{"id":111471,"date":"2026-04-12T21:27:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=111471"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:36:49","slug":"meet-the-novato-wonderlady-who-turns-manuscripts-into-books-no-magic-required","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/meet-the-novato-wonderlady-who-turns-manuscripts-into-books-no-magic-required\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Novato \u2018Wonderlady\u2019 who turns manuscripts into books \u2014 no magic required"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"Peter Engler and The Wonderlady, Ruth Schwartz, chat in the Belvedere Tiburon library on April 2, 2026, with his books in the background. (Jennifer Bloom via Bay City News, software enhancement from low-resolution image)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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By WOODY WEINGARTEN, Bay City News<\/strong><\/p>\n

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IF RUTH SCHWARTZ GETS STUCK<\/strong> while midwifing a client\u2019s manuscript on its way to becoming a book, she climbs into an alternate persona \u2014 The Wonderlady.<\/p>\n

Before long, problem solved.<\/p>\n

Playfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the real Wonderlady persona,\u201d notes the smiling Novato resident, isn\u2019t some creature with superpowers or a magic wand, it\u2019s \u201cthe power of intention.\u201d Her intention is to always find a solution to any publishing problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s something really off, I sit with it until I understand it \u2026 My overall philosophy is that everything is perfect just the way it is, but subject to \u2026 new possibilities, with the idea of making it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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At his Tiburin home on April 4, 2026, Eric C Wentworth enjoys dipping into \u201cA Mindful Career,\u201d a book co-authored by his wife, Carol Ann. Ruth Schwartz helped get it published. (Carol Ann Wentworth via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Her husband, Curt Kinkead, birthed the whimsical Wonderlady concept in 1992, after she\u2019d found herself \u201cembarrassed, frankly, to tell my parents about my not being able to pay my bills.\u201d The next day, in the mail, she miraculously found a check from her father for the exact amount of money she was short. He, a real estate broker, had decided \u2014 apparently without knowing about her financial peril \u2014 to share a commission.<\/p>\n

From that moment on,\u201d she says, \u201cCurt insisted that I had created money out of nothing, and if I could do that, I was clearly The Wonderlady. So, when \u2018magical\u2019 things happen, he says (they\u2019re) due to The Wonderlady Effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

When polishing, detailing, or formatting a book that\u2019ll be published and sell independently on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and countless other sites, Schwartz prefers instead of magic to lean on a pair of reliable, grounded wingmen: decades-long expertise and a nose to the proverbial grindstone.<\/p>\n

She nonetheless enjoys being mischievous. \u201cWhenever I\u2019ve pulled some rabbit out of a hat and clients say, \u2018How did you do that?\u2019 sometimes I tell them, sometimes I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working her wonders<\/h2>\n

The Wonderlady frequently smiles. In the flesh and on Zoom. Even when no one can see it. She\u2019ll turn 81 in June. \u201cAt my age,\u201d she says, \u201cIf it\u2019s not fun, I don\u2019t want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Potential clients who check out her website<\/a> are apt to soon lift her onto a book-shepherding or consulting pedestal. Susan Kirsch of Mill Valley is an example. Her new book, \u201cSimply Go*d<\/a>,\u201d is to be the first of six. \u201cI think Ruth is a Wonderlady,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause of her extensive knowledge of the publishing industry and because she\u2019s a wonder for her clients. She\u2019s a wonder for me by quickly having changed my thinking from writing one book to writing an entire series.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of it happens within the confines of a one-woman cottage industry with a little help from her friends, a stable of designers.<\/p>\n

Now, because she\u2019s so busy she\u2019s had to turn away clients, she\u2019s also started an advisory service, where she can \u201ctell people how they can do things by themselves.\u201d That, she says, will let her handle more clients simultaneously \u2014 and permanently shelve any plans to retire.<\/p>\n

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Susan Kirsch, in Ruth Schwartz\u2019s Novato office, looks at her book, \u201cSimply Go*d,\u201d on April 6, 2026. (Ruth Schwartz via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Generally, Schwartz\u2019s clients are seniors, drawn to her because \u201cboth sides are older.\u201d Some of her clients are \u201cin their 90s. The youngest is in their 50s. People who are self-published are older because they have time and money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Word of mouth is her best sales tool. She contends that \u201c95% are referrals or repeats, people who come back to me with multiple books.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bay Area Independent Publishers Association<\/a>, where she\u2019s vice president and the person who regularly gives the most answers to questions and shares the most information during monthly Zoom meetings, is her biggest source of clients.<\/p>\n

Peter G. Engler, who lives in Belvedere, was one of her first clients, when he was a novice author. His praise is glowing: \u201cShe was instrumental in my completing my novel, \u2018The Unselling of a President<\/a>,\u2019 and we also worked together on my short-story book, my job seekers\u2019 manual, and several table-top legacy books. She\u2019s terrific to work with, very energetic, very knowledgeable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s something really off, I sit with it until I understand it \u2026 My overall philosophy is that everything is perfect just the way it is, but subject to \u2026 new possibilities, with the idea of making it even better.\u201d
\nRuth Schwartz, The Wonderlady<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much of Schwartz\u2019s work is done via email. Because she can. And because it\u2019s way less stressful.<\/p>\n

Many her clients live in Marin, but she\u2019s also finished assignments from all over the Bay Area, Chicago, Florida, Montana, and a smattering of other places.<\/p>\n

Hungering to help others<\/h2>\n

Shepherding manuscripts is only a part of Schwartz\u2019s busy life. Along with Kinkead, she founded Respecting Our Elders<\/a>, a rescue food service she says has delivered to seniors and others of limited means \u201c500 pounds of quality, edible food every day since the organization began in 2005, for a total of almost four million pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A book by Ruth Schwartz, The Wonderlady, and her husband, Curt Kinkead. Photo taken in Novato Monday, April 6, 2026. (Ruth Schwartz via Bay City News)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Hoping to spread their concept, they just finished an 82-page book that details their \u201cdifferent kind of model from food banks or other fresh food rescue organizations\u201d \u2014 \u201cThe Best Solution to Hunger in America: How to Set Up and Run an All-Volunteer Community Food Rescue Organization<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinkead, meanwhile, has taken about a quarter of a million people out to cruise boats to watch whales, paddled a canoe around the world, and published \u201cSecrets and Pleasures<\/a>,\u201d which Schwartz describes as \u201can erotic novel with lots of sensual information to help people have better sex lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz\u2019s first job in the publishing industry was with the University of California Press, from \u201968 to \u201974. She later worked for Design Vectors, a graphic design and marketing firm that dealt with major corporations like Bank of America, PG&E, and Pacific Telephone. She didn\u2019t consider becoming a book midwife until print-on-demand \u2014 through which an author can have a book published one copy at a time \u2014 came onto the scene and she thought it perfect for her as a freelancer.<\/p>\n

Clearly, she was right. She\u2019s absolutely loved \u201ctaking a lot of words and turning them into a finished book.\u201d The first one she shepherded, in 2014 for Robert W. Bone, was a memoir about being canned \u2014 \u201cFire Bone!<\/a>\u201d Her current workload covers a wide berth: a memoir, young adult fiction, nonfiction, and spy novels.<\/p>\n

Schwartz has enjoyed having enough clients to let her reject some potentials. \u201cI had one who came to me with a diatribe,\u201d she recalls. \u201cHe was so angry that it came out on every page \u2026 I told him that I just couldn\u2019t work on his book, that this was not a good fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually, however, the idea of helping authors through, and educating them about, the self-publishing process is sufficient. \u201cIt fulfills a passion for me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Still, she wouldn\u2019t turn down a real-life magic wand if somebody handed it to her, says the book midwife, admitting there are times \u201cwhen I\u2019ve said I wish I had one.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This article was first published on<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span>LocalNewsMatters.org<\/b><\/a>, a nonprofit site supported by Bay City News Foundation http:\/\/www.baycitynews.org\/contact\/<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sherwood \u201cWoody\u201d Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle and the author of four books, can be contacted by email at <\/em>voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or on his websites, <\/em>woodyweingarten.com<\/a> and <\/em>vitalitypress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Engler and The Wonderlady, Ruth Schwartz, chat in the Belvedere Tiburon library on April 2, 2026, with his books in the background. (Jennifer Bloom via Bay City News, software…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[837,26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joe-cillo","7":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"