Writers Helping Writers

Hosted by San Mateo Public Library

2nd Thursday of most months (check back for updates)

Produced by the San Francisco Peninsula branch of the California Writers Club

Finding the Right Book Agent

Conventional wisdom and recent guidance in traditional publishing hold that, in the process of seeking representation for your work, you should expect to send at least one hundred query letters. But where in the world do you find a hundred or more agents to query?

Join writer and aspiring author Megan E. McDonald as she demystifies the process of compiling a comprehensive agent target list. She will describe and demonstrate essential tools (Publishers Marketplace, QueryTracker, Manuscript Wish List, Amazon, and good ole Google), run through the process using her own writing style and current projects as an example, then open the floor up to attendees who'd like to start to build their lists live.

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Megan E. McDonald is a 2016 recipient of a Stanford Online Writing Certificate in Fiction. She was named Literary Stage Exhibitor of the Year at the San Mateo County Fair in 2018, and also placed in that contest's poetry and fiction divisions in 2019. She has read personal essays at literary salon Bay Area Generations, delivered a Perspectives segment on KQED Radio, and was selected as a semi-finalist for the pilot episode of writing reality show America’s Next Great Author. Her work has appeared in Fault Zone: Reverse and Phases, the Redwood Writers’ anthology. She is currently drafting a memoir called TOURS OF DUTY: HOW TO PLAY WITH THE GAMER BOYS AND WIN, as well querying agents for her chick lit novel DIRTY.

Upcoming presenters

May 8 - TBD

Presentations are on the second Thursday of the month, from 6:30 - 8:00pm.

Megan E. McDonald

April 10

6:30-8:00 pm

San Mateo Public Library

About Writers Helping Writers at
San Mateo Public Library

The San Francisco Peninsula branch of CWC hosts a Writers Helping Writers program at the San Mateo Public Library on the second Thursday of the month from 6:30 to 8 pm. This event is managed by CWC member David Strom and co-sponsored by Tuula Laine, a librarian at the library and a member of the San Francisco Peninsula CWC.

Each month, CWC SF Peninsula branch members share learned techniques and experiences in their craft. From scoping out your memoir to finding inspiration for a poem to plotting your novel to learning the ins and outs of blogging—we teach what we’ve learned. This is an opportunity for all writers to meet and share their experiences.

Our purpose? To pass on what we’ve discovered to help other writers.

Anyone can attend, free of charge.

Watch this space for announcements of the month’s topic. Meetings are in-person only.