Conference Story

Yesterday's post reminded me of something that happened to me at the Atlanta RWA National Conference in 2006. Hopefully I'm not repeating myself.

I was in the elevator going to my room and as usual at a conference, it was crammed full of writers. In the middle were two ladies who had their badges covered. Editors or agents? They're so afraid of being attacked by hungry writers. LOL!

Me, being my shy self (NOT!), remarked on their badges being hidden. Thankfully the ladies were good natured and one said, "Oh, no, it just got turned around." Everyone laughed. I can't remember what I said next, but the agent responded, "We like everything about Southern writers," and she gave me her business card.

Then my cell phone went off.

At that time, the music on my phone was Gnarls Barkley's Crazy. So everyone heard, "Does that make me crazy! Does that make me crazy!" I said, "Oh, that's my husband." I didn't answer. Everyone cracked up. I started dancing (moving my hips and bobbing my head was the extent) with the music and then the agents joined in, then eveyone else. We all danced off the elevator to my cell phone music. It was so cool.

After the conference, I sent her a query with three chapters and mentioned the elevator. She rejected me, but hey, I got an answer in about sixty days and she said she remembered the incident.

It was worth a shot.

Etiquette Around An Agent or Editor

Okay, you're at a conference/workshop/New York City. An editor is standing next to you in the elevator. You recognize her and you say "Hello." Yes, I'm one of those people who will chat with an editor, especialy if she's stuck with me and cannot run away. LOL! Anyway, the question is, do you pitch your book?

NO!

But like all things in life there is an exception. If she asks, "What do you write?" And then she follows up with "Tell me about your latest book." At that time, feel free to tell her about it. Keep it short. Remember my blog from the other day about pitches. Be ready and smile, act excited about your book. It becomes contagious.

Editor or Agent

My blog is for me to post anything that comes to mind. Personal, goofy or writing related. Until yesterday, I haven't posted much about writing. So I've decided to start passing on what I've learned over the last seven years. Whether or not they're useful to you is up to you. Some things work for one person but don't for another. That's for sure as I've tried all and still not published. Maybe that has something with my writing or maybe not. Could be due to timing. Whatever. The info I'll give will be from the numerous workshops I've attended. Don't forget. There are no rules and nothing is written in stone.

So here's a tidbit for today. If you can't decide between an editor or agent for your lastest book, keep in mind the following. By sending out your book to ten different editors, you could've ruined your chances of obtaining an agent for the same book. Why would an agent want to represent a book already rejected by so many editors? She/he can't resubmit them. So think long and hard on your choice.

Pitching

Today in my writers' group meeting, Kelley St. John did a great job in telling us how to pitch our manuscripts to an editor. So to give you a tidbit on how to pitch your next book, remember the following.

Fill in the blanks with your character's Goal, Motivation, and Conflict.
[character name] wants [goal] because [motiviation], but [conflict].

Let's use the movie Dirty Dancing for an example.
Johnny wants Baby because he admires her compassion but her father believes he's a bad influence.

Or how about the movie Ten Things I Hate About You.
Cameron wants to date Bianca because he fell in love with her at first sight but her father will not let her date until her older sister does.

Thankful Friday

Believe it or not, there are certain foods I would turn down without a problem, but donuts are not one of them. Today we had a retirement party for one of the fellows at work and someone brought donuts from a little bakery called Fultondate Bakery. They could give Krispy Kreme a run for their money.

So I'm thankful for donuts.

Forget Me Not

No, I didn't exactly forget to post yesterday. I've been having laptop problems. Whether it had a virus or just something dummy (me) did, who knows. But after working on it for two days, it appears to be back into perfect working order. I must say though each time (twice) this has happened, I get physically ill. Like my buddy Diane said, "You're out of your comfort zone." Sad to say, but yeah.

Time Again

My turn to post over at Romance Magicians' blog. Come over and talk about being obsessed.

Moving At A Slower Pace

In the South, everyone talks slow and moves slow. Part of the reason is due to the heat and humidity. Some days you feel like you're walking through water and that isn't an exaggeration. And Southerners do love to exaggerate. Thus, all the storytellers.

Yesterday, I realized it takes me five to eight minutes to get out of the car. When I arrived home from my dad's (a two hour and fifteen minute trip), I drove into the garage, unplugged my iPod and placed it into its case (don't want scratches), took off my sunglasses and placed them in their case (ditto the other reason), put on my regular glasses (I refuse to wear bifocals), placed my cell phone into the special pocket inside my purse and then gather everything together and stepped out of the car after pushing the button to close the garage door. If you close the garage door before getting out of the car, you will be sweating by the time you get in the house. Too hot and stuffy. Gone are the days of turning off the car and just getting out. LOL!

Mid-Summer's Day

This is one of my favorite days of the year. More sun the better. It won't be dark until about 8:30 pm. Wonderful! Just Wonderful!

Keep On Trucking and Far Out!

If you recognize those words in the subject line, then I know what generation you're from. Of course, I know those phrases are no longer used. Thankfully, my oldest daughter reads my manuscripts and helps me catch any errors and "old people" terms. LOL! I never realized some of the terms I used were considered out of date. For example, humdinger and hell bent for leather.

I also catch my heroine referring to the hero as a "young man." Sorry. No twenty-something year old woman would refer to a guy near her age or a bit older as "young" anything.

Anyway, it keeps me on my toes. (Hmmm, is that an old fashioned cliché?)

[Thankful Friday: That I'm going to see my dad this weekend. Can't wait.]