Day 482: Writing Conference

I'm doing some planning for a writer's conference coming up in March. It's an opportunity to pitch my stories, do some networking, and learn a thing or two about the publishing industry while I'm at it. The conference gives attendees an opportunity to do some one-on-one pitches with agents from a bunch of different publishers, and the only catch is you have to pay a little extra for each one. And by a little, I mean a lot. So before I buy my tickets, I'm doing some research on all the agents that I can buy time with to see which ones are most likely to appreciate my stories. So far I have a list of four. Three agents who specify that they're looking for works similar to my own, and one who owns the publisher that they represent. I'm hoping that last one will be able to connect me to some interested agents even if she doesn't want to represent me herself.

A couple of other things I need to look into are:

1. How to write a pitch. It's weird that I haven't done this before, but all my focus has been on query letters. I would guess they're almost the same, but I imagine there's some crucial differences when presenting in person.
2. Ways I might be able to improve my chances of getting published outside of what I've written. Besides my pitch, I think I'll need other strengths on my side to really win anybody over. The blog will probably go a long way, especially the new version which will be up by the end of the month.

I think this will give me some much needed motivation. I'm looking forward to the talks too, but the pitches are what I need to do the most to forward my career. Should be fun!

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley