The Atlanta Writers' Conference is over. To say the least, it was a humbling experience.
The main room was set up with about 100 chairs, and people were standing during the morning Q&A panels. Some folks travelled from places like Macon and even West Virginia. Attendees ranged from previously published authors to people thinking maybe they'd like to try to write.
The panel discussions were eye-openers. First, I learned Lazlo singing little bits of songs when he gets drunk in A Different Kind of Twin is a copyright violation! During the week I will make a list of the songs, find out who owns the publishing rights from the ASCAP repertoire search engine, and start sending requests for permission. So much for fair use.
Second, I learned that agents and publishers, just like you and me in our day jobs, work very, very hard. Agents can get over 1,000 query letters a month. They swear 90% of them are bad, but they live to find the 10% that show enough promise that they request a partial or full manuscript for evaluation. And then 90% of those don't live up to the promise of the query.
The agents and publishers' reps that I got to meet were uniformly professional. My special thanks go to Quressa Robinson, April Osborn, Andy Ross, Holly McClure, and Michelle Richter. They were objective in offering criticism and suggestions when I presented them with a query letter and in some cases the first chapter and the synopsis for The Rothschild Jewels. As I feared, I don't know beans about putting together a query letter or making a synopsis. I know more now.
I was careful to thank each of these people for educating me. No one suggested I was a bad person, or that I had the literary skills of a rhesus monkey, or that my family should be ashamed of me (well, not for my writing). Even so, my fragile little snowflake ego is black and blue. As I said, it has been a humbling experience.
One of the members of my AWC critique group was there, and we got to compare notes several times. He was showing the same novel we've been working on in the group. He got some criticism, but he also got some encouragement -- one of the agents gave him her business card! Let me say that none of them did that for me. Good on him!
And three different women at the conference sought me out to ask about joining the critique group (I'm listed as 'leader' in the monthly membership email, although that is only because I was the one who emailed the Writers Club to tell them we had created the group. Nobody leads it.). In the past we discussed adding another writer or two, and four guys would love for a new member to be female. Previously some people interested in children's books and poetry have approached us, but that would not have worked in an adult fiction critique group. These new prospects will submit some writing samples, I'll share them with the present group members, and we'll see what happens.
Many panelists and some of the presenters said being in a critique group is necessary to get better. I have benefitted, even if not enough for an agent to sign me on the spot at the conference. If you write, if you want to write, I urge you to find a group (check MeetUp at the least). If there is none where you live, start one. The sooner you begin working with a critique group, the sooner you'll get better. And we all want to get better. And betterer. And betterest.
The main room was set up with about 100 chairs, and people were standing during the morning Q&A panels. Some folks travelled from places like Macon and even West Virginia. Attendees ranged from previously published authors to people thinking maybe they'd like to try to write.
The panel discussions were eye-openers. First, I learned Lazlo singing little bits of songs when he gets drunk in A Different Kind of Twin is a copyright violation! During the week I will make a list of the songs, find out who owns the publishing rights from the ASCAP repertoire search engine, and start sending requests for permission. So much for fair use.
Second, I learned that agents and publishers, just like you and me in our day jobs, work very, very hard. Agents can get over 1,000 query letters a month. They swear 90% of them are bad, but they live to find the 10% that show enough promise that they request a partial or full manuscript for evaluation. And then 90% of those don't live up to the promise of the query.
The agents and publishers' reps that I got to meet were uniformly professional. My special thanks go to Quressa Robinson, April Osborn, Andy Ross, Holly McClure, and Michelle Richter. They were objective in offering criticism and suggestions when I presented them with a query letter and in some cases the first chapter and the synopsis for The Rothschild Jewels. As I feared, I don't know beans about putting together a query letter or making a synopsis. I know more now.
I was careful to thank each of these people for educating me. No one suggested I was a bad person, or that I had the literary skills of a rhesus monkey, or that my family should be ashamed of me (well, not for my writing). Even so, my fragile little snowflake ego is black and blue. As I said, it has been a humbling experience.
One of the members of my AWC critique group was there, and we got to compare notes several times. He was showing the same novel we've been working on in the group. He got some criticism, but he also got some encouragement -- one of the agents gave him her business card! Let me say that none of them did that for me. Good on him!
And three different women at the conference sought me out to ask about joining the critique group (I'm listed as 'leader' in the monthly membership email, although that is only because I was the one who emailed the Writers Club to tell them we had created the group. Nobody leads it.). In the past we discussed adding another writer or two, and four guys would love for a new member to be female. Previously some people interested in children's books and poetry have approached us, but that would not have worked in an adult fiction critique group. These new prospects will submit some writing samples, I'll share them with the present group members, and we'll see what happens.
Many panelists and some of the presenters said being in a critique group is necessary to get better. I have benefitted, even if not enough for an agent to sign me on the spot at the conference. If you write, if you want to write, I urge you to find a group (check MeetUp at the least). If there is none where you live, start one. The sooner you begin working with a critique group, the sooner you'll get better. And we all want to get better. And betterer. And betterest.