Why Should Writers Attend the C3 Con?

In the last few weeks I’ve used this blog to chatter about what was going on in my writing life and my publishing life. But now, within a month of my company’s event of the year, I need to spend some time reminding you of all the reasons you should attend the Creatures, Crimes& Creativity (C3) Con.

This year the C3 Con runs from noon on Friday, October 10 to Sunday October 12. At the Hunt Valley Inn, just outside Baltimore, we will gather readers and writers of mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal fiction.

           

The $275 registration fee includes 36 panels and master classes, two keynote addresses, interviews with two bestselling authors, and five meals: Friday’s dinner, 3 meals Saturday and Sunday breakfast. The meals are included to encourage all the authors and readers to dine side-by-side.  It creates a chance for fans to ask those questions they’ve always wanted to ask.

And BTW, members of major fiction writer organizations (MWA, ITW, SFFAA, SinC) get a substantial discount off the registration cost.

The C3 Con offers a lot to published authors.  It is a great opportunity to spend time with their fans, and to expose new readers to their writing by presenting on panels.  Their books will be available in our on-site bookstore set up by Novel Books. There will be two big book signings, Friday and Saturday before dinner.  Each author’s name is posted on the C3 website with a link to their website or their book. Their photo and bio will be posted in the C3 program book and they are all invited to contribute to the C3 blog. 

Pitch sessions are available with two literary agents.  One, Dawn Dowdle runs the Blue Ridge Literary Agency, a Virginia firm focused on helping authors, especially new authors. The other, Alec Shane, is with Writers House, one of the biggest New York agencies.

Among the great presentations, bestselling mystery author Brad Parks will teach a Master Class called “Where Papa Going With That Ax?” He says writing page-turning fiction that seizes a reader’s imagination and then holds it for 350 pages is hard, but the concepts behind it are actually quite simple. As a matter of fact, one novel he will discuss accomplishes everything you want fiction to do in just four paragraphs. Attendees will also study voice, character, pacing and unveil the patented Brad Parks Formula For Suspense.

International bestselling romantic suspense/sci-fi/fantasy author Rebecca York will also teach a Master Class. She says, "A novel must look, sound, smell and taste real to the reader.  But it’s not reality.  It’s a world you build.  From plot and character to setting and dialogue, you make the decisions that define your fictional universe." And she will show you how.

There are more good reasons for writers to attend, but next week I’ll want to focus on reasons readers and fans will want to be there.  Meanwhile you can gather more details, and register if you’re smart, at http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com

The Wind Up... And the Pitch!

Yesterday at the Books Alive! Writer’s conference I saw a large crowd of hopeful writers lined up to present their work to a roomful of agents in five-minute sessions. But before that, a panel of agents talked about how they would like to be pitched to.  A live pitch is not the same as a written submission, but like submission letters there are definite things agents prefer, and I took some notes about what those are.

 The agents all agreed that the writer should start with the raw data they need to decide if the book being pitched is one they want to work with.  For fiction that means the length, the genre, and the fact that it is complete.  For a nonfiction book agents want to know the author has written a solid proposal.

 

After that, the agent wants to hear an elevator pitch.  And they don’t want you to read a prepared pitch to them.  They want you to talk to them, so that the pitch can develop into a conversation.  They don’t want all the details of the book, just a couple of minutes of the plot or idea, so they will have time to ask questions and discuss the book with you.

 

One agent said that writers should lead with their strength in a pitch.  In other words, if you have a past publishing history mention it right away.  If the book is the result of a particular inspiration, say so up front.  If the plot is the strongest point you have to offer, rush straight to that.

 

Writers were also advised to have comparison titles.  It’s good to say, “This book will appeal to the readers of [popular book.] and [popular book.]”  And if your nonfiction book would fill a hole in the marketplace that is important to share. 

 

One agent cautioned fiction writers to only talk about the most important characters in their story.  If more than three character names are mentioned, the agent could get lost in the cast, and more importantly, you could give the agent the sense that the book isn’t sufficiently focused.

 

One tip I thought was particularly valuable was that writers should avoid “basket words,” that is, words that might carry a lot of different meanings.  Don’t just say the heroine is beautiful – different people will have different pictures of beauty – but instead describe HOW she is beautiful.

 

And if any agents, publishers or successful authors are reading this, how about sharing your ideas I may have missed.  What else can help new writers succeed in an agent pitch session?

My Agent and Why I Need Her

Susan Gleason is a real-life, honest-to-goodness New York City literary agent. What that means to you probably depends on where you are in your writing career. When I tell some authors they say, “Wow,” like I just told them I won the lottery. Others sneer like I just reminded them of every bad experience they’ve ever had as a writer.

And if I tell you that I e-mailed Susan in early February and she called to reply this week, you might ask why I would put up with such treatment.

The fact is that agents are part of the yin and yang of the publishing world. For example, there are two kinds of publishers: the small press and the majors. You can submit your manuscript to small press publishers and they may read it and even publish it. Advances, support and distribution will all be small or nonexistent. The majors pay substantial advances, have powerful distribution arms and can offer substantial backing if your book warrants it. However, they won’t look at your manuscript unless they get it from a reputable agent.

Hustlers and crooks aside, agents also come in two varieties. Some will invest the bulk of their time into finding a home for your manuscript. They can do that because you are the biggest name author they represent. But they haven’t brought any publisher a big money maker, so publishers don’t hold them in very high regard.

Then there are agents who HAVE brought money makers to the publishers they work with. They have proven they can pick a winner, so when they talk, publishers are more apt to listen. What that means, of course, is that these agents spend a substantial amount of their time on bigger fish and only take on newcomers if they really believe in their work. Having proven themselves to publishers, they won’t represent anyone who’s going to embarrass them. For this reason, I know that Susan believes in me and my writing.

I met Susan through one of her clients, Warren Murphy. She got another client, David Hagberg, to blurb one of my manuscripts. She’s representing Barbara D’Amato and has asked her to blurb another of my manuscripts.

When Susan called, it was to tell me that one of my manuscripts is with Kensington right now. And that she’s had another to Bantam and Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books). It was to share feedback she got from an editor at St. Martin’s Press who was kind enough to recommend changes that could make that book more commercial. To tell me that at Book Expo America she’ll be discussing a couple of my properties with a film rep. And that she’ll meet with me during Thrillerfest in July so we can present a manuscript or two to some industry names in person.

So this is why you need an agent. Not just because they can help with contracts or because they know which editor might want your work (yes, Susan has these attributes too.) But most importantly because, while writing is an art and a craft, publishing is a business and if you want to win big you need someone in your corner who is also inside the business.