Taking the Mystery out of Querying

HEY GUYS!

I am going to be in Austin TX next week for the awesome Writer's League of Texas Agent Conference and I have been tasked with doing a breakout session called "Taking the Mystery out of Querying." 

Y'all know how I feel about Texas (I don't mess with it, I don't tread on it, I know its eyes are upon me, I run around looking for awesome pink boots every time I am there, and I LOVE IT)... but you also probably might know how I dislike doing talks about queries (because hello boring!)

So I'm aiming to take the boring out of this topic, and it starts with YOU.

What do YOU need to know about about queries -- and also, what pearls of inspiration do you have to share with me about them?

Things that you've never seen addressed, or things that are important that I not miss, or just general words of wisdom, all are appreciated. Share what has worked for you, what you STILL don't understand, or anything else you'd like.

Go play in the comments! I will shake all of this around in the gem tumbler of my brain and see what happens. Yay! Thanks in advance!

xo JL

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The Pre-Conference Query... Huh?

Q: Would you like to receive a query from a prospective writer prior to meeting them at a conference?

I got this question on Twitter last night, and in thinking about it I realized, sure enough, before every conference I attend I get a handful of queries from people that say they are "about to meet me at XYZ conference next week" (for example). Actually, I've been getting more lately than ever. It makes me feel like somebody must have written an article advising people to do this or something. Hm.

I must start by saying, I don't think you need to go to conferences to meet agents or to learn craft. It is cool if you can, or want to -- they can be very helpful -- but they are far from necessary. Most of my clients do not attend conferences, and I've never signed anyone at a conference.

So my initial response on Twitter was something like I don't give a good god-damn when you send your query. Which is true. However... I do sort of wonder about the reasoning.

* How do you know you'll like me? Obviously you never REALLY know if you'll like working with somebody until you're actually working with them. You can query agents all day, but just because you like their books, or think they are funny on Twitter, doesn't mean you'll enjoy working with them. But you are in a sort of rare position in that you are about to meet me! Since you only have one opportunity at my agency, perhaps hearing about my interests in real life will cement your decision to go with me, or sway you toward another one of our excellent agents. But if you've already queried me, that chance is gone, sooo...

* I try to clear my inbox before I go out of town. Purely from a housekeeping perspective, I try to get at least the bulk of my queries done before I go away for a conference. Which means that if you pre-query me, often I have already rejected you by the time we meet. That's awkward, no?

* If you pitch me in real life, you'll get to see my response. If we have the chance to talk at the conference, you can ASK me if your picture book about Weevil-Ghosts or whatever is a good fit for me, or if you should send to somebody else at the agency. (Actually I'll stop you right there: Don't send me the Weevil-ghost picture book. Try Caryn, she'll love it.) (KIDDING PLEASE DON'T KILL ME CARYN.)

* People I've met tend to stick out in a good way. Again, remember, I've never signed anyone at a conference, and I hadn't met the vast majority of my clients when I signed them. But. If we DID get the chance to talk, and you mention it in your query, it's natural that I'm more likely to pay attention. Obviously I am not going to remember "pass the salt" - but if we had some connection over a shared love of a book, or we had a funny convo about the Weevil-ghosts, or whatever, I'm likely to remember it. Just human nature. I'm not going to offer you representation based on meeting you, or even just hearing a pitch, of course, but if I go in with good expectations, I am more likely to give your work the extra chance and want to read more, or even take just that extra minute to try and personalize my response to you, even if it is a rejection.

* MOST IMPORTANTLY, isn't the point of going to the conference so you'll learn things? Not to be a jerk or anything, but seriously? I've read what people turn in to conferences. That stuff is NOT ready for prime time. That is, I assume, why the authors are AT the conference - not just because they love nametags, or get a thrill from hanging out in hotel ballrooms drinking cheap white wine. I hope they are going to take all the wonderful stuff they've learned at the conference and APPLY IT TO THEIR WORK to make it stronger. I'm extremely dubious whenever I get a query a day or a week after a conference, because it feels like the attendee didn't even listen or let anything sink in... so it follows that I'd be even more dubious about a PRE-conference query.

So I guess it turns out I have more feelings about this than I thought I did.

What do YOU think the reasoning is behind pre-conference querying? Is there some obvious reason to do this I'm totally missing?

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Conference Wrap-up

I had a terrific time at SCBWI's upstate NY "Cabin Fever" conference in Syracuse NY.  Home of the world's largest snowplow. (No, really). The icicles were sharp, the snow was swirling, but the company was totally delightful. Thanks to superstars Amy Emm and Ellen Yeomans for the hard work and kindness!

My talk was fun, but I totally ran over time and could have gone for another hour probably with Q&A. For those who are curious, here are the topics I covered in AGENTS 101

1. Who the hell I am, anyway, and what kind of books I represent

2. What is "trade publishing" and how does it differ from educational markets and others? What are "the big six" publishers?

3. How is has the recession, etc, affected publishing?

4. What does an agent even do? How do they help authors navigate the publishing world?

5. How do you get an agent?  How to do the research, a bit about queries, synopses, publication credits, personalization, submission guidelines and the like.

6. On rejection, and what "subjective" really means.

7. Why it is a terrible idea to compare your path to others, how each book has its own way of being sold and published. I had copies of about ten of my books up there and I gave the unique circumstances and timeline of each, bumps along the way, and gave the "shock-and-awe" portion which is how very long it can take for some books to make it to print.

8. MYTHBUSTERS!  I gave each participant a quiz in their handout - 20 myths that I hear over and over from published and nonpublished writers alike - and went through each one and busted them. (Some came from my summertime Mythbusters blog post, some were new.)

and then Q&A!  I got one very interesting question that I have never addressed here, which I hope to get to in the coming days.

Anyway... now I have a train to catch, the real world awaits. But thanks again, Syracuse!  MWAH!   *waves*

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Conference Tips, part 2

Lots of you are getting ready for SCBWI-NY, so this seems like as good a time as any to follow up on Conference Tips Part 1.

HOW DO I PITCH MY BOOK!?

First of all, "pitching" should not be the goal. I personally hate it when people creep up to me and say "I wanna pitch my book to you!" - What happened to "hello"? How about you just talk to me like a person, and let me ask you about your work?

now this is a pitch

But let's say that you have a one-on-one pitch session scheduled. Or you have chatted me up at a cocktail party and I've ended up asking you the question: What is your book about?

This shouldn't be a summary of your book. I don't need to know the main character's childhood nickname or favorite food or where they went to middle school. In your real voice, in real words, NOT in a canned speech, just briefly tell me what this thing is, and why I should care. That's the taste of the story that will make me want the whole thing… something that will make me say WOW, sounds fun, I want to read that. 

You aren't giving a speech, you are having a conversation with a real person. So keep the "pitching" part brief, pay attention to social cues just like you would in any conversation. I might want to ask you for more information. Be ready to answer follow up questions about yourself or your story.  That means, BE LISTENING.

This is a chance for you to talk about something that you are very passionate about, and know more about than anything in the world.  You are the world’s foremost expert on this book. Literally nobody on the planet knows more about this topic than you do. Have fun! 

A superb brief tutorial on The Pitch can be found on Janet Reid's blog.

BUT I CAN'T EVEN AFFORD TO GO TO A CONFERENCE - AM I DOOMED? 
Heck no. Though conferences can be great fun and useful to get a glimpse at parts of the publishing biz beyond your own desk, or just make new friends who are in the same boat as you, they are hardly required.  You can get an agent and get published without ever setting foot in a conference. (Ask half my clients!) It's just hard to tell, because the writers who are usually the most "out there" on the internet are often the type of personalities who LIKE to go to conferences, so that can make a newbie feel like everyone is doing it, because everyone they see is.

If you want to dabble, but not commit to a big time conference where you have to travel, consider attending a short SCBWI event or two in your region. These are usually a few hours to a day long, and priced reasonably. Also, take a look at WriteOnCon, which is all online. 

You should go if you can afford to (this means both in time and money), and if you honestly want to.  But if you can't get time off the day job, or it is just too much of a stretch financially, or you feel reluctant, or you don't like to be in groups, or whatever, don't listen to folks who insist that you MUST attend. That is hogwash.

The important thing is, do what you need to do to fuel your writing.

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Conference Tips, part 1

I get questions about conferences quite often, ranging from "which conference should I attend?" to "what do I do once I get there?" Since I attend as a speaker, not as an attendee, my perspective might be a bit skewed, fair warning.

WHICH CONFERENCE SHOULD I ATTEND?

You need to figure out a few things, like, what are your budget, time and travel constraints? Some conferences are one-day affairs, some last a couple of days or even a week. There might be one in your hometown, or you might prefer to spend some time away from home. Do you want a small, craft-oriented workshop type environment where you really get to work on your manuscript? OR do you want to attend large seminars where editors or agents give talks the whole time? 

Personally, I adore the craft-oriented small workshops like the Big Sur Children's Writer's Workshop that my agency puts on twice a year, or the Oregon Coast Children's Book Writer's Workshop. At these conferences, there is a low ratio of faculty (agents, editors or well-published writers) to attendees. That means everyone has a chance to get to know everyone else, if not in the workshops, then over meals. Faculty meets with authors in small groups or one-on-one and give feedback, and there is lots of quiet alone-time in a gorgeous location for the authors to actually write without the distractions of internet and TV. All this can really help writers figure out how to focus their stories and where to go with revisions. It seems like a short time, but I have to tell you, the changes that I've seen authors make to their work in just a few days can at times be quite shocking, and magical!

That said, larger regional SCBWI conferences like NE-SCBWI or SCBWI National can be great fun, particularly if you have lots of friends in the region. Going to conferences like this, where there are big rooms full of writers listening to expert presentations and panels (and lots of fun times going on in the lobby after hours!) can be like one big invigorating party for writers and an opportunity to learn more about the business. And often, for a small fee, attendees can meet one-on-one with editors or agents as well. I feel like these conferences might be better for people that are good at schmoozing and "putting themselves out there" - if you aren't quite there yet, you might consider starting with a smaller one-day SCBWI event in your area.


HOW DO I PREPARE FOR A CONFERENCE?

First of all, RELAX. You don't NEED to do anything, or prove anything to anyone. Conferences should be fun, and you should learn something, and you should meet lots of great people, but everyone is nice. They aren't going to judge you or torture you. There shouldn't be anything scary about this experience. Especially at all-children's writers conferences... we all love children's books, after all!

Read the conference materials. Look up the editors and agents online, just to get an idea of where they work and what they are interested in. Send in material if you are supposed to send it in, and/or bring materials with you if you are asked to. (For example, if there will be workshops). Bring a copy of your query letter - why not? Somebody might ask. But DO NOT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, expect to hand your query or manuscript to an agent or editor at the conference. We don't want them there. We'll give you submission guidelines if we are interested in getting material, and you can email or send it after the show.

I suggest you go in with your ears open. Bring a notebook. Bring some business cards with your web address and email address to share with other writers (again, if you hand material to faculty it will likely get lost or thrown out.)

Dress neatly but comfortably. Wear comfy shoes. Stay hydrated. Don't drink too much booze, even if it is free, and don't stay up too late, no matter how much fun you're having. Talk to people. Yes, even scary agents. :-) Here are some more great conference tips from SCBWI-conference veteran Linda Joy Singleton.


Up next time: HOW DO I PITCH MY BOOK?

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