Learning the Ropes of Self-Publishing with Author Vance Mitchell Gloster 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7th

10:00 AM Pacific

Online via Zoom

WPN Members: FREE!

Nonmembers $15.00

I'm looking forward to my next WPN Westside Satellite with author Vance Mitchell Gloster in February. We'll talk about his journey as a first-time self-publisher, and everything that he's learned along the way.

You don't have to be a Mensa like Gloster to self-publish, but it helps to have a sense of what's ahead. We'll cover everything from his writing process, to formatting, publishing, marketing and more.

In particular, our talking points include:

o How the book was inspired by his experiences as a programmer in AI

o How Scrivener was helpful for writing and keeping the book's components organized

o How he developed his characters, including the protagonist Eleanor, who transitions from being a tech executive to a virtual being.

o Resources he found invaluable for research and learning the self-publishing process

o How he's been developing a network for getting speaking gigs

o A recent ebook giveaway that resulted in 2,700 downloads and his book reaching number one in three categories on Amazon

o Options he's considering for publishing an audiobook version of Two-Thirds of a God.

Gloster advises being open to learning new skills during the self-publishing process and recognizing where you need outside support.

OPEN TO ALL

FREE TO MEMBERS OF THE WRITERS & PUBLISHERS NETWORK (WPN)

JUST $15 FOR NON-MEMBERS 

SIGN UP HERE:

https://writersandpublishersnetwork.com/product/learning-the-ropes-of-self-publishing-with-author-vance-mitchell-gloster/

VANCE MITCHELL GLOSTER is an award-winning writer who had a career as a computer scientist before turning to writing full-time. He worked on the Space Shuttle program and for several leading technology firms, developing artificial intelligence, encryption software, and more. He is also a musician, having played keyboards on several progressive rock albums from the bands Bomber Goggles and Gekko Projekt. Bomber Goggles is currently developing an album inspired by his novella. Gloster has been a speaker for LA and San Francisco Mensa, regional libraries, and Jordan Rosenfeld’s fiction/memoir classes. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Kathy, and their dog, Cali, where they enjoy riding recumbent bicycles. https://vancemitchellgloster.com/

Check out his book on Amazon.

Free to Kindle Unlimited members.

Looking for a topic and speaker for my next Westside Satellite. Drop me a line at robinkayquinn2@gmail.com if you have an idea or are an author with a topic to discuss of interest to other authors.

Write on!

Robin Quinn, Host of the WPN Westside Satellite, is an award-winning book coach, editor, and ghostwriter. She enjoys working with authors to develop their book ideas and edit book drafts. Previous clients include John M. Poothullil, MD, author of Beat Unwanted Weight Gain, and Ayn Cates Sullivan, PhD, author of the award-winning Legends of the Grail series.

Robin offers FREE 15-minute consults to authors [schedule permitting]. Email her for an appointment at robinkayquinn2@gmail.com. She also offers free sample editing pages and estimates. Contact her by email if you need editing or book coaching.

Accountability Partner Services 

Now Available for Writers

 The Power of Podcasts 

with Kitty Felde

Hosted by LA Book Coach / Editor

Robin Quinn

Kitty Felde will be

my Westside Satellite Guest

on Saturday, September 13, 

10 am to noon Pacific.

RSVP: https://writersandpublishersnetwork.com/product/the-power-of-podcasts-with-kitty-felde/

Whether you’re podcast-curious or podcast-clueless, this is your chance to learn what it’s all about. Kitty Felde brings insight, inspiration, and real-world know-how to help you explore this powerful platform. Whether you’re looking to connect with your readers, expand your author brand, or share your voice with the world, podcasting is one of the most powerful (and personal) tools in today’s storytelling landscape.

Kitty Felde is the award-winning producer/host of the Book Club for Kids podcast and The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast. So we'll be able to discuss both how she produces an informational podcast and a dramatic one.

This event is free for members of the Writers & Publishers Network, and only $15 for non-members.

Looking forward to seeing you there! You'll have a chance to brainstorm your own podcast toward the end of the program.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Warmly,

Robin 

Award-Winning LA Book Coach / Editor, 

as well as ghostwriter of non-fiction and copywriter.

Need an Editor for Your Book Project? 

I offer FREE half-hour consultations to authors with works-in-progress or finished manuscripts, and also provide free estimates and sample editing pages. I specialize in all levels of editing for nonfiction and final polish/copyediting for fiction. Authors also find it helpful to work with me as a book coach/accountability partner to help them as they write both nonfiction and fiction.

Email me at quinnrobin@aol.com to set up a time for us to connect by phone or Zoom. 

Write on!

 Join Us on SATURDAY, MAY 10th

for THE INS & OUTS OF TRAVEL WRITING

Do you dream of turning your travel adventures into stories that transport readers—and maybe even score free trips while you’re at it? For our May WPN Westside Satellite, host Robin Quinn welcomes travel writer Linda Ballou. Her “Lost Angel” travel series blends memoir, destination insights, and soul-stirring storytelling. In this dynamic session, Linda will read from her work, share her favorite writing tips, and reveal her real-world path to becoming a successful travel writer.

What you’ll discover: 

o How Linda carved a niche in the world of travel writing

o What makes a strong travel essay vs. a travel article

o Her behind-the-scenes travel guide and story collections

o Secrets for thriving in today’s travel market

o How photography and podcasts can amplify your reach

o Unexpected ways to earn free or discounted travel

o A can’t-miss travel writing conference—and how to attend for free

o Two fun prompts to spark your travel writing—plus the chance to share your work! 

Bonus: All attendees receive a complimentary Kindle copy of Ballou’s Get Great Trips for Free: Make Travel Writing Work for You.

Guest Bio: Linda Ballou has explored the wild by raft, kayak, and horseback across the globe. Her books—Lost Angel Walkabout, Lost Angel in Paradise, and Lost Angel Unleashed—offer unforgettable travel stories and tips. She’s also the host of the Lost Angel Travel Adventures podcast. www.lindaballouauthor.com/

Host Bio: Robin Quinn is a longtime editor, ghostwriter, and award-winning media consultant. She leads the WPN Westside Satellite and has interviewed dozens of experts in the writing and publishing world. www.writingandediting.biz/

 

Grab your coffee and come prepared to journey through words!

RSVP at the Writers & Publishers Network:

https://writersandpublishersnetwork.com/

P.S. Robin will be at the WPN Booth (Booth 200) at the LA Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 26, from 8:30 to 1 pm. Stop by, say hello and discover what the Writers & Publishers Network is all about!

Producer Jessica Lynn Johnson IWOSC Guest to Talk One Person Plays Saturday 10/28

(10-21-23 Los Angeles, CA) Next weekend, on Saturday, October 28, my guest at the IWOSC Westside Satellite will be Jessica Lynn Johnson, a playwright who helps folks develop their one person shows. The interview will be presented via Zoom. Jessica and I worked together with writer/artist Esther Pearlman to develop her one woman play Re-Inventing Me, based on her previous books and interviews. Re-Inventing Me was featured in SoloFest earlier this year with a great reception.

Jessica wrote and performed two very successful shows earlier in her career. Oblivious to Everyone is a one woman, ten character dramedy centering around Carrie, a media junkie, who develops multiple personalities due to her unhealthy obsession with American pop-culture. This show, her first, was produced and performed off-Broadway on 42nd Street. Her 2nd solo show, Ze, under the direction of Terrie Silverman, is 15 character one-woman play that follows Tessa, a 30-year-old Christian virgin, who falls in love with her Transgender best friend, yet is in turmoil over her feelings due to her religious upbringing. Ze toured internationally, and Jessica says it is one of her most treasured accomplishments.

Jessica's 1st play - Oblivious to Everyone

Nowadays Jessica focusses more on coaching other solo show playwrights to get their plays written and seen. We'll be covering all the basics and more.

This event is FREE to members of the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) and only $15 for nonmembers. To learn more about the webinar, Jessica, myself and to RSVP, go to:

www.iwosc.org

The reservation cut-off is Friday, October 27th, at noon.

If you've been working on personal essays or a memoir, consider adapting your material to this new medium. I'd be happy to help, and can be reached at quinnrobin@aol.com.

Join us! The program is in the morning next Saturday from 10 AM to noon.

Happy writing!

 

Esther Pearlman’s Play Re-Inventing Me Is Now Available On Demand

 

The play follows Esther’s journey of Re-Invention
as she tries on different identities on her way to a Creative life.

Los Angeles, CA | May 18, 2023. On Thursday March 9^th, author Esther Pearlman’s first play Re-Inventing Me premiered at the WhiteFire Theatre to a full audience. After writing 11 books by the age of 83, Pearlman decided to turn to playwriting as her next creative challenge. She was thrilled when her show was accepted as part of SoloFest, one of the largest one-person play festivals in the country. Now the theatre has made the play available to stream On Demand on its website, www.whitefirethreare.com.

“How beautiful it is to be any human at any age to have your life story up there on the stage,” commented Lisa Gold, a business coach who had encouraged Pearlman to try playwrighting. “I was a little worried whether it would really happen, but Esther did it all.”

The play starts with Esther’s early life. She grew up poor in Southwest Los Angeles, wearing homemade clothes classmates made fun of, while her family struggled to live on limited funds. The “No Jews or Blacks” sign posted on the front yard of her neighbor’s boarding house didn’t help this little Jewish girl’s self-esteem. But friendship did… Enter Kelly, whose adventurous spirit and courage helped Esther find her way to a life of Re-invention. As the play progresses, we experience the various identities Esther moves through in an attempt to find herself.

In interviews with attendees after the show, time and time again there was praise for the play and for the performance of actress Laurie Wardell. “I was amazed,” said Phillip Erasin. “To be able to remember all those lines, and to make it look so effortless for over an hour. I think she really captured the essence of Esther and her life.”

A word that came up about Esther’s story repeatedly was “Inspiring.” Here’s how Gold described the takeaway: “I’ve got a lot of 80s ladies that I am coaching, who want something more in life,” she noted. “The fact that I sat in the audience tonight and watched the culmination of Esther’s work, her writing, her casting, her life, her enthusiasm, it just makes me want to be her when I grow up.”

One of Esther’s successful Re-inventions is as a visual artist. The playful and colorful artwork of Esther Pearlman is featured in many of the backdrops in the play.

To stream the touching and amusing play “Re-Inventing Me,” go to www.whitefiretheatre.com, click on “On Demand Viewing” from the menu on the main page, then on the icon for the show on the lower right on the next page.  

“Regarding the play’s theme of Re-invention, I can see that I learned something from every evolution,” remarked Esther. “It’s never too late, or too early, to re-invent yourself.”
 
Playwright / Co-Director / Producer Esther Pearlman
Esther Pearlman enjoys art and finds it to be fun. In addition to oils, watercolor and collage, she has been very involved in doing black ink and Japanese Washi tape artwork. She has produced over 1200 pictures with this process. Venues where her art has been shown include the Lark Gallery, Izen Miller Gallery, Neutra Institute Gallery, Loveland Museum Gallery, Blue 7 Art Gallery, and bG Gallery. She also loves to write. Her latest book is Looking at the Bright Side, Mostly. Three of her earlier works are It’s Not Easy Being a Woman, Volumes I, II and III. Her book, A Face Is a Face Is a Face, features her Japanese Washi tape portraits. Esther has been happily married to a highly successful pharmacist for many years. He is now retired. She and her husband, Marty, have three children – two sons and a daughter – and two grandchildren, a boy and a girl. She loves being a wife, mother and grandmother too. See A Face Is a Face Is a Face for a book of her art. www.estherpearlman.com
 
Actress Laurie Wardell
Laurie Wardell is a native of Fort Worth, Texas, currently residing in Crestline, California. She has always been driven to the fine art of storytelling. Laurie studied acting with actor Grant James (Tombstone) and she has an extensive dance background with an emphasis in ballet in which she studied at Gayle Corkery School of Ballet. She has thrived in the roles of Libby Ruth in Always a Bridesmaid, Mrs. Starr in A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas, Anne Boleyn in Henry VIII, and Pam McHugh in A Gift to Remember. She is an accomplished singer/songwriter of folk, jazz and rock music, who is currently performing at various engagements in Southern California, having recently performed at a Lake Arrowhead Historical Society charity event. Her song “Shades of You” (written and performed by Laurie) plays as she bows and over the credits.  https://www.backstage.com/u/laurie-wardell/
 
Solo Coach / Producer Jessica Lynn Johnson
Jessica Lynn Johnson, recipient of the Best National Solo Artist Award, is the Founder & CEO of Soaring Solo LLC, a company dedicated solely to the Direction and Development of one person plays. Jessica is passionate about the transformational power of solo theater and has aided in the creation of over 100 solo shows (and still going strong)! As a published playwright and performer, Jessica has “edu-tained” international audiences touring her own one person shows ZE and Oblivious to Everyone for over 13 years. www.soaringsolostudios.com/
 
Co-Director / Producer Robin Quinn
Robin Quinn is a writing coach and book editor who makes her nest in Los Angeles. During her 30+ years in the book business, she has edited over 300 books – specializing in memoir, spirituality, health and self-help. She has also written 10 scripts which were produced for children’s TV, including for such shows as Mighty Max and Bump in the Night. Robin has worked closely with Esther on her books for many years, and she enjoyed the process of working in this new medium of plays as Esther’s writing coach and more.
www.writingandediting.biz

Author Esther Pearlman’s Play Re-Inventing Me to Be Performed at SoloFest, Thursday, March 9, 8 pm

Actress Laurie Wardell to play Esther, a woman who re-invents herself to find her creative path in life

Los Angeles, CA | February 22, 2023. This March, author Esther Pearlman celebrates the first performance of her autobiographical solo woman play Re-Inventing Me at SoloFest, the largest one-person play festival in the country. On the advice of her friend and advisor Lisa Gold, Esther decided to turn to playwriting after writing 11 books.

“The play been a lot of fun to do,” said Esther, who is a visual artist as well as an author. “I’d say it was a natural next step for me after so much other creative work. I’d like people to know what I’ve done over my life, to inspire them with what I have overcome, and to have them enjoy my humor.”

Esther grew up poor in Southwest Los Angeles, wearing homemade clothes classmates made fun of, while her family struggled to live on limited funds. The “No Jews or Blacks” sign posted on the front yard of her neighbor’s boarding house didn’t help this little Jewish girl’s self-esteem. But friendship did… Enter Kelly, whose adventurous spirit and courage helped Esther find her way to a life of Re-invention. As the play progresses, we experience the various identities Esther moves through in an attempt to find herself – from the Unconfident Child with learning difficulties, to the Attractive Young Woman who draws the attention of pre-fame Jack Nicholson and eventually her husband Marty, to the 27-Year College Student, to a Sexy Dancer Instructor, to an Eager Model in Training, to the Chatty Extra, and more.

As actress Laurie Wardell read Act One for her successful audition, she identified with a life of re-invention. “I had an immediate connection to Esther because of her creativity, directness and humor,” says Laurie. “We have similarities in our lives, as in being a writer, a dance instructor, as well as our shared experiences in overcoming obstacles. I have always been a storyteller and this is a story I wish to tell.”

Re-Inventing Me features the playful and colorful artwork of Esther Pearlman as backdrops to indicate her various Re-Inventions and more. “It only made sense,” notes Esther, “since both art and writing are such a big part of my life.”

The play Re-Inventing Me will be performed live on Thursday, March 9^th, at 8 pm at the Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman, Oaks, CA. Tickets for the 75-minute show are $25 and can be purchased at www.whitefiretheatre.com. The performance will be recorded, edited and made available afterwards for three months to out-of-towners and others to view in the On Demand section of the theater’s website for $20.

“Regarding the play’s theme of re-invention, I can see that I learned something from every evolution,” notes Esther. “It’s never too late, or too early, to re-invent yourself.”

 

Playwright / Co-Director / Producer Esther Pearlman

Esther Pearlman enjoys art and finds it to be fun. In addition to oils, watercolor and collage, she has been very involved in doing black ink and Japanese Washi tape artwork. She has produced over 1200 pictures with this process. Venues where her art has been shown include the Lark Gallery, Izen Miller Gallery, Neutra Institute Gallery, Loveland Museum Gallery, Blue 7 Art Gallery, and bG Gallery. She also loves to write. Her latest book is Looking at the Bright Side, Mostly. Three of her earlier works are It’s Not Easy Being a Woman, Volumes I, II and III. Her book, A Face Is a Face Is a Face, features her Japanese Washi tape pictures. Esther has been happily married to a highly successful pharmacist for many years. He is now retired. She and her husband, Marty, have three children – two sons and a daughter – and two grandchildren, a boy and a girl. She loves being a wife, mother and grandmother too. See A Face Is a Face Is a Face for a book of her art.

 

Actress Laurie Wardell

Laurie Wardell is a native of Fort Worth, Texas, currently residing in Crestline, California. She has always been driven to the fine art of storytelling. Laurie studied acting with actor Grant James (Tombstone) and she has an extensive dance background with an emphasis in ballet in which she studied at Gayle Corkery School of Ballet. She has thrived in the roles of Libby Ruth in Always a Bridesmaid, Mrs. Starr in A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas, Anne Boleyn in Henry VIII, and Pam McHugh in A Gift to Remember. She is an accomplished singer/songwriter of folk, jazz and rock music, who is currently performing at various engagements in Southern California, having recently performed at a Lake Arrowhead Historical Society charity event. In addition to being an actress, Laurie is a fashion stylist and a Pilates instructor. https://www.backstage.com/u/laurie-wardell/

 

Solo Coach / Producer Jessica Lynn Johnson

Jessica Lynn Johnson, recipient of Best National Solo Artist Award, is the Founder & CEO of Soaring Solo LLC, a company dedicated solely to the Direction and Development of one person plays. Jessica is passionate about the transformational power of solo theater and has aided in the creation of over 100 solo shows (and still going strong)! As a published playwright and performer, Jessica has “edu-tained” international audiences touring her own one person shows ZE and Oblivious to Everyone for over 13 years. www.soaringsolostudios.com/

 

Co-Director / Producer Robin Quinn

Robin Quinn is a writing coach and book editor who makes her nest in Los Angeles. During her 30+ years in the book business, she has edited over 300 books – specializing in memoir, spirituality, health and self-help. She has written 10 scripts which were produced for children’s TV, including for such shows as Mighty Max and Bump in the Night. Robin has worked closely with Esther on her books for many years, and she enjoyed the process of working in this new medium of plays as Esther’s writing coach and more.

www.writingandediting.biz