How to Prepare for a Conference

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Some of my most significant relationships in the publishing world started at a writer's conference. These events can be a huge boost to your writing life. As a writer, you can pitch your book ideas to editors and literary agents during these conferences. Also you can gain insights from their workshops, sit with them at meals and learn from them. Each event is different but many of them have keynote speakers who give inspirational messages. Often they have panels where the audience can ask questions and you can gain additional information. I've been attending and speaking at these types of events for years. With the pandemic many of these events turned virtual but as I've written about recently, live events have returned.

 

This coming week I travel to Chicago and the campus of Wheaton College for Write to Publish. I've met a number of writers at these events and Morgan James Publishing has published their books. It's also an opportunity for the various faculty members to reconnect and catch up with each other during the event. If you want the best results from attending such an event, then you need to prepare for them. In this article, I want to give you some ideas about what steps I take for preparation to help your writing life.

 

Several weeks ago, I noticed I was low on print copies of my latest book, Book Proposals That Sell. I ordered more some more copies which arrived before I'm leaving for the conference. The supply chain issues have affected the amount of time for books to print and reach you. I take books to sell at these events and it is an important part of the preparation process.

 

At every conference, it is important to have business cards to exchange with attendees and faculty. Earlier this spring, I created a new business card and got them printed. I will pack a qualtity of these cards and other print material to bring to the conference. Countless times during the years, I've met a new faculty member and exchanged cards. The other person will often dig through their wallet or purse and tell me they have forgotten business cards and give me one of the few they happened to have. No matter what your role at the conference, I encourage you to bring plenty of cards to exchange.

 

At Write to Publish, I'm teaching three workshops. While I've taught these workshops in other places, each time I review my handout to make sure all of the websites and extra material are up to date and working properly. I'm teaching on five ways to build a platform, social media and also understanding an negotiating contracts. These workshops are recorded and I always attempt to build great value into my handouts through links to extra material.

 

The conference has arranged pick me up at the airport and transportation to Wheaton College. I've been given the name of my driver and their cell number (which I put into my phone). It's all a part of the preparation for the conference. You may have to make travel arrangements or other important aspects to make sure you arrive and leave at the right time.

 

Another key in your conference preparation is to review the various faculty and their workshops. There are a number of other possibilities for attendees during each of my workshops. If you have reviewed these options ahead of time and made your selection, then you will be prepared for the conference. Also this review helps you know what the different editors and agents are looking for and who to pitch and what to pitch them during the event.

 

I'm looking forward to this event and the unplanned yet special conversations which happen during each of these conferences. I hope this article has given you some ideas and action steps to take as you prepare to attend a conference. What additional steps do you take or what feedback can you give me about this article? What steps are you taking? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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To successfully attend a conference, you need to prepare. Get the details here about how to prepare for a conference from this prolific editor and author. (ClickToTweet)

This week Terry will be teaching on social media, contracts and platform building. Also he is speaking at the closing banquet and and meeting with authors at Write to Publish. Hope to see you at this wonderful event.

Does your fiction or nonfiction book have a business plan? Every type of book needs a proposal—even if you self-publish. Get this resource.

The Writer's Relief

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

There is a feeling of relief for writers. It is hitting the send button and sending off a newly written article or a chapter or any number of other things that we have to send as writers. The bulk of these types of communications are done electronically these days. 

In recent days, I have sent a number of completed writing projects to editors or co-authors. To complete your deadline in a timely fashion is an important aspect of being a professional writer. In this article, I want to give you several steps that I take in this process in hopes it will give you some ideas for your writing life.

 

1. Keep track of your deadlines. It's easy to miss a deadline if you don't keep track of it. I use the reminder portion of my phone. I set a reminder and it allows me to hit these various deadline. For example, last week, my handouts for Write to Publish were due. Each time I teach at a conference I rework my handouts to make sure the various resources still work and everything is up to date. Hope to see some of you at this terrific conference on the campus of Wheaton College.

 

2. If you are going to be late (which does happen) then I encourage you to communicate as soon as you know this information. As I've written in other entries, publishing is a team effort and in general, your lateness will affect other people. Clear and transparent communication is a critical part of the process. It's an important part of the process.

 

3. Plan for interruptions and delays. From working in publishing for decades, I understand interruptions and delays are a normal part of the process.  You will still be able to meet your deadline if you understand this situation and plan it into your writing schedule.

 

4. Continue to move forward despite any setbacks. Rejection is a part of publishing. You are looking for a place that will be a fit for you and your writing. As an editor, authors will decide not to sign the contract that I've offered them. Other times my colleagues at Morgan James will decide to pass on the book and not offer a contract.  I've had projects cancel or go on hold or any number of other things happen in this writing life.  When these situations happen, I see the choices as simple. You can quit and do something else outside of publishing. I've watched many people make this choice over the years. Or you can continue writing, continue knocking on doors and looking for those opportunities. I have chosen to follow the second path which is often less traveled. I hope you will be on it as well.

 

In these days with electronic communication, before I hit the send button, I often will hold something in my “draft” folder or take one more look at it before I send it. Are there typos? Is there something which can be changed and said with greater clarity? I confess my communication is not perfect and there are times where I send it too quickly. It is key to keep sending it—even if imperfect.

 

The writer's relief is when you meet a deadline—whether for a publication, a book project or even sending your handouts for a writers' conference. It is a terrific feeling to meet another deadline and send another piece of writing into the market.

 

How are you on meeting deadlines? Have you had that feeling of the writer's relief wash over you after you have sent a submission? Let me know in the comments below. 

 

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When you have completed another deadline and sent it, do you experience “The Writer's Relief?” It's how this prolific editor and author feels. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

This month Terry will be teaching on social media, contracts and platform building. Also he is speaking at the closing banquet and and meeting with authors at Write to Publish. Hope to see you at this wonderful event.

Does your fiction or nonfiction book have a business plan? Every type of book needs a proposal—even if you self-publish. Get this resource.

Four Actions After A Conference

The Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College

This weekend I traveled home from Write To Publish, held on the campus of Wheaton College at the Billy Graham Center. Off and on, I've been going to this event for many years but had not been for two or three years. Throughout the event, I spent time with old friends, met many new ones and spent several intense days talking about publishing and writing and books. 

Often these events are filled with writers attending their first conference. Others attend each year to give a boost to their writing. These writers come with their writing and their dreams and plans to speak with editors and agents during the event. As an editor, I taught a few classes during the event but also met with numerous writers one-on-one listening to their pitches and helping from my years of experience.

I heard some remarkable stories and pitches. From others I heard about their heart-wrenching stories about their struggle to get published and find the right place for their work. Throughout the event I listened and spoke with them. Admittedly these events can be overwhelming when you return. The world of publishing contains many different opportunities and a wide variety of publications and publishers. When you are overwhelmed, one response is to spin and do nothing. My encouragement is for you to take action and here are four steps:

1. Take time for reflection. Which opportunities did you hear about which you want to do? Make a list of these publications or publishers, and then reconnect with the editor.

2. Review the editor's guidelines or theme list. Are you writing something that they want or are seeking? If so, read through your book proposal or query and send the editor what they requested. Throughout the event, I heard about some great book ideas—nonfiction, fiction, Christian, general market, and children's books. Some people handed me a paper copy. In each case, I asked them to email the material to begin the process. A few writers emailed the material during the event (very few). A number of them will go home, revise and improve their material, then send it to me. Others will never respond. 

3. Organize your business cards and contact information. Get it in a form you can access quickly. We work with people who we know, like and trust. A business card with an email and phone is a great first step, but add the information into your address book. You might not need it now but you may need it several months from now and want to be able to easily access it.

4. Apply what you have learned to your writing life. Throughout the conference, I taught three different workshops (social media, book proposals and Goodreads). It is wonderful to learn about these topics and listening to the information is the first step. Yet your actions after the conference are critical to your writing success. In each of these workshops, I gave specific action steps for the writers to do. The writers who take these actions steps will move forward with their writing and be closer to achieving their dreams and plans.

During the conference, I met several editors and learned about publications that I want to write for in the months ahead. I am taking my own action steps to move ahead for these dreams to become reality.

5. Bonus action. Reach out to some of the people you met at the conference and write them right away via email or even snail mail. It will do a great deal to foster and build your relationships. 
What steps to you take after attending a conference? Let me know in the comments below. I look forward to learning your action steps.

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When you return home from a conference, what actions do you take? Get four ideas here. (ClickToTweet)

Start To Get Your Writing Published

Where do you begin the process to get your writing published? Most people instantly think of books and want to have a book published. While I understand these thoughts, from my years in publishing books is not the first place to start.

At the recent Write to Publish Conference, I had a series of fifteen-minute back to back meetings with people who were attending the conference. One of my stand-out sessions was with a gray-haired cheery woman who immediately told me, “This is my first conference and I'm here to ask your advice. If you were just getting started in in the writing world, where would you begin?” What a thoughtful question!

“I would begin writing for print magazines,” I said. “It's a wide open opportunity for writers which is often forgotten. In particular, I would start with publications called Sunday School Take-home papers.” 

Almost every denomination has a variety of publications for different age groups. Within these papers, a common type of article is called the personal experience article. It's a story written in first person with a single point to the story (also called a take-away).

Here's several key points about this type of writing:

* Magazines reach more readers than books. It is a solid performance if a book sells 5,000 copies during the lifetime of the book sales. In contract, many magazines have a circulation of 100,000 or even 300,000. You definitely reach more readers with magazines.

* Magazine articles are shorter in length than books. Magazine articles have a short headline, a beginning, a middle and an ending (all good skills for any writer to learn on the short form). A typical book has  50,000 or 100,000 words where magazine articles range from 500 words to 1500 words in length so are easier to finish and get into the market.

* Magazines are a great place to learn to write for a target audience. Each magazine has a distinct reader or audience—just as your books will be targeted to a particular reader.

* Magazine articles get published quicker than books. In general magazines have a three to six month turnaround from publication acceptance to getting into print. Many book publishers are 18 to 24 months out from when you deliver your manuscript and the book is released into the bookstore.

* Editors and literary agents read magazines looking for writers. These publishing professionals are looking for writers who have experience in publishing (which you gain from writing for magazines).

I encourage you to check out the writer's guidelines for the particular publication. Many of these guidelines are online so use Google to find them.  The writing is fun and anyone can do it.  Almost every publication uses personal experience articles. Each of us have unique and interesting experiences which can be the backbone of these articles and you can write. A personal experience article is an excellent place to begin writing for magazines.

If you want to know more details about writing for magazines, I encourage you to explore this link where I give the basics of writing for a magazine. This type of publishing is great exposure and helps you build your platform and publishing credentials with editors. In fact, it is good for any writer at any place in the publishing journey. As I write these words (even as much material as I have published), it spurs me to write a few query letters and articles for magazines. If you don't submit the articles or ideas to an editor, it will never happen.

What magazine will you target today for your writing?

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A Brief Interlude

In classical music, an interlude is a brief calm spot between two movements. I've been in the middle of a brief interlude before I take off on another trip. I drove across on Saturday evening from Book Expo America. Today I'm doing a bit of follow-up work from that experience before I plunge into another event--Write To Publish in Chicago.

I acquired a great deal of valuable insight into the book world during Author 101 University and Book Expo. If you build relationships, I'm convinced the best days are ahead of us in this market. Yes there are plenty of doom and gloom folks out there to convince you otherwise about the numbers of books being purchased, being printed and being read. As I've written about in these entries in the past, can you follow a different course of action as a writer? I'm convinced you can. For example, Saturday morning in the press room of Book Expo, I met a writer who has sold over three million copies of a book since 2003. Now this title has never appeared on a bestseller list yet he is getting his message into the marketplace. In fact, this author sells 15,000 copies of his book each month to the U.S. Navy. Can your book move to this level? I believe it can if you focus on developing these relationships. One relationship that I started last week was with a nonprofit company called First Book. If you write children's books, explore this site and learn about what they are doing to get books into the hands of readers. It was remarkable.

I want to give you one quick example of a new relationship that I made last week. During at break at Author 101 University, Ali Pervez greeted me and struck up a conversation. He has a new book called Marketing Is King which I'm in the process of reading. Ali is in the process of writing another book that he called Black belt Marketing. When we talked, he gave me one of his black belt moves: "Make friends when you don't even need them because when you do need them, it's too late." Now there is a true statement.

One of the more interesting gizmos that I picked up at Book Expo was a small Denver company called XMarxit. I was fascinated with this little device and I'm going to figure out some way to use it in the days ahead.

Finally, just to give you an idea of what I'm doing at Write To Publish, I'm going to include the paragraph summaries that I wrote about what I will be covering during the Freelance Career Track. Each of the people in my sessions have published at least one book:

Day 1 – Publishing in Today’s Environment – a Real Look

Today’s environment is challenging for any freelancer but you can succeed if you understand the market conditions and trends in the marketplace and meet the editor’s needs. This session will examine a series of trends and strategies. Also for a few minutes, walk in the shoes of an editor and understand the importance of relationship. Learn the 10 characteristics of successful writers.

Day 2 – The Importance of The Pitch

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, that first impression is critical and the editor will make it in seconds. Have you poured enough energy into your pitch? How do you get ready to pitch? What is the process? How do you build excellence into your book proposal (whether fiction or nonfiction to make it stand out)? Why do editors read proposals and not manuscripts? What are the critical elements in a nonfiction book proposal? What elements are critical for a six-figure advance?

Day 3 – Insider Information about Contracts and Agents

Where do you get reliable insight about contract negotiations or locating a literary agent? This session will provide you with some resources and insight. A distinguished and knowledgeable panel of literary agents and book editors will be grilled about contracts and agents. This session will help you learn the details of contract negotiation and also what it takes to attract and keep a top literary agent.

Day 4 – Diversity For The Ever-Searching Freelancer

During this session, you will learn how to diversify your writing life and the importance of building your own platform with a direct connection to your reader. You will learn techniques and resources to become a more visible author in the marketplace and attractive to publishers and magazines. If you don’t have a platform or have stalled on ideas for getting published, this session will show you about collaboration and ghost writing for others. Opportunity is everywhere. Are you taking advantage of the possibilities?

I hope to write more entries while on the road, but if not, you can understand what I have in motion. My brief interlude is almost over.