By Jon Sternfeld – The Irene Goodman Agency
2011 SCWW Conference Faculty Member
There is always an awkward power dynamic at work when a writer first sits down to meet an agent. Maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s the chaotic environment of conferences, or maybe it’s the magical feeling writers have, the misconception really, that an agent is the gateway to a writing career of fame and fortune. It’s true that agents have the knowledge and contacts to help start a writing career, but we are not the issue. The book in your hand (or head) is the issue. That and how you come across when you pitch it to us.
When I go to conferences, I immediately try to disarm the writers who sit down with me for one on ones. I give them a smile, tell them to relax, make a light joke or just anything to ease the tension – the reason is that I want them to lower their expectations that I am anything but a listener for the moment. It’s like a helpful boost to start things off - I want myself to be lowered so there’s room for them to feel a bit raised. A committed, disciplined writer is confident and agents know this and respond to this. Agents don’t travel weekends and miss time with their family to chat with uncommitted amateurs. We do it because we truly believe that out there are professional (though as of yet unpublished) writers that are just golden and waiting to be discovered.
If you’re shy, just fake the confidence, because often it’s the deciding factor as to whether or not an agent takes you seriously when you first sit down. Your passion, conviction, and sometimes, even your ego, will help get the agent to really see you as a writer, which I think is as important as the ‘pitch’ sometimes. I can’t do any reading in front of you, so whether or not I ask for you to send me your pages will often be based on how well you seem to know your story, how much time and work you’ve put into it, and how articulate you can be when discussing it. All of these are easier with confidence.
It’s an irony that at conferences the agents don’t read the writer’s work, but it’s the nature of the environment. Since they won’t be reading in front of you, the best you can do is get them to want to read more. Then, they’ll be rushing home to check their email to see what you sent in and the power dynamic is back as it should be – with the writers in control.
Showing posts with label conference experiences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conference experiences. Show all posts
A Volunteer’s POV at SCWW Conference
Last year I was a full-time volunteer at our annual writing conference in Myrtle Beach. It was quite an experience. I knew SCWW put on a strong writers’ conference, but what I saw from my vantage point of the check-in/answer desk was a real wake-up message.
On Friday of last year’s conference, a very tire couple trudged up to the check-in desk. The lady said, “Can I still register?”
When I said she was most certainly welcome to do so, her face flooded with relief.
“My husband and I have driven from Phoenix, Arizona just so I could attend this conference.”
Dumbstruck I pushed the registration forms toward her. “How did you learn about us,” I asked her.
“There is a writers’ conference in Tempe and before I registered for it, I decided to Google writers’ conferences, and I found yours is the most comprehensive and best value. It was worth it to me to drive nearly across the country to attend. And the faculty you have put together is very impressive.”
I was impressed too! As she finished with the registration process and we continued to chat, she became so comfortable that she and her husband decided that he should take the opportunity to go visit friends in a near-by state and return on Sunday to get her.
I saw her again on Sunday morning, face beaming. I asked her if she had had a good experience at the conference, did she feel she had made a good decision to spend her weekend with SCWW. Enthusiastically she said yes and that she was planning to come back next time and bring a carload from her writing group. It was a highlight of my volunteer experience.
On Saturday I checked in a writer, physician by profession, who had flown in…again from Arizona…to get A critique ONLY from editor, Caitlain Alexander. I was awed that someone with a writer’s passion and very limited free time would fly cross country for a 20-minute appointment. Again I was struck by the quality of our faculty.
I ran into a friend from my home chapter on Saturday evening. She was as mad as a wet hen. “I am never coming to this conference again,” she said. It turns out the agent she thought would be her soul mate and would understand her writing esthetic was not a good fit. I tried consoling her, but it didn’t work…she was on her way home!
The next time I saw her was on Sunday morning after another critique with a different faulty member (who asked to see more of her work) and a pitch appointment (with a third faculty member who wanted to see the first 50 pages of another of her works). She was smiling and skipping to the tune of “Zippidy-Do-Da,” complete with the animated bluebirds from Song of the South.
“Aren’t you glad you stayed,” I asked, even though the answer was written on her face.
“We’re writers,” she said. “We’re opinionated and volatile. The agent I thought was so like me and would ‘get me’ was not who I needed to see.” And off she skipped, still smiling. I smiled too, happy to be associated with a writing conference that offers a wide variety of professionals so well versed in their fields of expertise.
I’m looking forward to volunteering at the SCWW 21st annual writers’ conference again this year. I hope I’ll hear a success story from you.
On Friday of last year’s conference, a very tire couple trudged up to the check-in desk. The lady said, “Can I still register?”
When I said she was most certainly welcome to do so, her face flooded with relief.
“My husband and I have driven from Phoenix, Arizona just so I could attend this conference.”
Dumbstruck I pushed the registration forms toward her. “How did you learn about us,” I asked her.
“There is a writers’ conference in Tempe and before I registered for it, I decided to Google writers’ conferences, and I found yours is the most comprehensive and best value. It was worth it to me to drive nearly across the country to attend. And the faculty you have put together is very impressive.”
I was impressed too! As she finished with the registration process and we continued to chat, she became so comfortable that she and her husband decided that he should take the opportunity to go visit friends in a near-by state and return on Sunday to get her.
I saw her again on Sunday morning, face beaming. I asked her if she had had a good experience at the conference, did she feel she had made a good decision to spend her weekend with SCWW. Enthusiastically she said yes and that she was planning to come back next time and bring a carload from her writing group. It was a highlight of my volunteer experience.
On Saturday I checked in a writer, physician by profession, who had flown in…again from Arizona…to get A critique ONLY from editor, Caitlain Alexander. I was awed that someone with a writer’s passion and very limited free time would fly cross country for a 20-minute appointment. Again I was struck by the quality of our faculty.
I ran into a friend from my home chapter on Saturday evening. She was as mad as a wet hen. “I am never coming to this conference again,” she said. It turns out the agent she thought would be her soul mate and would understand her writing esthetic was not a good fit. I tried consoling her, but it didn’t work…she was on her way home!
The next time I saw her was on Sunday morning after another critique with a different faulty member (who asked to see more of her work) and a pitch appointment (with a third faculty member who wanted to see the first 50 pages of another of her works). She was smiling and skipping to the tune of “Zippidy-Do-Da,” complete with the animated bluebirds from Song of the South.
“Aren’t you glad you stayed,” I asked, even though the answer was written on her face.
“We’re writers,” she said. “We’re opinionated and volatile. The agent I thought was so like me and would ‘get me’ was not who I needed to see.” And off she skipped, still smiling. I smiled too, happy to be associated with a writing conference that offers a wide variety of professionals so well versed in their fields of expertise.
I’m looking forward to volunteering at the SCWW 21st annual writers’ conference again this year. I hope I’ll hear a success story from you.
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