I Attended a Writing Conference

—I Attended a Writing Conference—

Today, February 10, 2024 (and also yesterday). The Boston Writing Workshop (online edition). All things considered, I’d say it was a success. I registered in mid-January after one of the agents on my list tweeted a link to the conference indicating his attendance. I scoped the website and figured: what the heck, I’ll give it a shot.

It wasn’t free, but it wasn’t unreasonably expensive, either—especially considering the fact that you would get the opportunity to meet 1-1 and pitch your book to agents. Of the 30-ish agents attending, five were on my list. I registered to meet with all five and began to prepare my material. (Perhaps I’ll share a copy of the pitch in a future post.)

Day 1 involved a number of classes taught by agents in the field, e.g., ‘Crafting Your Opening Pages’, ‘Why an Agent Passes on a Submission’, ‘What is an Author Brand?’, etc. Day 2 was mostly pitch meetings and a couple of other classes: Agent Q&A and a 1-page Critique fest. (An anonymous, randomized live reading of authors’ in attendance submitted first page of their manuscript. Once three of the four agents on the panel raised their hand [i.e., ‘This is where I would’ve stopped reading if this submission came through my query inbox’] as the moderator read the page aloud, they moved to the next author’s first page—but not before offering critique as to why they raised their hand when they did.) I submitted mine, but it wasn’t read. But that’s okay. It was still interesting and valuable. I added a last-minute pitch meeting with one of the agents providing critique because she seemed especially knowledgeable in my genre and I hadn’t heard of her before.

Here’s a summary of my pitch meetings. Each meeting was 10 minutes long and held via Zoom.

  1. 6:15am (so… early… woof). She liked my pitch! A little more sci/fi than she’s typically used to, but liked it enough to want to read the manuscript. She was especially intrigued by our shared literary and film interests and the multiple 3rd-person POV in which the book is told. She requested my full manuscript.

  2. 7:00am (a little less woof, but still woof). He was high on my list, but wasn’t really feeling my pitch, which bummed me out a bit. He also indicated it was a little more sci/fi than is typical for his list. I also got a little nervous, and choked on my answers to some of his questions about Kohra’s central conflict. **sigh** He requested a standard query.

  3. 8:45am (K, I was awake). She liked my pitch! She’s a younger agent interested in building her client list—which is a plus for debut authors like me. She shared her vision as an agent and working with her clients—all of which sounded great to me. She also asked if there’s anything else I’m working on, indicating—I think—that she’s looking to sign authors for more than just one book. We connected over tattoos. She requested a standard query, but I feel good about it.

  4. 11:15am (no more woof). She was a late add after another agent cancelled earlier this week. She’s also typically interested in more grounded sci/fi. While NIGHTLIGHTER certainly is, it can be interpreted as a bit more on the high sci/fi / high-concept speculative fiction side of things. But she liked my pitch and had some great follow-up questions, which I answered much more successfully than with Agent #2. She requested a standard query. I feel decent about it.

  5. 12:30pm (feeling good, but tired). This was the top agent on my pitch meeting list. I felt like we connected right away. She indicated she was very interested in reading more! I’d be stoked to work with her. Our post-pitch conversation and shared literary and film interests seemed to gel. She also shared her vision as an agent and inquired about other books I’m working on. She requested a standard query. But I feel really good about it! Fingers crossed!

  6. 1:45pm (last minute add—mentioned above). In the 1-page critique fest, this agent said that sci/fi was one of her first loves, but doesn’t get a lot of it in her query inbox. Huzzah! I scheduled the meeting, and she was generous enough to oblige on such short notice. We share nearly identical film and literary interests and a love for contemporary-dystopias and badass women doing badass things. NIGHTLIGHTER fits that bill to a T! She was interested in the pitch and wanted to read more, but was a little wary re trigger warnings. I assured her these scenes aren’t gratuitous and that Editor Amy and I worked diligently to craft them into an integral component to Kohra’s arc as a character. She requested a standard query; I feel pretty good about it.

I’m proud of myself for attending. I was pretty nervous/excited going in, but became more comfortable as the day progressed. But you’re putting your baby out there and you’ve got to make a smashing first impression. It was hard, but it was a great learning experience, and possibly (hopefully) how I sign an agent.

A parting takeaway: An agent at Writers House (one of the more prestigious literary agencies in the country) said as he finished his presentation on crafting your opening pages, “Nobody knows what they’re talking about.” Essentially, the field is so subjective and the market is always changing and agents are all human people that have different tastes and personalities. Some may love your first page, protagonist, sex scenes, entire book; and some may hate it. Just keep at it.

I am keeping at it. Squeaky wheel, baby! Let’s make it happen.

That’s all for now.

Peace & love,

-Taylor

P.S. Here’s a link to the conference’s primary site. If you’ve never been to one and you’re interested or on the fence about attending, attend. It’s worth it.

 

TJH -- 02.10.2024

Taylor Hudson