Hurry Up Please It's Time - The Atlanta Writers Conference is Here
In which I go to a writing conference with the goal of attracting an agent - May 6-7
If you are reading this on Friday, May 6, I will be getting ready for or already at the Atlanta Writers Conference. I am not going to miss my shot!
On Friday and Saturday, May 6-7, I am attending the Atlanta Writers Conference with the goal of attracting an agent.
I have already participated in 3 query/synopsis/manuscript reviews. I will have a query letter review with two agents. I will have follow-ups on 2 manuscript reviews, and I will have a pitch session. I’m on the waitlist for a 2nd pitch session. In addition, I will attend several presentations/workshops to learn more about the publishing industry, connect with others writers, and attend a networking social (cash bar + live music!).
The first manuscript review was back in March via email. The reviewer made suggestions on my query, synopsis, and first 19 pages of my manuscript. She returnd the documents and I was able to revise and resubmit to the 2 manuscript reviewers I will meet at the conference, one virtual and one in person.
I had never written a synopsis or query before and had done quite a bit of homework. However, the reviewer provided helpful information for me to revise those documents. She had the fewest comments for my manuscript, calling my prose clear, provocative, and compelling. At least I know, after 34 years teaching writing in higher ed, that I can write a little bit.
The 2nd and 3rd reviews were instructive as well. One reviewer was not inclined to take on my project, but I’ll still get a chance to discuss my project with him for 10 minutes. He said it was just a horrible litany of pain and didn’t see what my book could possibly offer to a reader. But he also said that the manuscript was much better than he anticipated based on the query and synopsis. Again, my writing won out.
The last reviewer is someone I thought I fit best with. She has asked to speak with me about my project before deciding whether to ask for more pages. That’s promising. She had many comments on my query and synopsis, either exposing that I was unclear about the timeline of my book or that she read too quickly and didn’t see if for what it was.
But most of all, she loved the idea of using T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land as a structural principle for my book. That’s exactly what I need for this project - somebody to believe in that connection.
I admit, I’m a little nervous. I’ve been working on this book for 3 1/2 years. I think I should do something else for a while. I am learning guitar and contiune to play every day and that brings me much joy. I’ve watched more television in these past 3 1/2 years than I did in that past 15. But it’s time for additional and varied writing projects.
(But first - we will have a short vacation the following weekend, our first in quite some time. Savannah, here we come! I will not be bring my computer and manuscript with me. But I will bring the guitar.)
I’m looking forward to the conference. I have a list of 6 or 7 other agents that have an interest in memoir that I hope to get a chance to have a conversation with at the social. It’s not meant to be an impromptu pitch session, but of course, that’s kind of what it is. They request that you “not be that guy” who runs around with a canned speech of 25 words of less, pitching to each and every agent there. But it’s okay to mention that I’ve written a memoir to an agent who I know has an interest in memoirs.
While I find it easier to sit in a quiet corner and read during events like this, I will do my best to step up and give it my best shot. I’m not going to miss my shot!
By the numbers:
On Dec 4, 2021, my manuscript was 203,000 words long/674 pages
On May 4, 2022, my manuscript is 104,963 words/357 pages. (6785 words are the notes section!)
I have gone over parts I-IV carefully. I still have part V to go over one last time. I had hoped to edit the manuscript so it is genuinely at 98,000 words. However, I’m in the ballpark since the notes bring me to 98,178.
Wish me luck at the conference! Whatever happens, I am at a turning point in this project. It will always be my first book, my baby. I’m looking forward to what happens next, and I’m looking forward to new projects as well.
I’ll let you know how the conference goes on Monday!
Happy belated Cinco de Mayo. And a belated May the 4th Be With You!
Just keep reading …
as I will
Just keep writing!
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