Always Excited to Head Out by Linda S. Glaz

Well, there you have it. It’s conference time for me. And I’m always excited to head out for conferences.

Yes, it’s a lot of work, a lot of prep, and often a lot of driving, but meeting with folks who “get” us, understand where we’re coming from, and excited to talk about writing which is such a huge blessing. I spent Saturday in Fort Wayne at a workshop. Awesome time and wonderful experience.

Why are conferences so popular?

Where else do writers, agents, and editors all congregate to talk nothing but the writing process and industry?

Are you planning to attend a conference this year?

Where are you going?

If you have a pitch all ready for an editor, did you prepare well? Follow the instructions on their site?

There is no better time to plan ahead than for a conference.

Do your homework, research the agency or publisher, and do your very best work. This is no time to rush your proposal.

If you pass me, say hi. If you have an appointment with me or share a table? Tell me who you are and why you write. I really do want to know.

Yup! I’m excited. Conferences are starting, and I get to meet some of the most amazing people in the world.

It’s Writers’ Conference Season, by Jim Hart

  

If you haven’t noticed, it’s writers’ conference season! If you have never attended a writers’ conference, I hope this inspires you to seek one out to attend.

Here are just a few reasons for attending a writers’ conference:

1) Access to industry professionals

There are numerous opportunities to meet with editors, agents and published authors. The opportunity to network and establish connections and relationships will prove to be of great value. Most writers’ conferences afford you the chance to meet one-on-one with agents and editors to present your proposal and ask questions.

2) Classes and workshops

You will find classes and presentations tailored for just about every phase of your writing life – from the ‘just getting started’ to the ‘seasoned veteran author’. You’ll discover classes and workshops that offer instruction in the many facets of the craft of writing, how to build and strengthen your author platform, current trends in publishing and so much more.

3) Fellowship with like-minded people

Writing can be a solitary endeavor. It’s a good thing to have an opportunity to be in the company of others who share your passion for writing, even if for just a day or two. For those in the Christian writing community the time to fellowship with others is very precious.

4) Energizing!

Or exhausting – or both! You will come away from a good conference with a renewed and refreshed vision for your writing goals.

5) Provide an edge

The knowledge that you come away with from a writers’ conference is invaluable. Today it’s so vital that you know as much as possible about the publishing industry. A growing knowledge of this business helps you to not just be competitive, but to also prioritize, set the right goals and continue taking the strongest steps in your writing life. This knowledge can help you from making poor and un-informed decisions regarding your writing and what is needed for you to be published.

Writers’ conferences come in all sizes, from small one day events to large ones that cover several days. But no matter the size of the conference you attend, you will always find something of value. A couple of years ago I had the chance to attend a small one day conference, in a small town, and the keynote speaker was the publisher of a small publishing house. But the information that he shared on the craft of writing was huge and the few dozen that attended more than got their money’s worth that day.

Here are just two things that will help you prepare for a conference:

1) Do your homework

When considering a writers’ conference look carefully at their curriculum and faculty. Target the classes and appointments that you want to take advantage of.

When deciding on the agents and editors with whom you wish to make an appointment, make sure that what you write matches what they are looking for. If you see that they are not looking at romantic suspense, it’s not a good idea to go ahead and pitch your romantic suspense anyway. Know who is looking for what before you even arrive at the conference.

Let me stress how important it is to be fully prepared for an appointment with an agent or editor. In most cases you will only have 15 minutes, and those minutes go by surprisingly quick. Be ready to ask specific questions.

Also note if an agent or editor prefers to see a paper proposal, or one on a flash drive. Traveling can make it difficult to collect printed proposals to take back to the office. For me, electronic proposals are just easier to deal with. Which leads to the next point:

2) Get your one-sheets, proposals and business cards ready

I can’t over emphasis how important it is to be prepared with a great proposal and one-sheets. If you have not already done this, find resources that will help you prepare your proposal. It will be worth it.

Sometimes an agent or editor is willing to take a one-sheet from a writer who was unable to schedule an appointment with them.

I’ve had writers come to an appointment who did not have a proposal, for various legitimate reasons. But they came prepared with questions! And most of the time they were the right questions and hopefully they left with new information to help them in their writing journey.

If you’ve been able to attend writer’s conferences, what have you found to be of the most value?

2014 ACFW Random Observations From My Corner of the World by Jim Hart

I was able to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in St. Louis in September and here are a few random observations:

For me, the best part of conferences is meeting authors, whether at an appointment, sharing a meal, or waiting for the elevator. And I had some great conversations with a number of editors. It’s energizing to be around so many creative types.

As I met with my appointments I discovered that the range of genres represented was very diverse. I never knew what story an author was going to pitch: A cowboy love story? A deaf musician? A boy who rides dragons? A young pick-pocket who goes to work for the police? A story of racism in a farming community? A story featuring a major Biblical character? It’s almost like digging into a box of chocolates (without hearing Tom Hank’s voice). As a short-attention-span person, I really enjoyed it.

I found the number of writers who are writing YA and/or YA fantasy amazing. It seemed like every fourth person had a YA fantasy to pitch. Obviously a lot of people are reading that genre. It’s a shame that they are so hard to sell. I tried to be as encouraging as I could, because it seemed that nearly every editor at ACFW was NOT looking for for YA or fantasy/sci-fi. Although I did read a blog today from an editor who acquires YA fantasy for a general market publisher and her advice was to write from your heart, not to what is trending. Great advice!

So to all the authors that pitched to me at ACFW – thanks! You were the highlight of my day(s)! Especially those who had their proposals, one sheets, samples and manuscripts on a flash drive.

One author handed me a flash drive business card, which I had never seen before.  I had to wait until she got up from the table to try and figure out how to open it. I would suggest to every writer who has to make a pitch to stop what you’re doing now and google ‘flash drive business card’. It was a pretty impressive piece of tech, one that’s probably been available much longer than I realize.

And it was especially great to be able to share a meal…..and a long walk…..with a nice group of our Hartline clients. A special thanks to those that helped push Mom’s scooter across the street as it’s battery began to die. (That’s one way to work off a plate of lasagna).

Because Joyce and Linda Glaz were both nominated for the ACFW agent of the year award we were anticipating the awards banquet. The saying "two out of three ain't bad" says it all! And though the award was presented to Chip MacGregor there were a lot of authors in the room rooting for our Hartline agents!

And now…..back to reading the proposals and samples that I picked up at the conference!

Meet you at Atlanta? by Terry Burns

Will be on the road headed to the "Catch the Wave" Christian Writer's Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference is August 22-24th at the Lodge at Simpsonwood and is put on by the Christian Authors Guild. I've been there once before and it is a beautiful facility and a great place for a conference.

I have a little more expanded role this time as I'm going to set the tone for the conference in an opening talk on "Just Say Yes." Decisions that we make take on a whole new meaning when we realize that there are only two answers when we come to realize that the Lord wants us to do something, yes or no. Later, maybe, I'm not qualified, I can't do it, are just forms of saying no. We'll talk about what this means for writers . . . and just for Christians in general.

I'll be doing appointments, of course, and doing a workshop on "Developing a writer's persona" as well as one on "Agent and Editor pet peeves." I'll be speaking in the closing session as well, talking about, talking about "Why do we write?"

Hopefully there is something in these for everybody and the remainder of the conference content is very strong with presenters like Cindy Sproles, cofounder and Executive Director of Christian Devotions Ministries, Faye Lamb, acquisition editor for Pelican Book Group, and Stacy Robinson of the Robinson Talent Agency. Others are bestselling author Lynette Easton, publicist and media specialist ReAnn Ring, and Pix-N-Pens publisher Tracy Ruckman.

The conference is very affordable and a great opportunity to network and learn, particularly convenient for those who live in the Southeast. I hope I get the chance to meet you there.

The Conference Trail by Terry Burns

I can almost hear Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again."

It's the time of year when we work a lot of conferences. For me, quite a number of years ago I went to a conference as a writer trying to decide how to use my faith in my writing. I took a test as part of the process designed to tell what my spiritual gifts are. They turned out to be writing, music, and the gift of encouragement. I work as an agent and particularly go to as many conferences as I can trying to use that gift of encouragement.

I'm also there to connect with writers and to find good projects that I can help get to market. And to make connections with editors that I can interface with to help make that happen. I work for my clients, but initially it is almost like I work for the editors. I work to try and find out what they are looking for then try to help them find it. I'm like a marriage broker, I find something an editor is looking for, I find a writer that has it, then I arrange an introduction. Sort of like Barbara Streisand did in "Yentl."

People ask me if I make money going to conferences and working. There have been a few that I have actually ended up in the black, but most of the time when expenses are paid I end up breaking even at best and some cost money . . . some a significant amount of money. I try not to do that too much.

I don't like to fly to conferences. Not that I mind flying, but I genuinely hate airports and the mess they have become. When possible I drive it, far less stress, and the trip itself can be nice particularly when Saundra goes with me. We have changed to a small class B van RV for a road car. It's small so it doesn't get bad gas mileage and it can save a couple of hotel stays on the road which offsets extra gas cost. It provides a nice break and thanks to technology I can still be online while on the road getting my work done while Saundra drives. It's like an office on wheels. At least we'll be back to doing that when she gets her cast off (she fell and broke her arm).

I really believe if a writer is serious about their writing they need to try to get to a conference or two each year to network with agents, editors, and other writers. That's a primary place where things can be learned to improve their writing skills and to start learning to increase their visibility necessary for book sales. If you are doing that perhaps we will meet out on the road.

I'll be the guy in the big hat.

Meet you at the conference? by Terry Burns

Soon it will be time to head over to Marshall Texas to East Texas Baptist University for the East Texas Christian Writer's Conference. I've gone to this conference for a number of years and I love it.

Set on the shady, peaceful campus of ETBU it is an economical conference packed with lots of content and excellent presenters. The dates are October 26th and 27th, starting right after lunch on Friday and ending up about 5 pm on Saturday. The keynote speaker Friday evening will be James Watkins speaking on "I have a dream!"

I'm going to be talking about the difference in writing to reach the nonbeliever. Christian readers and nonbelievers look for different things in a book, Christians want a lot of faith content and they want it right from the get-go. But the very thing that they are looking for will cause a non-believer to put the book down. Many who say they are writing a 'crossover book' are actually writing a book that will not have enough faith content to satisfy the Christian publishers but with too much such content for the secular publishers. They end up in the 'no man's land' in between where neither want the book. A true crossover book is written for one market or the other but written in such a way that it manages to cross over to the other.

I'm also going to talk about how to develop a writer's persona. Many people are simply too shy to meet with editors and agents to pitch, or to do promotion or interviews, or the other activities a writer must do to be successful. There is a way to develop a writer's persona and pretty much hide behind it to do what we need to do. Others are about as shy as a chain saw but they are uncomfortable in such writing situations because they don't know how to present themselves as a writer. These are the totally opposite ends of the spectrum, but for both as well as all of the degrees in between, the answer is learning how to determine how we need to present ourselves as a writer and to project ourselves that way.

Finally, my third session will be a "look behind the curtain." I'll be talking about editor and agent pet peeves. Participants will hear a lot of things from a survey that Hartline agent Linda Glaz and I conducted, things that turn an agent or editor off. But there are also peeves that authors have about agents and editors as well, that sword cuts both ways. Those in the class will have the opportunity to unburden themselves with some of the things that bother them as well.

The conference is a short but content-packed event that people are sure to enjoy and sure to feel they really got their money's worth. Hope to see you there.

Surviving the Pitch to Editors & Agents by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

With so many writing conferences coming up, and the ACFW National Conference around the corner, I thought it would be worthwhile to repost this from my blog. 

When are you ready?
1. When writing fiction, you don’t want to pitch until you’ve completed at least one book. Nonfiction proposals or articles can be pitched as long as you have a solid concept of your idea.
2. When you know you want to be published.
3. Do your research on the conference and know which editors and agents are going to be there. Visit their websites, try to find out what they like and dislike. What kind of works have they recently purchased? What are they acquiring?
4. You may not want to set up an appointment if there are only two editors and both are acquiring contemporaries and all you’ve written is a historical.

Pitch: Is a one-two sentence description of your story.

A pitch should contain four elements:
1. Two Main Characters
2. Goal
3. Conflict
4. Goal + Conflict = Hook

When meeting with an editor or agent in a one-on-one interview, be prepared to discuss the main plot points in your story, as well as goals and motivations of your characters. After hearing your pitch, they will ask you questions about your story and about your writing.

What to bring
1. Business cards
2. Sell-sheets or One-sheets
3. First five pages of manuscript (do not show unless they request it)

What to Expect
At conferences they schedule editors and agents all day long with back-to-back 10-15 minute appointments. You will want to arrive 5-10 minutes early to get in line. If a prayer room is available, you might want to visit it ahead of time.
1. Dress like you’re going into an interview, but be comfortable.
2. Be professional
3. Introduce yourself and ask them how they are doing. Treat them like an individual.
4. You can take note cards with you, but you shouldn’t read from them. This gives them the impression that you’re not as familiar with your work as you should be.
5. Make eye contact. Talk to them like you’re chatting with them. You don’t want to sound so rehearsed that you remind them of a used car salesman.
6. There will be a monitor who will be keeping time. The monitor will tell everyone in the room that they have 1-2 minutes left. When this happens, wrap up the conversation and move on so you don’t take time away from the next person and put the editor behind schedule.

Possible Scenarios

If you only have one proposal, and they aren’t interested, what should you do?
1. Ask them what other genres they are looking for.
2. If you have time, chat with them and spend a few minutes getting to know them. After a while their eyes begin to glaze over from hearing one rehearsed pitch after another.
3. If an editor gives you ideas on how to improve your plot, please be courteous and listen. Ask if they would be willing to look at a proposal if you make their suggested revisions.

What if you have more than one project and you don’t know which one to pitch in your allotted time?
1. Tell them the categories you’ve written such as (contemporary, a Scottish Medieval, Regency, young adult, children’s book, etc.) Then ask them which one they would prefer to discuss.
2. Or choose the one that you feel is written the best or closer to being finished.
3. The editor or agent will guide you in their interests.

Editors and agents will ask questions. Examples include:
1. Why did you write this story?
2. Do you have any other stories or ideas?
3. Can you expand this into a series?
4. If we publish it, how do you plan to market it?

Remember
1. Leave your business card, even if they do not ask to see your proposal.
2. Make note if they ask for a query letter, proposal, or the complete. Send them exactly what they ask for and nothing more and nothing less.
3. If they refuse your sell-sheets, don’t force it on them.
4. Thank them for their time. Be sure to walk away with a smile.