CWC-BB Groups for Craft & Career Support
The CWC supports writers at every level of professionalism and provides means for its members to learn together, hone their craft, practice their business skills, network and support one another. Being a professional writer is a trade like any other trade, requiring an understanding of the industry as well as the art.
Our groups are a great benefit for our members. Non-members may audit a group before joining with approval from the group leader.
Every month after our we hold a marketing meeting and a craft discussion group, one hour each, open to members and prospective members.
Write-In at OMCA (Oakland Museum of California)
Second Saturdays 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Every month on the Second Saturday, we gather at the Oakland Museum of California to write together. Admission is not required; this is a free event for those who opt to write in the cafe or surrounding gardens. The event organizer is usually in the cafe with a few CWC-BB bookmarks out. If you’re feeling friendly, feel free to sit with the organizer, or find a spot on your own if you want to maximize your writing time.
When you arrive check in with the host, who’s usually in the TownFare cafe of the museum.
Around 3:30 pm, we gather behind the cafe to share what we’ve written. The host will usually let you know when that’s happening so you can stay focused on your writing right up to the last second. Feedback can be provided on request.
Contact hello@karmabennett.com if you have any questions about this event. You can RSVP on Meetup.com.
New Submissions Support Group
Meets Fourth Sundays
1 p.m. on Zoom
Submission Support Group
Submit Your Writing Fourth Sundays at 1 p.m. on Zoom
The submission support group’s goal is to help writers of all genres and formats get published, in whatever that means for them. While short stories, poems, nonfiction, and even entire books have different norms and requirements for submissions, they all share commonalities in what editors are seeking…and what editors think.
Whether you’re looking to make your first submission or your one thousandth, this group will have the latest info on submitting trends, new markets to submit to, and an understanding space when the rejections are piling up.
The group is led and moderated by Chase Anderson, whose fiction, poetry, journalism, blogs, and essays have been published in all the different ways you can arrange pixels on a screen or ink on paper. He’s compiled information, resources, and freebies on literary submissions.
The group meets on the fourth Sunday of each month on Zoom, starting at 1 PM PT.
Five-Page Critique Group
4th Saturdays at noon in person at the Rockridge Library
Our longest-running critique group reviews prose-fiction, nonfiction, query letters, proposals. We read submissions ahead of the meeting, then spend twenty minutes discussing each submission.
Eight manuscripts are reviewed in the order of arrival after manuscripts left over from the previous meeting are reviewed. First-timers are welcome to bring a submission or simply sit in. Open to the public.
The Rockridge library is at 5366 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618. Contact Bob Haus for more information at newsjazz [at] aol [dot] com.
To Participate in Five-Page Critique Group
Submit up to five pages, numbered, double-spaced, with indented paragraphs. On first page provide title and author’s name, and note if submission is fiction or nonfiction. If the pages submitted are part of a larger work and not the beginning, include a brief one-paragraph synopsis.
Author Success Group
3rd Sundays at 3 p.m. on Zoom
One of our club’s best perks is an ongoing support group that’s responsive to the needs of members. Stay tuned on Zoom after each month’s meeting, get energized around craft and marketing, and hold each other accountable to their goals. Guests may audit once. Members should also join the CWC Member Support Group on Facebook. For questions email Karma Bennett at hello [at] KarmaBennett [dot] com.
Would you like to form or revive a group?
Members of our branch can start groups to suit their interests or needs. Please write to us at our berkeley.cwc gmail address with meeting time, meeting place and the critique process you plan to use. We will provide guidelines and an insurance form.
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Save these Events to Your Calendar
We don’t remind writers about these regular monthly events on our blog, so check back here when you need to find writing support. The best way to keep up with them is to subscribe to our Google Calendar. Members should also be sure to read Write Angles, which lists upcoming events at the top of every email. We strive to keep our newsletter brief and useful, so be sure to mark it as “important” in your email provider so that it is not buried in a folder or marked as spam.