TOOLS OF THE TRADE

As a fiction novelist trying to move from unpublished to PUBLISHED, attending the American Christian Fiction Writers conference proved to be a great way to go. Along with over 500 attendees, we spent 3 plus wonderful days interacting with editors, agents, and gifted authors in Dallas last month.

The workshops began each day by 9 AM and went until 5 PM. Then for the strong at heart, the late night chats began. What a positive way to learn the craft, meet fiction writers, and see how much there is to learn.

We attended workshops on marketing your work, developing a pitch with the hook, and many other challenging and useful topics. Each workshop was taught by an editor, agent, or published author. They shared their knowledge with ease and care. The content of the workshops was priceless and will be used by us going forward. Did you know that "black moments" work best after a victory" Or that you must then intersect your plot with your "black moments" in order to pull the reader along the story? Well, try it, it really does put depth into your novel.

The best part of the conference is to be surrounded by Christians who all have a heart for God. Each day was begun with song and prayer. It was so up lifting and what a gift to be a member of such wonderfully gifted group of people.

Just to keep you in suspense, I have to tell you that two editors and two agents ask for my proposal and three chapters, but I won't tell you who yet. I pumped. At the same time, it's scary. It means more critique and work. But I've got quality novels waiting to be published. So hard work here I come. Wish me luck, and I'll keep you posted.

Time to go hunting....where is my Agent?

We are off to Dallas and the best writing conference in all of the mid west. How to begin! First we must develop a check list. Attending a writers conference is a lot of work and very scary. First, we need a schedule of all the workshops, right? Yes, of course. Then we need to research all of the agents and editors coming. Which ones do we want to Pitch to? What publishing house do the represent? Will they want my work?

Next comes the development of the pitch, the resume, a marketing plan, a two page summary of the book I have written and then we practice, practice, practice. What will I say? I want the agent and editor to love my book. It is so timely with the story set in the middle of the presidential election. How different to have a third party candidate with a strong platform and an even stronger wife to support him. Will he win the election? Will the assassin succeed in killing the candidate and his wife? What will happen to the United States if Bill Porter does not win?

As well as pitching, there are many great workshops to attend. Gifted authors give of their time to help teach us newcomers all the tricks of the trade. There is so much information and so little time to process it all. Once home I'll spend days going over my notes with Pam, my wife, and we try to remember everything we learned.

I have one week left to prepare. Wish me luck.