Jenny Martin

You’ve heard agents and editors crow about writing voice and you’ve read every book and blog post about the ‘rules’ of writing  a stellar novel.

But what if voice isn’t really about the ‘rules’ at all? What if  it’s not about passive verbs and misplaced modifiers and too many  descriptive clauses? What if voice is so much deeper?

What is voice and how can I develop my own? Ironically, voice is one of the most difficult concepts for writers to grasp, yet it is the number one element editors and agents demand. If you’re interested in finding (and strengthening) your own unique  writing voice, if you’re dedicated to nurturing that magic spark, the  element that hooks a reader and keeps them turning pages, you won’t want to miss this session. I’ll be sharing all my secrets–the practical  tips that can make a novel irresistible.

This class takes place at 8:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

About the speaker

Jenny Martin is represented by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger Agency. As a YA writer, a librarian, and a professional book reviewer, she’s drawn to all areas of storytelling. As a librarian, she’s a member of ALA, TLA, and AASL. As a writer, she’s a member of DFW Writers’ Workshop. Aside from writing, reading and recommending books for young readers, Jenny has presented at conventions, such as TCEA and DFWCON. She’s also had the pleasure of serving as a mentor for DFW Teen Writers’ Workshop and as an writing instructor for the University of Texas at Arlington’s Continuing Education program. Jenny posts her own brand of fierce nonsense at http://jmartinlibrarian.wordpress.com and haunts twitter as @jmartinlibrary.

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Rusty Shelton

Discoverability and the New World of Book PR

Shelf space isn’t what it used to be. A search on “leadership books” on Amazon returns more than 60,000 results. The same search on Google returns more than 130 million results. With retail bookstores increasingly giving way to digital devices, success in publishing is no longer about distribution, it’s about discoverability. This session will detail the many changes that are taking place in the publishing industry and will explore how authors and publishers can set themselves up to succeed in this new environment.

The class takes place at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

About the speaker

Rusty Shelton first spoke at Harvard on the changing world of public relations at the age of 23. Now he is the President and CEO of Shelton Interactive, a full-service digital agency focused on helping clients start conversations that matter.The firm is the lead digital agency for Chicken Soup for the Soul and Harvard Health Publications and has worked with top brands like IBM, Amazon and many small businesses and individual authors. Shelton spoke at SXSW Interactive this year and sits on the University of Texas Texas Exes PR Committee. Learn more at www.sheltoninteractive.com.

The Changing Face of Publishing

Rusty will also moderate our signature panel. The group will discuss recent upheavals in the publishing business, what’s ahead and what it all means for us as writers.  Participants literary agent Laurie McLean, self-published authors Cheryl Ammeter and Mark Fadden, New York Times bestselling traditionally published author James Rollins, book marketer Meredith Barnes and editor Stacey Barney.

The panel takes place at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

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If you’re a self-published author and would like the opportunity to sell some copies of your book at the conference, here’s the setup.

We’ll provide a booth and six chairs in the exhibitor area for self-published authors to share. The table is yours to use, in cooperation with other authors, under your own auspices and at your own risk. There is no charge, and no percentage will be collected.

We’re not going to get involved in the details of administering the table. The last time we tried that, we got our heads bitten off.

We will, however, set down these rules, to make sure all writers get a chance to use the table. We authors can get pretty passionate about selling our books, but remember to share. Fairness is the name of the game.

• You may use the table for up to half an hour at a time. After that, please move so someone else can have a turn, and come back later in the day after more writers have had a turn.
• There will be six chairs, and one chair per author, so six authors can use the table at any given time.
• Everybody using the table gets equal table space for their books.
• Books and SMALL items like business cards and bookmarks on the table, nothing else. Leave fliers, brochures and big fancy signs at home. Space will be tight.
• You, the writer, must be present at the table to use the table. No stand-ins or assistants. If you leave the table, your space is forfeited to the next author who comes along, and they may move your books to make room for theirs.

There will be several good opportunities during the day to use the table. Morning registration period, the 10-minute breaks between classes, exhibitor period after lunch and the wind-down period after the Gong Show are all examples. Don’t hog them! Take turns. Be fair and equitable. If it goes smoothly, we’ll provide the table again next year.

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Just an FYI. So keep an eye on your email. If you don’t receive yours by this week, contact VIP@dfwWritersconference.org and see why not.

~Jason

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I’ve said this before, and am going to say it again–don’t forget we will have extra pitch slots available for sale the day of the conference.

No, you cannot purchase them ahead of time for many reasons I won’t go into here. However, we will announce at the conference where they will be for sale.

Yes, we will announce it, so everyone will know at the same time. But here’s a hint…get there early on Saturday.

~Jason

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Jennie Goloboy

You know that James Fenimore Cooper didn’t use a typewriter, and the Pilgrims never saw a zipper.  But how do you get the setting of a historical novel to feel authentic?  Focusing on early America, this class will consider the limitations of physical possibility in the past, and how such limitations affected the way people dressed, ate, and worked.  We will discuss how previous generations thought differently than we do about issues such as family, romance, and childhood. Students will learn how to find useful sources such as old novels and historic advice books which will help them with their own work.

About the agent

Jennie Goloboy is an associate literary agent at Red Sofa Literary.  A published author of both history and fiction, she has a PhD in the History of American Civilization from Harvard.  She is an associate member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, the Organization of American Historians, and the American Historical Association.

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Mark Fadden

As “authorpreneurs,” self-published authors often wear many different hats in trying to brand themselves: Head Writer, Director of Marketing, Social Media Manager, and Chief Financial Officer. But is trying to be all these things at once sabotaging your writing career? With his self-published thriller, The Brink, author Mark Fadden chose to manage his own marketing efforts. With his latest thriller, The Campaign, Mark hired a social media specialist to manage the marketing campaign for him. Which way worked better? Attend Mark’s lecture to find out!

About the author 

Mark Fadden owns a property management company, is a freelance writer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, emcees events for a local radio station, and has published three novels. The first one, Five Days in Dallas, was published in 2003 to critical acclaim, and prompted one Writer’s Digest reviewer to call Mark a “masterful storyteller.” His second novel, The Brink, is a story about a fugitive Texas Ranger who helps a woman running for her life, only to get sucked into a secret society’s plot for global financial Armageddon. It was called a “hell of a read” by bestselling author Sandra Brown. Mark recently published his third novel, entitled The Campaign, as an eBook. In it, the three presidential candidates left in the race for the White House are all killed within a 48-hour period. The story is told from the perspective of Police Chief Scott Turner, who must simultaneously lead the investigation into this unthinkable case while coming to terms with losing his mother, who is only days away from dying of cancer.

Mark grew up in Houston and now lives in Colleyville, Texas with his family.

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Jill Marsal

This class will look at transformations happening within the publishing industry and at various publishers, the changing roles of editors and agents, what is hot and what’s not in the current market – what are editors looking for, other key changes in the industry that every writer should know about, electronic publishing, and various trends.  It will also discuss marketing and social media and how authors can use this, when authors should be developing their social media platform, and balancing this and writing, book promotion, and other things every author should know.

The class will take place 9:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

About the agent

Jill Marsal is a partner at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.  She has been in the publishing industry almost 15 years, previously working as a Literary Agent with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and at Dorchester Publishing, editing women’s fiction, romance, and suspense/thrillers.

On the fiction front, Jill looks for all types of romance (contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, historical, and category), women’s fiction and family stories, cozy mysteries, and thrillers. She is also looking for general commercial fiction and welcomes a dramatic storyline and compelling characters in interesting situations or relationships. On the non-fiction side, Jill’s areas of interest include business, current events, health, self-help/advice, relationships, psychology, parenting, and narrative non-fiction.

She is interested in being pitched any of the above.

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Paul Levine

The nuts and bolts of the business of writing are as essential to a writer’s success as the writer’s work itself. How does a writer get an agent and an attorney? How does the writer’s work get sold and how is the writer compensated? What will the agent and the lawyer do for the writer? How are they compensated? How do writers work together?

This class will cover: the principles of copyright law as the underpinnings of all writing; what agents do and what lawyers do, how their functions sometimes overlap and how they differ; the process of obtaining an agent and a lawyer, when and why an agent is necessary and when and why an agent may not be necessary; a review of a typical publishing agreement–royalties, advances, rights granted and rights withheld, etc.; the editing process: what happens if the publisher rejects the manuscript, the publisher’s ultimate acceptance of the manuscript, actual publication after acceptance, and promotion and publicity.

Bring all your questions concerning the business of being or becoming a successful book author–they will all be answered.

About the agent

Paul S. Levine “wears two hats” – he is a lawyer (www.paulslevine.com) and a literary agent (www.paulslevinelit.com).   Mr. Levine has practiced entertainment law for over 30 years, specializing in the representation of writers, producers, actors, directors, composers, musicians, artists, authors, photographers, galleries, publishers, developers, production companies and theatre companies in the fields of motion pictures, television, interactive multimedia, live stage, recorded music, concerts, the visual arts, publishing, and advertising. In 1998, Mr. Levine opened the Paul S. Levine Literary Agency, specializing in the representation of book authors and the sale of motion picture and television rights in and to books. Since starting his literary agency, Mr. Levine has sold over 100 fiction and non-fiction books to at least 40 different publishers and has had many books developed as movies-for-television and feature films.

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Pete Salicco

Fingerprints have been considered the “gold standard” in positively identifying individuals for law enforcement, natural and man-made disasters, as well as various other areas such as licensing and immigration.  With all of the new technology regarding forensics and evidence, is the idea of using fingerprints as the most reliable way to identify people and the best evidence at crime scenes true?  Can a machine be responsible for making fingerprint identifications (individualizations)?  Is there something else in fingerprints beyond the friction ridge skin?

Some of the answers regarding the truth about fingerprint technology may surprise you and even offer up ideas and spur your imagination regarding the future of this 100 year old practice.  After the presentation there will be a question and answer forum with the presenter, who is a practicing expert in the area of crime scene investigations and latent print examinations.

This class will help writers tell crime and mystery stories accurately and convincingly. It takes place at 3:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

About the speaker

Pete Salicco is a former Police Officer turned civilian Crime Scene Analyst & Latent Print Examiner.  He has worked thousands of crime scenes from burglary to murder in course of his career.  Most of Pete’s police career was spent training to become a forensic specialist (Crime Scene Investigator) and latent print examiner.  Once trained,  Pete was given the opportunity to serve as a police officer and CSI for many years, until he decided in 1999 to give up the badge and become a civilian forensic specialist.  A 15-year Police veteran, Pete sought and gained Certification as a Latent Print Examiner and a Crime Scene Analyst from the International Association for Identification, one of the oldest forensic organizations in the world.

Pete has testified on numerous occasions in several jurisdictions as an expert in latent print and crime scene matters. He has performed thousands of latent exams, and work thousands of crime scene calls over the course of this 28 year career in Law Enforcement.  He is currently employed by the Dallas Police Department AFIS Team as a Certified Latent Print Examiner.  One of his main duties is latent print examinations,  however, he also operates the AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems) and IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems.  He also is used as a consultant for the Crime Scene Response Unit regarding crime scene matters and shoe and tire impression evidence collection and examinations.

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Kristen Lamb

Understanding Brand for the Digital Age Author

The Digital Age has changed everything and information now moves at the speed of light. Many of the old rules of advertising and marketing no longer apply and using these outdated tactics can actually cripple an author platform. How can a writer create a brand before the book is even ready for sale? How can an author brand help book sales? How can brand generate momentum? How can a writer create a brand and yet still have time left over to write more books? All this and more!

Understanding the Antagonist–The Engine of All Great Stories

Heroes are defined by the opposition. The stronger the opposition, the sweeter the victory. No antagonist, no conflict and no conflict, no story. No story, no book sales. The antagonist is tricky and many writers don’t fully understand the power of this role. This class explores the many types of antagonists and how to employ them to create page-turning tension guaranteed to rivet readers to your books.

About the speaker

Kristen Lamb is the author of the bestselling books, We Are Not  Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog?  It’s Me, Writer. She has consulted with all levels of authors, but some of her clients include New York Times Best-Selling Authors Sandra Brown, James Rollins, and Bob Mayer. Her WANA (We Are Not Alone) tactics also helped launch the self-published writing team Mark Williams and Saffina Deforge to the #1 best-seller slot…all of them. Their book Sugar & Spice commanded a top 5 slot in every fiction category on Amazon’s UK list. Williams and Deforge sold 90,000 books in four months, making their book the 11th best-selling e-book in history, and they attribute their success to WANA.

Kristen is currently represented by Russell  Galen of SGG Literary NYC. In her free time, Kristen trains sea monkeys  for the purposes of world domination….when she isn’t trying to saw  through her ankle monitor.

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Coral Gates represents Friesen’s Book Printing and will be teaching How to Work With a Printer for Maximum Impact.

“I assist Authors, Chefs, Children Authors, Publishers, Educators, Museums, and Photographers that would like to produce a book.  A book can be made in so many ways today that an author should consider all the options.  The company I represent is unique as we are a debt-free printer in a time that is under so much downsizing in the industry.  Working with Friesen’s has allowed me to offer a quality product that all of our clientele can be proud of upon completion. I cover four states for Friesen’s and meet with so many creative people. Authors are like artists painting with words. I am looking forward to visiting with you during my session on May 19th!”

How to Work with a Printer

This class will prepare you for printing a book by covering the following topics:

• Will the physical printing of books disappear?
• Correct focus while writing, publishing and printing the book.
• When should you get together with a printer for your book project?
• Types of books to consider printing.
• Editing.
• Graphic designer and illustration.
• Marketing the book.
• File preparation.
• Quantities of books for a first print run.
• Brief description of Friesen’s Book Manufacturing.
• Is Friesen’s the printer for you?

The class takes place at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

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Alec Shane

The Art of the Query: the Dos, Don’ts, and Everything in Between

Sending an effective query to an agency is one of the most important things a writer can do as he/she sets out on the path to becoming a published author. Agents receive so many submissions every day, it is far too easy for good, meaningful writing to get lost in the morass of incoming queries. This workshop will not only discuss how to ensure that your query gets noticed, from how to write an effective query letter to what makes a good writing sample, but will also break down the various pitfalls and red flags that befall many newer authors as they continue on their quest for representation. It’s important to know what to do – but it’s equally as important to know what not to do. Alec Shane will go over both.

This class takes place at 3:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

About the agent:

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Stephanie Barko

Literary publicist Stephanie Barko’s award-winning clients include traditional publishers and their authors, small presses, and independently published writers. She promotes nonfiction & historical fiction, including history, business, memoir, biography, and spirituality. Stephanie especially enjoys guiding debut authors through today’s shifting publishing landscape.

Stephanie has presented on book marketing, publicity and platform creation at national conferences including the Writers’ League of Texas, Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, and Women Writing the West. Her articles and book reviews have been published in Western American Literature, Roundup Magazine, Brian Jud’s Book Marketing Matters, San Francisco Book Review, and the Texas Book Marketing Directory. She was a 2010 National Finalist in More Magazine’s Reinvention Story Competition, nominated by her peers as 2010 Book Publicist of the Year, and voted Preditors & Editors Best Book Promotion Service in 2011.

Building Your Platform in a Dynamic Marketplace

Writing and publishing a book is one thing, but finding a paying audience for it is quite another. In this workshop, book publicist Stephanie Barko leads you through her proprietary exercises designed to coax your book’s platform to the surface.

What we will explore:

• Platform definition
• Marketing elements
• Audience identification
• Reader acquisition

Who should attend:

• Writers presently writing a manuscript
• Writers with completed manuscripts
• Writers seeking agent representation
• Published writers wanting to increase their book sales

The class will take place at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday May 19.

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Jodi Thomas

Jodi Thomas, one of our two special guests this year, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 34 novels and 11 short story collections. As of 2006, she was the 11th woman to be inducted into RWA Hall of Fame. She currently serves as the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. Her latest release is Just Down The Road, the fourth book in her award-winning Harmony series.

Creativity Workshop

Learn how to expand your creativity and make your work more polished from the first draft.  A fun look at how to write dialogue will make you laugh. Also, Jodi will give you ideas of how to kick start your writing day and how to avoid those reasons we all use for not writing. Takes place 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

Writing Deeper

Expand your knowledge in how to write deeper, more interesting characters while you pick up secrets from a bestselling author on how to build a world and a plot that will keep readers up all night.  After 34 books and 11 short story collections, Jodi will share the secrets of world building so readers come along with you on the journey into a novel. Takes place 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

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Candace Havens

Bestselling author Candace Havens has written six novels for Berkley including, Charmed & Dangerous, Charmed & Ready, Charmed & Deadly, Like A Charm, The Demon King and I and Dragons Prefer Blondes. Her new venture is writing for the Blaze line of Harlequin. Those books include Take Me If You Dare, She Who Dares, Wins, Truth and Dare, and The Model Marine. She is also in the anthology Spirited, and the proceeds go to help literacy. And she had a new steampunk series debuting with Iron Demon in October 2012. Her books have received  nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion and Write Touch Reader  Awards. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the  nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities including Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, George  Clooney and many more. Her entertainment columns can be read in more  than 600 newspapers across the country. Candace also runs a free online  writing workshop for more than 1800 writers, and teaches comprehensive  writing class. She does film reviews with the Dorsey Gang on New Country 96.3, and is the President of the Television Critics Association.

Fast Draft

Learn how to write your first draft in two weeks. The techniques in this class can used by everyone from new writers to New York Times Bestsellers, and have been. If you’ve been struggling to finish your manuscript (or start one) this is the class for you. Takes place 8:40 a.m. Sunday, May 20.

Revision Hell

You’ve finished your manuscript. Now what do you do? These revision techniques will help you polish your prose to perfection. You could have your manuscript out the door in two weeks. Takes place 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

Candace will also be teaching alongside Rosemary Clement-Moore:

How to Pitch to Agents

Will you be pitching your work this year? Start off the conference with the class that answers the most urgent question for many conference attendees! Relax, agents and editors are people too. Learn techniques to help you develop a pitch that sells.  Takes place 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

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Dave Lieber

Dave Lieber, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Watchdog columnist, shows you ways to write and create to change the world. Whether fighting corporations, politicians, the media or whomever, Lieber shows you how to be the ultimate communicator. Do you want to get people to pay attention, fight wrongs and turn things upside down? Now with more ways to reach people than ever, it’s also easier to get attention to your cause, whether it be you, your book or your movement.

This class will take place at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

About the author

Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for the local newspaper, has been ticking off the powers that be for 37 years. He writes two columns a week exposing wrong doing and right doing in the newspaper. His last two books have helped lots of people: Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, now out in its new 2012 edition, shows how to save time, money and aggravation for the rest of your life. (WatchdogNation.com) His newest, Bad Dad, is a true-story Texas thriller about how he chased after a Texas police department for a dozen years; then one day they came after him. (BadDadBook.com) Dave is also co-founder of SummerSanta.org children’s charity and one of Texas’ most sought-after public speakers. He’s the 2011 Chapter Member of the Year of the National Speakers Association/North Texas.

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Lori Wilde

One of our three New York Times bestselling authors attending this year’s conference is Lori Wilde, author of 69 published novels. Lori has a couple of great classes for us:

Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump
Level: Intermediate

Have you been writing a long time and while you’ve received some recognition for your work, you’re just not getting the attention you deserve? Were you published once then found yourself without a publisher, and now you can’t get back in? Or, are you currently published but your career seems to be barely bumping along?

This workshop is designed to provide answers to those questions and catapult you onto the publishing fast track. Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump will illustrate exactly what’s holding you back and keeping you from being the writer you’re truly meant to be.

Topics covered include:

• Identifying What’s Holding You Back
• Shifting Your Writing into High Gear
• Toughing the Mind of the Writer Warrior
• Toughing the Body of the Writer Warrior
• Honing Your Battle Plan
• Your Marching Orders

This class will take place at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

Writing Emotion: Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Scream
Level: Everyone

We, as authors, are in the emotion delivery business. Honing your craft means learning how to evoke emotions. It means learning to use language to create a sleight of hand that causes your readers to respond on a gut level. It means getting in touch with what you feel, hope, or fear for every one of your main characters at every moment of the story. There’s no such thing as art by accident. Truly great writers are in charge of their readers’ emotions from the first page, to the last.

Topics covered include:

• Writer emotions versus Character emotions versus Reader emotions
• Emotional honesty
• Pumping up the emotional pay-off
• Conflict and emotions
• Change and emotions
• Evoking emotional tension through subtext

This class will take place at 1:10 p.m. on Sunday, May 20.

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lori Wilde has sold sixty-nine novels to four major New York Publishing houses. She holds a bachelors degree in nursing from Texas Christian University and a certificate in forensics. She volunteers for Freedom House, a shelter for battered women. She has served as the RWA National conference workshop chair. In 2009 she was the pacesetting author for the Cystic Fibrosis annual fundraiser. In 2007, Weatherford College honored her as Alumna of the Year. Lori is a past RITA finalist and has five times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She’s won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Lories, The More Than Maggie, the Golden Quill, The Laurel Wreath, The Beacon Award and The BestBooks of 2006 Book Award. Her books have been translated into 22 languages and excerpted in: Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman, All You and Quick and Simple magazines. She lives in North Texas with her husband, Bill.

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Barbara Harrison, aka Leann Harris

Barbara Harrison aka Leann Harris is the author of 14 published novels including Redemption Ranch and Second Chance Ranch, with her next book scheduled for Oct 2012.  She is a founder of both DARA and Ready Writers writing groups.  She is a teacher of the deaf who taught math to deaf high school students and currently teaches writing at Collin College for their continuing education.  An active gardener and master composter, she has a photo gallery of her flowers on her websites, www.leannharris.com and www.barbharrison.com.

She’ll be teaching two classes:

Understanding Your Writing Style

Do you write the same way as your friend?  When you heard another writer describe how they write, does it sense to you or does it leave you puzzled?  In this workshop Ms. Harris will explain the different writing styles and how to make sense of the writing world. This class takes place at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

Writing Real Life Characters

How do you creative believable characters that your readers will cheer for?  How it is done?  Archetypes are a wonderful way to learn how to creative believable people who will capture the readers’ imagination. This class takes place at 8:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

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Harry Hall

Through the Time Machine: Researching Historical Non-Fiction

To successfully write about the past takes a lot of research, accurate scene creation, and dialogue to deliver the proper atmosphere to your readers.  It’s difficult, yet critical to literary success.  In this session, Harry Hall will show you how to leave behind your romantic notions and idealized perceptions of the “good ol’ days,” to paint accurate and exciting portrayals that will send your readers into the era.

Harry Hall has spent years researching and documenting the rise of organized sports in post Civil War America, with a special focus on his upcoming book about the pedestriennes, the professional female endurance walkers of the 1870s.

This class takes place at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

How to Hold a Successful Booksigning

Booksignings are an opportunity for you to highlight your achievement, showcase your talents as a writer, and celebrate with your friends.  However, too many times, what should be a time of sharing and congratulations is actually little more than a handful of friends showing up, making small talk, or small whispers for a few minutes, often battling awkward silence.  A handful buy a book, most just pat you on the back, say “Congratulations,” and leave after a few minutes.  You can do better.

At Harry Hall’s booksigning for “Help!  Everyone is Staring at Me,” which helps people overcome the fear of public speaking, he got media attention, community involvement, and even some local celebrities to come.  He did that through free publicity that helped create a “buzz” about his signing, transforming it into an event.

This class takes place at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

About the author

Harry Hall has more than 13 years’ experience teaching public speaking at the University of Dallas and SMU and has spoken for corporations such as IBM, Ford, Four Seasons, NCH, and the Associates in addition to state associations such as the Texas Dietetic Association, MENSA, and DFW Writer’s Conference.   Harry is also an accomplished writer, and is currently a contributing editor to Texas Triathlete News.  He also freelanced for SportsPulse, Health and Fitness Magazine, and the Dallas Morning News.  A one-time radio talk show host on KTCK 1310 “The Ticket,” he was named the Texas Dietetic Association’s Media Personality of the Year for 1995-1996.  Harry has appeared in several commercials and industrial films, and once worked as Steve Martin’s stand-in for the movie, “Leap of Faith.”   A long-time distance runner who has completed 19 marathons including the Boston Marathon twice, Harry earned a teaching certificate and degree in physical education from UT-Arlington in 1983.

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Brenna Smith

Imagine yourself standing in a doorway, facing a room with hundreds of writers already deep in discussion. Your palms are sweaty, you don’t know anyone and all you really want to do is go hide in your hotel room.

What do you do? Do you hold the wall up for fifteen minutes before calling it a night, or do you confidently walk up to a group of people and make instant connections for life?

Networking is one of the most important activities at a conference, but it is also the most feared. In this class you’ll learn the skills of networking at a writer’s conference, how to work a room, how to start conversations, tips and tricks to be effective and how to make the connections that get you remembered!

This class will help kick off the conference at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

About the speaker

Brenna Smith has been featured in Forbes, Yahoo Voices, Western North Carolina Woman, The Best People We Know Show, Amazing Women Rock, The Career Effect, My Girlfriends, Self-Aid Success Stories and more.

After graduating with a degree in Business and a Certificate in International Business, Brenna continued her education and has received extensive training in networking, sales, negotiations, social media, mentoring and communications.  She is a highly sought after speaker and trainer for various events on the subjects above, and, since the founding of SheNOW, she has expanded her topics to also include Women’s Issues and Female Empowerment.

As an entrepreneur, writer, public speaker and communications coach, Brenna has been a guest host on several radio shows, a guest blogger on a variety of women focused websites, a consultant for start-up companies in differing fields, and she is the author of a forthcoming book. In her free time, Brenna is an avid philanthropist, spending much of her energy on Habitat for Humanity and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (currently heading up their Dallas Speaker’s Bureau). She also enjoys camping, fishing, hiking, girl’s trips, martini nights, playing in the mud and rain, adventures and spontaneity.  She and her boyfriend are even trying their hands at urban chicken farming this year, despite the recent 5:00 AM discovery that one of their hens…well, she…is a he. Cock-a-doodle Doo!

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Cheryl Ammeter

The Wild West of Publishing

Cheryl Ammeter has taken everything she learned working for Radio Disney and writing award-winning scripts for Barney & Friends and turned her imagination loose in the highly competitive world of YA sci-fi novels. Knowing that her credentials gave her a good chance of landing a New York agent and publisher, she opted to establish her own publishing company, Pantala Press. After five years of writing, a year of editing, and countless hours spent finessing and promoting her brand, she successfully released her first novel in March 2012. Ivey and the Airship, is book one of a five book series called Aether’s Edge, geared for readers 12 and older. These sci-fi steampunk fantasies are meant to empower young women, and encourage healthy relationships. Cheryl says we are at the threshold of a new age in publishing which she calls “The Wild West.” Cheryl firmly believes there’s never been a better time to be a writer!

Writing for Television

What does it take to establish yourself in the exclusive world of television writing? Cheryl Ammeter will share her journey from voice actress, to Radio Disney writer, to award winning scriptwriter for seven seasons of the globally acclaimed children’s show Barney & Friends. In her experience, the transition from performing to writing involved a lot of adaptability, research, discipline, the willingness to fail, and a good deal of luck. Although every television production is unique, there are universal elements that a writer must master to succeed. Cheryl will walk you through the process used by the producers at HIT Entertainment to take a Barney show from a one-sentence concept to a 30-minute television show.

About the author

Cheryl Ammeter grew up on a farm in Iowa and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Theatre before moving to Dallas. As an actress she performed in plays, shot commercials, did print modeling, and worked on several Texas films, but it was her talent as a voice actor that led to a career in writing. In 1997 she became one of the original Radio Disney voice actors and writers. Her work included the Magic Kids’ Theatre radio plays and she was the sole writer, co-director, and voice of Barbie’s mom in Generation Girl Theater, a series of radio plays based on the Barbie® Golden Books for Mattel. She went on to write seven seasons of HIT Entertainment’s globally acclaimed, Barney & Friends, where she won awards from Parenting Magazine and Parent’s Choice, and helped re-tool Angelina Ballerina into a 3D animation to keep it on the air. Currently she owns Pantala Press, an indie company specializing in YA sci-fi fantasy novels.  Ivey and the Airship is the first in her five novel series called Aether’s Edge, which strives to empower young women to follow their dreams and build healthy relationships.  Cheryl is currently at work on book two, Master of the Manor.

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Becky Burkheart

Learn some of the most common mistakes writers make when including horses in their stories and learn simple ways to avoid alienating knowledgeable readers.  Feel a horse’s tendon and see how a stone gets wedged in a horse’s hoof. Listen to the difference in the cadence between a walk and trot, and learn to hear with your eyes what a horse has to say. Your books’ accuracy will be the better for it!

This class will be taught by Becky Burkheart, author of The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Horses. And yes, she’ll be bringing what has to be the conference’s best visual aid: one of her horses.

The class meets at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

Becky will also be taking part in the panel Declaring Independence: The Decision to Self-Publish at 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

Becky Burkheart takes frequent flights of fantasy, in real life as well as in  her writing.  It’s said that life is stranger than fiction, but Becky’s  out to prove it’s possible to integrate it both ways.  Whether she’s  racing her Arabian horses through the woods, rapid firing her .45 or  gargoyling from local rooftops, Becky finds it hard to stay grounded in  the real world.  Although she has yet to ride in a space ship (she did  get to simulate crashing a 727) or to meet a real vampire (that she’s  aware of), piratey dress, “arrgh matey’s” and pints of brew are standard fare on the odd weekend. Becky has published fantasy with Allegorysf.com and with independent groups and  non-fiction with various Arabian horse breed publications as well as  being book #1 (Horses) in the series “33 Mistakes Writers Make About…”.  That and her other works are available at http://aconspiracyofauthors.com.

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This event is open to registered attendees of the DFW Writers’ Conference. It has limited attendance so you must register separately to attend this workshop. There is no fee.

This is one of four limited-attendance workshops offered at the DFW Writers’ Conference this year. Limit one per attendee.

The first chapter is crucial when an agent or editor looks at your manuscript. So how do you write a good one? Literary agent Elizabeth Evans will talk about the characteristics of a great first chapter: sharp prose, surprising images, strong arresting voice, gaps of information in the prose that leave the reader wanting to know more, introduction of key characters, compelling setting, the hook, presence of conflict/tension.

Advance Preparation:

• Evans will use the prologue and first chapter of Tana French’s INTO THE WOODS as an example, and she’d like all the participants to read them in advance. If you do not wish to buy a copy, you can access the prologue and first chapter in Amazon’s First Look feature.
• You should also bring a printout of your own first chapter from your current project. Evans says the class will be most beneficial to writers who have a manuscript currently in progress.

Elizabeth Evans is an agent at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she represents a wide range of nonfiction, including memoir, current affairs, journalism, pop science, history, humor and relationships. She also represents select titles in upmarket fiction and reality-based young adult fiction. She is always on the lookout for stories of adventure and books that aspire to foster knowledge and understanding. Before joining JVNLA in January 2010, Elizabeth worked for six years in the San Francisco Bay Area with Kimberley Cameron & Associates (formerly the Reece Halsey Agency). She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hamilton College with a degree in English Literature and holds an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco.

You can register for the workshop here.

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This workshop is open to registered attendees of the DFW Writers’ Conference who are not members of the DFW Writers’ Workshop. Attendance is limited, but there is no extra fee.

Experience a read-and-critique session with four talented authors from the DFW Writers’ Workshop. In addition to providing you with expert critique of your work, it will demonstrate how the Workshop conducts critique sessions every Wednesday night to help its members polish their writing.

Authors Candace Havens, Jenny Martin, A. Lee Martinez and Rosemary Clement-Moore will be your critiquers. You’ll bring a section from your manuscript in progress and read for up to 5 minutes, after which each of the authors will take a turn offering up their perspective.

Because we’ll have limited time, only five participants will get to read, but we will have 10 spaces for listeners if you’d like to observe but aren’t quite up to reading in public yet! You’ll have a seat at the table in a boardroom setting and you’ll learn a lot by listening to what the critiquers have to say. Just select the Observer ticket instead of Reader when registering.

Ground rules: When taking critique, the reader may not respond, defend, offer explanations, etc. because that defeats the purpose. The reader’s job is to listen, take notes, and then decide which advice to heed.

Also, only the designated critiquers will offer critique — there won’t be time to permit audience members to do so as well.

Readers will need to bring several printed pages from your manuscript. We recommend you practice your read in advance so you’ll know how many pages you can fit in to the five minutes, and so you’re comfortable with your words and the read goes smoothly.

The session will take place at 9:40 to 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 20 in the board room that overlooks the atrium.

Good luck with your read!

You can register to be a reader or observer here.

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Looking for a Way In: Exercises to help writers get the words out and jumpstart essays and memoir pieces.

Beatriz Terrazas

Taught by Beatriz Terrazas, this workshop for essay and memoir writers is open to registered attendees of the DFW Writers Conference. Advance registration is required and there are only 15 slots available. There is no extra charge for this workshop.

Please note that we have four limited-attendance workshops available and we have a limit of one workshop per attendee. The class takes place at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.

You can register here.

Here’s what Beatriz has to say about the class:

We’ve all read a personal essay or memoir that was so well crafted it not only resonated with us but remains with us today. Similarly, some of us would like to write about a chapter in our life but don’t know where or how to begin. Others among us have already tried to commit this part of our life story to words but can’t seem to capture its real essence. This workshop, part lecture and part writing/editing exercise will give writers ideas for starting points and for places to begin mining their lives in order to pen their own personal essay or memoir.

Please note that you do not have to come to this workshop with an idea in mind; most exercises will open your eyes to just how many places you can dig for those kernels of story in your life.

Beatriz Terrazas is a writer, photographer and producer based in North Texas. She is a contributor to The Texas Observer, The Progressive Media Project and The Dallas Morning News. Her work has also appeared in More, D, Skirt! and The Washington Post, and she is among the writers anthologized in TCU Press’s Literary El Paso. She was part of The Dallas Morning News team to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for a series titled Violence Against Women: A Question of Human Rights, and has won first place in the American Society of Sunday and Features Editors and the Gold in the Society of American Travel Writers Lowell Thomas Awards. Her essay My Mother’s Brain, a story about caring for her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother, won first place in the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) in 2011. She is a member of ASJA and of Sandra Cisneros’ Macondo Writer’s Workshop, and a Harvard University Nieman Fellow, class of 1999. She blogs about caring for her mother at www.mymothersbrain.wordpress.com.

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Russell Connor is the author of several e-Books, including Finding Misery, Whitney and Howling Days. He’s also a former president of the DFW Writers’ Workshop. Russell will be conducting a special workshop, Publishing Your E-Book Step by Step.

You are welcome to bring your laptop and follow along as Russell demonstrates the process (laptop not required). If you have a completed manuscript and you’ve made the decision to self-publish it as an e-book, you can even publish it with Russell’s help during the session.

Advance registration is required and there are only 15 slots available. There is no extra charge for this workshop. This class is intended for people who have either made the decision or are strongly leaning toward self-publishing their manuscript as an e-book. It’s an advanced technical course. We have limited seats so if you’re only mildly curious about the topic, we recommend you attend one of our other sessions about the changing face of publishing, such as Declaring Independence or The Wild West of Publishing, to learn more.

You can register here: http://publishyourebook.eventbrite.com/. Please note that we have four limited-attendance workshops available and we have a limit of one per attendee. The class takes place at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

Here’s what Russell has to say about the class:

Russell C. Connor

You hear it all the time: E-book sales have officially overtaken brick-and-mortar stores!  The e-book market has opened up new doors for writers everywhere!  It’s never been easier to get your book out there!   But if you’re going into the process blind, navigating e-book distribution channels can still be some pretty deep waters to swim. I began self-publishing my own novels in both paper and e-book formats nearly seven years ago. At first, my decision to self-publish was based purely on a desire to grow an audience for my work and attract an agent or editor so that I could slip into the traditional publishing model.  But over the years, as I’ve watched the rise of the e-book, I’ve come to realize what a level playing field those on the outside now have.

Think about it.  One of the biggest advantages to going the traditional route through an agent and publisher was always distribution.  In order for customers to find you, you had to be sitting on a bookshelf, but the big chain stores had their doors firmly closed to the self-publisher.  Over the past few years, we’ve watched these physical locations slowly dwindling, starting with the independent stores and moving up to chains like Borders, which closed its doors last year. The reason is, of course, because they couldn’t compete with online sales.  Customers are now buying their reading material in e-book format online, and, in the world of the Internet, your self-published book can be found right alongside all the biggest names.

But again, how do you get there?  In my upcoming class, I’ll be conducting a small workshop designed to have you ready to begin selling your novel online in less than an hour.  Here are some tips I picked up along the way that we’ll cover more in depth in class:

1) Formatting is important.  Whether you design your e-book in one of the accepted electronic formats, or merely upload a Microsoft Word document to a service that does it for you, formatting is very important in making sure your manuscript reads correctly on an eBook reader.

2) Avoid the middleman when possible.  Services like Smashwords are very useful and make it incredibly simple for a new author to get their book out, but be aware that they take their cut of the profit.  The fewer people between you and the customer, the better.

3) Retain your rights.  The whole point of self-publishing is that the book is yours, to market and change as you see fit, and, of course, to keep the profits.  We have entered an age where online services are going out of their way to keep your personal content, so be careful what you agree to.

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We’ve posted the tentative schedule grid for both days of the conference, so you can start planning which sessions you’ll attend. We’ve got a lot going on, so there may be some difficult decisions to make!

View schedule (Word doc)

We’re still confirming times with a few speakers. All times are subject to change.

Class descriptions will be included in the conference program, and we’ll be posting some highlights here on the blog as well in the next month.

Enjoy.

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Yes, yes, we’re having the Gong Show again, two times this year.  I posted about this before. One day will be query letters, and the second day will be the first page of your manuscript.

So a few housekeeping items.

1) Bring your papers with you. We’re not going to be collecting them up front this year. Just bring it printed out in normal fonts.

For the query letters: you can remove your name, (not that it’ll be read outloud anyway–it’s anonymous!) and please format the query letters in the normal fashion.

For the first page, format it like a normal manuscript. Don’t try to sneak extra words in on us by decreasing the font to be too small.  We’re looking for about two hundred and fifty words or so. What you’re trying to do is see if the agent will flip to the next page.

Also for your first page, please put the genre and the title of the story. No names.

That’s about it. We’ll have collection spots for the documents around the time the Gong Show is going to start.  Just bring it and drop it in the box.

Any questions? Put them in the comments!!

~Jason

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You’ve done it! After months, or even years, of toiling and long hours at the keyboard you finally have that next bestseller sitting on the screen in front of you. It’s printed, the acrid smell of an over worked printer fills the air. You’ve jumped online and registered for the amazing DFW Writers’ Conference. You’ve even selected the top three choices of the agent you want to pitch your book to…

Hold on there cowboy, oh siblings of the pen, master of the wordsmith — not so fast. Have you even read it? What about getting it critiqued by someone you trust? And I’m not talking about a spouse, parent, or your best friend since the third grade. I’m talking about someone you know that will give you an honest to goodness, give it to me until I bleed, type of critique. Why?

Well my old pal Ernie Hemingway said it best, “The first draft of anything is shit.” He really did — Google it.

Anyway, that may give us a license to write our novel, but it doesn’t give us permission to pawn our sh… stuff off on agents. Think about it, for an agent this is business, they’re not there to stroke your ego. They make money by representing a story that will sell and quickly. They aren’t going to waste time on a premise that is still three or four revisions away from even being close to finish. Would you buy a car that was still missing the tires and an engine? “Well they will be in next month,” the salesman says. Your response? “Then call me next month and I might consider it.” Or even better. Would you even want to do business with him or would you go on to the next lot?

Now that I crushed your bubble and ready to request that refund, lets think a little more about that pitch session. That agent high on your list might be the one you ultimately wanting to represent you and your baby (a.k.a. your novel). But now you realize that it isn’t ready — what are you going to do? Well consider a consultation.

“Kirk, I already have an agent. I don’t need the pitch session,” some might add as they politely decline the 10 minutes of one-on-one time your registration offers. Really? You don’t need anything else? Have you not thought about the “author platform”? Remember, an agent isn’t just selling your story, they are selling you as an author!

In the 2012 DFW Writers’ Conference Meredith Barnes, formerly an agent with Lowenstien, and now with Soho Press will be providing consultations. And Stacey Barney, an editor with Putnam Penguin Publishing, will be taking pitches as well as providing consultations. But what exactly can you get out of a consultation? Here are some things to consider.

•  If you have been having trouble with your query, or maybe don’t quite know what genre your book fits into, you might want to consider a query letter consult. Bring a print out of your actual query letter with you and they can read, review, and critique it. Even give you advice of genres you haven’t thought of.

•  Lets say that you have been working at developing your author platform. You got a blog, Twitter, maybe even a Pintrest, but your not sure it’s enough and just want some general advice. The consultants will have laptops available and can get onto your sites and make sure it has the right information and offer some tips for improvement.

• One of the things authors struggle with most when getting rejections, is the paranoia of not being good enough, when in fact there just isn’t a market for that type of story. The consultants can help giving advice based by telling you what is “hot” now, what’s trending and being purchased, and where your story fits in today’s market.

• Or perhaps you have some general questions about proper etiquette or publishing in general. EBooks vs. traditional publishing or self-publishing? This is your time to get a straight answer. Or possibilities you haven’t considered.

The thing to remember here is that you only have ten minutes of face time with these professionals. With such little time you need to be clear and precise with the questions you want to ask. Be prepared and edit yourself! Write your questions out before hand and write down some follow on questions in case you breeze through the first one. Also, be sure to bring pen and paper to write down what’s discussed. Guaranteed, when you get back to writing on Monday, your mind will go blank.

So now that you know this opportunity is available get back to EventBrite and make the most of your selection. And if you selected “no” to having a pitch session, consider a consultation instead.

If you need help, feel free contact me at vip@dfwwritersconference.org.

Kirk von der Heydt

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Your pitch doesn’t matter.

I know, I know, you’ve heard so many people tell you, “You must have your pitch down to a work of art before you approach an agent!”

HOGWASH!

I have been to numerous conferences, and have been on the board for the DFWCON for three years now. Last year I was in charge of the agent pitch sessions.  Never have I seen so many nervous people. It was like they were walking into a game of Russian Roulette! 

I’ve done a ridiculous amount of research on this topic and talked to many agents (you’d be surprised at how many agents you can talk to when you are handling the pitch sessions) and I’ve come up with an axiom that I am willing to share with you all.

Your pitch doesn’t matter!

I can feel your look through the space time continuum.

It’s really simple. Let me break it down for you in a few short examples.

1.       Your pitch sucks.

2.       Your pitch rocks!

And then there’s the “Your pitch kind of hit in the middle.” Let’s not waste time with lukewarm.

Why? Because of this:

Let’s say your pitch sucks. You stumble over your words, the agent looks confused (or worse, looks at her nails!) but she is intrigued enough to have you send her something. (why wouldn’t she have you send her something? You could have all along, without pitching her. It’s called a query letter! Remember this! It’s one more reason not to be nervous in a pitch session.) And after you send your story off, your writing KICKS ASS! Woohoo! The agent loves your story, prose, hook, etc., and makes The Call.

Your pitch didn’t matter, did it?

But let’s say your pitch is so polished I can see my beautiful bald head in it.  The agent asks you to send them your work. But you really suck at writing. I mean, you suck harder than a … (you know it’s really hard to come up with a “suck” reference without being dirty) a kid trying to get a thick milkshake out of a thin straw. But guess what?

Your pitch doesn’t matter.

When the agent gets your sample work, they will probably become faint and perhaps throw up a little in their mouth.  BUT! The good news is, you pitch didn’t matter. Never did, because no matter how great your pitch is, if your writing sucks, you might as well sign up for that “Perfect Prose in 3 Easy Steps” class.

It’s your writing that matters. Your pitch is just a doorway to your work. You just have to make sure the door is open. And it doesn’t even have to be open very much. Just a skosh will do.

So when you are preparing your pitch for your agent, make sure you get it down so you don’t sit there and stare at the poor agent.  But don’t sweat it too much, because—

Your pitch doesn’t matter.

~Jason

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About a year ago, I got the idea that I wanted to be a writer.

A few minutes later, I realized I had NO IDEA what it took to BE a writer.

I did a google search for “things writers do” in the Dallas area. Yeah…that really happened. I was really THAT green. But what came up was a little gift from the writing gods, a tiny nugget of gold.

DFW Writer’s Conference. February 2011. Register now.

I thought to myself, “Hey! I’m a writer! I live in DFW!” So I signed up, not knowing what I was in for. I signed up, thinking I’d drop a few bucks, show up and hide in my room, and leave when I realized people didn’t want to talk to the 20 year old tatted up writer with pink and blue streaks in her hair.

Then came the day to go. I drove there with my dad, shaking the entire way. I didn’t know anyone there. I had a finished manuscript that I believed in…but there were AGENTS at this conference. And I had a pitch session with one, where I knew I was going to sweat buckets, ramble on for too long about my book without actually talking about my book, and probably trip over my own two left feet on the way out.

I was ready for it to be a weekend of horrors and embarassments and everything people like me are awful at. I was shy. I was NOT good at talking to people, and I had health problems that had prevented me from being around human beings for the past year and a half. It was going to be awful…I was sure of it.

But then I walked in.

And the second I did, people were SMILING at me. People were WELCOMING me. They were saying “What do you write?” and “I love your hair” and “Hi, I’m so-and-so, can I practice my pitch on you?” The staff gave me advice on what to do, gave me a big packet of things for the weekend, and then….then…I relaxed.

Because it hit me, all at once. This was a building full of book nerds. REAL LIFE book nerds. Everywhere. I’m talking the writing kind. The “I stay in my PJ’s all day and watch Doctor Who” kind. People that were just…like…me. It didn’t matter that I was younger than most of them. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know anything about the industry. It didn’t matter at all, because to them, I was a part of the family full of writers that sweat and cry and research and laugh and spend hours alone with a computer and do everything in their power to make their books thrive in today’s tough world.

The weekend was a blur of awesome, a big warm smile that said “You ARE a writer, and you WILL succeed.” I pitched to an amazing agent who wasn’t a monster with gnashing teeth and bloody claws, but a human being who smiled and made nice conversation with me and loved my book idea. I talked to others at the cocktail party and in the hallway and over meals, and they were all people. Real living, breathing, laughing, smiling, doing-embarassing-things PEOPLE. And it was great!

Over that weekend, I laughed and took so many notes my hands fell off. I smiled and made friends and amazing connections that I still have to this day. And when I left, I felt like an industry pro. I learned everything from drafting a manuscript to editing to querying to getting an agent and everything that comes after and in between.

I was inspired. So I went home. Sent my manuscript to the people who had requested it.

And I got rejected.

But then…then…I remembered. There was an agent I spoke to in the hallway between classes. Just a quick hello, a quick chat, and she said “Your book sounds cool. Send it to me when you’re ready.”

So I edited a little. I focused. And I sent it.

I breathed. I relaxed (Not really).

And a few days later, the offer came in. I was shocked beyond belief. I shook the entire phone call we had, and by the time it was over, I had to take a nap because I was so overwhelmed. I knew my writing career was going to happen, because someone actually believed in me! I signed with her, developed a relationship with her, and several months later, after rejections and hopeless times and editing and writing the killer synopsis and a LOT of hard work…my book and its sequel sold to Greenwillow Books, my dream imprint at Harper Collins, to my dream editor. I met her that weekend, at ALA, and she said she loved my book. MY book, and she believed in it enough to buy TWO of them!

If I hadn’t gone to DFWcon…it wouldn’t have happened. Sure, I would’ve probably found my way to another..but not this one. Not the one that changed everything.

I wouldn’t have learned to branch out and make friends in the writing community. I wouldn’t have learned that agents were really just people- that they were friendly, and willing to help, and that they loved books just as much as I did.

I wouldn’t have learned everything that I did about what it takes to make it in the writing world. And above all…I wouldn’t have gotten to the point that I am today.

If you’re like me, and you’re afraid to take the leap, here’s my advice: Jump. And jump hard. Because even though it looks scary from above, there’s a world full of like-minded people that are waiting to catch you with open arms.

Thanks to DFWcon for giving me the chance to succeed. I couldn’t have done it without you, and I mean that in the sincerest of ways. You guys are the best—though I might be a little bit biased

-Lindsay Cummings
http://www.lindsaycummingsblog.blogspot.com/

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Another Q&A session today.

Got a question from an attendee on what she should bring to the conference.

Her list said she’s going to bring a) money b) pen and c) notebook.

All excellent things to bring to this or any other conference.

She asked if she should bring business cards, copies of her synopsis, first three chapters, comfortable shoes, nothing…

I would say yes to all three of these as well.

See, I was one of those who thought you weren’t supposed to bring any of your written stuff to the conference. The old adage, “If agents took everything back with them on the airplane, they would need an extra suitcase.” was what I ran with.

However, at last year’s conference quite a few of the agents requested to see work on the spot, one even requesting a full right there. Pretty cool stuff.

Comfy shoes? Heck yes. The past two years, my feet were killing me after the FIRST day. After the second day, I could barely stand. I would recommend changing shoes halfway through the day to give your feet a break.

Here’s a quick list of things you can and probably should bring:

Money
Extra shoes
Writing utensils
Breath Mint
Business cards
Copy of your manuscript package both digital (however you like) and physical

Anything you like to bring to a conference?  Put it in the comments!

~Jason

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I’ve seen this questions asked on Twitter a few times.

It’s a fine question. What should you wear? You can probably find hundreds of articles out there on what to wear when attending a writers’ conference, especially if you’re pitching an agent. As a veteran conference person, let me offer a few tips.

Dress to the nines! Wear your Sunday’s best!

Okay, after you’ve picked up your jaw, let me give you the real scoop: wear whatever is comfortable for you.  If you enjoy wearing jeans and a t-shirt, do it. If you like some nice chinos and a turtleneck sweater–go for it!

There are typically two trains of thought on what to wear.

One says, dress like you’re going to a job interview since you will be talking to an agent. Always remember, two things: The agent actually works for you, not you for them! So you’re really the one giving an interview here. (turned those tables around on you didn’t I Secondly, as long as you don’t look like a slob, you’ll probably be just fine.  The agent isn’t going to critique the fact that you’re not wearing the latest New York fashions. As long as you look somewhat professional, you should be okay. And yeah, you probably should look professional to some degree, this is your career we’re talking about here.

The other train of thought is that you can wear whatever the hell you want! You’re a writer, man! Don’t box you in! You’re an artist with words! You gotta be who you gotta be, and not get pushed down by the man!

Well, yeah. You can come in flip flops, your Superman PJ’s and your hair in a pink mohawk.  We’ll let you in.  But you might give the wrong impression to the agent that you’re not taking your career seriously, so why should they?

But let me close (clothes?) with this: You can come in dressed like Zippy the Squirrel Clown, carrying bagpipes and smelling like a fishery at closing time…but if your writing is stellar and your story is compelling and an agent is blown away by it…your clothes won’t matter.

Remember, it’s all about the writing.

~Jason

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While a sizable portion of our attendees comes from the Dallas Fort Worth area, and another large contingent comes from the rest of Texas, each year the number of writers traveling into town from out of state to be at the DFW Writers’ Conference gets a little larger.

The map depicts the geographic distribution of our attendees who’ve registered so far. As you can see, we’ll get to meet writers from at least 23 states, reaching from New York to Florida to North Dakota to California. There’s also one coming from Hawaii, not shown here.

For the past couple of years we’ve attracted international attendees, too. So far this year we have writers coming in from Canada and England.

Thanks to everyone who’s making this great event possible with your support, whether you’re right down the road or you’re flying halfway around the world to be here!

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Second Pitch Sessions

I am happy to announce at this year’s DFW Writers Conference we are offering limited second pitches—for a low cost.

We pride ourselves on not being a “nickel-and-dime” conference, but every year, we hear from folks who want a second pitch session, and are unable to get one. We also usually have some pitch slots left over at the end of the conference too.

How many? It varies wildly.

With that being said, we’re going to be offering the second pitch sessions for $39.00 on a completely first-come-first-served basis.  There will be limited numbers and there is a chance that not everyone will be able to get a second.

This is an experiment to see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out–so be it!

Basically, it’s going to work like this:

Kirk, our VIP director of this year, is going to fill out the pitch slots as usual, filling in all the Saturday slots with everyone’s pitch. Remember, the first pitch is our primary concern, so he may have agents whose pitches go over into Sunday.

Once he has everyone’s first free pitch in, we will have an idea of what slots are still open. Not every agent will have empty slots, and the second agent you want, may not have any slots available.

Once Kirk has all our slots filled out, he will get a count of how many empty slots are available for a second pitch.

On Saturday (the first day of the conference) we will have a station where you can sign up and pay for the second pitch session.  You will get to look at the available slots for each editor and agent before deciding if you want to sign up. Most all the empty slots will be on Sunday.

Now, the onus is on you to know which agent or editor represents which genre. (This is your career we’re talking about here! Make sure to do your due diligence on all the agents and editors.) We should be able to take credit cards and cash, so bring it with you!

We will announce when and where to sign up for the second pitch, soon.  So stay tuned.

~Jason

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Today’s blog post is by Kirk, our director of V.I.P.s

Last year was my first ever writers conference. I have been looking forward to attending the DFW Con for months. At least since last years writers conference. As the days drew closer I decided that I’d volunteer by picking up one of the agents from the airport and be “host” during the agent’s visit. The nerves didn’t set in until I found myself driving to the airport to get my assigned agent. Images of deities with magical halos and pitchforks filled my head. I’m not sure what I expected, but not what came through security. A 29 year old woman that looked like everyone else getting off the plane. My education about literary agents (and other publishing professionals – aka Colleen and Faith) started there and grew through out the weekend.

Agents are people too…

It’s true. From the first night, I began to realize that the professionals are indeed humans, not some god-like creature (or demon-like depending on the agent). But seriously, they eat, drink, and party like the rest of us. At the evening social events I found it amusing how the writers milled about with one another, too frightened to approach the agents. So the agents did what was only natural, they talked to one another. Eventually, and after several rounds of liquid courage, the writers grew more courageous and finally approached them. The agents received the writers warmly and talked to any person that found the courage. Lesson #1 – Agents are people too, talk to them.

Don’t take it personal…

Rejections can be hard to take as a writer, I know I’ve had plenty. But I’d never expect to be face-to-face with one that rejected my story.  I told myself I would not hold it against him and would talk to him regardless. In with our discussions on weather and TX BBQ, the topic of rejections came up and I found that not all agents enjoy rejecting writer’s queries. Well okay, some queries are really bad and even I wouldn’t feel bad about squashing a bug or two, but in the end it comes down to business. The agent knows his or her client list, (s)he knows what their editors are taking, and they know what will sell for them. Their decisions are based on business sense. Lesson #2 – If an agent rejects you, don’t take it personal.

No means no…

During the weekend I found myself in the company of several agents simultaneously and listened as they compared notes. Some of the stories I heard swore me from ever wanting to be an agent. Being pitched in the bathroom, finding a manuscript on the hotel room’s pillow, and the occasional stalker would scare the bejesus out of anyone. Aside from these extremes one of their most frustrating points are when people feel they have a right to keep submitting the same agent after a rejection. Some agents will provide a constructive critique with the rejection and the writer thinks that means rewrite and send back. Not only is it rude, it’s bad for your reputation as a writer. Lesson #3 : When an agent says ‘no’ – no means no.

“No” doesn’t mean ‘you suck’…

One of the events at the conference was a tribute to the Gong Show from the 70s. This panel allowed the readers to see just how diverse agents can be. At one point several agents rejected a query while another agent leaned into the microphone and announced to the audience “If you are sitting out there, I want your manuscript.” Just proves my last lesson. Lesson #4 – Just because an agent says “no” it doesn’t mean “you suck”.

Kirk von der Heydt

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By now, many of you have realized that our hotel is full. That was an exciting and unfortunate event!

Exciting because it means we’re getting lots of sign ups (more than we thought!)

Unfortunate because we’re out of rooms.

We actually went in and extended our room amounts in the Hyatt two times, but so many people kept signing up, it was just too much!  Wow! Talk about a crazy conference!

However, there are two other hotels directly next door to the first one. We do not have deals with these other hotels, so their rates are normal. All these hotels are right across the street from the conference center, so no worries on travel changes or driving, etc.

Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas-DFW Arpt w-SH 183 Hurst 1600 Hurst Town Center Dr, Hurst, TX (817) 503-7777 ‎ · hamptoninn.hilton.com

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Dfw West – Hurst 820 Thousand Oaks Drive, Hurst, TX (817) 427-1818 ‎ · hiexpress.com

Give either of these places a call, and you won’t go wrong.

~Jason

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A lot of writers I have spoken to over the past few months are so focused on their pitch sessions, they are ignoring the other, bigger part of the conference.

There’s more to a conference than just the pitch session.

There are also the education tracts that we put in place to help you learn. This year, more than any other, we’ve focused on education.  We have to. The game is changing in publishing and for you to stay on top of it, you need as much information as you can get.

Steve Manning, our Education Director is a long time conference expert. He’s the one who started the DFW Writers Conference. He is the reason we are here today. I tell you this because Steve has also attended other conferences (like myself) and noticed the dearth in quality education. He is like a laser this year, lining up great speakers and attention-grabbing topics. He wants our education to shine! It does and it will.

Remember, your pitch session is 10 minutes of the entire weekend. You owe it to yourself to invest in your future by attending the education that is part of the conference. It’s an important piece, and setting it up, scheduling it, and logistically planning it, are all monumental tasks.

Our goal is to put on a conference that you’re excited to attend and actually get some value for your future and your current writing. We want you to leave invigorated and ready to pen that next blockbuster novel.  The pitch session doesn’t do that. The education does. The meeting with other like-minded people does.

This year, more than ever, you need to know what’s going on in this madhouse called publishing.

~Jason

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If you signed up for the conference before we had our agent list all confirmed, then you’ll need to go back and update the form to indicate your preferences for your consultation.

But, we’ve gotten feedback from several of you that it’s difficult to find where to go on the Eventbrite site and do this. I tested this myself and you know what, I have to agree. It is confusing.

So, take heart. It’s not you!

I’ve put together this little tutorial. Try this:

First, go to www.eventbrite.com. The login link is at upper right (see below).

You’ll see this login form. Use the email address and password you entered when you registered for the conference.

On the next page, you will have several tabs at the top and you want the one that says My Tickets. Click that.

The next page will show any events you’ve bought tickets for. Find the conference and click Manage Order.

This will take you to your original registration form. But now it has some new questions added at the bottom.

Answer “Yes” to the question about whether you want an appointment, and then use the next three fields to name your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices.

Click Update and you’re done!

Give it a try. If you’re still having difficulty, you can always email me at education@dfwwritersconference.org with your preferences, and I’ll plug them in for you. We’ll get you taken care of, one way or another.

Steve Manning

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We’ve activated pitch session registration!

When you register, you’ll be asked if you would like a 10-minute individual pitch session, and you’ll be asked to identify your first, second and third choices for the agent or editor you’d like to meet with. We will assign sessions in order of registration.

You can find out which agents are coming here, and which genres the agents are interested in here.

If you’ve already registered, just log back in to Eventbrite with the account you used to register, and you’ll see the agent/editor selection questions added to the form.

Each agent will have a finite number of slots available, so we recommend you register as soon as possible to better your chances of getting your first choice.

Not only that, but the early bird rate ends March 19, just a little more than four weeks away. After that the admission fee goes up from $295 to $325. There’s no better time to register than today!

Good luck with your pitch session!

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Steve Manning, founding director and 2012 education coordinator. Yes, that is the Great Wall of China

The 2011 conference made a lot of writers happy. We knew, judging by the comments we heard and the smiles we saw on attendees’ faces as they walked down the halls and mingled in the atrium and cafeteria, that things were going very well. Of course, we also knew there’d be certain things we’d want to do differently next time around.

We’ve read through the huge stack of feedback forms you turned in and got a lot of great insight on how to do even better. Our goal for this conference is simple: We want it to be the best! We want you to be delighted with it and come back every year. So we are paying attention to your feedback as we prepare for this year’s event.

Here’s a summary of what we learned and how we’ll respond.

In the plus column, we’re delighted to say most of the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The conference keeps getting better every year. The query gong show got rave reviews and was clearly the highlight of the conference for many. The selection of agents, keynote speaker Sandra Brown, and the lineup of educational speakers also received high marks.

But you don’t want to listen to me brag about what we did right. You want the juicy stuff.

The source of the heaviest criticism from last year was the facility.

First, the hotel rooms. A lot of you said they were too small and not very comfortable. Some attendees told us the center was too big and sprawling and the distance between classes was too long a walk. And finally, some weren’t bowled over by the food selection in the cafeteria. Despite the fact that it was the biggest variety of menu choices we’ve ever been able to offer, we got more comments than we would have expected that it was difficult to find a suitable choice. We had thought attendees might like the food court arrangement, but lesson learned. A more traditional banquet setup works better.

The lack of enthusiasm for the venue was a big disappointment for us, because we were so sure everyone would love it. We picked it because we thought it had exactly the right mix of quirkiness and professionalism that you need at any good writers’ conference. But, you never know for sure how well a facility is going to work with a crowd of more than 300 people until you actually try it. We still think the facility has a lot going for it, but we hear your message that it’s not the right fit for this event.

As a result, we chose a new location for 2012. We are moving to the shiny new Hurst Conference Center. It’s a beautiful building, and its compact layout means that even though we’ll have plenty of space, we won’t have to walk far to get from event to event. It’s right across the street from three business travel hotels, and we inspected the rooms in each. They’re good.

The second biggest cause of criticism was our experiment with not providing a printed program.

This is one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. We had noticed in previous years that many programs got dropped or thrown away, and most of the questions that people came to the front desk with were already answered in the program, which they clearly were not reading — shame, shame! So, we drew the (erroneous) conclusion that having a printed program might not be that valuable to people. With the ongoing cultural shift to more and more electronic communication, maybe it was time to eliminate as much paper as possible.

Well, that was wrong, or perhaps more accurately, ahead of its time.

On the bright side, with our electronic emphasis we succeeded wildly in encouraging a lot of online chatter about the conference, particularly on Twitter, with lots of people using the #dfwcon hashtag. But the complaints we got demonstrated that for a lot of people, paper is still the way to go when distributing important information. So, this year there will be a printed program.

This doesn’t mean the Internet was a fad. We still hope you’ll tweet and post about us. And we think eventually, you will be asking us, “Why do you still bother with a printed program?” But that day has not yet arrived.

We also received feedback on the conference website. While it was praised by many, a noticeable number didn’t care for the way we communicated important information with a blog. The sequential organization of a blog vs. a more typically organized website made it difficult for some to find the information they needed. Others said there were too many updates to keep up with.

We’re still using a blog this year and we highly recommend you follow it, but we won’t rely so exclusively on it as our mouthpiece. We’ll distribute information using multiple methods where possible.

Every year, the conference has gotten better because we make a conscious effort to listen to our attendees and to be different from the way many other conferences operate. We don’t nickel and dime. We don’t bring in the same agents every year (we have made the startling discovery that there are more than 15 of them in the world!). We don’t bring in agents who don’t want to hear your elevator pitch or do one-on-one sessions. We insist our speakers have a solid track record.

And every year, we read your feedback. And we make changes.

*  *  *  *  *

If you’d like to be a part of this amazing gathering of writers and agents, you can register here. We look forward to meeting you!

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You can now see a preliminary list of speakers and the topics they’ll be teaching. We’ll have more than 50 classes for you to choose from; this list includes around 40 of them. You’ve been asking who will be speaking, so we wanted to put as much information up as we could as quickly as possible. Several panel discussions as well as more classes taught by literary agents are in the works and will be added to the lineup soon.

Take a look at the names on that list. Along with several notable names from the north Texas writing scene, you’ll see that this year’s conference has not one, not two, but three New York Times bestselling authors teaching classes: James Rollins, Jodi Thomas and Lori Wilde.

You may also notice something important about the subject matter. Book publishing is going through big changes, and we’ve made sure the selection of classes this year reflects that. The variety of routes to publication, the pros and cons of each, and techniques for being successful no matter which route you take will receive a lot of attention from this year’s speakers. They include literary agents, editors, independent authors, publicists, and a representative for a printing company.

But in the midst of all this business talk, we won’t be neglecting the craft of writing by any means. In fact, we’ve established a roughly 50-50 split between craft and business.

To see the list just go to the Classes tab in the top menu or click here. And stay tuned for updates. More is on the way!

Steve Manning
Education director

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Becky Vinter began her career in publishing at the Feminist Press in 2006, before moving to NAL/Penguin, where she edited commercial women’s fiction. She joined FinePrint Literary Management in 2011 and is currently looking for a range of both fiction and nonfiction projects. Becky grew up in London and earned her BA in English Literature from the University of Leeds. She now lives in Brooklyn.

She is seeking: Becky likes the whole spectrum of women’s fiction, from literary to “bookclub” to romance of all sub-genres. She is also in the market for YA fiction with strong female protagonists. In nonfiction, she likes well-crafted narrative nonfiction, including memoir, current events, travel, pop culture, wellness, yoga and food.

Find her at:

QueryTracker

Twitter: @bvinter

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How many of you came to the conference last year?
<waits for show of hands>

Wow! That’s a lot!  How many of you went to the Gong Show(s)?
<waits again>
Whoa! Even more!  That’s terrific.

The Gong Show, in case you didn’t attend, was where we had The Voice of The Gong Show read (anonymous!) query letters to a group of agents. When the agents were at a point in the query letter where they would stop reading, they bang the gong in front of them.

Once three agents bang out, The Voice stops reading and the host of the show asks the agents why they would stop at that point. Agents get to have fun listening to the letters, and we the viewing audience gets to have fun and we get to learn.  Who knew learning could be so much fun?!

Never let it be said we are one to rest on our laurels. (One? No, there’s a whole group of us!)

This year, we’re going to trick it up a little. On the first day, we’re going to have The Voice read query letters, just like last year.  However, on the second day, we’re going to have him read the first page of your submission. Yep. That first word, that first sentence, that first paragraph, (still anonymously, so the innocent can stay that way) all the way to the end (if the agents don’t start banging that gong).

We are doing this simply because, it’s the writing that matters most. You can have a great query that may elicit some reading of your first page, but if that first page doesn’t hook the agent (or editor) pretty darn quick, you’re wasting your time.

This should make for some pretty interesting feedback and we all will learn something about the thought processes that go into why a work grabs someone and why it fails.

You want to have your query or first page read at the conference (anonymously!) you can either let me know, or you can just bring it with you.  We’ll have a collection spot for them.  Will all of them get read? Probably not. We’ll be picking them in random order, so you may not hear yours—but who knows, maybe you will.

Don’t start freaking out just yet!

~Jason

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Meredith Barnes is an associate agent at Lowenstein Associates. She is particularly interested in building her nonfiction list, especially blog-to-book projects and projects dealing with alternative lifestyles (such as micro-farming) and social issues. She is also extremely interested in health, fitness, and spirituality nonfiction with a strong author platform, including an online presence.

Meredith is interested in a wide range of engaging fiction for all ages. For adults, she’s looking for literary fiction, women’s fiction and romance, thrillers, and crime fiction. She is open to science fiction and fantasy that has something new to offer the genres. For Middle Grade readers, she is looking for adventure stories that appeal to a male audience. She is not actively taking on Young Adult fiction, although something highly unusual (read: nontrendy) or literary will always catch her eye no matter the target audience. She does not represent early readers or children’s picture books.

For both nonfiction and fiction, Meredith considers more than just the print possibilities. Projects that lend themselves to apps, enhanced ebooks, and other fresh ways to tell stories are especially appealing.

Find her at:

Querytracker

Twitter: @mer_barnes

Blog

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Jill Marsal is a partner at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. She has been in the publishing industry almost 15 years, previously working as a Literary Agent with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and at Dorchester Publishing, editing women’s fiction, romance, and suspense/thrillers.

On the fiction front, Jill looks for all types of romance (contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, historical, and category), women’s fiction and family stories, cozy mysteries, and thrillers. She is also looking for general commercial fiction and welcomes a dramatic storyline and compelling characters in interesting situations or relationships. On the non-fiction side, Jill’s areas of interest include business, current events, health, self-help/advice, relationships, psychology, parenting, and narrative non-fiction.

Find her at:

Querytracker

Agentquery

Twitter: @jillmarsal

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Hey everyone,

Finally got the hotel information ironed out for the conference. After working diligently with the hotels around the area, we wrangled one!

It’s the Hyatt Place, and we got a good discount. Click the ‘hotel’ link and get all the details.

The Hyatt is within walking distance of the conference center, so you won’t have to drive back and forth and the rooms are pretty nice too.

~Jason

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We’re proud to announce that the following publishing industry professionals have accepted our invitation to attend the 2012 DFW Writers’ Conference. More will be announced as soon as we have confirmation.

Literary Agents

• Elizabeth Evans, Jean V. Naggar Literary
• Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary Agency
• Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger, Inc.
• Paul Levine, Paul S. Levine Literary Agency
• Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency
• Sarah Lapolla, Curtis Brown Ltd
• Sally Harding, Cooke Agency
• Meredith Barnes, Lowenstein Associates
• Laurie McLean, Larsen Pomada Literary Agents
• Becky Vinter, Fine Print Literary
• Jennie Goloboy, Red Sofa Literary
• Lauren Ruth, BookEnds, LLC
• Alec Shane, Writers’ House
• Marcy Posner, Folio Literary Agency
• Bob Mecoy, Bob Mecoy Literary Agency
• Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
• Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency
• Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary Agency

Editors

• Stacey Barney, Putnam Books for Young Readers

More details, including the genres they’re interested in and the classes they will be teaching, will be posted as it becomes available. Stay tuned!

Update: Unfortunately Krista Marino and Devi Pillai will not be able to attend this year. We’ll try them again in a future year.

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Today I wanted to talk to you about your goals.
You do have goals, right? You may have them, but have never pinned them to the wall.

So stop right now, close your eyes and ask yourself what your writing/writer goals are.
I will wait.

<waiting>

<surfing the internet>

<mad dash to the restroom>

Okay. Did you do it? Good.

So, do you want to be a NY Times Bestseller? Do you want to just get your books into the hands of all those people out there you know will love them?

Please don’t come back with the worn out “I have to write. I can’t not write.”
That’s not a goal. That’s a declarative statement. Ask yourself why you write and what you want out of it. Sitting in front of a computer for hours and hours and hours typing away is not a normal activity, and if you’re not doing it for some purpose, you might want to Bing some mental help.

Yeah, writing can be, and is, therapeutic and cathartic but let’s not focus on that. Focus on your goals.

Now that you have them firmly planted in your mind, let’s ask, “How does a conference help me achieve my goals?”

A few things you’re going to get at a conference regardless of any sessions or classes you attend: face time with publishing professionals, face time with other writers at different levels than you, and fun. (Well you should have fun at a conference. If for some reason you don’t have some fun at our conference this year, by all means, come and talk to me.)

At our conference we try to cover a broad swath of topics for writers at all levels and stages.

We try to have some topics for those who want to be a bestseller, those who just want to write a book for their friends, those who are thinking of writing a non-fiction book about healthcare in America, and all the others.

But the question is, do we have what you in particular need?

This month we’ll be working on our education tracts for the conference. We’re breaking our items down into categories and sub-categories. It’s a lot of work, takes a lot of time, and there are usually quite a few disagreements and arguments during the process. Productive discussions, but we all are passionate about bringing the value to our attendees.

My recommendation to you is, once we get our education lined up and posted, and you’ve set your goals, peruse our offerings and see how many are beneficial to you.

You’ll find we have a lot of items that can help you achieve your goals.

 ~Jason

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Value

It’s something we all consider when spending our hard-earned cash. Are we getting the value out of the money we’ve spent? The value of many things eludes me. (Diamonds, expensive shoes, parakeets) But I think most of us can agree in principal what constitutes a good value.

Why am I stuck on this topic? Because we think our conference delivers a great value to our attendees. We offer a bevy of educational classes that are aimed toward the beginner or the seasoned pro. We have sessions on the business of publishing, the growing trend of e-publishing, and how to understand the finances of the business. All set in a beautiful new state-of-the-art facility, Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas.

We give our attendees some of the best exposure to the industry by inviting publishing professionals who are movers and shakers in the business. And  Our conferences allow you to get face-to-face time with individuals who actually have answers to your questions. We also go out of our way to have different professionals every year so you get some variety and value each year you attend.

We give all writers a venue to network and mix with other like-minded people. Writing is of course a lonely activity. We need to get together and visit!

We don’t charge for the extra things that other conferences do. Our Keynote Speech is free, our parking is free, our restrooms are free!  But free is not always a value is it? There are many things in this world that are free, and I wouldn’t look twice, because I don’t put any value into it. We can yell about our free stuff all day, but to me, that’s not where our value is. Our value is in the actual meat of the conference.  The part you actually attend.

If you price our conference against others out there, you’ll see we offer more than they do while having a lower price point.

We offer a better value.

~Jason

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The publishing business is going through probably the most cataclysmic events it’s experienced since the Great Depression. (That’s when the first “sale by commission” started at all bookstores and has been ever since. This is also one of the reasons the publishing industry finds itself where it is now.)

Is publishing really in the place many pundits are claiming? Are we truly in the position of where the mid-list authors are going away and if your story doesn’t have the makings of a true best-seller, then you might as well just put it in the digital drawer and try the next story? Or is the market gearing up for more niche stories?

Is traditional publishing dead as so many are decrying? (Oddly enough it seems to be the aforementioned mid-list authors that are telling us this with the most vehemence.) Is the future of publishing truly in the hands of the writer?(And was it ever NOT in the hands of the writer?) Is self-publishing the wave of the future? Is that where we’re all going? Will we all be publishing our books on Smashwords or PubIt or Kindle KDP in the future, eschewing the normal path of the Big 6? Will the Big 6 crumble? Will it become the Big 4? The Big 3? What will be the role of the Literary Agent in the coming moments of change?

So many questions, so few answers.

We as a conference committee have to stay cognizant of publishing trends and stay abreast of changes. What this means to you, the attendee is every year we strive to come up with content that is relevant in the current market. And it’s not easy, especially now.

We typically break the education portion of our conference into two parts, a business side and a craft side. It just makes sense. The problem is, the publishing business is changing so fast, it’s hard for us to determine what the best possible classes and sessions would benefit you in regard to the business aspects of writing. We have our work cut out for us.

Fortunately, the craft part of the business doesn’t change so rapidly. Write a good story is still the chorus we hear everywhere. You write a good story and worry about everything else later. But even that is in jeopardy now. Writers must have an online presence, a facebook page, a blog, a twitter account, etc. We’re told industry professionals seek these locations out when looking at a writer’s overall portfolio. So the craft part of the business is more intimately tied into the craft than ever before.

So what’s a writer like yourself supposed to do? Firstly, keep attending conferences (of course!) but make sure the conference is truly keeping up with the trends of today. It does you no good to attend a conference that is still operating like it’s 1999. We are in a completely different arena today. The game has changed and we must change too.

~Jason

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Well we’re very lucky this year!

We have managed to wrangle James Rollins as our Keynote Speaker. He is proof that our conference just keeps getting better every year. Mr. Rollins is a NY Times best seller many times over, and brings to the conference a “thrilling” energy that can only come from a thriller writer.

I have been a fan of James Rollins for a very long time now, and when it came my time to be the director, I knew I wanted him. I started out on bended knee, but turns out that wasn’t necessary. Mr. Rollins graciously accepted our invitation and we look forward to having him come. It should be a fun time for everyone.

You can read about him on his website.

~Jason

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Agents Louise Fury, Dawn Frederick and Adam Friedstein, all of whom were special guests at our 2011 conference, have written back to tell us what they thought.

Check it out!

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Hey all,

Welcome to the 2012 DFW Writers’ Conference portal. We’re going to be updating it with more and more information in the coming months, so stay tuned.  We’ve already started our planning process and gathering pertinent info to make sure this year’s conference is even better than last years!

Yes, I agree. That will take some serious doing. But we’re a committed bunch.

So Watch This Space, more information is coming.

~Jason

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Stephen Manning

When we started out on this conference quest in 2007, our reasons were simple. The DFW Metroplex was full of talented writers, but being located far from either coast, those writers didn’t have enough opportunities to mingle in person with the gatekeepers of the publishing industry.

Writers’ conferences were few and far between — there were excellent events for romance writers, and there was the Mayborn if you were into creative nonfiction, and then there was Fencon, which attracts a lot of writers but is not, strictly speaking, a writers’ conference.

But there was no large, multi-genre writers’ conference that brought in significant numbers of agents from around the country to meet writers. (I’m sure some readers will quibble with that statement, but key words here: large and multi-genre.)

Writers from this area actually had to drive several hours, either north or south, to a smaller city to attend that kind of conference. That made NO sense. Dallas-Fort Worth was far too large a population center not to have one of its own. So the DFW Writers’ Workshop decided to fix that.

It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people who were generous with their time and energy and courageous in the face of naysayers, but the first DFW Writers’ Conference took place in February 2008. We had four agents and four exhibitors. We had 110 attendees, not counting agents, speakers, or volunteers, and it was a monumental task getting those 110. But the conference went off remarkably smoothly. The highest praise: one of the agents told us it was the most organized writers’ conference she had ever seen.

It’s been incredible watching the conference grow so rapidly from that beginning, thanks to so many talented volunteers and so many dedicated writers who are serious enough about mastering the craft and business of writing to invest in a weekend of learning and networking.  We’ve had writers attend from across the country and even from as far away as England.

By 2010, we were up to 10 agents, and we sold out two months early and had to cut off registrations because of the convention center’s capacity limit. So here we are in 2011 at a larger facility, with more agents than ever. We’re bringing the publishing industry from across the country to DFW to meet with you. They want to know what you’re working on. Take advantage of the opportunity, introduce yourself and talk to them. That’s why they’re coming.

It can be very nerve-wracking talking to an agent or editor that first time – OK, the first 10 times. But the more you talk to, the more you realize they are people with a job to do, just like you are. After a while, it becomes a pleasant, relaxed business conversation. But the only way to get to that point is to practice, by doing it over and over again.  And now, you’ve got the chance to do that without having to travel hundreds of miles or more.

We look forward to seeing you at this year’s conference!

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Candace Isenhower attended her first writers’ conference in 2009: The DFW Writers’ Conference. And she walked away with agent representation by Uwe Stender.

Here’s how it happened.

The next DFW Writers’ Conference is April 10&11, 2010, at the City of Grapevine Convention Center. Details here.

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Pitching your novel, or nonfiction book proposal to a literary agent can be the most exciting — and nerve-wracking — time in any author’s life. The key to a successful pitch session is preparation. Here are a few tips that will help you make the best of your experience:   

• Pitch sessions are up to 10 minutes long. No more time is allowed. Make certain you can present your idea within that timeframe.  
  • Suggestion: It’s a good strategy to keep your pitch to no more than 5 minutes. Use the remaining time for questions and wrap-up.
     
• You will be in the same room at the same time with other writers who are presenting their book ideas to other agents. Don’t be nervous. Speak in a normal, conversational tone.
   
• Do not bring a copy of your completed manuscript. Agents do not accept paper. If the agent is interested in your book idea, he or she will provide instructions on their agency’s preferred submission process.   
   
• Do bring a notepad and something with which to write.  The agents are a wealth of information on the publishing industry.  
   
• Here are a few websites that discuss how to pitch; however, this is not an all-inclusive list.  Surf the Internet for more.
   
• Here are some articles that discuss how to pitch your work to a literary agent, but please search for more. The Internet is a wealth of helpful information.
  ·          The Perfect Pitch: Pitching to Agents at a Writing Conference  A good article to help you prepare. http://www.writing-world.com/publish/pitch.shtml
  ·         “How to Pitch Your Book at a Writing Conference”.  Another great article from the same source can be found at http://www.writing-world.com/publish/pitch2.shtml  
   
• Rehearse your pitch, but pick a listener who will offer you honest feedback, not someone who loves you enough to overlook your flaws. 
  • Suggestion:  Try not to memorize your pitch word-for-word. Instead, strive for a conversational approach. If you memorize your pitch and stumble on a word, or the agent interrupts you to ask a question, it might throw you off. Be prepared, but just talk to the agent as you would any other new acquaintance.
     
• FREE ON-LINE CLASS:  Unlike other conferences, which charge extra for such classes, the DFW Writers’ Conference brings you “Agent Pitches 101″ from author Candace Havens’ Writers Workshop free of charge. The class will focus on the basics of perfecting your agent pitch. After you register for the conference, you will be given the full details.Good luck!  We look forward to seeing you at the 2010 DFW Writers’ Conference.

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