~Jason

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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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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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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.

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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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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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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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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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