Melissa Jeglinski - The Knight Agency
Conference Faculty Member
So you’ll be attending the South Carolina Writers' Workshop in October. And you want to make the most of your experience. You’ve looked over the program and decided which workshops to attend. But the list of agents is confusing. Who do you meet with and what do you do when you sit down face to face?
First, remember that the agent is there to find quality material. As much as I love the idea of Myrtle Beach in October, I’m still giving away my weekend of free time to work. (Though an ocean view can make anything sweeter.) We all want to come out of this with something positive to show for our time. I would love nothing more than to find my dream project and sign a client right on the spot.
You need to decide whether you want to work with an agent. If so, which agent or agents? Why meet with one you have no interest in? Time is a valuable commodity for everyone so don’t waste it just because you’re curious. If that’s the case, come to one of our sessions and ask questions there. But save the one on one times for those who are really interested in that agent; the opportunity for such a face to face meet does not often occur. And remember, you can always chat us up over a meal or in the hall between sessions--as long as we’re not looking like a frazzled mess.
Be sure you’re meeting with an agent who represents the type of project you are working on. For example, I don’t do non-fiction or illustrated books or short story collections; not because I don’t enjoy those works, I’m simply concentrating on other areas. Take a look at the agent’s website and see who they represent and what types of projects they are currently selling. If you think you may be a good match, try to get an appointment.
When you have the chance to sit down with the agent, be prepared. When pitching your project, be succinct but complete. I like to know the title, word length and genre. Most importantly, is the manuscript complete because I can’t shop an unfinished project by and unpublished author. As for synopsizing the plot; I prefer to just hear about the main conflicts, set up and resolution. I don’t need to know every little plot point. Tell me if it is a planned series or a standalone novel. I’d also like to know about your writing credentials or background, something that tells me you are serious about your craft. I’m using this introduction to see if this is a project I could be excited about and not every project will be the right fit. However, if I’m intrigued I will ask you to send me your work as nothing can tell me as much about your writing as actually reading it.
Then it’s time for you to ask questions.
There’s a time limit for these appointments and it’s usually pretty tight. So really plan out what you want to know about the agent. If you’re the type to get nervous, have your questions in front of you. It’s okay to read from a piece of paper or jot down notes. You can ask about the agent’s current client list, most recent sales, subjects or genres they are particularly interested in. Question them about their agency agreement, commission percentages and the like. Feel free to ask them how they prefer to work with clients; are they very hands-on, do they send revisions, give detailed notes, etc. Any question is fair as long as it has to do with publishing.
When your meeting is over and you go back to the conference and then return home, don’t forget to follow up with the agent. If they requested material...send it. If it’s not quite ready, update the agent on when you expect to submit the project. Or, if you’ve decided that you wouldn’t be a good fit, let them know that as well. Acting in a professional manner is always key.
Hopefully the conference will prove a wonderful experience for you and provide an opportunity for us all to make some terrific connections.
Looking forward to seeing you in October!
Building a Solid Weekend - Part 3
Today I spent a few hours rethinking a plot point of my current project. I should confess that I’ve actually been working on things for this manuscript for several months. Come to think of it, I’ve been reconsidering portions of a book I wrote six years ago.
Maybe you have some of the same issues. You’re almost done and yet you aren’t because there’s one more thing you want to fix. That one more thing turns into two, then three, then … Well you get the idea.
What to do? What to do? Rewrite, rewrite and rewrite again. Then? Edit, edit and edit some more.
But you protest, "I was done with it. I even wrote THE END."
That's fine, and you did write it in all caps so we'd know you really were done. There is one point I would make though, it can't hurt to go over your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb.
"No one goes through all of that!" You grumble. "I catch mistakes in printed books all the time."
So do I, but then again, we all make mistakes. That's why pencils have erasers and computers have a DELETE key.
A writer friend told me about a published author she’d recently heard interviewed. The author confessed that she edited her manuscripts more than fifty times before she was satisfied that they were as polished as they could be.
My friend and I chuckled at the thought of going through our manuscripts that many times before we submitted them. Then we both realized that that author had something neither of us had: published books.
I don’t know if a manuscript requires more than fifty edits, but every manuscript could use some rewriting and perhaps a little editing even when you’re convinced it’s finished.
Most of the sessions I highlight here are designed to give you the tools necessary to get your manuscript into its best form. And once it's in tip-top shape, the rest of these sessions are all about submitting your project to an editor or agent for potential representation.
Look these over and plan on showing up to at least one of them, your manuscript and writing career will benefit.
You’re Done (at least with the 1st draft)! Now What?
Friday 9:00 –
(1) Editing Isn’t for Kids: The Young Adult/Children’s Markets from an Editing Point of View – Molly O’Neill
(2) Am I Done Now?: Editing from the First Paragraph to the Last Period – Carrie McCullough
Friday 1:30 –
(1) That’s Different … Get Positive Attention from Editors and What Will
Saturday 9:00 –
(1) Courting a Query: Tips to Catch an Agent – Melissa Jeglinski
Saturday 10:30 –
(1) Case Solved: Finding Ways to Grab a Mystery Editor’s Eye – Toni Plummer
Saturday 1:30 –
(1) Not Kids’ Games: Making Your Young Adult and Children’s Manuscripts Editor-Ready Works – Molly O’Neill
(2) A Little Verb, A Little Noun: Creating A Synposis That Sells – Stephanie Sun
Sold Out Appointments
Appointments are really selling this week, especially with the critiques deadline less than a week away. Here's a quick list of faculty who are sold out of specific types of appointments. We're attempting to update the registration system as quickly as possible.
Bernadette Baker-Baughman -- SOLD OUT of Real-Time Query
Sarah LaPolla -- SOLD OUT of Real-Time Query
Toni Plummer -- SOLD OUT of Real-Time Query, Standard Critique
Stephen Barr -- SOLD OUT of Pitch
Stephanie Sun -- SOLD OUT of Pitch
Jim Frenkel -- SOLD OUT of Extended Critique
Also, if you register for more than three of a specific appointment type, be sure to send an email to scwwconference2011@gmail.com with the complete list of your top choices, providing one more choice than the number you purchased (in case one of the choices is sold out).
Please, don't attempt to request someone who was not a choice during the registration process. It will be impossible to fill the request.
Finally, if you would like to add an appointment to your registration, please email scwwconference2011@gmail.com. Do not start a new online registration.
"Handle Me with Care"
Where do writers get their ideas? That's perhaps the most important question about writing that has no single right answer. Each writer is an individual who has individual ideas that capture the writer's fancy. It's less the uniqueness of an idea than the way it's expressed and packaged that gives each of us our writing approach and style.
We sometimes seek inspiration from those around us. This is a fruitful source, as long as we remember that the Hippocratic Oath adjuration to "first do no harm" applies to writers as well as doctors. I heard on the radio last week that a newly-released movie about life in the Deep South fifty years ago has led to a blowup between a writer and a person who claims that the writer, in essence, committed theft in using the real-life person as a character without permission. Without making a judgment on this case, it's a reminder that we have the power to destroy a good name or reputation by careless words or characterizations.
I teach history for a living. Part of what I do is to discuss with my students the canons of historical research and writing and the historian's obligation to do justice to the dead. In graduate school, I suffered several professorial bludgeonings until I display an adequate grasp of this key point. One who seeks to live by the credo of doing justice to others may want to consider exercising caution in harvesting grist for their writer's mill.
My wife and I recently spent ten days in Russia, cruising the waterways from Moscow to St. Petersburg. I crammed a notebook full of ideas about characters to populate the landscapes we saw. One thing we noticed in talking with Russians is the apprehensiveness many of them show about discussing their nation's past. Faulkner was right: their past isn't even past. It may not be for generations to come. I assume that all of us who love the craft of writing share a commitment to the truth, even expressed in fictional or poetic forms. I'm wrestling with the question of how to write about consequential things and tell the truth without doing injustice to my characters. I have no easy answers; I doubt anyone does.
A popular song from some years ago had the frequently-repeated line, "Handle me with care." Nonfiction writers already know the importance of doing this. We who write fiction and poetry need to keep it in mind as well.
We sometimes seek inspiration from those around us. This is a fruitful source, as long as we remember that the Hippocratic Oath adjuration to "first do no harm" applies to writers as well as doctors. I heard on the radio last week that a newly-released movie about life in the Deep South fifty years ago has led to a blowup between a writer and a person who claims that the writer, in essence, committed theft in using the real-life person as a character without permission. Without making a judgment on this case, it's a reminder that we have the power to destroy a good name or reputation by careless words or characterizations.
I teach history for a living. Part of what I do is to discuss with my students the canons of historical research and writing and the historian's obligation to do justice to the dead. In graduate school, I suffered several professorial bludgeonings until I display an adequate grasp of this key point. One who seeks to live by the credo of doing justice to others may want to consider exercising caution in harvesting grist for their writer's mill.
My wife and I recently spent ten days in Russia, cruising the waterways from Moscow to St. Petersburg. I crammed a notebook full of ideas about characters to populate the landscapes we saw. One thing we noticed in talking with Russians is the apprehensiveness many of them show about discussing their nation's past. Faulkner was right: their past isn't even past. It may not be for generations to come. I assume that all of us who love the craft of writing share a commitment to the truth, even expressed in fictional or poetic forms. I'm wrestling with the question of how to write about consequential things and tell the truth without doing injustice to my characters. I have no easy answers; I doubt anyone does.
A popular song from some years ago had the frequently-repeated line, "Handle me with care." Nonfiction writers already know the importance of doing this. We who write fiction and poetry need to keep it in mind as well.
A little more about some conference sessions (Frederick and Glick)
Are you a non-fiction writer? Excited about Matthew Frederick's three sessions, but not really sure what to expect? The author provided these teasers to his upcoming sessions:
TheFour P’s of Nonfiction
This workshop will help you assess thestatus of your nonfiction work and identify the next steps you need to take to improveyour chances of publication. You will read aloud a brief statement ordescription of your work—a pitch, synopsis, first page, or similarlyinformative piece of 250 words or less. The instructor and class participantswill assess your project in terms of the Four P’s: Platform (can you convince a publisher youhave the expertise, reach, or name recognition to attract an audience ofreaders?); Prose (are your writingand narrative skills suited to your project?); Proposal (what is this peculiar document required by agentsand publishers for nonfiction projects, and what makes it most effective?); andPurpose (is the concept or formatyou have chosen for your book appropriate to the needs of readers as well asyour own goals?). From there, the instructor will guide you as you work on yourweaker area(s). Bring to the session the first chapter of your manuscript, achapter outline, and any related documents you have been working on (query,proposal, etc.).
Small Steps, Big Books
Unpublished writers make a frequent mistake:investing too much energy in producing one "great" work instead ofcreating more works. Certainly, thedesire to publish a great book is understandable and even commendable, but amore useful goal for the unpublished writer is simply to become more publishedthan he or she currently is. For most, this means momentarily scaling backone’s ambitions and pursuing lesser but more immediate writingopportunities: community newspaper articles, letters to the editor, newsletteressays, PR copy, book and movie reviews, blogs, books-for-hire, and so on.Small writing projects can help the overly ambitious writer clarify his or her thinking,improve narrative skills, build an audience, make contacts in the publishingindustry, overcome creative blocks, and perhaps even generate an income streamthat will fund your work on your Big Book. Join Matthew Frederick, author offive bestselling small books and one forever-in-progress Big Book, as he helpsyou identify some effective small steps you can take toward becoming morepublished.
Being an Expert Can Pay
Everyone is perhaps expert at something;can your expertise be turned into a book? For that matter, are you certain whatyour area of expertise is? Is it your professional knowledge, yourchild-rearing skills, your winning way with cats, or your ability to avoid hardwork? In this session, bestselling nonfiction author Matthew Frederick willhelp you explore possibilities great and small, serious and silly, for nonfictionbook projects. Bring to the seminar some raw ideas, a sense of humor, and adesire to explore in unexpected directions.
As you can see from Sunday's blog, all appointments with Glick are sold out. However, here's a little more about the three sessions she'll offer during the conference:
From Research to the Dotted Line: What a Writer Should know about Finding, Signing with an Agent
You've written your manuscript or you've outlined a great non-fiction idea. But what do you do next? Agent Mollie Glick will walk attendees through the steps to finding agents in your area, how to send a query, what types of projects need proposals and then move to communicating with agents and what to keep in mind when considering an agent contract.
To Whom it May Concern: Tips on Writing Dynamic Query Letters
You know you've got a gold mine of a manuscript in your hands or in your head. What's the best way to get the project across to an agent? Mollie Glick will share what she looks for when she's reading query letters and tips on how to get yours polished.
Let's Talk About Genres: Learning How to Categorize Your Work and Other Names Agents Might Call It
Literary? Commercial? Upmarket? Young Adult? Middle Reader? Independent Reader? Memoir? Narrative Non-fiction? Let Agent Mollie Glick help you discover what your genre might be called by agents. Bring all your genre/category questions to this one!
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