Conference Secrets: Welcome to the Jungle

This workshop at the Pennwriter's Conference, with agent Barbara Poelle and novelist CJ Lyons was my favorite. It was also the only one I didn't take any notes on.

CJ started the workshop by turning off the tape recorder and closing the door. "This is just between us. You can ask us anything. If you don't want to raise your hand, write your question on a piece of paper and pass it up. There's nothing we won't answer."

And there really wasn't anything they wouldn't touch on. It was a comfortable, inviting experience. The highest compliment I can give this workshop is that, barring the lack of Bombay Sapphire, it felt more like sitting at the bar with two friends than a workshop.

Man, can you tell Barbara was a comedienne in a past life. She's funny as hell and completely off the cuff. Sharp and smart but amazingly for the industry, not jaded. 

She is passionate about what she does, saying she was born to be a agent. Most of the questions directed towards her were about the state of the industry (is publishing dead?) and ebooks (is print publishing dead?) This is the kind of agent you want in your corner, seriously. Nothing fazed her. She genuinely believes that this is the most exciting time to be working in the industry, on the cusp of all this change. When asked if she was worried that Amazon was setting up what looked like a traditional publishing house (ie. that they would 'corner the market') she said, "They sell spatulas too. Spatula makers aren't worried. I'm not worried."

One point she made that gave me the warm and fuzzies (which echos what Nathan Bransford said in his post this week about rejections.) was that, when she gets in to work in the morning, NOTHING WOULD MAKE HER HAPPIER THAN SAYING 'YES.' We have this image of agents as gatekeepers, trolls under bridges or bouncers at a VIP party, their only joy being to gleefully say NO to you. Couldn't be further from the truth, says Barbara. She makes her living on 'yes', she's dying for there to be 'yes'. She's not sitting there looking for the tiniest flaw in your query letter and sample pages, she's looking for potential. She wants what you want. Barbara knows what will sell, knows what the publishers she deals with are looking for, and she's going through haystacks to find those 'yeses.'

Some key points from CJ Lyons

• Know your audience and brand yourself accordingly. It's as valuable to know who isn't your audience as it is to know who is.
• An Author platform is not, contrary to popular belief, a website, a twitter account or a facebook page. It's Soylent Green. No! Sorry, kidding. But it is people. Your audience is your platform. How you get that audience to follow you, care about you is how you brand yourself and your books.
• And obvious but bears repeating in these 'author, market yourself' times: Your product is your best advert.

Some key points from Barbara Poelle

• She's looking for: 
• Authority
• Authenticity 
• Unique Voice
• And in your query* letter you should have "The hook, the cook (journey) and the book (sample pages)"

So, did I leave the Welcome to the Jungle workshop hearing Axl Rose snarling "You gonna die!" in my head? No. I left feeling that the publishing 'jungle' is an industry like any other and not my own personal purgatory. It's not a validating or invalidating Mount Olympus peopled by unfeeling demi-gods. I would totes buy Barbara and CJ a drink any time. Especially if they spill more secrets.

Check out my conference mate Laura's post on Researching the Police

*In a few weeks, I'll be posting the query letter I sent to her along with her comments/corrections.

Live! from the Pennwriters Conference - Day 2

Note: Blogger Ate My Homework.  I wrote the below during the conference and scheduled it to post, but for some reason it never did. So I'm manually posting it today. Yes, it's not actually 'Live' but it felt live at the time, does that count? 


Tomorrow I start my Conference Secrets posts with Revising from Critique. Conference Secrets will post every Thursdays for the next four weeks. My fellow BCWG writer, Laura Campbell will also be posting about the workshops she's attended on her blog, Writing Unleashed. Check her out, check me out. It will (almost) be like you were there.

BURRRNED out.
I've left the Build Your Brand workshop because despite the copious amounts of coffee I've had, I'm nodding off. It's absolutely not the fault of the workshop or the leader, it's that I'm exhausted. I've got fifteen minutes before my next workshop entitled Welcome to the Jungle! I can almost hear Axl Rose screeching, "You're gonna diiiiiie!"

That's something I didn't think about before, the sheer weight of the information I'd want to absorb, the names of people I've met, the books, blogs and resources I've been told I have to read. I'm worn out but I'm looooving it. Everyone here is a writer, everyone understands how hard that is to say sometimes. I'm sorry for the corniness, but it's like coming home.

And something good has happened. Two somethings.

Because I'm a chicken I chose not to do face to face agent pitching. Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Agency was offering to review and comment on query letter, synopsis and first ten pages in lieu of an agent pitch. That seemed like a pretty amazing deal, to have that much focused feedback from such a high caliber agent. Plus, I thought if I had to talk to someone about my book face to face, I might pass out.

After my first workshop, Perfect Pitch with Rachel Coyne of FinePrint Literary, I found my courage and signed up to pitch to her after lunch. Then I went to registration to pick up my feedback from Barbara Poelle.

I swear I'm not exaggerating, I actually started trembling. Across the bottom of the page she'd written "Alexandra, I'm interested in seeing a full ms."

The nice volunteer at the registration table asked me if I was okay. I think I answered 'oh shit'. She said, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I told her it was good and then went away to hyperventilate. It's so much more than I expected.

The pitch didn't go so well. I was nervous, job interview nervous, and I didn't do a great job of presenting either myself or my story. Rachel was very nice, gave me some insightful feedback and told me to query her when I was ready.

It was a rollercoaster all day long, ups and downs. As soon as the day ended I got into PJs and tried to relax. I seriously considered not going to that evenings Read & Critique, I just felt a bit pummeled. But I've got immigrant-grade work ethic so I scraped myself together and put on my glossy red lipstick.

In room 306 were: A moderator, an editor (Becky Levine) and an agent (Kathleen Ortiz from Nancy Coffey) plus eight nervous people. This was an anonymous read and critique with the moderator reading the two-page submissions and then comments from the editor and agent.

Both Becky and Kathleen were wonderful. Whip smart, insightful, kind and respectful. How they can read just two pages and be so spot on with their advice is a mystery to me. I truly have a lot of respect for agents now, seeing how deftly (and, I say again, respectfully) they handle submissions. I learned as much from hearing their crits on other submissions as I did when they got to mine.

Okay, I feel weird writing this. It goes against my Catholic self abnegation upbringing. But they freaking loved my submission. I was shocked. Becky said she loved it, just loved it. She mentioned a line that she thought was especially beautiful and said she just loved the story, the evocation of an 'other' world. She had some suggested edits, but generally she said it was a home run.

Kathleen said she loved the male protagonist, loved the world building and some other nice things that I don't remember. I don't remember because what she said next was, "Whoever you are, see me after we're done. I want to read more."

There was one more submission after mine. Then Kathleen said "Okay, who wrote BookEnd? You can't leave until I give you my information." I raised my hand like I was back in high school and everyone started to clap. Can you believe that they'd clap and congratulate me? They don't know me from Adam. My face was red and I was all trembly again. People were talking to me, smiling. I felt like I'd won some incredible jackpot. I spoke to Kathleen, who is lovely, and she asked me for 100 pages.

I floated down to the bar in the lobby and drank a pint with my friend Laura. I hardly slept at all last night.

This morning at breakfast I find Laura sitting next to Barbara Poelle. Barbara recognized my name from the submission I sent her and we started talking about my book. She is so smart and funny, so insightful. What is it with the bad rap that agents get? Everyone I met at the conference, even if they weren't interested in my book, were kind and respectful and completely generous with their time. The whole day feels surreal. I can't believe all these good things are happening to me. I expect the sky to fall at any moment (see previous comment about Catholic upbringing).

As soon as I get home from the conference I'm going to throw the kids in front of Spongebob and start polishing my manuscript. Okay, first I'm going to kiss and tickle them until they're gasping, but right after that, it's WORK TIME.

Live! from the Pennwriters Conference - Day 1

The last workshop of the day and someone lost their sh-t. 

"So, what's the point here? Why would anyone do this?"

I'm all for asking questions but there's no need to be rude. The workshop leader tries to explain.

"I just don't believe I've wasted my time on this. You're not telling me anything I don't already know."

But she didn't leave, she kept sitting there silently and not so silently fuming. At the end of the workshop, when the leader asked if anyone had questions I really hoped that she wouldn't go there, but this dissenter did.

"So what you're saying is, just go figure it out for yourselves. You're not telling us anything."

She left maaaaad.

What was the topic? Unlocking your Writing style. The leader was a writer and an educator and the idea was to analyze your learning style (are you visual? verbal? Active, reflective?) so that you can better understand the way you learn. This would enable you to take advantage of the right techniques that exist out there - is Outlining for you? What about character profiles? Journaling? Concentrating on details? Sequential thinking or Global? 

It was a cool little workshop. The leader seemed a little hesitant, a little preoccupied, and I think that's one reason this person felt they could jump on her and vent. It was a pretty intellectual approach to writing, when this unhappy writer, in her own words, wanted 'answers, how tos' 

It was kind of a downer for a good but exhausting day. My butt hurts from sitting so long. I got some great feedback (more on that later) and some lukewarm feedback (from an agent pitch - boo-hoo)

Later Tonight: Anonymous Read & Critique. I wish I could go in my PJ's

Prep Work: A Conference Newbie Primer Pt 3 - What (Not) To Wear

not business casual

Clean and Appropriate
If you ask my seven year old what my rules are for dressing she can tell you, "Clean and Appropriate."
She will probably also roll her eyes at you and ask if you have any Hubba Bubba, but I digress.

C&A is my mantra with my kids. Not matching, not stylish, not fairies, mermaids, pink, blue, yellow, high/low/no fashion. I don't care what they chose to wear (yes, I let them dress themselves, to the shock and dismay of many of my friends and family.) I just want it to be right for the weather, the occasion and for your age group (no tube tops until you are 30+ and breast feeding your own child) and I want it to be clean.

That's  how I'm approaching conference dressing. I'm wearing pants, a nice-ish shirt and a cardigan (don't forget, hotel air conditioning can be merciless!), pretty much every day of the event. I may wear a dress one day just for the heck of it, but I'll see how I feel. I want to look like myself, that's important to me, so I won't wear a suit, though I think it's fine if people do (though business casual tends to mean you don't have to wear a suit) and I won't wear jeans and sneakers, again because that's not me. I want to be comfortable with the person I'm presenting to others. Now is not the time to try to look different, or how you 'think' a writer should look. Now is not the time for re-invention, it's the time to reveal who you are to a whole bunch of new friends.

Having said all that there is one thing that I must do when I am nervous, when I am in a social situation where I feel the need for 'armor' or a little psychic support. I must wear red lipstick. Putting it on makes me feel confident, ready. It's not 'F**K me' red lipstick, it's church-red lipstick, totally appropriate. To me, putting on the red lipstick signals that it's show time.

Snacks
I'm bringing:

• My water bottle
• My box of Cascadian Farms Vanilla Chip granola bars
• My box of Planter's Nutrition Heart Healthy mix mini packs (why so many peanuts? why not more pistachios?)
• MINTS! Because the amount of coffee I will be consuming over the weekend will probably give me awful coffee breath.
• Hershey's Kisses - to share and to console myself when things go wrong

So, I want to know from you:

1) When you attended your first conference, what's the one thing you wish you did that you didn't do?

2) And, if you haven't attended your first conference yet - what's holding you back?

Prep Work: A Conference Newbie Primer Pt 2

My business card holder.

Did I mention I don't know nothing about attending no conference? The advice I'm passing along is gleaned only from my own (current) experience.

Sign up for Everything (Free)

It's your dime, you need to throw yourself into the proceedings like it's the last day of the renaissance faire and you've got one of those cool pointy hats to show off.

That means sign up for the pitch sessions, the genre lunches, the critiques, the networking lunches/breakfasts/dinners. Anything that's free. Then, if there seems to be a paid event that really speaks to you, splurge on it, if you can. 

Look at the Schedule with a Critical Eye

It's a little like perusing a box of chocolates - all the workshops look good. All of them have something you can learn, something you need. But you can't attend all of them. So what do you do? As my yoga teacher says, create an intention for your practice. Meaning, what, if you could only accomplish one thing, do you want to achieve? Do you want to focus on your writing? On getting published? On meeting the most people? On self-promotion? Or is there a specific topic that you really need to master, like self publishing or using social media? You'll have the chance to accomplish more than one thing, but if you focus first on just one are, you'll be able to hone in on most of your workshops. Then, you'll see that you'll have some time for the extras. I'm concentrating on writing (the first page, story arc, voice) but I hope to throw in some pitching/agent info too.

Once you Choose your Workshops, Prep for Them

Some workshops have specific requirements, first two pages, synopsis, query letter, pitch. Most don't. But I'm going to make a radical suggestion. Even if it's not required, draft one up. Even if no one will ask you for it, have all of the above written and with you. Why? Because you'll go into all of your workshops with that experience already under your belt. Even if it's just the experience of trying to do them you'll understand a lot more about what the workshop leaders mean, if you've already 'trod' that road, at least once, before. 

Another way you can prep for your workshops is just thinking about the topic. What do you think about self-publishing? What questions/apprehensions do you have about it? What is the question you hope the leader answers? You'll have a better chance of getting those questions answered if you think of them, and write them down, before hand

Here are some links for reference:

The First Two (or five, or three) Pages

Synopsis

Query Letter

Pitch, Elevator or Otherwise

So what do you think? Anything you want to add? Anything I'm so off base about?

Tomorrow: SNACKS! Not just for hiking or pre-school anymore, and what the hell does business casual mean in the real world?

Prep Work: A Conference Newbie Primer Pt 1

I'm a crappy outliner. I also, as you may have gathered from my empanada recipe, do not hold following directions in high regard. But, because I'm downright contradictory, I faithfully believe in extensive prep. Weird, right?

So here's how I'm prepping for the Pennwriter's Conference that starts this Friday.

Blurb/Pitch/Elevator Pitch
I don't have one. I know what my book is about but I don't know how to tell others in a concise way that doesn't put them to sleep or make me sound like an idiot. In talking with my crit group I realized that it's more than not knowing what to say. When I boil it down to it's essentials, my book sounds stupid, like the most improbably asinine story ever told. No one else agrees with me, and I see their point. When I hear other about other people's books/WIP I have the opposite reaction - they all sound really good, marketable and original.

So while repeating the mantra  that my book isn't the only one in the universe that sucks, I have gleaned the following, thanks to Ramona DeFelice Long, one of the conference's great workshop leaders.

"Alexandra, everyone fears the elevator pitch, and it's really not necessary. Just condense what your story is about (theme) and what happens in it (action) into a few concise sentences. "My story is a (genre) set in (place) with a (character) who must (conflict) after (inciting incident)." Something like that. Write it down on an index card and bring it with you for reassurance. It's just silly for grown-ups to get all out of whack when talking about their work, or to try to spout memorized sentences like it's performance art. I'm sure you love your work, so be honest and enthusiastic about it and you'll be fine."

I'll be honest the line about 'It's just silly for grown-ups to get all out of whack when talking about their work..." stung a bit, but it probably stung because a) I don't feel like a grown up and b) it's true, it is silly.

Business Cards
Some people may think this is over kill, and maybe it is. I don't know if I'll use the cards my husband designed for me and got from Vista Print cheap, but I'd hate to be in a situation where I wanted/needed one and didn't have one. These are pre-blog so I'm getting little transparent labels at Staples today and printing the blog URL, so it's on the back of the card. It can't hurt.

Tomorrow: Reviewing the schedule and planning a strategy, plus how not to drink too much because I'm nervous (advice welcome!)

Something I Know, Something I Don't Know

Wow. That A-Z Blogging challenge kicked my ass. I didn't know just how much until I went to post a blog and found I couldn't. I was spent. Doesn't help that I have the sprogs all to myself this week as husband is out of town on business. Now I'm ready to blog again.

I have to start thinking about the conference I'm going to in 10 days. I can't just show up to something without mentally preparing myself. I mean, I have to imagine myself there, imagine myself going to workshops, remind myself to bring pencils and business cards. Do some deep, calming breathing. I'm a nerd. Correction, I'm a nervous nerd.

I've never gone to a full on conference, just a one day event last year. I don't know what to expect and that makes me squirrely. I don't want to waste the opportunity, but I just don't know how to approach it. I need help.

But I'm not holding my hand out to y'all without something in return. Something valuable. Yes, my empanada recipe. That's the something I know, and you can read it in full after the jump. What I want from YOU is survival tips on conference attending. And, if you are attending the Pennwriter's Conference in Pittsburgh next week, will you be my beer buddy? Thanks!

Writing Tip Thursday! #5 - First Revision: Steps One - SPELLCHECK THE FRIGGING THING

Last May I went to my first writing conference at Pennwriters. I didn't attend the whole weekend, money and mommy duties being what they are, but I did attend a one day intensive workshop with Timons Esais. He's a writer and a teacher and people, he's just good. I admit I was quaking in my boots when I turned up, having never faced the inquisitorial power of the writing conference before and - did he make me feel warm and fuzzy? Did he tell me I was a genius just waiting to be discovered? No. He made me work and think hard. But, for the effort of sticking your hand up and your neck out to answer a question or read from your WIP, he did give out candy.

He gave us advice on how to revise after the messy business of birthing the first draft. I pass it on to you in the hopes that it helps. It helped me get to stage two editing (where I linger, likely because of fear, on my first book)

1) Spell check the entire manuscript with a notepad and pencil in hand. Every time spell check brings something up DO NOT hit ignore like I do. Write the word down. There are so many words, especially in a book like mine where I've made up names for things, that I just ignore in spellcheck. Fair enough, but then how do I know that I'm consistent with my made up cosmology? Keep a log of the words that are coming up as misspelled. Later you can go back to that handwritten list and see how many different ways you spelled the name of your made up country.

2) Using that same hand list, check the spelling of names. You'd be amazed how many times I come across misspellings (or creative spellings) of my characters names. Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jennifer - how could a reader know if it's the same person or four different people? This goes triple for creative names like Story (Storey, Storie). Creating a bible, or series bible in my case, is a good way to have a fixed reference for character names, nicknames and spellings.

3) Start looking for words you use a lot. 80K words is a tonnage for someone to spew out and some of those words, lots of them, are repeats. That's all well and good, but writers have favorite words that they use when they are being lazy. Words that are fine on their own in a paragraph, but when read as a whole 'clang' that is, they stand out as being repeated too often. This can cause the reader to come out of suspension of disbelief and that is big trouble. Watch out for these lazy words that are used as filler. Write them down and then keep a tally of how many times they appear. Some software programs do this for you. It's an eye opener.

4) Read your work out loud. This is a great way to uncover those 'lazy words' in #3, because you'll remember just hearing a word a few minutes ago, whereas sometimes, when we read, we don't 'register' every word, especially as the writer who knows the words so well. I think we unconciously polish and edit, making it sound better than it is when we read it to ourselves. Read it out loud, no matter how much you hate the sound of your voice. You'll hear clangers and awkward places immediately. Again, don't stop and try to fix it on the spot - write it on your 'revision' list for later.

Pennwriter's Conference is in Pittsburgh this year so I'll be missing it unfortunately, but I definitely recommend it. It's a great group of people and a great starting point for newbie conference goers.