Why You Should Go to Writers' Conferences, Even if (Especially if) You're Scared

I attended one of my favorite writers' conferences last week, the Midwest Writers Workshop. It was a blast, as usual—tons of great writing advice, valuable networking with industry professionals, and fun times with writer friends I don't get to see often enough.

I pitched to two agents, had a one-on-one query critique with the Query Shark herself (which was amazing!), and did more socializing than I normally do in a period of several months. On the way home, I was thinking about how comfortable and relaxed I felt the whole time—a complete 180 from the way I felt before attending my first conference back in 2012. I remember sitting in my car in the parking lot, literally shaking as I psyched myself up to go inside the hotel where the conference was being held.

That conference, by the way, was where I met friends and critique partners I still keep in touch with (hi Stacy, Jenn, and Lauren!). I learned that agents and editors weren't scary people—they were just looking for something they loved that they could sell. I also got the expert advice I needed to improve my writing to the point where I finally started getting lots of requests for partials and fulls from agents. If I hadn't been brave enough to sign up for that conference (and actually leave my car), I firmly believe I would have kept spinning my wheels for much, much longer.

We writerly types often (usually?) would rather sit at home with a good book than spend two or three days interacting with a ton of people. But it's so worth it. It's impossible to describe how good it feels to find people who think and feel and write just like you do. And I guarantee that your writing will improve.

If the very idea of a conference still makes you want to throw up, try starting small. Many SCBWI chapters have mini-conferences where they bring in one or two publishing professionals to do a day of workshops. You can also attend an online workshop (like the fabulous WriteOnCon) to get a taste of what an in-person conference might be like.

Or just take the leap and sign up for that big conference you've been eyeing. You definitely won't regret it.

Some happy Midwest Writer's Workshop attendees (I'm second from the right!)

Two Years and Counting!

Stacy wrote it perfectly last week - what an incredible two years it's been for this little blog that could.  To think, it all started with four wide-eyed writers who met at the Big Sur Writing Workshop back in Spring 2012.  I'm so proud of all these talented ladies and want to thank all our dedicated readers whose support and comments are what keep us posting along. 

Today marks the first day of Thinking To Inking's Birthday month and we're counting down some of our favourite posts from blog days past.  I thought what better way to start than to recount one of my favourite posts from fellow blog mate Stacy.  I remember the day she emailed all of us to let us know that there was something major brewing.  Only a year out from our weekend in Big Sur and she was the first of our crew to land a publishing deal for WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS with Month9Books.  We laughed, we cried, and since we are all in different cities, we virtually hugged and jumped for joy while sharing glasses of emoticon champagne.  

Click here to check out Stacy's post on "How She Got Her Publishing Deal".  Always humble and honest, Stacy does a great job of mapping the perilous and exciting road on her journey to publication. 

Also, don't forget to check out our rafflecopter below. It's live which means you've got a great chance to win great prizes!  Come back every Monday and Wednesday this June for more trips down blog lane and chances to win. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

How I Got My Agent!

Signing my contract and celebrating with chocolate (no surprise).

(Short version)

I went to the SDSU writer’s Conference. Kevan Lyon had reviewed the first ten of Bette Noir and asked for a full when I met with her; two weeks later I got the call, and signed with her right away.

(Ridiculously long and personal version)

I’d always wanted to be a writer, but in the fall of 2010 I decided that it was time for me to actually get serious so I got a roommate to help pay the bills so I could go part-time at work for a year, finished/polished up my first book (YA about a chic secret society of wicked stepmothers and a stepdaughter battling them all to save her dad), and started learning about the publishing industry via obsessive blog reading/comparing notes with the talented Karen Clayton and attending conferences where I picked up friends and an amazingly insightful critique partner/friend in Alison Ashley Formento. I blogged about my experiences here.

I carefully researched agents and sent out queries to what I thought was a lot of agents (maybe 20?) and got half a dozen requests for fulls as well as some nice initial rejection letters. All of the agents sent back nice letters of rejection after reading my work. Many gave me tips on how to make the work better and wrote some nice things about my writing (as a teacher I am deeply touched that they took the time to invest in my writing and give me feedback that I treated like gold), but none was a taker. So I moved on.

My next work, Bette Noir, (YA) tumbled out of me in verse after the most difficult break-up of my dating life (one of the darker periods in my life). I'd become fascinated by the way confronting the darkness we all face has the power to make us strong, and tried my hand at writing my way into figuring out my answer to that philosophical question. On a whim I signed up at last minute for The Big Sur writing conference the night I finished the first draft. When there, I had the honor of working with Brandy Rivers and Sharyn November who gave me the confidence I needed to keep going, and excellent advice on how to shape/make more marketable the work so I re-wrote the ms into verse and prose. I also came to make some amazing writing friends in my thinkingtoinking blogmates. They’ve been beyond wonderful.

After revising Bette Noir, I submitted the ms to five agents (2 full requests with nice rejections), and put it in one contest, and then stopped submitting (not a move supported by many of my friends). I know it sounds cheesy, but while my first ms was a lot of fun to write, this one wasn’t much fun since I was writing a love story through a broken heart. In the midst of my devastation from the break-up, exploring the ways that love and the arts can heal was what got me through, and I didn’t want to send something so personal out unless I was absolutely certain it would be in the right hands (from my experience, all the agents I've researched and met at conferences are great, but I really wanted a great fit with me/my quirks) so I put it in a drawer and moved on to my next work.

One of my very talented best friends/partners in crime is also named Lauren (same height & same hair as well), and our mutual friends are always asking us to write up our shenanigans so I took a break from YA to write a women’s fiction book with her about said shenanigans (so what if the Gin Blossoms are missing one of their five back-up tambourines? They still invited us out on their boat). I finally agreed to write the story with her in a café in Soho after 1. She was lamenting the burden of student loans and 2. A creepy man randomly offered me a role as Julianne Moore in a pornography film. Gross. Not the Julianne part, that’s flattering; she’s lovely, but porn??? I told the other Lauren I didn’t love her enough to do porn to help her with her student loans, but that I did love her enough to write a book with her (she is a very talented writer) to try to help pay said loans. We’re currently putting the finishing touches on The Mostly Untrue Adventures of the Laurens Monahan and Avenius.

THE Kevan Lyon--
As smart & good as she is beautiful.

And then the SDSU Writer’s Conference rolled around. It was local. I figured I’d get to hear some good speakers, and steeled myself to send in Bette Noir to Kevan Lyon because she seemed like such a sharp thinker/good person. Based on her reputation online she seemed like she cared about women and that she would be someone I could trust and whose vision was sound. During the consultation she asked for me to send her my full ms. As we kept chatting, we figured out that I had taught her daughter years ago. I can’t tell you how much I loved teaching her daughter. I knew right then that anyone who could raise a young woman like that was exactly the one I wanted guiding my career, and I hoped and prayed like crazy that she’d want to take me on. Two weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, she emailed me telling me that she loved the book that came out of both my heartbreak and hope. I signed with The Marsal Lyon Literary Agency the following Monday.

Picture I took at the beach on Valentine's Day after the call.
Reminds me that as much as life can disappoint,
it can also surprise you in the most beautiful ways.

And now...head down...back to work...the journey is long and I'm sure will be full of many more ups and definitely plenty of downs, too.

If you want to follow that little personal journey, please "like" my brand new author page on Facebook.

Much Love & Chocolate

XOXO

--Lauren

Industry Month In Review: Conference Call

Mount Carmel: Niagara Writers/Illustrator's Retreat

This month's Industry Month In Review is more like Industry Month Fast Forward.  Reading articles about tips and tools for the trade is great, but if you're like me, most things go in one eye and out the other (apologies for the somewhat disturbing visual).  I find I learn the most in an interactive environment where I'm not just spoken to, but engaged in activities and diving into my own creative work.  

So it's with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to interview Jackie Garlic-Pynaert, who's YA & Children's Writers and Illustrators workshops include the Niagara Writers/Illustrators Retreat, B&B Garden Party Writer's Workshop, and most recently Novel Gurus held earlier this month in Delray Beach, Florida. 

These workshops are smaller, intimate affairs that allow writers of all levels to learn from one another as well as top-tier faculty including agents, editors and authors. Here Jackie talks about what started it all and her upcoming Niagara conference.

JP:    Tell us a little about yourself
. 

JGP: I’m a writer and a pillow maker (that’s right, I make pillows, fancy ones, and I just opened my own little shop on etsy featuring my creations. Shameless plug, sorry, I’m just so excited!). I am also a teacher (in the regular system for 16 years, but now I mainly teach writers about writing) and a public speaker and conference co-coordinator. Wow…that’s seems like a lot, doesn’t it? Basically, my work centers on the things I love the most; writing, teaching and being creative. 

JP:    How did you get into conference/workshop organization?


Jackie (center) with fellow attendees at Novel Gurus

JGP: I guess it all started because I’d been travelling State side for about three years attending writing conferences and wondered why we don’t have something just as wonderful going on here at home? As well, I’d gotten to the point in my career (as a writer) that what the larger conferences were offering, was no longer meeting the needs of me, or my friends, at the stage we were at in our writing journeys. We were in that precarious place where you are no longer a beginner, but you have by no means risen to the top. Some of us were agented and others were querying favorably but still not being picked. We all knew we needed to work on craft and to be challenged through more serious critique sessions, but nothing like that was being offered. I think it was when I attended Big Sur hosted by Andrea Brown Agency that the lights really came on in my head. That was the first conference I’d ever been to where multiple critique sessions were offered and rewrite critique sessions were mandatory. Taking that model and the wonderful critique circle model I’d participated in for several years out in Nevada at their retreats, I decided to combine what I found useful at both events and create a new event that would address the needs of me as well as my friends, those ‘in-between writers’, as well as the seasoned veteran and the newbie. From there, I literally stumbled on the venue (I was lost, looking for another venue, pulled into Mount Carmel’s driveway to ask directions, and fell in love) and the rest is history.

JP:    Big conferences versus little workshops?


Author/Illustrator Debbie Ohi
2013 Niagara Faculty

JGP: Although Niagara is technically billed as a Conference and Retreat, it is small enough to still have that small workshop feel. I think the major difference between a smaller event like Niagara and a larger conference is the amount of ‘Faculty Face Time’ the attendees get. People complain all the time at the larger conferences about feeling invisible and not being able to get any time with the faculty. They complain the size of the event makes it hard to connect with people, especially industry professionals, who’d rather run from the attendees it seems, than take a moment to chat. Attendees are often kept at a distance from the faculty at larger events, in an effort to keep them from inundating them with questions, because after all, we do want them to come back, don’t we? But at smaller events like Niagara, there are less people, so right away the faculty feels relaxed. Also, Niagara by design is a retreat, meaning everyone eats, sleeps and hangs out with one another all weekend long, faculty and attendees alike -- like great big kids at a summer camp. This gives attendees plenty of time to chat with faculty and vise versa, so that urgent feeling that you have only a small window of time to pitch your book before the faculty disappears, completely goes away. I also think smaller conferences lead to more natural discussion between faculty members and participants, which leads to more invited and organic pitching. At Niagara there is also the added bonus of being able to purchase twenty minute private one-on-one critique sessions with a faculty member, for an additional $45, where an open discussion of your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the scope of your overall synopsis, occurs. Lastly, I’d say the benefit of smaller conferences is the host’s ability to make attendees feel welcome. With fewer people to worry about, a real atmosphere of friendliness and inclusion has a better chance of being established.

JP:    Who do you think would best benefit from Niagara?

JGP: Hmmmmm (taps chin)….I’d say, everyone. Everyone who really loves writing, who strives to improve their writing, who’s goal it is to produce quality writing, writing that rises to the top, whether it be through the traditional publishing model, or the newer self publishing avenues. After all, everyone wants to put out the best possible product they can, regardless of their venue, and that takes a lot of work, immense study of craft, exposure to quality critique, and constructive informed criticism, and Niagara offers all of that (along with some invaluable information about marketing and the industry). I also think anyone yearning to know more about the American Publishing Market should attend Niagara. With so many top-notch members of the faculty hailing from the States all under one roof, you can’t go wrong.

JP:    What makes Niagara special?

JGP: I think I might have addressed that somewhat in answering number three, but I’ll add this, I think it’s the people. The quality of staff that agrees to attend Niagara are some of the biggest names in the industry. And the attendees are top-notch dedicated writers and illustrators, who really challenge themselves and strive to create quality work year-after-year. Establishing such a dynamic is invaluable at a conference, and I’m so very lucky to have such people attend, I really am. I also think it’s a great place to get face time and lots of it, with an acquiring editor and agent(s) in the industry (two agents this year!) that you can’t get anywhere else.

JP:    When should our readers be marking their calendars?

JGP: May 3-5.  It’s a great place and a great time, with great food…did I mention the food? Shout out to Steve here, the venue’s caterer…omg…there are no words…anyway, do join us! I’d love to see you there!

How I Got My Agent!

I am so, so, so excited to announce that I'm now represented by Jennifer Azantian of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency!

I've always found "how I got my agent" posts to be very motivating--so in the hope that others might feel the same way, here's mine. (Fair warning: it's long!)

THE LONG-TIMERS is the third novel I queried. I started writing seriously in 2010 and banged out what I thought was a pretty decent YA paranormal novel by the end of the year. I sent off a whole bunch of email queries (75 or 80, maybe? I remember it was a lot!), to pretty much anyone who represented the genre. This shotgun approach resulted in a handful of requests to read fulls and partials, and while every single one ended in a polite form rejection, it was enough to convince me I wasn't completely nuts.

Figuring I'd probably do better with another genre, one that wasn't quite so saturated, I decided to try writing a MG sci-fi novel next. As with my first manuscript, I got a handful of partial and full requests, but each one ended with a polite rejection.

But around this time, I lucked into my first real critique partner (hi Laura!). We met through our husbands and discovered we both wrote YA, so we decided to meet once a week and work through our previously completed manuscripts, critiquing a chapter a week.

Holy crap. Seriously, if you've never had a real CP, one who's also a writer, one who's willing to dig into your work and discuss it with you for hours, you NEED ONE. My writing improved immensely after just a few months of weekly meetings.

In late 2011, I figured I'd try my hand at another YA manuscript. I'd just finished the first draft of THE LONG-TIMERS when I stumbled across an agent's blog post promoting the 2012 Big Sur Writing Workshop--which was only a six hour drive away from where I was living at the time. The idea of going to an actual writing conference terrified me, to be honest. I wouldn't know anyone there. I'd never had more than one person actually critique my work. I'd have to meet (and talk to!) live agents. But somehow I screwed up my nerve and signed up. And I'm so glad I did! The conference was amazing. Not only did I meet my future Thinking to Inking co-bloggers there, but I also had actual conversations with several agents and got amazing feedback from editors and fellow attendees.

Just as I was finishing up the revisions from the conference and getting ready to start querying, I found out about a Twitter pitch party and signed up for an account. Suddenly (seriously, I still can't believe how fast this happened), I was a member of a thriving, awesome, incredibly supportive Twitter writing community.

I started querying THE LONG-TIMERS in June of 2012. This time, I was determined to query in small batches. This turned out to be really smart, because I got some tremendously helpful feedback early on which helped me make the manuscript much stronger. While I was waiting for responses, I entered contests--and to my surprise and delight, I started getting lots of requests! One of these was the Gearing Up to Get An Agent (GUTGAA) blogfest pitch contest, hosted by the lovely Deana Barnhart. I was thrilled when I made it to the agent round of the contest and even more thrilled when I got multiple agent requests to read partials--one of them from Jennifer.

I had over three times more requests to read material for THE LONG-TIMERS than my previous two manuscripts combined, but then the rejections started to roll in. Most of them were personalized--a big change from my first query attempts--and they were incredibly nice (I'm convinced literary agents are some of the nicest people on earth). But almost every rejection said the same thing: I really like these specific parts, but I'm not connecting with the whole thing/don't love it enough to represent it.

Well. As you can imagine, I felt a little discouraged. At the end of November, Jennifer emailed me to say she had loved the first fifty pages of the manuscript and wanted to read more, but I told myself not to get my hopes up. She probably would be another in the string of agents who liked it, but didn't like it enough.

So when I got Jennifer's email telling me she loved it, I just about fell off my chair. When she called me to offer representation, I was bowled over by her passion and excitement for the manuscript. I am beyond thrilled to be working with her and so happy that I finally found the exact right advocate for my work.

The moral of this particular story: get yourself out there! If I hadn't gotten together with critique partners, gone to conferences, and hooked up with a larger writing community, there's no way I'd be writing this post today.

I am incredibly grateful to the friends who helped me get to this point: my wonderful first CP Laura; Jenn, Stacy, and Lauren (seriously the nicest co-bloggers/critique partners I could ask for); Erin and Andrew for the great critique notes; Dee and Summer for being amazing and awesome and incredibly supportive; and my husband Gavin, who's stuck by me through all this craziness and makes everything possible. I love all of you guys!

Stats (because I know I always like to see them, heh):
Queries sent: 55
Rejections: 31
No-response: 13
Partial requests: 14 (9 from contests, 3 from queries, 2 from in-person pitches)
Full requests: 15 (8 from queries, 3 from contests, 4 upgraded from partials)

Industry Month In Review: Winter Bright Blues

It's frightfully cold here in the north east but I'm determined not to let the chill get to me.  Besides, as a snowboarder, it's been great for hitting the slopes!  Plus, SCBWI just wrapped another successful NY Conference and while I wasn't able to attend in person, I've been keeping up to date via the SCBWI Conference Blog.  Filled with video commentary, photos and speaker summaries, it's chalk full of insight and information. 

But even with an exciting NY event to follow online, sometimes you still need a bit of a push.  The ALSC just released their 2013 Notable Children's Books.  I love checking out the great books and it's an inspiring list to aspire to be a part of it. 

And if you're needing a little excitement this February, well, the best thing to do is to raise the stakes....in your manuscript.  Writer's Digest has a great article outlining just how to raise the stakes in the first 50 pages of your novel.  

Finally, if that's not enough to keep you motivated, check out these two upcoming events in sunny states with beautiful warm weather!

Novel Gurus
Big Sur Writing Workshop