Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Topic #1000

This is topic Topic #1000 - Writer's Conferences in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/writers/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001028

Posted by punahougirl84 (Member # 1731) on :

This came up under a new thread, and some reading I've done, so I thought I would ask... Have you been to a writer's conference? Was it worth it? What did you get out of it? Does it make sense to go if you are doing short stories? What if you are writing in just one genre? Are there any in the Baltimore area???

Aloha!

Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :

Well, I don't know which conference it was, but a roommate of one of my coworkers sold two fantasy novels through an agent he met at a writers' conference in Washington, D.C., last year.

Posted by lindsay (Member # 1741) on :

Absolutely get to a conference if you can! I've been to many, and have made several sales from the contacts. A face-to-face meet with an editor or an agent, whether in the hall, seated beside them at lunch, or during one of the "pitch" sessions some conferences offer is pure gold for a writer.

Even if you're writing short stories, getting to a conference and sitting in on one of the panel discussions can lead to both inspiration and information. Writing is writing, and all writing has a beginning, middle and end, plus a business side to it. Conferences cover all of these things.

Check out this link to look up various conferences:
http://writing.shawguides.com/search?t=June

This conference is (perhaps) near you, and is for *writers,* plus has great speakers. (Norah Roberts will be there, and whether or not you read her books, she's a prolific writer who knows the business *and* her way around a sentence, a plot, a character, etc., etc.):
http://writing.shawguides.com/ShepherdCollegeWritersConference/

Also, the World Fantasty conference is in Arizona in October. Time enough to safe some $$?
http://www.leprecon.org/wfc2004/

A terrific speaker to hear is agent Donald Maass, who started his career focusing on fantasy. He's now branched out in other genres, but I've met him and know that he has a true love and a very good grasp of what constitutes great fantasy. He does lots of appearances, and has written a great book. A link to his site is listed below (his appearances), but bounce around the site because there's good stuff there:

http://www.maassagency.com/appearances.html

Lastly, I think unpublished writers should be entering contests because winning a contest can lead to a sale - it happens lots in the romance genre. Anyway, one romance site has a focus on fantasy, futuristic and paranormal stories and they run a yearly contest. Find info about it here:
http://www.romance-ffp.com/

And for some other contests (though most, but not all) are romance-related, check out this person's site:
http://www.miazachary.com/OneWritersJourney/WritingContests/index.htm

There's one contest listed on these pages just for Harlequin lines...and remember, Harlequin has just launched the LUNA line this year - fantasy stories with strong heroines and not necessarily a hero at all in the book! (They're hoping to cash in on the faithful fantasy reader market...and my bet is they'll do it, in spades!)

So, yes, get to a conference if you can (and enter contests, too).

Posted by Dude (Member # 1957) on :

I know there is a Science Fiction and Fantasy convention in Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend. See http://www.balticon.org.

Posted by Hildy9595 (Member # 1489) on :

Cons are great for networking. I was at LunaCon in NY state this past weekend, during which time I chatted with writers like Tamora Pierce and Peter Heck, various publishers, editors, and even an agent. It was all very relaxed and congenial, and there were great panels on managing your finances as a freelancer and what you need to know about publishing contracts. I highly recommend them.

Just to add to the cons already mentioned, the WorldCon is in Boston this year over Labor Day weekend -- you can watch the Hugos and meet all sorts of literary stars.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

We're talking about two different things here, though.

Science fiction and fantasy conventions are open to people who have all kinds of interests relative to science fiction and fantasy ("filking" (music), costuming, gaming, artwork, meeting writers, and writing, to name the ones I can think of off the top of my head). Agents and editors come to conventions to do business, but so do lots of other people.

Writers conferences are strictly for writing, and agents and editors come to them to do business as well. They expect a little more from the writers who come to them, though.

You can talk to an agent or editor at either one, but the main difference is that if you talk to an agent or editor at a convention they may or may not invite you to send something to them after the convention; but if you talk to an agent or editor at a writers conference, you can send them something whether they invite you to send it or not.

The idea with writers conferences is that by attending, you are showing yourself to be a little more committed, a little more professional, a little more prepared than you might be if you talked to an agent or editor at a convention.

In either case, you can certainly send something to an agent or editor you met, with a note specifically stating that you met the agent or editor at "Thus and Such Science Fiction Convention" or "This and So Writers Conference" and you've enclosed a partial for their consideration, but you have a little more clout if you met them at a writers conference because of the writerly focus of the gathering.

I hope this makes sense.

Posted by punahougirl84 (Member # 1731) on :

I really appreciate the replies - Lindsay, I appreciate all the work you did! I've bookmarked some of those, and now that Eric has confirmed at least one in the area, I have a clue what to look for.

I appreciate the info about cons too - I was trying to decide whether it was worth the money to go to one (the only one I ever went to I was part of a fighting demo). I knew about Balticon, and some of the others, but I'm hoping to convince my husband we need to go to Dragoncon - just on the chance I could meet Anne McCaffrey and shake her hand and thank her for a lifetime of reading pleasure! I don't think I would tell her I was an aspiring writer though

Kathleen - pointing out the differences with meeting people such as agents and editors at conferences vs. conventions was a HUGE help. When I get up the guts to go someday (the extrovert with a side of introversion - if such a thing exists), I hope to not make a complete idiot of myself!

I feel like I ought to sell something before I go - perhaps it would give me more, um, whatever that is that I'm thinking of...

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

quote:
you can send them something whether they invite you to send it or not.

I'm guessing you mean sending the usual query letter, Kathleen, though with an "I met you at such-and-such conference" reference. Just because, for instance, one agent at a conference says to send him fifty pages and a synopsis, doesn't mean I can send the other agents at the conference the same, much less mark it "Requested Material." Or am I misunderstanding you?

Thanks for explaining the difference between conventions and conferences. Makes sense.

Punahougirl, there's a question on another thread about what inspires us to write. I've found that rubbing elbows with other writers inspires me. Online contact is great, but face to face, catch the excitement, feel the essence of countless hopes and dreams, that is worth the time and money spent on a conference.

[This message has been edited by Kolona (edited March 25, 2004).]

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

Topic #1000? Does Puna get a prize?

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Well, actually, if it's a conference that you paid money to attend, part of the deal is supposed to be that any agent or editor who presents at that conference should be willing to treat what you send to them (being sure to mention that you were at the conference with them in your cover letter) almost as if it were "requested material."

By virtue of attending the conference, you more or less move your submission out of the "unsolicited" category.

Of course, this is sort of like an "open secret" (one of those things that so many people supposedly know and therefore no one bothers to tell anyone about it). Another example of what is probably an "open secret" is that you are supposed to be able to put the name you want your checks made out to up in the upper lefthand corner of the first page of a manuscript and your penname in the byline space under the title in the middle of the first page. I've had checks made out to my byline/penname, though, so not everyone knows this thing that's supposed to be known.

So what I'm trying to say is that you should be able to send something that would otherwise be considered "unsolicited" to an agent or editor who has attended a conference that you've attended and have it treated more like "solicited" material--as long as you indicate in your cover letter that you were at the conference with the agent or editor. (It's even better if you can say something specific about what they talked about, or remind them of your conversation with them.)

Your material isn't exactly "requested" unless the editor or agent actually told you to send it when you talked at the conference (and if they did, be sure to say so in your cover letter), but it is a step above "unsolicited" and attending the conference gives you a bit more of an "in" with that agent or editor than if you didn't attend the conference.

I hope this makes sense.

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

Print up greeting cards (biz cards) with your one line plot summery on the back and the title of your book on it.

That way when you get a chance to bump elbows with an editor or agent you have a card to give them with contact info and a short wrap of your latest work. They are not going to ask you for your complete ms or even a partial--to be given to them at the convention or conference. Think of how many they would have to carry home with them!

And they are a lot of fun, juts being with other writers who take the craft seriously not the Oh, you write? Then the, "I've always wanted to write something--blah blah--

Shawn

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

Last conference I attended, one of the agents called an impromptu session at the end of the conference, and after that session told us we all had an open door policy with her. She apparently was making sure we understood exactly what you're saying, Kathleen. I didn't realize it most likely extended to all the agents there. That's good to know.

quote:
They are not going to ask you for your complete ms or even a partial--to be given to them at the convention or conference. Think of how many they would have to carry home with them!

I have to say I go prepared anyway. Particularly since one editor did ask for and take my entire manuscript with her. Not my present project, but my first one, years ago. The whole encounter was bizarre. (Long story. Obviously, nothing came of it, or else I'd be a published novelist already. One of these days, I need to resurrect that manuscript. )

Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

Okay, I'm reviving this old topic because i have some questions that weren't answered.

First off, there are a ton of writers' conferences that aren't geared toward sci fi/ fantasy, and I wonder if any of you have attended these and tried to solicit an agent. Often times, though, when I look up the bios of the agents, they specifically state no sci fi or fantasy.

There's one conference near my home town that has only one agent out of seven who states explicitly that she takes sci fi/ fantasy. It didn't seem worthwhile to me to fork out $400 bucks just so I can talk to this one agent. I guess i'm wondering if any of you have just approached agents who don't specify one way or another about what genres they consider, and whether you had any success with that.

And finally, for those of you in sunny Cali, have you ever been to Baycon or one of the other local cons? These seemed geared more towards fans of books, d&d, etc, but I'm wondering if there's any benefit for writers.

Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :

Writers conferences are not just to meet editors and agents. If the rest of the program interests you, then go. If not, it's probably not worth your time and money.

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

At writers' conferences you can also make contacts with other writers. Contacts within your own field can be very valuable. Another writer might, for instance, give you a referral to their agent or be valuable for input, friendship, doing booksignings together, and all kinds of other professional courtesies. There are generally seminars and discussion groups that can be very worthwhile.

I wouldn't go to one only to meet agents. I'm not sure that would be worth the cost. However, there are a lot of agents who do handle fantasy and science fiction. If the aren't specific, you can always check what they have sold to get an idea what they handle. And as I mentioned, referrals from other writers is a good way to go.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

It might also depend on the agent. There are some agents who might actually be worth paying $400 to meet, but most of them aren't.

I'd second what Spaceman and Jeanne T said.

Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :

punahougirl,
I don't know anything about Writer's Conferences, but . . .

I take it you went to the school Punahou, in Hawaii?
I am a Kahuku Red Raider. I played Water Polo for Kahuku High. We played against Punahou many times, and we almost always got beat.