Why I Joined the BAIPA Board

Janice Litvin

I was invited to attend BAIPA by my friend Lynn Fraley, whom I met at NSA (National Speakers Association). When she heard I intended to write a book she knew that BAIPA was the place for me. At one of my early meetings (December 2016?) my soon-to-be developmental editor Mary Claire Blakeman was on the panel. There was something about her that I was attracted to, not just her intelligence about editing and writing, but also her gentleness. On top of that she understood my genre.

She & I got along famously and though I scrapped my first book in the middle, thanks to my then 26 year-old son, who one day said, “Mom, why aren’t you writing a book called Banish Burnout,” Mary Claire rolled with the punches.

In the early days of my BAIPA membership I was simply thrilled to be amongst a group of writers which made me feel like, “Hey, I am an author, too.” Once I did in fact get my book published I so appreciated the huge support from BAIPA, not only winning 3rd place in the book cover contest (woo hoo!) but also John Byrne Barry’s video interview of me for the website. Now my mission is to help other first-time authors, particularly from the speaking community.

I wanted to serve the board because I enjoy social media and feel that BAIPA is a well-kept secret in the Bay Area. There are many would-be writers out there, especially in the world of professional speaking, and I would love to get the word out about BAIPA to help others as I have been helped. I will be setting up a Linkedin BAIPA page and would appreciate anyone who can share my posts about each event.

I live in Walnut Creek and have since 1998. Before that I was a proud San Francisco dweller hailing from the Inner Richmond near the corner of 7th and Lake (“the dead-end part of 7th Avenue”; it’s a thing.)

I’ve been teaching Zumba Fitness since 2009 and circuitously it led me to the world of professional speaking and indirectly to becoming an author. Before that I have a long and varied history in the world of high tech culminating in a 20-year career as a technology recruiter.

What’s next after Banish Burnout Toolkit? My immediate thought the day after my book went live (October, 2020) was Banish Burnout for Managers. The first book is really geared towards the individual. What I have discovered since is that burnout is, to some degree, systemic and that the managers and leaders inside the organizations have a big part to play in rectifying it.