Writing Conferences

Over the past two months I have taken part in five different writing events. In some of them I was the only presenter. In others I was one of many presenters. And in others I was part of a panel of writers. Early in my writing career, I attended several of these types of events as a conference attendee. I remember not being sure how to go about things, and being nervous I?d either miss a chance to make a contact or offend someone by being too pushy. Then I began attending the events as a presenter, which brought its own unique challenges. At this point in my writing career, there?s not a lot that fazes me in these events, so I thought I?d offer some advice from both sides of the fence.

Things to know as a paid attendee:

First and foremost, if you have aspirations of becoming a published or even just a polished writer, you MUST attend writers? conferences. I?m not going to say you can?t get published without going to a writers? conference, because I did. But I honestly believe you can get more out of a conference of published authors and industry professionals than an entire semester of creative writing. Not to mention the fact that making contacts with editors and agents is invaluable.

Take lots of notes. There is nothing worse than learning something really valuable and after getting home, realizing you can?t remember what the presenter said. Sometimes it?s as simple as a couple of bullets which apply directly to the novel you are working on. If you do lose your notes, try e-mailing the presenter with a question or two.

Think about what classes to take in relation to where you are currently at. Does it really make sense to take a class on internet marketing when you are nowhere close to completing your first book? Most conferences try to provide a variety of tracks and skill levels.

Most conferences have at least a couple of panels. Research them and think about questions in advance. It often surprises me how many people are sitting in front of a panel of publishers and can?t think of any useful questions. This is your chance. Use it.

Be brave and schmooze. Networking is a big part of why you should attend these things. Yes some people take networking too far by dominating the time of a particular author, agent, editor, or whoever. Don?t do that. Ask a question or two and give someone else a chance (after asking for a card) if others are waiting. But don?t be afraid to step up and ask questions. They will be especially impressed if you?ve done your homework. Ask an author about why they wrote a certain scene a certain way instead of asking, ?So, what do you write?? Often the most valuable networking is done after the day?s classes are over, so don?t be in a hurry to leave if you can help it.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. The instructor has presumably been chosen to teach the class because they know something about the subject. If you have a question, raise your hand and ask. But don?t start giving rambling opinions on what you think about the subject. The other attendees are paying to hear the presenter. Feel free to chat with whoever you want after the class, but usually the schedule is tight enough that there?s barely enough time for legitimate questions as it is.

Do not under any circumstances bring copies of your manuscript to give editors, agents, authors, or whoever will take them. First of all, it is bad form. No one wants to go home with a suitcase full of paper, and if we take one person?s work, everyone wants us to take theirs as well. Second, most conferences schedule one-on-ones just for the purpose of pitching ideas. If you don?t have the chance to attend a one-on-one, send a query to the agent or editor right after the conference thanking them for coming, and pitch your book. Often editors who don?t take un-agented work will make an exception for attendees. Great question to ask for those panels huh?

Just a last thought. Sometimes you?ve spent everything you have on the conference. If so, more power to you. Hopefully it is a good investment. But if you have a little extra cash, consider buying books from an instructor who really helped you out. Most of the time instructors make little or nothing for teaching a class. Agents, editors, and keynote speakers typically make at least enough to cover their travel, but the authors teaching classes are doing it to sell books and spread good will. Say thanks by purchasing a book or two. They?ll appreciate it and you?ll get a signed book which will one day sell for millions on E-Bay.

Things to know as a conference presenter:

You?ve finally made it big enough (or know someone on the organizing committee) to stand in front of the classroom. Now it?s on you not to forget how you got there. If no one gave you a helping hand along the way, you are rare indeed. So how can you pay it forward?

First be friendly and open. Realize that many aspiring writers are scared to approach a ?real author.? If you bury your head in a book or quickly scoot off to the green room, you are doing a disservice to the attendees and to yourself. Make a couple dozen friends and you?ve probably just added a couple dozen people who will buy your books. Look for people to talk to. Don?t sit at the table with all the other authors. Plop down with a bunch of people you don?t know.

Be encouraging to the newbies. The last thing they want to hear is how hard it was for you and how little chance they have of ever succeeding. They want to hear how you overcame rejection and how they can do it too. By all means ask them what they are working on. As a sales manager, I always have to remind my CEOs how much a word of encouragement or a pat on the back from the head of the company means to a sales rep. The same goes for a published author to someone trying to break into the market.

With the exception of a little commercial at the beginning or end of your class, avoid talking about yourself in your classes. People are attending your session to get take away points which they can use in the own writing, publishing, or marketing. It does them no good whatsoever for you to spend twenty minutes telling a funny story about how you and your agent met over lunch at that little deli on 28th street and saw Tom Cruise. On a related note, if you are going to read, it is highly desirable that you read from someone else?s book, and keep it under three minutes. As authors, we want to give examples from our own work and it?s easy to overlook how self-serving it appears to class members.

Don?t dominate panels. You don?t have to answer every question. Take a couple of questions that you feel comfortable answering and pass the mike the others on questions they might be better suited to answer.

Be funny. Can?t stress this one enough. You know the old saying about how people don?t care how much you know until you can make them laugh. That?s not the way it goes? Well it should be. Prepare your lessons with solid take away points and plenty of laughs. Even if you are not a comedian by nature, you?ll find it is extremely easy to make people laugh in an environment where so much is serious. This is especially important if you are lucky enough to be an MC or keynote speaker. If people like you they will buy your books. But be really careful of anything too off color. Humor can turn to offense quite quickly.

Lastly, realize that not everyone has the money to buy your book right now. Bring other handouts: bookmarks, business cards, flyers. The person who takes your bookmark now is the person who buys your book next month. And if you are asked to sign a bookmark, do it with the same enthusiasm you would offer if you were signing a book.

I?m sure I?ve missed a ton of things. So speak up. What has worked for you? Or what questions do you have?

Q&A #2

This is the personalized license plate I ordered today. I'm sure that makes me really vain, but I just thout it looked so dang cool. Okay on to the next question. Which comes from the lovely and talented Anna.

Q How do you get a contract with a publishing company? It isn't as if most fifteen year olds have agents, so do you send some sample chapters in as a book proposal, or do you write the whole book and then send it? And how do you do that? I haven't finished a book yet. Once in my head, I think...but I'm working hard on plot lines and stuff right now, so I'm really curious if I'm supposed to write the book first or get a contract first. Both sound really scary, but it'll have to come to that eventually....right? I'm really enjoying your blog by the way. :)

A Anna, first let me say that I?m really jazzed you like the blog. Your question/s is/are great, funny, and um . . . long. But all of us start out wondering the same thing. So I?m glad you asked, and hopefully I can give you a good answer. For articles or short stories?which are a great way to start out by the way?you can send a query without an agent. A query is basically a letter asking if the editor might be interested in what you have written or would like to write.

So let?s say you want to write an article on how to trim the nose hair of Shetland Ponies. First you?ll need to make sure there is actually anough information to write an article. Then find out what publications do stories about horses or nose hair. Especially if they specialize in Shetland ponies. You can do this most easily by using a book called Writers Market. This book should be available in any library or you can buy a copy for I think about $20. Since it changes every year, I would recommend the library. In this amazing book, you?ll find a list of magazines and internet magazines (called e-zines) that publish on various topics.

Next you?ll want to send query letters to the publications that seem like the best fit. Query letters are a whole other topic, but until I cover them on this blog, you can find some great examples by googling how to write a query letter. (Don?t pay for this info! There is a lot of great information on writing query letters for free.) Send out your queries and wait for your responses. At first you?ll get a lot of rejections. But the more you work at it, the more positive your responses will be, until you get your first yes. Remember, you can spin most articles more than one way. One query might be about horse hygiene, another might be about how properly trimmed nose hair helps horses win shows. (Yeah I know, this is a really lame example, but I just got back from taking my kids to my mom and dad?s house and I think I ate too many chocolate chip cookies.)

Once you get a request for an article, it?s time to send in your very best work. Check for typos. Read similar articles in that magazine and others like it. Read articles about writing articles. The key is that the more you write, the better you will get. Of course you?ll get rejections along the way, but those are badges of courage. Nearly every author gets at least some and most get a lot. They just mean you are getting closer to getting published. Stephen King had a whole spike filled with rejections before he sold his first story.

Short stories are usually the same process. Check Writers Market to see how the publication wants you to submit. Some want a query, some want the whole story. Some want both.

Okay let?s move on to books. First, DO NOT try to sell a book you haven?t finished writing. It can be done, but the chances are great that it will backfire on you. Nothing takes the wind out of en editor or agent?s sails like asking for a full manuscript and finding out you haven?t finished it. So, get your book done first. That?s the cardinal rule. Once your book is done and you?ve gotten lots of feedback and done lots of polishing, it?s time to try and sell it.

Whether you need an agent or not depends on what kind of book you are writing and where you want to publish it. Many small publishers do not require agents. Also some fantasy publishers and some children?s book publisher do not require agents. You?ll have to go back to WM again to find out for sure. TOR does not require agents, and neither does my publisher, Shadow Mountain. But even if you do sell your book without an agent, it?s still good to get one as they can negotiate on your behalf, get competitive offers, sell foreign rights, movie rights, and all that cool stuff.

The other reason for having an agent is that now days almost all the big publishers will not even look at you without an agent. Since an agent works completely on commission (usually 15% of sales,) the publisher knows that the agent will only send them writing that is good. So the agent is the one that actually gets your work looked at.

Guess where you go to find an agent? Yep, that?s right. Back to WM. They have a whole list of agents, what kind of books they represent, how they want to see submissions, if they take on new writers, all that cool stuff. Most of time they?ll want a query letter first, then the first three chapters of your book, then the whole thing. The whole process can take six months or more, so it pays to submit to several agents at a time.

Okay, the chocolate chips are wearing off and I?m sure my other good author friends will cover what I missed, so I?ll call it a night. And you thought you?re question was long, huh?
Okay I?ve got five more days to fill with posts, so if you have more questions, fire away!