“I am the reader,” said the writer

We should all take the writing advice of Bret Easton Ellis. Why? Keep Reading.

“I don’t think about the reader—ever—and I don’t care. The reader is me.”-Bret Easton Ellis

Isn’t this refreshing? I thought so. As a writer (an unpublished writer, at that) there exists a certain amount of pressure to please people with your writing: friends, family, agents, editors, the teenage audience who will (fingers-crossed) hopefully buy it…

This week at MURDERATI, J.D. Rhoades gives advice about “Forgetting about marketability, forgetting about expectations, forgetting about ‘what will my agent/editor/spouse/mom think if she reads this’, and just letting the story come out the way it plays in your head. Trusting your own vision and talent. Listening ‘to what you care about, what you truly ache to say.’”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to make your agent and editors and audience happy, and not be a pain or a diva, but the notion that writing entirely for yourself and giving up any preconceived notions about what others want is just…well, uplifting.

Or not. What do you think?

Getting Published: The Pitch

An important part of getting published is getting an agent (especially if you’re writing fiction) – how do you do that?

Pitch your novel to an agent at a writers’ conference.

There is a plethora of information regarding the dreaded pitch, but here are links to formats and techniques I found helpful when I had to pitch at a writers’ conference.

• Rules for pitching at writers’ conferences from a Writers’ Conference Director
• Literary Agent Nathan Bransford breaks down the three basic elements in a good one-sentence pitch
• Secrets of a Great Pitch, by Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
• Jessica Faust of Book Ends, LLC, shares how she likes to be pitched at a conference

After reading several articles and blogs about pitching to literary agents, I’ve decided that much of how your pitch is perceived falls on TIMING.

Good timing with an agent means pitching to them at an appropriate time (not when they’re: A-in the bathroom, B-in a hurry, or C-eating dinner)

Excellent timing with an agent is defined as follows:

1. Your novel falls under their realm of expertise
2. They understand what your novel is about
3. Your novel’s theme immediately triggers the thought, “so-and-so from publishing house X would eat that right up.”

So it seems like the success of the pitch is completely out of your control, right?

Wrong.

You have complete control over when you approach the agent. You have complete control over which agent you approach (that being an agent that represents work similar to yours). And you have total control over how well your pitch conveys the story. A well understood story will definitely raise the agent’s confidence in their ability to sell it – because they know what they’re selling.

For information on agents who publish the kind of books you write, turn to your writers’ bible, Publisher’s Marketplace, and search away.

If you plan on attending a conference this year, then you better have a good pitch ready – a quick summary of your novel that will both tell what it’s about as well as intrigue the agent into saying, “Yes, please send me a query with _____ as the subject line so that I will recognize it.”

The pitch is an important first step. If your pitch is intriguing the agent will read your specially titled query (probably) before she reads any of the queries with general subject headers. Doors are opening quicker for you – however, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be invited inside.

Tune in next time for, Getting Published: Queries (an integral part of getting invited inside)

PNWA’s 2010 Conference

The annual Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference is four days of writing seminars, book signings, meetings with editors and agents, lectures from major publishing successes, and inspirational keynote speeches from incredible authors, including Andre Dubus III and Lisa Gardner. It’s basically a get-your-writing/writing career on-track marathon. When we weren’t listening intently to the advice and information, we were pitching to agents and chatting with other writers. For any serious, aspiring writers, Writer’s Conferences are a MUST!

Instead of leaving you with what would be a 10 page, single spaced, 12-point font, front and back report, detailing everything I learned last week…I’ve managed to boil it down to a few important (and fun) facts about writing, about the Young Adult (YA) market, and about getting your work published:

*You better have a darn good one-sentence pitch. Sometimes one sentence is all the time you’ll have to speak to agents before they have to dash off to their next appointment or meeting. For information about the quick, fiction pitch visit Janna Cawrse Esarey’s website for writers.

*Publisher’s Marketplace is the writers’ bible. It tells everything you could ever want to know about the world of publishing and all of its quirks.

*If everyone I spoke to who was writing a YA novel got published there would be a TON of exciting, fresh, and insightful books to read.

*In her keynote speech, Lisa Gardner implied that success for one writer equals success for all. If someone reads a good book, they’re more likely to pick up another good book. And that good book could be yours.

*Andre Dubus III is hilarious and inspiring (and his hair reminds me of James Dean’s). He talked about writer’s special gift to ‘go to the room,’ about the value of listening to the voices in your head, and about the importance of writing alongside your characters. If he’s visiting your town, visiting him is a must.

*A fellow writer standing behind me in line for dinner said, “Listening to Bob Mayer’s workshops is like drinking from a hose.” He’s so full of information about story structure, character development, plot, the publishing industry – you name it, he knows it (and he knows it well). Lucky for anyone who gets to hear him talk, he brings handouts (aka guide books). :)

*YA readers tend to read up, so if your character is fifteen expect the average reader to be thirteen. This is important when an agent thinks about representing your book and weighs how difficult it will be to sell to a publisher.

*Getting the go-ahead from an agent to send your first three chapters is just the beginning. Since you’ve nailed you’re pitch, you now must make your query letter even better.

*Categorizing your work may be painful (YA, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, ect.), but it is very necessary. Once you can do it you will be one step closer to mastering the language of agents & editors, and the publishing world will seem much less foreign.

*Voice is the indefinable part of your novel that gives it zest. It is also something only you can channel, and only you have control of. I’d like to think that published writers find comfort in this when their editors are cutting out 20,000 words and changing characters. At least their voice will remain forever untouched.

For a more comprehensive overview of the PNWA Conference, visit the blog of Kirsten Joy Rice – a fellow YA writer and attendee with a very informative blog detailing PNWA’s Conference workshops.