Four Ways to Prepare for a Conference

For many years, I've been attending and teaching at conferences. Many of the articles that I've published and the books that I've written have their beginnings with someone I met at an event. If you have never been to a writers conference, I encourage you to make plans and attend one this year.  It will boost your writing life to a new level and help you on a number of different fronts. A number of the people at each conference have never been to a writers event and it is their first time. If you are holding off going to a conference because you've never been, do it. It will change your life and propel your writing forward.

Editors and agents work with people that they know, like and trust. Yes we get tons of pitches and proposals on email and online and in the mail. But if you have met an editor or agent at an event, maybe even eaten a meal together or sat in one of their classes, the relationship goes to a new level of depth. Many of those relationships begin at conferences.

As an editor, I've been preparing for several events, updating my handouts, critiquing a few manuscripts for people I will meet and gathering my business cards and other materials for the events. I always bring plenty of business cards to handout.  Numerous times at conferences I've asked an editor or an agent for a business card. This person forgot their cards and had two or three and they've already handed them out. I do not want to be one of those types of editors so I make a point to bring enough.

For the person attending the conference, I want to give you several ways to prepare for the conference:

1. Study the conference program ahead of time. Make some initial choices about the classes you will attend. Also notice who is coming from different publications and publishers. Be aware of their names and positions so when you run into them in line or in the dining room, you can begin a conversation with them.

2. Prepare pitches for particular editors and agents. You will see some of the faculty are more relevant to your writing than others. Create a small list of people you want to set appointments or sit at their table during a meal. Because of the weight, editors and agents are some times reluctant to take a full manuscript but they will often take a “one sheet” (where you summarize your idea on a single piece of paper with your contact information—including email and phone). I always like to see as much as someone wants to show me. I will often take full proposals or manuscripts home with me (if available). Or some authors bring their material on a flash drive to give to editors and agents.

3. Create and bring business cards. Even if you have never been to a conference, create a business card with your name, email and phone number. Also I like to include a mailing address so I can see the time zone where you live. Also if you have a current photo, include it on the card. Bring plenty of cards and hand them out generously throughout the event. In my view, it is always best to trade cards. You give the editor one of your cards and you get one of their cards.

4. Bring an attitude of learning and listening and taking action. Throughout the conference, you will learn new things, write them down in a little notebook. Ideas and requests should go on a separate page that you can cross off as you handle them when you return home. As a writer, you have invested a lot of time and money to attend these events. One of the best ways to get your value from the event is to follow-up and send the requested materials. If you take these actions, you will make a positive impression on the agents and editors that you meet at conferences.

Some people wonder how my writing has been published in more than 50 magazines and I've written more than 60 books. There are many reasons but one of the main ones is my follow-through. If someone asks me for an article or a proposal, I send it to them after I return home. You'd be surprised at the lack of follow through from others at the event.

Are there other keys to prepare for a conference? Tell me in the comments below.  

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Is Book Publishing Like A Marathon or a Sprint?

Many writers want to publish a book. From my many years in publishing, I find few of them have thought about whether the process of publishing a book is like a sprint (something with a burst of speed) or a marathon (steady and consistent to complete the task). I often see authors who want to sprint to publication or sprint to get a book contract or a bestseller. Reality is that often it takes consistent, hard work to produce anything of excellence—the writing or the marketing. Authors are not overnight successes but instead spend years in the trenches faithfully working to get their work noticed and sold.

This week a young author outside of the U.S. wrote and asked if a decision had been made on his manuscript. It had been less than two weeks since I had corresponded with this author and it took a number of emails until he gave me what I needed to submit his work. I told this author if he wants a “no, thank you” then I could do that right away but if he wants a “yes” with a publishing contract then that takes patience and time.

While there are many keys in book publishing, in this article, I want to emphasize four important areas.

You Need A Great Product

Too many authors want to dash off something and rush it into the marketplace. I've seen it in my own work and the work of others. Haste often makes waste or mistakes. Take the time to write an excellent book or book proposal. The book proposal is your business plan for your book—whether you are writing nonfiction or fiction—whether you are self-publishing or traditional. You need a plan and it is important to build the plan with a great manuscript. The writing has to be excellent. You need others to affirm that excellence before rushing it to the market. 

The devil is in the details. Are all of the details in place for your book before you take it to the marketplace? Does it have a great title? Does it have an attractive cover? Does the first page make me want to turn to the second page? Does the copy on the back cover, draw me to going to the cash register? This week I was a full-color children's book which had no descriptive information on the back cover. Yes it had a barcode and the name of the publisher but nothing to draw me to buy the book. It is a huge omission and lowers the standard for this product. Don't make these basic errors because you are eager to get your book to the market.

You Need to Build an Audience

You've poured a lot of energy and effort into your book. Will you have readers or people who want to read your work—and who are excited about it that they tell others? When someone tells another person about a book, that is called “Word of Mouth.” It is golden when it happens and takes work from the author. As an author you can't lean on your publisher to market your book and build your audience. You have to take your own responsibility for marketing your own book. I understand the reluctance—and I've been there too but I tell every author as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James that they have 80% of the responsibility. Our publishing house will sell the book into the bookstores but all of those books can be returned if the author doesn't promote their book. 

I have much more detail and many more ideas in Platform Building Ideas for Every Author which is free (just use the link). 
   
You Need to Have Patience

The majority of book publishing is not quick. You send your material to editors and agents yet do not get a response or receive a response months after your submission.  The reality is that it takes time to build consensus among colleagues to issue a book contract or to make a contract offer to publish. As a writer you want to follow-up and make sure the editor or agent received your material and everything is in process. But in contrast, you do not want to push because most of the time when you push, you will nudge that professional toward sending you a polite “no thank you.”

Instead of pushing for a decision, you are better to begin another project. Write a one page query letter for a magazine article. Pitch a magazine editor to assign you to become a columnist. Begin a new book project or book proposal. This effort will remove your focus on the project which is under consideration. 

You Need to Have More Than One Project

If you have more than one proposal or one book, you will be less anxious about the submission and be able to shift your focus to the new project or new writing assignment. It will increase your own productivity in the writing world. Recently I was interviewed on this topic of productivity. I encourage you to listen to Productivity in Writing on the Northern Colorado Writers Podcast. It's about a 35 minute session about how to become more productive as a writer.

How do you view book publishing? As a marathon or a sprint? I'd love to have your comments or any other way I can help you with this process. As an acquisitions editor, I'm constantly looking for good books to publish. Don't hesitate to contact me and my work contact information is on the second page of this link.

It Never Grows Old

After my recent move. I'm still working on changing my address with people. I called my old mailbox and learned I had a number of things they were holding so they packed it up and sent it to me. If you happen to have my old Arizona address, please change to my new California address because I'm no longer living there. 

This stack of mail included two copies of a Sunday School take-home paper called LIVE. If you are unfamiliar with Sunday School, it is still happening in many churches around the country. Each denomination is different and thousands of people receive printed magazines at their classes. These take- home papers are great opportunities for writers to get their materials into print. LIVE is a weekly journal on practical Christian living and a publication of the Assemblies of God, Gospel Publishing House.

As a publication, they work months ahead and the stack of LIVE that I received was from September 2, 2012 through November 25, 2012. I knew exactly what was in this stack of magazines—one of my articles. I skimmed through the papers and finally located the issue with my article—the final one on November 25. 

My story is on the the cover: Praying for the Bibleless People. It's a short article that I wrote many years ago when I worked at Wycliffe Bible Translators (where I spent 17 years). Over a year ago, the editor at LIVE and I were at a writer's conference. It had been years since I had been published in this magazine. Listening to the editor during the conference, I went home, dug through several of my old articles and updated them, then sent them to the editor for consideration.

Several of my articles were rejected (which happens to every writer). Several of my articles were accepted for publication. I received a short agreement which I signed and returned. LIVE pays on acceptance so I received my payment and the articles are scheduled for the future. Well, the publication date is finally near and as an author, I received a copy of my published article. 

I pulled out my 2012 Christian Writer's Market Guide and quickly looked up the listing for LIVE. The publication has a circulation of about 31,000 and is 100% freelance written. That means they don't have a large staff which writes a huge percentage of the publication but depend on submissions from freelance writers. It spells a great opportunity for every writer. They take reprints which means if your article has been published and you still retain the rights to your article, then you can sell it a second time to LIVE.

If you are not writing magazine articles or need to learn the basics, I encourage you to read this article where I go through the basics of writing an article. There is opportunity for every writer to get their work into print—but you must take action whether it is a brand new article that you are publishing for the first time or an article that you are getting out as a reprint. Are you taking action with your writing and getting it into print? I hope so.

The thrill of getting your stories into print never grows old for me. How about you? Is it old hat? After thousands of articles I still enjoy the feeling of holding a newly published article in my hands.

For The Strange Holiday Experiences

The holidays are full of surprises and changes from the normal routine. Often we are with family that we rarely see or other people which take us out of the routine experiences. It's refreshing and good in many ways. Other times it brings challenges and even strange experiences.

I've had a few of those strange experiences over the last few days. There is no need to give you the specifics as I attempt to be diplomatic yet reach my point. When I have these different experiences, I'm committed to learning from them and growing through the strangeness until it is resolved in the best possible way.

If you write or want to get published (or have been publishing), I want to suggest several action steps with these experiences.

First, in your own private way, write down the incident, the feelings and the dialogue, Maybe you pick up an ink pen or pencil and put these words into a journal or open a file on your computer and type in the thoughts. I prefer the computer option since my handwriting had detoriated the point that people tell me they struggle to read my printing. Hey, I understand those comments because after the fact, I struggle to read it as well. While the concepts are fresh you capture the information. I've found time tends to blur the details of these experiences.

Next, look for places you can plug these incidents into your own writing life. For certain stories, you may have to changed the names or let family members read the stories and gain their permission before you publish anything (online or in print).

For some stories, I'd encourage you to go ahead and create the articles. Choose a potential publication or audience as you write so your completed article is an appropriate length in terms of word count and focus which means you lead the reader to a single point or message or takeaway. The polish that story and write a query letter related to it. Some magazines will only look at a completed article if they have first seen the query letter and expressed interest. Other publications will read the completed article. It is your responsibility as the writer to research the publication and understand their needs and preferences.

Some of the most popular and widely-read articles that I've ever written in my years in publishing come from these personal experience stories. Many magazines prefer first person stories for certain sections of their magazine or maybe even a regular column. Again it is your responsibility as the writer to locate these opportunities.

Seasonal stories are always in vogue for magazines. As a magazine editor, I recall the challenge of finding enough stories connected to holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas or Easter or Valentine's Day or Fourth of July. Immediately when they happen is the best time to write these stories. You have several months to polish them before sending them out to the appropriate publication.

If you don't want to use them in a magazine article, then save the stories and weave them into a nonfiction book project or totally disguise the details and use them in a fiction project. You can even use a single incident in a magazine article (or two), a nonfiction book then as the spark of an idea for a short story and finally as an incident in your novel. The possibilities are endless.

I hear many authors bemoaning the limitations for their writing. Instead be aware of the boundless possibilities--if you capture the stories and proactively use them in your writing.

The Merit of Consistency

While it's not often recognized, there is great merit to consistently working at the craft of your writing. Which part of that craft you select to work on will vary for each of us. For some people, they need to develop the basic skill of writing a magazine article. It's a good place to start whether you are writing for a large magazine or a small newsletter. You need to learn how to craft a single story with an engaging opening paragraph, a solid section in the middle, then wrap it up with a take-away or single point for the reader. If you learn this skill, then you can apply it to other area of storytelling and writing--whether you are putting together a newsletter or a single letter or a chapter of a forthcoming book.

For the last couple of years, I've been putting together the Right Writing News. Now the back issues have built up to over 400 pages of how-to-write information. It is free but to access this information, you have to subscribe to the publication. I'm constantly looking for additional material that I can use in future issues of this publication. There is a wealth of material in these back issues. It didn't suddenly appear but came one issue at a time.

I continue to regularly work at these entries on The Writing Life. This piece marks the 700th entry which means another wealth of material and resources for anyone who will take the time to search and examine them. I've tried to simplify this process of locating older material with a search tool in the right-hand column.

Today another issue of The Foster Letter, Religious Market Update arrived in my mailbox. Gary Foster compiles a rich publication every two weeks and it comes like clockwork. If you want to know more, I'd encourage you to look at some of the excerpts from his archived issues. You can find a lot of valuable information here.

Yesterday I was interviewed during a teleseminar about Book Proposals That Sell and I was asked about when my first book was published. The common misconception is that it was many decades ago. It was 1992 and now over 60 books later they wonder how such a body of work was created. It's not difficult to understand when you consider the merits of consistency. I'm constantly working to develop new projects and knock on doors for new books--not just for myself but also for my clients at the literary agency. I write my work like everyone else--one page at a time then one chapter at a time and one book at a time. Over a period of time, it ends up being something substantial. It’s not magic but consistency counts.

Mysterious Bestsellers

If you have not seen it, make sure you catch this article from the New York Times several days ago called The Greatest Mystery: The Making of A Bestseller.

The article is interesting because reporter Shira Boss interviewed a number of key players in the book publishing business. My conclusion after reading it remains the same: while you can point to different variables and factors, it is impossible to predict how a particular book will land in the marketplace. Yes the author can be active and make considerable effort but the results are unpredictable.

Look For A Mentor

Throughout my writing and editorial life, I've learned a great deal from many different sources. About twenty years ago, I had no idea how to focus my magazine articles for the marketplace. It was through the patient teaching of a more experienced writer that I learned the skill of crafting a query letter and writing the assigned magazine article. The learning process wasn't easy. Often my manuscript was returned with many editorial marks and I could have grown discouraged and given up. Instead I pressed on and continued writing. It's a lesson I hope you will do as well with your writing--press on in the midst of rejection.

One of the biggest authors in the thriller writer area is James Patterson. I've read several of these books and enjoy Patterson's crisp style and fascinating plots. I've wondered he has been co-authoring some of his books and how that process worked. You can gain a bit of insight from this Soapbox column in the April 30th Publisher's Weekly by Andrew Gross titled, The Patterson School of Writing. I found several fascinating elements of this article. First, his connection to James Patterson came from his publisher talking with his agent. Catch that little detail in this article.

Next look at the different lessons Gross learned as he worked seven years with James Patterson. He gives five specifics (you can read the article for the various lessons) but here's the truth which struck me: "In sum, I learned how to write for one's audience, not the people you want them to be." It's a common flaw in writers. They are writing for themselves and not the audience.

Another key lesson that I've been learning is to focus on the people and the relationships instead of trying to figure out how to speculate what will happen from an income or financial standpoint. Yes, we need to have the financials in mind but it's the relationship which will hopefully continue long into the future. I've had many mentors in my life and I continue to be mentored. I'm grateful for each person who continues to teach me either through a book or an audio program or face to face.

Honoring Christ in Cartoons

Editor's Note: I wrote this story at least ten years ago and it appeared in several print magazines. I also used it in the December 2004 issue of Right Writing News, a free ezine. If you aren't a subscriber, please take a couple of seconds to fill out the simple registration form. I have not rewritten this story but I include it today as a tribute to Johnny Hart, who passed away yesterday at his drawing table after a stroke at 76. Our loss was heaven's gain. I hope you will receive some inspiration from his story.

The wires were everywhere but it was the television test pattern--Christian programming--that caught Johnny Hart's attention. For the last 44 years, this renowned cartoonist has drawn the daily comic strips, B.C. and Wizard of Id. Syndicated in over 1200 newspapers nationwide, many people get a boost for their day from Hart's humorous look at life.

Several weeks earlier, a real estate agent called Hart. "I'm not interested," he told the agent. "We're remodeling our home and love it."

"It's a sizable estate of 150 acres and includes a 30 acre lake," the agent said. "A lake stocked with fish?" Hart asked. "I should probably see this place."

Hart and his wife, Bobby, liked this heavily wooded property in upper state New York. They moved to the property several weeks later and were now trying to get the television to work. The reception was terrible.

Each day when Hart works at his drawing table, he likes to have something else going on such as jazz music or television. Hart's carpenter from Endicott, New York encouraged Hart to purchase a satellite dish. The installation process for the satellite hook up wasn't a simple connection from the house to the dish.

Johnny wanted TVs in different places of his home and several places of his studio. His 5,400 square-foot studio was located across an inlet from the lake. In order to properly set up the satellite dish, the installation meant digging underground laying wires and testing the connections.

"Every time I walked into the room, these men had Kenneth Copeland, D. James Kennedy and other Christian preachers on the television," Hart recalls this incident from 1987. As children, Johnny and Bobby had attended church. Then when he married Bobby, he says, "I knocked church out of her."

"Is this all we're gonna get?" Hart grumbled as they set up the satellite connection. When the men offered to change it, Hart permitted them to continue. Before too long, Hart began sneaking into empty rooms and watching sermons. If his wife walked through the room, Johnny changed the channel.

One Sunday morning, Hart asked his wife, "Do you want to go to church?"

"Church? Not really," Bobby responded firmly. Hart accepted the decision and quietly prayed for his wife. Another Sunday, Bobby came bounding into the room and asked Johnny, "Do you want to go to church?" Johnny quickly agreed and they attended the nearest church in Nineveh, New York. This small town has a grocery, a post office and the Nineveh Presbyterian Church.

For the last several years, Johnny teaches the young adult Sunday School class that he calls "the spill over class." Hart explained about these junior and senior high school teens, "They're the kids too old to care about Sunday school anymore. I teach things from the Bible which fascinate them and me."

When it comes to cartooning, Hart is a master at his craft. His fellow cartoonists have often recognized him as the best in the field with awards like Best Humor Strip in America, six times (The National Cartoonist Society) or Best Cartoonist of the Year (France's highest cartooning award). While 98 per cent of the response from readers to his cartoons are positive, sometimes Johnny strikes a blow for Christianity through his humor and stirs some controversy.

"No one had any problem when I was drawing Santa and Easter bunnies," Hart said, "but their attitudes changed when I began giving a Christian message." For Good Friday several years ago, Hart simply drew four black panels, which went from gray to pitch black. Underneath the final panel were the words, "Good Friday." On the pages of the comics, Hart uses almost any occasion for his characters to reflect the Good News about Jesus Christ. Particularly on the holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or even Halloween (for an anti-Halloween cartoon) Johnny slips some Biblical truth to his readers.

The newspapers receive his cartoons several weeks before they are printed. Because of the liberal viewpoints in the newsroom, Hart says that these newspapers reserve the right to "edit" his materials. "Edit" is their code word for omitting the B.C. comics with a spiritual message. Often, Hart doesn't discover about these "edits" until his readers write or call and tell him.

One of the worst culprits is the Los Angeles Times. Several years ago a Christian ministry stirred readers to complain about the issue of Hart's B.C. cartoons around Easter. In cynical fashion, the L.A. Times moved the cartoons from their usual spot to the religion page. According to Hart, they ran the comic strips for Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter on the same day--and in "postage stamp size."

Before drawing his Christmas comic, Johnny will often re-read the Christmas story from the Bible for inspiration. Recently for Christmas, Johnny had his cave girl looking at a cross-shaped Christmas star, positioned over a skull-like mountain (Golgatha), saying, "Wow look at that star!" A little further to the right, a snake, lurking behind an apple tree (readers see the Garden of Eden) says, "It's show time."

Whether it's the Christmas season or any other day, Hart is constantly looking for creative ways and humorous ways to challenge his readers with truth from the Bible. Keep an eye out for the subtle or sometimes not-so-subtle message from this master cartoonist. He shows his readers that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

Countdown Timer Resource

What does it take for you to focus on your writing and move ahead with a book proposal or a query letter or a magazine article or a book project? The answer will be different for each of us.

People are constantly amazed that I've written the volume of material over the years--especially when you consider my first book was released in 1992. My response is that writing a book is just like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time. You write one page at a time.

Yesterday a friend wrote and asked if I'd like to clone myself. My instant reaction was "of course, then I would accomplish even more things." With a bit more reflection, I'm not really interested in cloning myself—even if it were possible. Instead, I'd like to increase the amount of things that get done through greater effective work habits. Believe me over the years, I've heard almost all of the excuses that people give for not getting it done--kids at home, traveling too much, ADHD, poor equipment, no writing space or something else. Also I know accomplished writers who have overcome each of these challenges and continue to publish valuable prose.

I continue to apply lessons from the recent Mega Book Marketing University in Los Angeles. As I drive around in my car, I'm listening to some of the material from this conference. I'm also returning to my large notebook from the session and recalling ideas from the various speakers. Alex Mandossian gave some terrific tools in one of the final sessions of the conference. I'm going to pass along one of them in this entry about the Writing Life in hopes it will help you as well.

The resource is a free countdown timer. Set it to whatever amount of time works for you. Alex suggested 45 minutes since almost anyone (even someone who is ADHD) should be able to concentrate on a single task for this amount of time. Make a plan and stick with it. You will be surprised at what can be accomplished.