I've Got The Post-Publishing Blues

by William C. Mills

Are you irritable, angry, depressed, and tired most of the time? Do you stare at the blank Word document before you with ideas zooming around your little head, but your fingers won’t type? If you are a writer and have one or more of these symptoms you might have the post-publishing blues.

I was so excited when my book, A 30 DAY RETREAT: A PERSONAL GUIDE TO PERSONAL RENEWAL was published. All those long days and nights, writing, editing, re-writing; I was glad when it was over. After the May publication date passed I worked very hard with the marketing phase, sending out hundreds of email inquiries, writing several short “tie-in” essays for local media, and I contacted local bookstores, friends, and relatives about my book. I felt like I was working two full time jobs at the same time!

Toward the end of the marketing phase I woke up in the morning and had no energy to write, my brain was fried, my fingers were cramped,  I was cranky. My kids didn’t even want to talk to me. They would come into my office and walk back out again. One day, while resting comfortably in my blue reading chair in my office, I glanced up at the open laptop on my desk knowing that I should begin my next book project, but when? Many writers and literary agents suggest that you begin your next book project as soon as the first book comes out, you want to build on your new platform and audience, “strike while the iron is hot,”  they say,  “a strong one-two punch.”  “Yea, sure,”  I thought, good advice for some writers, but not for me. I needed a mental break. I had the post-publishing blues.

How did I survive this dark time in my writing life? Well, I managed to find enjoyable activities that took my mind off my computer and out of my next book project. I love to take long walks and therefore I planned some long strolls through my town, taking time to walk through new housing developments and notice the small things in life such as gleefully watching squirrels scurrying around green lawns searching for a chestnut or two. I also spent time in a lot of bookstores, both new and used, browsing shelves and buying plenty books too! My library shelves at home runneth over these days! I cooked up some delicious homemade tomato soups and stews and my two young daughters helped their daddy bake brownies, pies, and cakes. Judging from the amount of flour on their aprons they appreciated their daddies cooking therapy.

What did I learn from my post-publishing blues? I learned that it is normal to grieve your recently published  book. We speak of grieving or mourning the dead and in a way when your “new baby” arrives it is already prepared to leave your protection, it is out there for the whole world to read. A part of you has died. I also learned that it is essential to engage in activities and projects that inspire you whether it be hiking, cooking, gardening, knitting, scrap booking, watching movies, reading, or some craft project.

Let the post-publishing phase be a time of rest and rejuvenation, a time when those wonderful little kernels of inspiration come to fruition. One day you just might sit down at your blue computer screen and voila, your second book is born!

*****

William (Bill) Mills is an ordained priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, author and retreat leader. His new book, A 30 Day Retreat: A Personal Guide to Spiritual Renewal was published by Paulist Press in May 2010. For more information about Bill and his writings visit his  website and his blog, Walking With God. Bill is available as a retreat leader for various Christian themes and topics. He is also the author of Our Father: A Prayer for Christian Living. 

A Brain Break: Narrative's Literary Puzzler

In honor of yesterday's feast and today's leftovers, take a bite out of these literary questions that combine food and literature over at Narrative Magazine.  

We're Thankful for Words (and so is this turkey)

Happy Thanksgiving 

from everyone at Backspace!

My Agent-Author Conference Experience

by Tamara Girardi

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, it seems obvious to say I’m thankful for Backspace.

Seriously. For Karen and Chris and Amy. For all the members who offer support and guidance, and for the agents and editors who attend the conferences and guest on the forums. It really is an amazing organization.

The Agent-Author Seminar earlier this month exemplified exactly that. The annual conference provides writers with complete manuscripts the opportunity to share their query letters and first two pages with roughly 6 to 10 literary agents.

To achieve this, attendees are divided into groups based on genres the agents represent.

When writers share their queries and pages with agents, the responses vary. Some agents let writers read every word and then offer feedback for improvement. Other agents stop writers at the beginning or in the middle of the pages before also offering feedback. Occasionally, agents will respond favorably and ask authors to submit to them.

As for this past conference, I can only speak for the YA group to which I was assigned (but I invite other attendees to share their experiences in the comments section below). Our group was small with less than 10 writers.

During each session, we finished our queries and first two pages with time to spare. During that time, the writers in the room asked agents for clarifications on their feedback. Writers asked questions not related to the writing shared that day. At times, the writers and agents simply chatted about books or movies they’d loved and offered recommendations to the others in the room.

In addition to the breakout sessions by genre, the conference includes several agent panels. One of the most interesting questions Karen asked the agents during these panels was, “What is on your wish list?”

Agents were surprisingly candid. I tweeted many of their wishes, along with several other tidbits of knowledge shared during the conference, with the #bksp tag (from the handle @TamaraGirardi).

If I’m being honest, these conferences can be daunting – if you let them. Yes, it’s a bit scary to talk to literary agents, but it doesn’t take long to realize they’re people just like writers. It sounds silly, but it’s true. They love books. They wake up the morning of the conference hoping that the hours they spend there will be beneficial, that they’ll fall in love with a story, with someone’s writing.

In other words, they’re hoping for big things just like the writers in attendance are.

Writers attend conferences with big hopes. That’s why they listen to every word agents say, to every opinion, to every piece of advice. Sometimes one agent’s advice contradicts another’s. Chalk it up to personal preference.

Attempting to navigate the opinions can be overwhelming.

Amanda Coffin is a close writerly friend I met at Backspace a few years ago and reconnected with at this last conference. If you have a chance to meet her in the future, do. She’s very wise.

After leaving the conference, she decided to spend two weeks digesting everything she learned and really considering her next step with writing. Should she start a new project? Revise one of her older drafts? How will she choose?

Several of the agents in attendance urged authors to pursue projects they are passionate about, not projects they expect will do well or fill a publishing void or follow a trend. Amanda is taking the time to consider her passions – a good decision, but no one decision works for every writer.

Balancing options and opinions is a challenge in this line of work, but the beauty of conferences like this one is that they give you options and opinions to consider. When you attend a writing conference like Backspace, you may not get exactly what you thought you wanted.

But if you’re open to the ideas and advice you receive, you’re likely getting exactly what you need.

And when all else fails, consider a piece of advice Literary Agent Kathleen Ortizzle of Lowenstein Associates shared at the conference, “At the end of the day, good writing trumps everything.”


*****

Tamara Girardi is a PhD student in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Composition and TESOL program and earned a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2005. She teaches literature and composition and freelances for Pittsburgh area newspapers. She has been a member of Backspace since 2007 and shared her query and first two pages from her young adult paranormal novel THESE WALLS CAN TALK at the Agent-Author Seminar.

Follow her on Twitter (@TamaraGirardi).

10 Unique Gifts Ideas for Writers

by Amy Sue Nathan

• Shakespeare's Den offers "smart gifts for intelligent people."  How fortuitous! I'm especially taken with the Jane Austen finger puppet for $5.50 and the Jane Austen action figure for $11.95.  (I'm a Jane Austen fan, go figure)

• Cafe Press has personalized gifts of all kinds -- T-shirts, mugs, pins, mousepads.  If you can imagine it, they can print it.  The sayings and images for writing-related stuff are endless, but my favorite is "Careful Or You'll End Up In My Novel" which I sport on a well-worn T-shirt.  There are also genre-specific goodies for romance and mystery writers.  

• InkyGirl wrote and illustrated her own line of writerly cards (and T's) that go straight to a writer's heart through Zazzle.com.  I like the one about procrastination.  For no reason, really, I just like it. 

• Levenger sells notecard bleachers! Even at $59 the name and idea might be enough to get me to start using notecards!

• Office supplies.  That's right -- how about giving the writer in your life a gift card for their favorite local place to pick up a flash drive, printer paper, ink cartridges, sticky notes or a highlighter.  Sometimes they also sell chocolate, and that works too. 

• Coffee house gift card.  Many writers work their magic at coffee or sandwich shops.  A gift card to your writer's favorite hang out means you know what what's important.

• Deborah Bouziden sells an author bracelet. Looks light enough to wear when you type or to wear when you're not writing -- as a reminder of your goals and dreams.

• Fussy (Eden M. Kennedy) has a great assortment of Writing Well Is The Best Revenge T-shirts.  It's kind of my motto. (I have two.)  

• The Professional Collection sells a cozy Writer-Author Blanket. Brings a whole new meaning to snuggling up with a good book. 

• Backspace.  Yes, that's right...you can give the gift of Backspace to a friend.  He or she will thank you long after the holiday season ends. I should know, I've been a member since December 2007.  

Add your ideas (and links!) in the comments. 

Bid On A Critique By Literary Agent Irene Goodman

Irene Goodman auctions critiques of partial manuscripts each month, with all proceeds going directly to charitable foundations. December is the month of giving, and Irene is pleased to offer a special event of fifteen separate auctions for this month. This is a great opportunity to get honest, professional feedback from someone who has built many bestselling careers and who has walked the walk. A critique is a terrific gift item for the aspiring writer. Your dollars will go to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Deafness Research Foundation, and Hope For Vision.  

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION 

HERE'S TO GENEROUS BIDDING AND HELPFUL CRITIQUES!

Showing Gratitude to Authors

by William C. Mills


A few months ago at a writing conference I heard a hear warming story told by Wally Lamb the author of SHE'S COME UNDONE, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE as well as other blockbuster hits. After his first book was published he was home folding the laundry and the phone rang. He picked it up and the female voice on the other end asked, “Are you Wally Lamb?” and he responded, “Yes.” The voice on the other end asked if he could wait a minute because her boss, whom she didn’t name, wanted to talk to him. After a few seconds a different female voice was on the other end and said, “Wally, this is Oprah, I just wanted to thank you for your new book.” 


Lamb told the audience that he couldn’t believe it, O-P-R-A-H was calling to say thank you for his new book! He was dumbstruck. He went onto say that Oprah enjoyed his book so much that she had to call him. As a young girl, Oprah always liked to read and books inspired her, she always took time just to say “thank you” and show some gratitude along the way. Even though Oprah didn’t invite him on her show the first time she called, he was so happy that she called even if it was just to say thank you for his writing.

I know that if Oprah called me today I’d probably faint from excitement! I’d tell everyone on my block that Oprah called. I guess that many readers don’t actually think about the long hours that writers spend sitting at our desks pecking away at the keyboard or the late night phone calls to the editor or agent and all the pre-publication anxiety, marketing plans, and book signing schedules that had to be coordinated. After hearing Lamb’s talk that evening during the conference I decided that I would follow Oprah’s lead, not necessarily calling my favorite authors, but at least contacting them just to say thank you for their contribution to the writing craft.

During the past few months I have sent at least a dozen emails or hand-written notes to authors whose books I read and loved. I thanked them for their dedication to the writing craft and why I liked their book: a solid plot, intricate characters, action, or whatever. I wanted the author to know that their readers are actually real live human persons who are most likely to read other books from the same author and future books as well. Fans are also willing to share their thoughts via Facebook, Twitter, in local book clubs, or to friends.


To my surprise several authors responded to my notes by saying “gee you are the first reader to actually “thank me” like this or most recently, “Your card arrived this morning (Monday) what a great way to start me week. Thanks for reading.” Like readers, authors are real live human people too with emotions and like to hear from readers. They might not always respond in kind, but the fact that you told them “thank you” is a way to acknowledge your gratitude.


Take some time this week or this month and contact one of your favorite authors. Tell him or her thank you for their work. You will show your gratitude by making someone else very happy!


*****

William (Bill) Mills is an ordained priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, author and retreat leader. His new book, A 30 Day Retreat: A Personal Guide to Spiritual Renewal was published by Paulist Press in May 2010. For more information about Bill and his writings visit his  website and his blog, Walking With God. Bill is available as a retreat leader for various Christian themes and topics. He is also the author of Our Father: A Prayer for Christian Living.

Why My Muse Has Gone Stealth

by Kathy Calarco

Writing ain't what it used to be. These days I drag myself kicking and screaming to the page, using any excuse to skip looking at my latest work all together. 

Lately I've been recalling the days when I started my first novel. Seven years ago this month I completed my first manuscript, over 225k words spilled out in eight months. Nothing could keep me away. I literally wrote morning, noon and night, every day including weekends. The fact that I had no idea how to craft a novel never occurred to me. Not once did I stop to think about plot. I just knew the story in my heart - it was organic. Once I finished my first novel, I put it to bed and began another following the same process.

Three manuscripts later things slowed down. Blame the eye explosion - enduring four unsuccessful surgeries to repair a detached retina slows one down a bit. My left eye vision remains steady at 150/20 five years later, exactly where it was after the four unsuccessful surgeries. Cornea severely damaged an innocent casualty; my eye doctor recommended staying away from the computer to give it a chance to heal. Did that stop the writing? I have a 180 page work in progress done entirely the old fashioned way: By hand with pen and paper.

Today I have no physical excuses for not writing, it's all mental. A part of my brain feels like a wire brush scrubbed away its creative side. Nothing remains. No love, no enthusiasm or ideas. Where did the good times go?

With answers not forthcoming, I've reviewed my personal writing journey trying to make sense of it all. Here are a few thoughts and/or reasons on why my muse has gone stealth:

1.) In the beginning I wrote with great abandoned, clueless to the craft. Publishing wasn't in my thoughts. My work went unseen; no one in my household knew why I spent so many hours on the computer. I loved the characters I created and to me, the story was a masterpiece.

2.) Fast forward to mid-manuscript number two. Husband asked if I considered publishing. That thought put into motion my quest, including research and finding out where to begin on such a path. My once private venture became innocence lost. I joined Romance Writers of America, not realizing at the time that romance not my genre. But hey, those chicas knew the publishing ropes - I credit my choice for advancing my muse as well as knowledge base.

3.) The RWA. If not for them I never would have shared my work, making it subject to strangers' eyes. Contests a-plenty, I entered. One thing I found helpful by entering RWA sponsored writing contests was that the contestant remained anonymous. No names, I became a number. Judging was based solely on the writing. Remarks for my work came honestly. The process thickened my skin as well as improved my talent (I believe).

4.) Honest opinions. I forged relationships with fellow writers. One in particular I call the "perfect balance" - she always told it like she saw it - she didn't praise if not warranted, yet let me know when something rocked.

5.) Editors. I have found there are many forms of editors. Those who actually know the craft and can back up their expertise with strong credentials; ones who know the craft, etc., yet tend to over-criticize, using such buzz words as "not buying it" (God, how I hate that phrase); and finally there are those who say they can edit, period. I've had three experiences with editors. Two credentialed; two who used the term I despise; one who had nothing to back up the title. I'm a firm believer that every manuscript needs an editor's eye, but also believe editors need "perfect balance" and not become the Simon Cowell of editing.

Ultimately in these past weeks I've felt abandoned and have begun to analyze my situation. I've recently become reclusive, have strayed away from blogs, distanced myself from other writers and worst of all, stepped away from my manuscript. Although the above five topics depict my writing road, it reveals a common denominator: Other writers. The good of it was great, the bad of it horrible.

Without mingling with other writers my writing world shrank. Without other writers I no longer hear words of praise (and I heard a few along the way). Funny how one kind word strengthened my work ethic, erasing all the bad comments or contest scores completely.

Perhaps that's what I'm missing -- kind people possessing genuine praise (not my sister or husband). Is it time to rejoin the creative human race again? I think so.


Maybe.


***** 
Kathy Calarco maintains the belief that it’s never too late in life for anything. Having returned to school at age 53, she’s currently studying for a degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on Humanities and English Literature. She writes contemporary literature and poetry, and maintains two blogs, Writeful Mumblings and Five Minute Sprint.

The Agent-Author Seminar Is Upon Us!

Sixth in a six-part series leading up to the 2010 Backspace Agent-Author Seminar 

Count me among the many writers headed to Manhattan today, excited about our always-popular Backspace Agent-Author Seminar. 

Travel arrangements have been made. 

Queries and opening pages have been proofed, printed and collated. 

Luggage: packed. 

Log-lines: perfected.

Now all we need to do is hop on that plane or bus, or pile in the car and head to the Big Apple. 

With over 25 top literary agents helping out this year, it's going to be an intense two-day learning experience like no other, with the added opportunity of catching the interest of an agent (or three!).
 

This year, we're extremely excited to announce the addition of our first-ever Seminar Tweeter: Tamara Girardi! If you haven't already checked out Tamara's excellent posts about the seminar, I'd recommend starting here: What A Writer Wants - the first in our six-part series leading up to the 2010 Agent-Author Seminar.

For up-to-the-minute tweets and posts from Tamara throughout both days (November 11th and 12th), you can follow her on @TamaraGirardi, and we'll be re-tweeting throughout both days from @bksp_org.

Karen, myself, and our wonderful staff will be arriving later today at the Radisson Martinique in mid-town Manhattan (32nd and Broadway) to get everything set-up for the seminar. If you're arriving early, stop by the restaurant and bar on the first floor of the Radisson and say hello. If past conferences and seminars are an indication, we expect any number of writers to stop in and discuss what's in store for the next two days.

What began as little more than a bold idea and a mission statement back in 2004: Writers Helping Writers, has evolved into one of the most popular private writing forums in the world. What started as a one-day conference back in 2005 has quickly become a three-day writer's conference held in May and a two-day Agent-Author Seminar held in November. Last year, 10 writers found their literary agent at one of our two events. This year we're hoping to break that record!

Registration starts at 8am, a welcome, thank-you and quick introduction by yours truly will begin at 10 minutes of the hour, and the first Agent Panel "'If I Only Had a  . . .' An Agent Wish List" kicks off at 9am sharp.

Don't be late!

*****

Christopher Graham is a former reporter and independent bookstore owner. He’s currently the co-founder and technical administrator of Backspace, LLC (www.bksp.org) and co-hosts the annual Backspace Writers Conferences and Agent-Author Seminars. He also performs freelance technical work for the International Thriller Writers Association’s website. In addition to writing dozens of freelance articles for a variety of weekly newspapers on the Jersey Shore, his short fiction has appeared in The Blue Print Review.

Prepare for and Celebrate Success

Fifth in a six-part series leading up to the 2010 Backspace Agent-Author Seminar

By Tamara Girardi - The Girardi Diner

If you’ve followed this string of blog posts and completed all of the homework assignments, good for you! There’s a lot to do before leaving town and going to a conference, so you should celebrate the fact you took the extra time to prepare yourself.

That’s what today’s post is all about. Everyone in all professions should work hard to prepare for challenges and then celebrate the resulting success. But we often forget to do this. We look to the future and hope for more success without realizing what we’re experiencing at the moment.

I read my first two pages to agents more than three years ago. And guess what? I’m going to Backspace to read them again. Initially when I did the math, I was disappointed about that.

Then I thought about all of the people I’ve met, things I’ve learned, and successes I’ve experienced since then. Just attending a conference like this is a success. There are thousands of aspiring writers who would love the opportunity to sit across from a panel of literary agents and get direct feedback on their writing.

When you think about the opportunity, it’s really quite remarkable.

So, celebrate it. Celebrate all the successes along the way – meeting other writers, building relationships with agents and editors, gaining insight in a face-to-face environment, hearing constructive criticism about your work, hearing compliments about your work, having your work requested by an agent (even if that request results in a rejection – if you got a request, you’re doing something right!). If we brainstormed, we could certainly come up with many more successes than these.

On Thursday and Friday, I’ll be Twittering from the conference. Please share your successes with me, so I can tweet them to the writers who aren’t able to attend.

Can you believe it’s almost here? I barely can.

Focus on last minute preparations today (as you’ll likely be traveling tomorrow). Print out copies of your query and first two pages. Practice reading them aloud. Be sure to include your contact information on them. Research the agents assigned to your group. Practice your one-sentence pitch.

Take a look at these blog posts on what to expect at the conference:

http://backspacewriters.blogspot.com/2010/05/jeff-kleinmans-guidelines-to-good.html

http://backspacewriters.blogspot.com/2010/06/let-us-now-praise-literary-agents.html

And get ready to celebrate the successes of the week!

*****

Tamara Girardi is a PhD student in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Composition and TESOL program and earned a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2005. She teaches literature and composition and freelances for Pittsburgh area newspapers. She has been a member of Backspace since 2007 and will share her query and first two pages from her young adult paranormal novel THESE WALLS CAN TALK at the upcoming Agent-Author Seminar.

Follow her on Twitter (@TamaraGirardi) for up to the moment conference news.

How to Reach Your Goals with the Query Letter

Third in a six-part series leading up to the 2010 Backspace Agent-Author Seminar

By Tamara Girardi - The Girardi Diner

 Writing query letters is tricky in a lot of ways, but mostly because agents’ preferences vary.

Some agents like writers to jump into the story from the first line of the query. Other agents like to know the title, genre, and word count as context for the story summary they are about to read.

Some agents like flattery in the first line – why you queried them, which of their authors you read, why they are the most perfect agents ever. Okay, in my experience most agents like a little of this, but where they differ is on where to put it in the query – at the beginning or at the end.

Research can mitigate some of these issues. If the agent you’re querying has specified his or her query preferences in a blog post or interview, then craft your query to fit the preferences.

If you’re attending Backspace’s Agent-Author Seminar this week, take notes when agents respond to the queries, specifically when they state how they prefer their queries to be ordered (for instance, hook, summary, genre or genre, hook, summary, etc.). Since you might be interested in querying agents who are not assigned to your group, take some time after the workshops to talk to writers from other rooms. Did they pick up any preferences that might help you in querying the agents after the conference ends?

In addition to catering to preferences, writers should also be considerate of avoiding common query mistakes. For instance, literary agent Rachelle Gardner mentions such mistakes as starting the query with a rhetorical question she can answer “no” to, pitching a book series rather than one well-written, solid book, ignoring agent submission guidelines or genre preferences, focusing too much on the author and not on the story, and writing the query poorly.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen all of these mistakes made in query workshops like the ones at Backspace. When I see one of these violations pop up, my heart breaks. Here’s a writer who traveled all the way to New York City to pursue his or her dream, and those efforts have been thwarted with a query that does not follow industry standards.

The Backspace Agent-Author seminar is not the place to learn how to write a query. The opportunity to sit in front of agents and get their feedback on your story is too precious to waste by not learning query basics before attending.

If your query honors basic conventions, agents are more likely to comment on the story – how it’s presented, whether it’s appealing, how the content of the query might be improved. Such feedback is infinitely more valuable than comments on query presentation, structure, or formatting.

Yesterday we set measurable, attainable goals for the conference. Today, I’d like you to take some time to explore the sites below. Review the query tips, feedback and examples, and ask yourself how you might apply what you learn to your query.

Revise your query. Share it with another writer. Post it on the Backspace forums. Rewrite it. Read it aloud. Rewrite it. Tighten the language in each sentence. Ensure your query follows the formatting and submission requirements on the conference website: www.backspacewritersconference.com

*Note: As you review these resources, you will likely see conflicting information. That is the nature (and frustration) with queries. Get informed, and then make the best decision for you, your story, and the agent you’re querying.

Agent Query (link to: http://agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx)

Nathan Bransford’s Be an Agent for a Day (link to: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/04/be-agent-for-day-here-we-go.html)

Nathan Bransford’s Be an Agent for a Day II (link to: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/04/be-agent-for-day-ii-queries.html)

The Query Shark (link to: http://queryshark.blogspot.com/)

*****

Tamara Girardi is a PhD student in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Composition and TESOL program and earned a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2005. She teaches literature and composition and freelances for Pittsburgh area newspapers. She has been a member of Backspace since 2007 and will share her query and first two pages from her young adult paranormal novel THESE WALLS CAN TALK at the upcoming Agent-Author Seminar.

Follow her on Twitter (@TamaraGirardi) for up to the moment conference news.

Setting Goals for Your Conference Experience

Second in a six-part series leading up to the 2010 Backspace Agent-Author Seminar

By Tamara Girardi - The Girardi Diner

Yesterday, I told you about my first conference experience at Backspace in 2007. If you missed that post, you can find it here.

At that first conference, I met one of my closest writing friends Amanda Coffin who is also a member of Backspace. She will be attending the seminar this week as well, and the other night we had a long telephone chat about how we were feeling and our conference expectations.

I thought Amanda explained it so perfectly when she said, “You should always go to a conference simply with the goal of learning something.” Amanda said that should be at the front of our minds as we prepare for the seminar, and she’s right. I honestly believe in the adage “When you stop learning, you stop living.” But with regard to the writing profession, when you stop learning, you will undoubtedly stop improving your writing.

But Amanda also had an admission, which closely correlated with what I was thinking. She said, “But there’s always the hope for something more.” I would assume the roughly 100 writers attending the Agent-Author Seminar would agree.

Yes, learning is great. It’s paramount. It comes first.

But if an agent says, “I’d love to see your manuscript,” are any of us going to say, “Well, I just came here to learn, so I think I’ll have to pass”?

If you answered “yes,” this could be a problem.

Of course we’re packing our bags for the voyage with a little voice inside chirping, “You might get an agent. Like an agent. An actual agent. You know, they do exist!”

Hopefully your inner voices are not that annoying.

So far we’ve discussed the option of attending to learn and attending to get an agent. Truth be told, there is a whole spectrum of possibilities in between. If history is any indication, the agents will have the ability to cut off writers as they read their pages. They may allow writers to read to the end of the second page, or they may stop them after one page, one paragraph, or even…one sentence.

Agents may respond well to the writing. They may smile or laugh. They may say they love the title or they hate the title. They may collectively agree your work is excellent and all hand you business cards and ask for you to submit to them. They may disagree on whether your work is excellent or say, “It’s good, but it’s just not for me.”

There are so many possibilities. But what do you want to happen? What do you want out of your conference experience?

Keep in mind, there are possibilities with other writers, too. Are you looking for a critique group? A critique partner? Someone to keep in touch with and help motivate you? Just a friend in the business?

Get out a notebook or open a new blank document in Word. Set some goals for yourself. Make them specific, measurable, and achievable.

You may or may not want to share them. You may choose to keep your little list of goals to yourself, tucked into your pocket when you walk into that banquet room at the Radisson Martinique Thursday morning. Hopefully it doesn’t take long before you’re able to draw check marks next to each item on the list.

Tomorrow: Advice on how to reach your goals with the query letter.

*****

Tamara Girardi is a PhD student in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Composition and TESOL program and earned a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2005. She teaches literature and composition and freelances for Pittsburgh area newspapers. She has been a member of Backspace since 2007 and will share her query and first two pages from her young adult paranormal novel THESE WALLS CAN TALK at the upcoming Agent-Author Seminar.

Follow her on Twitter (@TamaraGirardi) for up to the moment conference news.

What a Writer Wants

First in a six-part series leading up to the 2010 Backspace Agent-Author Seminar

by Tamara Girardi - The Girardi Diner

Next week, I will step into a banquet room at the Radisson Martinique in New York City for Backspace’s Agent-Author Seminar to meet with other young adult authors and literary agents anxious to discover great work. Here’s to hoping we all find what we’re looking for.

The first writing conference I ever attended was Backspace in August 2007. I signed up for two Two Minutes, Two Pages sessions. At the time, the sessions were incorporated with the regular conference. It was before the excellent Agent-Author Seminar as we know it today existed. The sessions I signed up for were literary fiction and young adult fiction. I was still searching for my footing back then. Truth be told, in a way I guess I still am.

When I sat down at a long table with two agents at the head of it, I was intimidated, and I’m not the type of person who is easily intimidated. In a way, I was transported back to elementary school when you looked around the room during a test and wondered how you were doing, relative to everyone else. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s because I’m a competitive person, but I wondered where I would stack up with the others in the room.

I was in a room of literary fiction writers. I realized rather quickly that I do not write literary fiction – not even close.

I read my first two pages to literary agents Holly Root and Laney Katz Becker. They offered good advice but shared next to no interest in seeing more of my work. After the session, I watched them speak excitedly with another writer in the group about the two pages she read. It was like magic to me. I gathered my things slowly, not to eavesdrop. I couldn’t hear them speaking, but the image was intoxicating. 

As a side note, the author to whom the agents were speaking will see her book go on sale this spring.

Her experience was inspiring and exciting, and I remember thinking, “I want that to be me.” I promised myself I would figure out whatever I had to so that one day it would be.

I attended conferences, built relationships with other writers, read the canonical works for aspiring writers – Stephen King’s On Writing, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Robert McKee’s Story, Donald Maass’ How to Write the Breakout Novel – and several others. I enrolled in online workshops that focused on weaknesses in novel writing I knew I possessed. And I found myself the most amazing critique partner who challenges me on every sentence.

More than that, I wrote. I’ve heard so many authors respond to the question, “What advice do you have for unpublished writers?” with simply, “Write.” It’s something we often forget. But in the last three years since I’ve attended my first Backspace conference, I’ve been writing. I’ve written a handful of books, and although I’ve been revising my novel These Walls Can Talk for the past nine months, I’m anxious to get back into the creative process of starting a project from scratch.

All of this motivation stems from tiny moments like the one I experienced at Backspace 2007. In that moment, I knew what I wanted. Until then, achieving it would have been impossible.

So that’s the first question we’ll address in this string of blog posts. If you’re attending the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar next week, what is it that you want out of it? If you’re not attending, adapt this exercise to fit your current needs, whether they are professional or personal – what is it that you want?

Tomorrow: Setting goals for your conference experience.

*****

Tamara Girardi is a PhD student in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Composition and TESOL program and earned a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2005. She teaches literature and composition and freelances for Pittsburgh area newspapers. She has been a member of Backspace since 2007 and will share her query and first two pages from her young adult paranormal novel THESE WALLS CAN TALK at the upcoming Agent-Author Seminar.

Follow her on Twitter (@TamaraGirardi) for up to the moment conference news.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Pirate?

by Michael Stearns

If you are the sort who, instead of writing your pages, dithers on the web, checking up on the news and reading blogs and watching Orson Welles drunk outtakes, then you may well have seen Jackson Pearce’s screed against book pirates. Some background: She’d tweeted a few days ago that she must subsist off of ramen because she is broke, and meanwhile her books are being downloaded illegally. People responded to the tweet (apparently in support of book piracy—arrrrr!), and she answered those people with this charming video in which she costars with a pirate puppet.

But to my mind, both she and the people she’s answering are missing a bigger question, which is this: If those downloaded copies of the book(s) weren’t available on a pirate board, would the people who download them instead have purchased copies? That is, what is the actual impact of these downloads on sales?

There’s no way to be sure, of course, but I’d argue that the effects are negligible or positive. And that, considering that piracy is unavoidable, best then to find ways to make it work to one’s advantage—such as using a Creative Commons license. (For a better explanation of all of this, see Cory Doctorow’s post at the Guardian—which additionally has some startlingly frank talk about how artists should not expect to make a living from their art; in short, don’t quit your day job.)

The thing is, people who download illegally? They aren’t going to buy the book anyway. They’re just not. (Or a few may, but the lion’s share never will.) They are part of the culture of ferreting out uploads and taking what’s available. They are never going to wander into a bookstore real or virtual to buy the book. I know several of these people—they have files of all the latest movies and albums and like to boast about what they’ve “got” recently.

They are habitual thieves of a sort, but never mind that: They do talk up what they’ve got. They are one part of word-of-mouth. A scurrilous part, surely, but a group whose activities and talk may well spur awareness of a project—whether album, film, or book. As Doctorow has said elsewhere, his biggest fear isn’t that people will download his book for free, it’s that they will have never heard of it.

If the piracy of intellectual property is unavoidable (as it seems to be), then the only recourse is to create art that creates fans—people who are willing to support it. I have had friends “slip” me downloads of albums that I then went out and bought (in some cases—as with Frank Turner—six copies over time, more than paying him back for the brief time I “pirated” his album). I’ve become a fan, and it was because of that first sample. It may well have to be this way for authors, too.

What do you think? Is free the way of the future? How are authors going to make a living once everything is digitized and available for the price of a little bit of poking around the internet?

Reprinted with permission of the author.

*****

Michael Stearns is the founder of Upstart Crow Literary, and an agent specializing in children’s books. Formerly editorial director and foreign acquisitions manager for HarperCollins Children's Books, before that he was Senior Editor, Director of Paperback Publishing for Harcourt Children’s Books. He has worked on hundreds of books for children and adults over the course of twenty years in the industry. 

My Thoughts on Launch Day by Author EJ Knapp

September 1^st was the day STEALING THE MARBLES left the nest and flew out on its own. I felt like one of my babies had left home and gone off to college or something. What a roller coaster ride of emotions that was. I can’t begin to tell you what it was like.

All the hard work of writing it, nurturing it, the risk in sending it out to agents and publishers, the waiting waiting waiting for word, the rejections that stung but did not lay me low for long, the utter joy when it was accepted, and the fear as well. Then the whole process of editing. What a learning experience that was. Jayne Southern, you are a goddess and it was an honor and a privilege to work with you.

And seeing that cover for the first time. Seeing that the artist, Jacques Stenvert, captured the very heart of the story. I couldn’t stop looking at it. It gave me chills of joy.

Then those final weeks before the release date arrives. Promotion, marketing, all the things I’m really not very good at. I wonder how many writers actually are? We writers are a reclusive lot, preferring the worlds within our head to the one we actually live in.

Then the day arrives, the baby leaves the nest and it’s no longer yours alone. You can no longer protect it, hide it, bandage its wounds with new words and that roller coaster of emotions soars to even greater heights.

I was a basket case on launch day. But a very happy basket case. Thank you Rebel e. Thank you Backspace. I wouldn’t have been the happy basket case I was at that moment without you.

*****

EJ was born during a thunderstorm in Detroit, Michigan, several years before the Motor City discovered fins.

Raised in a working-class, blue-collar neighbourhood, he morphed into the stereotypical hoodlum a teenager, growing up on the west side of Detroit, was expected to be. Dropping out of high school at sixteen, he hit the road in his 1960 Chevy and has, in one way or another, been rolling down that road ever since.

He has published numerous short stories in various on-line magazines. He is also the author of a nonfiction work, The Great Golden Gate Bridge Trivia Book published by Chronicle Books in 1987 and republished on Smashwords as Secrets of the Golden Gate Bridge.

He and his friend are temporarily nestled in the armpit of Florida, in the flood zone of the Suwannee River, hunkered down with his six cats and the inevitable strays that seem to gather wherever he settles.

He is currently working on his next novel, Meter Maids Eat Their Young, and dreaming of the day he can get back to his beloved San Francisco.

You can buy his tree book on Amazon.