdwritersguild.org)

Penn Wallace (penn@sdwritersguild.org)

Ken Yaros (ken@sdwritersguild.org)

Newsletter Editor: Patricia Bossano

(editor@sdwritersguild.org)

Social Media Mgr.: Sandra Yeaman

(webmaster@sdwritersguild.org)

The Writer’s Life by

Mission Statement: The San Diego Writers and Editors Guild shall promote, support

and encourage the writing arts for adults and youth.

Benefits of Membership:

General meeting: 4th Monday of

each month

5:30-6:30PM Marketing Support

Group for Guild Members

6:30 PM Sign-in & Networking

6:45 PM Business Meeting

7:00 PM Guest Speaker & Program

Location: San Diego County Health

Services Complex, 1st floor, 3851

Rosecrans Blvd., San Diego, CA

92110

View location map at:

www.SDWritersGuild.org

Membership dues: $36 per year

Guests: $5 per meeting

SDWEG supports members and

promotes the writing arts through:

educational meetings with guest

speakers on timely topics for writ-

ers; networking with writing/editing

professionals; manuscript review

services and the opportunity to

submit your work for publication in

the annual anthology; information

about communitywide writing/

editing classes, conferences and

other events; links to writing and

editing resources on the website;

publicity for members’ creative

works on the “Members’ Works”

web page.

@SDWritersGuild

@SanDiegoWritersEditorsGuild/

Write, Edit, Read… Repeat

the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild

PO Box 881931

San Diego, CA 92168

w: www.sdwritersguild.org

e: sandiegowriterseditorsguild@gmail.com