Summer Camp for Writers: An Agent’s Guide to Conferences

It’s that time again. Spring in New England—the tulips are blooming, the trees are budding, and the conference invitations are piling up. With the warm weather comes the promise of fun and frolic in the sun and in bland hotels across the land. That’s right, it’s conference season.

Writers are always asking me which conferences they should attend. That’s a very personal decision as well as a professional one. I think of these events as summer camp for writers: kids thrown together for a common purpose, to make friends and learn new skills and hike and swim and stay up too late. I consider these factors when I schedule my summers. I must really love a conference to go during this glorious season, because my little lakeside cottage is always calling to me to stay home and enjoy the singular pleasures of summer: Garden! Swim! Sun! Kayak! Paddleboard! Play! Play! Play!

Here’s a list of the conferences I’ll be attending, and my reasons for doing so, as an author and a writing teacher and an agent. Conferences are not cheap, and I choose with budget and benefit in mind.

APRIL 28-30
MALICE DOMESTIC (BETHESDA, MD)

http://malicedomestic.org/

Malice is the fan conference for traditional mystery. This will be my first time going this year, and I making the trek to Bethesda because:

1)      Three of my clients are up for Agatha Awards, and want to cheer them on: Alexia Gordon, Kate Flora, and Roger Guay!

2)      I can share a room with a dear friend, saving on expenses and boosting the fun factor.

3)      Many of my clients write traditional mysteries.

4)      I write traditional mysteries myself.

5)      Dozens of my friends and clients are going, so there will plenty of people to hang out with at the bar.

6)      Many editors to whom I shop projects will be there, and I can buy them martinis.

MAY 18-21 
FIRST TEN PAGES BOOT CAMP (WRITERS DIGEST UNIVERSITY/ONLINE)

https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/agent-one-on-one-1st-ten-pages-boot-camp?utm_source=writersonlineworkshops.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wow-sjb-inst-170518-firsttenpages-tnwdbcpromo

This is an online WD workshop I do with my sister agents Gina Panettieri and Saba Sulaiman of Talcott Notch Literary. It’s fun and I don’t have to leave the house.

MAY 31-JUNE 2

BOOK EXPO AMERICA aka BEA (NEW YORK CITY)

http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

This is the big annual trade show for trade publishing. Going is obligatory for me as an agent, because:

1)      Everyone is there, at the parties if not at the Javits Center.

2)      Our agency always has a table in the Rights Center, where we meet with editors and publishers and rights people. We pitch our projects big time to all the aforementioned.

3)      Walking the show floor is a great place to check out which publishers are publishing what.

4)      There are lots of informative panels where editors and writers talk about the business.

5)      Book signings abound, and that means free books!

6)      Even editors who avoid the Javits Center tend to be in town, and available for off-site meetings over breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks.

JUNE 22-JUNE 25

ALGONKIAN NEW YORK PITCH CONFERENCE (NEW YORK CITY)

http://newyorkpitchconference.com/

This is a quarterly conference dedicated to the art of pitching. I’m one of the workshop leaders, helping a group of 15-20 writers learn how to pitch their projects, and coaching them through their real-time pitches with four New York editors. It’s an intense and very rewarding experience for me because:

1)      I love working with writers, not to mention conference founder Michael Neff and sister workshop leader Susan Breen.

2)      The level of craft among participants here is fairly high.

3)      I get to meet lots of editors in a setting outside the publishing house, many of whom have gone on to publish work by my clients.

4)      I’ve signed and sold several writers I met here.

JULY 13-16
THRILLERFEST (NEW YORK CITY)

http://thrillerfest.com/

ThrillerFest is the annual conference put on by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). Graced by big brand-name authors like Lee Child and Lisa Gardner, this conference offers many menu options for writers, from the usual panels to FBI school and a pitching free-for-all known as PitchFest. I go every year because:

1)      I represent a lot of crime writers.

2)      The PitchFest is de rigueur for agents representing crime fiction.

3)      This year I have a client up for a Thriller Award: Richard Thomas!

4)      People watching at the bar is awesome!

5)      So many of my friends, clients, and heroes/heroines will be there.

6)      It’s a great opportunity to network with editors and other publishing executives.

AUGUST 18-20

WRITERS DIGEST CONFERENCE (NEW Y0RK CITY)

http://www.writersdigestconference.com/

This is one of the best all-around general conferences for writers, which is no surprise given that Writers Digest is one of the premier organizations for writers. And I don’t say that just because they publish my writing books. I go most every year because:

1)      This is a great community of writers, both published and pre-published.

2)      I get the chance to meet with my own editor and publisher.

3)      The faculty is first-rate; as a presenter, I’m in good company with the likes of Hallie Ephron and Hank Phillippi Ryan and Jane Cleland.

4)      The Pitch Slam is a good time for meeting new writers and seeing all my fave fellow agents.

So, there you have it. My summer camp schedule for 2017. Hope to see to you somewhere, soon. I’ll be the agent at the bar waiting for you to buy me a martini and tell me all about your book.

GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT

It’s Monday morning, and as I sift through the many submissions in my in-box, as well as those by my own clients, trying to plan the week ahead, I can’t help but think of Evan Marshall. Evan Marshall is a literary agent and author of several novels, as well as The Marshall Plan series of writing books and writing software. I’d been a fan of his for years, but I had the good fortune of meeting him in person not long ago, and that encounter has stayed with me.

I was at the Writers Digest Conference in New York City, where I moderated a panel with the congenial Mr. Marshall and fabulous authors JaneK. Cleland, Libby Cudmore, and Reed Farrel Coleman. The “You Know My Methods, Watson” panel was billed as the “Secrets to Succeeding as a Mystery Writer.”

But the words of hard-earned wisdom revealed there applied to stories of all kinds, not just mysteries. But perhaps the most intriguing story was the one Evan told of his own path to publication. He’d been a big success as an agent, but was not having much luck selling his own work.  When his wife asked him what he’d tell himself if he were his client, he said, “Give the people what they want.”

Evan had been writing whatever he wanted to, without regard to his audience—and failing to sell it. As opposed to giving the people want they wanted—which is what he always told his clients to do (and the aspiring writers who read his writing books, of whom I was one). So Evan changed his strategy, gave the people what they wanted, and went on to sell several traditional mysteries.

If you’re writing commercial fiction, you can figure out what your people want.  Study the conventions of your genre, and then play with them. Tweak them, twist them, turn them on their heads—but do not ignore them. Becasue you ignore them at your peril.

I often meet writers who know their craft and tell a good story, but have not found a publisher, or if they have, they’ve not broken out of mid-list. Often this boils down to a failure to take the audience for their work seriously. They’re not acknowledging the conventions of the genre; they’re dismissing the expectations that the readers of the genre bring to the reading experience. (Note: If your work is often called “quirky,” this could be you.)

So respect the readers you’d love to call your own. They know their genre, and they’ll reject those writers who think they are “transcending the genre” (a phrase bound to annoy the devotees) when all those writers are really doing is playing without a net.

Which is another way of saying: Give the people what they want. 

PS: For more on Evan Marshall, see http://www.themarshallplan.net.

PPS: For more on my upcoming Well-Sold Story intensive at the Writers Digest Novel Writing Conference, see http://novel.writersdigestconference.com/index.php/schedule/well-sold-story-intensive.

Yes, Virginia, the Beginning Does Matter

This morning I got an email from a writer that I found very disheartening. It went something like this:

Dear Paula,

I have written a great novel that I’d like to send to you in the hope of obtaining representation. Now I know that the first chapter doesn’t really work, but the rest of it is very good, and I know that you’ll love it if you read the entire manuscript. Does that really matter? Should I send it to you now or wait until I figure out how to fix the first chapter?

Best,

Aspiring Writer

At the risk of repeating myself: Yes, your story opening DOES matter. Because if the beginning doesn’t work, the rest doesn’t matter. The truth is that few readers—and even fewer agents and editors—will read past a poorly executed first chapter.  That’s why I do so many First Ten Pages Boot Camps and that’s why I’m writing a new book about story openings called BEGINNINGS:  How to Craft Story Openings That Impress Agents, Engage Editors, and Captivate Readers that Writers Digest Books will publish in the fall. Because I know how much the beginning matters—and I want to help as many writers get past that first hurdle in the novel-writing process as I can.

The First Page Sells the Book…

That’s what they say in publishing. So take the time to craft a first page, a first scene, a first chapter that engages readers—and keeps them reading.  Here’s a checklist designed to help you ensure that your first chapter:

•          What actually happens?

Too often the answer to this is, “not much.” Make something compelling happen!

•          Why will the reader care about/relate to the characters?

Readers want to fall in love with the protagonist at first sight.

•          How do you want the reader to feel? What have you done to evoke that feeling?

Art is meant to be an emotional experience, not simply an intellectual one. Make your readers feel something.

•          Have you used all the elements of fiction at your disposal—setting, plot, character, theme, etc.?

So many first pages fail to weave in all these elements—and you need them all to write fully realized scenes.

•          Have you chosen the right voice?

When the voice is right on, readers read on.

•          Does the dialogue ring true?

Bad dialogue kills the reading experience faster than most anything.

•          Are the story questions strong enough to keep the reader turning the pages?

Without story questions, there’s no story—just writing.

•          Is it clear what kind of story you’re telling?

Readers play favorites with genre; they want to know what kind of story they’re reading right away.

•          What makes this story different from others of its ilk?

You need to set your story apart from the brand-name competition in your genre—and the sooner the better.

•          Have you gotten the point of view right?

The misuse of point of view is one of the big reasons I pass on stories, even when everything else works.

•          Is the scene well-written and well-edited?

Professionalism counts.

If your story opening passes this checklist test, then you may be ready to shop your work.  Good luck—and happy querying!

The Art of Distraction for Writers

Okay, so it's Day Four of NaNoWriMo and I'm writing about cake. One of my characters is a pastry chef, and she's making Three-Layer Lemon Chocolate Cake for a party in which a big secret will be revealed.

But I have lost sight of the scene in which a big secret will be revealed. I am stuck on cake. I am dreaming and doodling and googling about cake and lemons and chocolate.

Turn that Distraction Frown Upside Down: Meyer Lemons

I can taste this cake, with its triple layers of sweet and tart lemon cake, made with the juice of Meyer lemons. A Meyer lemon is a Chinese citrus fruit that's a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They taste swell!

You can buy Meyer lemons at Whole Foods, just so you know. Hmmmnnn...Maybe I should include the recipe for Three Layer Lemon Chocolate Cake in the story. Readers love recipes. I better get up and go to Whole Foods right away and get some Meyer lemons. I have to test all my recipes, don't I? In the name of accuracy...and dessert for dinner.

Not So Fast, Cake!

Wait, but first I have to hit my NaNoWriMo word count for the day. I have to write that scene in which the big secret is revealed. The cake must wait.

That's how NaNoWriMo works: Word Count Before Cake.

Why? Because Life Is Uncertain, So Write That Book First.

And then you can write your cake--and eat it, too.


For more inspiration, use code PMQHANDS for an extra 20% off of my new boo, Writing with Quiet Hands:
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/writing-with-quiet-hands-paperback

NaNoWriMo Prep Tip #1

I love this poster by Grant Snider, which I have hanging in my writing room. (To get your own, go to http://www.incidentalcomics.com/p/poster-shop.html.) I find it helps me plot. But there are other tricks to plotting as well. Here's one of my faves, just in time for NaNoWriMo:

Enhance Your Logline

Create an enhanced logline for your project, one that incorporates the main action of your story, its emotional impact on the reader, and what sets it apart from other stories in the same genre.

Here’s one for Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn:

Gone Girl is a thriller about a wife gone missing, and the husband held responsible for her disappearance. Is she dead—or just pretending? Is he a murderer—or just a cuckold? [main action]

Told from alternating his and her points of view [what sets it apart], this twisted love story reveals the terrible truths about an ordinary marriage—the tie that binds, for better or worse. [emotional impact]

Use this enhanced logline as your beacon as you navigate your way through your story during NaNoWriMo. It will help you stay on track as you pound out those words every day.

Go for it!

And for more plotting help, use code PLOTPM, good for an extra 20% off on purchases of your book in the WD shop through end of month. Here’s the link: http://www.writersdigestshop.com/plot-perfect.