Last year I went to my first writers conference. I chose it based on location: Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Writers Conference turned out to be the perfect choice, as it was the right size to be able to meet a lot of people, develop skills in workshops, and hear a remarkable eulogy for Ray Bradbury, who had been one of their own. This past week they lost their founder: Barnaby Conrad, Jr..
This year I selected the San Francisco Writers Conference as a place to network further, and test a few ideas in the “Speed Dating for Agents” and “Ask a Pro” sessions.
I mapped out the schedule for the four-day conference. Each day there were ample opportunities to listen to editors, agents, and other presenters share their experience and advice. Over meals provided in the elegant Mark Hopkins hotel, a gala, and no host dinners, I met writers, some volunteers, some presenters. Many people I spoke to were “part of the family” and had been there since it began ten years prior. The coordination of the conference reflected lessons learned (larger room for the gala event than in prior years; volunteer who gave a “lay of the land” to nervous attendees waiting for the Speed Dating for Agents round).
Keynote speakers included Anne Perry, Bella Andre, Guy Kawasaki and R.L. Stine. Several themes emerged: do your homework (e.g., don’t address a query letter using the wrong name); there are no rules, just guidelines; if you are really good, you can break the rules; it’s never been a better time to be a writer; everyone wants the same thing (for good books to be published); write for your audience.
The “Speed Dating for Agents” was on the last day of the conference. Attendees had three minutes to pitch once they sat in the chair. The color of the dot on your name badge determined the hour (one color per hour, over four hours). I had a yellow dot: the last hour. I had made a list of the agents I wanted to meet, and associated projects depending upon their interest. Someone estimated that it would only be possible to meet five agents, given the lines, so I adapted my list accordingly.
The bell rang and we rushed into the room. I saw lines everywhere, then realized I could be next for one of the three agents that I had prioritized. This agent had said “I love working with new authors.”
The project closest to my heart is the story I am writing about my mom, who has severe mental illness. The second the agent heard “memoir” she said, “I don’t do memoir.” I went right into my next project, a novel I began in November during National Novel Writing Month. By the time the bell rang, I had a card and an invitation to send the first fifty pages.
Thank you, San Francisco Writers Conference!
Double LifeSolutions 