I asked Liz (by the end of the online seminar, we were on a first name basis, not that I'm presumptuous or anything; and did I mention that I asked her to friend me on Facebook and we're following one another on Twitter, but that's networking for you), uh, yeah, so I asked Liz what made this conference so great, and she answered that there were many, many agents and editors attending. Besides learning more about working on a novel during some extremely informational breakout sessions, a major purpose at a conference like this is to get one-on-one face to face with these publishing gatekeepers and pitch your project. My project is a work of paranormal fiction. The hope is that eventually my work will be good enough and strong enough to catch and hold the attention of an agent or editor, so much so that I'm offered representation leading to a bid to purchase.
We take a break from our regularly-scheduled programming to explain the difference between agents and editors .... Editors work for the publishing houses and directly buy an author's project, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. In my case, fiction. Very fiction. As in, any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental, with an emphasis on dead. Because there are dead people in my novel. But I digress .... So the editor makes a monetary offer to the author (very simplified here) to purchase the book. An agent, on the other hand, represents the author to the publishing houses (via the editors) and works out the purchase deal on the author's behalf. Many times, an author will get an offer from an editor and will then retain an agent to represent him or her to do the deal. Other times, the author will deal directly with the editor and do the deal herself. I like to admit up front that I don't know what I don't know so would most likely retain the services of an agent to look out for my best interests and explain the merry road of publishing as we traipse together through the advantages while avoiding the pitfalls. We return you now to your regularly-scheduled program ...
So all along I've felt that I have an excellent story, one that will appeal to many ages, and most likely, a predominantly female audience. I had a few problems, though. One, I wasn't exactly sure where to begin my story. This element is crucial. It determines if someone continues reading past the first page or two and is sucked in enough to stay up all night and lose sleep and skip meals because the reader just has to find out how the story ends. But if you can't hold the reader beyond the first sentence or paragraph or more, you're sunk. Like I said--crucial.
My next set of problems included the arrival in the story of various characters, the total story arc, and what genre, exactly, did my book fall into. And was I just kidding myself, or did my project have viable commercial appeal? To provide help and give answers to these dilemmas, enter the agents and editors. They have mighty fine, publishing-experienced brains and they were there for my kindly picking. Don't get me wrong, you have to pay for the appointments to see these people (above and beyond what you pay for the conference itself), but to say it was well worth it doesn't begin to describe how priceless these appointments were.
After introductions and brief pleasantries were exchanged (very brief, mind you, as I only had ten minutes with each person, and you'd be shocked how quickly that ten minutes flies by), I gave my "elevator pitch." This is the 20- to 30-second window of opportunity spiel designed to grab the attention of someone who can make this project happen. Everyone loved my elevator pitch and leaned forward for more. A good sign.
I proceeded to describe the project, and each agent or editor asked the following: When do the ghosts show up? Oh, a ways into the story, I said ... no good, said the agents/editors; bring them in sooner or you'll upset your readers. Who lives and who dies at the end of the story? they asked. I know it might sound stupid, but I wasn't sure. Together we discussed the possibilities, and the pros and cons of each scenario. They all asked if I foresaw sequel possibilities. Another good sign. I took it to mean that they liked the story and main character well enough to bring forth more books. My book involves a major surprising twist dealing with one of the secondary characters--they all loved that surprise aspect. One editor said she'd love to read a book about that character.
One little whoopsie on my part dealt with the CEO of an ebook publishing company, who--I learned after I had already made the appointment with her--only published romance books. The book could be realistic, historical, science fiction, paranormal, whatever, as long as it had romance in it. Mine contained no romance. At first, this person and her editor leaned back and threw their hands up in the air. "No romance?" they said in unison. "Then we're not the publisher for you." I'm not sure exactly what transpired then, because they either liked me and my pitch, or they especially liked my story line, but the next words out of the CEO's mouth were, "But if you're willing to work romance into the story line, the possibilities are endless." She then enumerated various scenarios that would put the romance in, then embellished with further paranormal elements and tied the two together. When the little bell rang that our ten minutes was up, both the CEO and the editor were still talking about the possibilities for the story. Whew! I came away from the table elated that they hadn't shut me down and instead did quite the opposite!
My one last comment on the editors and agents I spoke with during that hour .... I could not believe how friendly, accommodating, down-to-earth, helpful, and genuine all of them were. Every last one. If you knew some of their clients, I think you'd be surprised. One of the editors even told me, "You're my only appointment. We can sit here and talk as long as you'd like." Unfortunately, I had another appointment immediately after meeting with her. Before I had arrived at the conference, I honestly had expected them to be arrogant and aloof. What a refreshing, pleasant surprise on my part that they were the antithesis of my expectations.
So that was a small part of my weekend. How was yours?!?
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