Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Historical Fiction Conference Question

Got a question/comment about the business of writing or about the publishing industry? Here's your place to post it!
User avatar
Divia
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4435
Joined: August 2008
Location: Always Cloudy, Central New York

Historical Fiction Conference Question

Post by Divia » Sun February 8th, 2009, 8:08 pm

I would love some feedback on this. I thought I would be further along with my second draft than I currently am. I wanted to bring it to the HF conference.

My question is should I just polish some writing samples up and bring it to the conference even though I haven't finished a second draft yet. Or should I just hold off and wait for the next conference until my comic is published and I get further ahead with my manuscripts.

I've been debating about this for a while and I would love some professional advice.

Thanks :)
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/

User avatar
cw gortner
Bibliophile
Posts: 1288
Joined: September 2008
Location: San Francisco,CA
Contact:

Post by cw gortner » Sun February 8th, 2009, 10:30 pm

Hi Divia,
I met with editors at the Salt Lake City HNS conference and I didn't bring samples; I just pitched my book ideas and actually got such encouraging response from Rachel Kahn (then editor at Crown, now at Putnam) that I ended up contacting agents again. I think you should bring a synopsis and two or three polished chapters, and go for it! You won't have much time, so perfect your pitch. You never know who might be interested. I believe some of the agents there would understand you don't have a completely ready-to-go draft yet.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

User avatar
LoveHistory
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3751
Joined: September 2008
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Post by LoveHistory » Sun February 8th, 2009, 10:40 pm

No advice here, but I wish you luck! I say listen to CW, he's smart.

User avatar
Julianne Douglas
Avid Reader
Posts: 429
Joined: August 2008
Location: Northern California

Post by Julianne Douglas » Mon February 9th, 2009, 3:23 am

Divia, did you sign up for one of the agent/editor pitches, or are you just talking about having something ready if you have a casual conversation with an agent?

It's my understanding that even in a pitch session, if an agent is interested in reading your work, she won't expect or even want you to hand it over on the spot. She'll invite you to send the first few chapters or whatever her norm is to her at her office after the conference. So I wouldn't worry about having pages polished, but do work on your pitch beforehand. I had an agent ask for pages after hearing my pitch at the last conference, but I sent the pages a week or so later to NY.

I don't think random writing samples will be of much use. Most agents will only consider completed manuscripts for fiction. And the chapters they will ask to see are the first three, so make sure those ones shine.
Julianne Douglas

Writing the Renaissance

User avatar
juleswatson
Avid Reader
Posts: 259
Joined: January 2009
Location: now Washington DC
Contact:

Post by juleswatson » Mon February 9th, 2009, 9:29 am

Divia, I agree with the previous posts. I don't have experience of that particular channel (the conference pitch session) but I did get signed to my first agent before I had finished my MS. I know that goes against a lot of the "rules" about getting published, but though some rules are inviolable (those sample chapters must be perfectly polished) I'm also a great believer in "some rules are meant to be broken." Apart from sheer persistence, there is something to be said for being bold in this crazy business, too. If your pitch is good, the story good and the samples good, then someone will be interested in you - even if it just gets you higher up the "ladder of interest", and no one will actually sign you until its done. And that obviously worked for CW. Go for it, I say.
Author of Celtic historical fantasy
New book "THE RAVEN QUEEN" out Feb 22 2011: The story of Maeve, the famous warrior queen of Irish mythology.
Out now, "THE SWAN MAIDEN", the ancient tale of Deirdre, the Irish 'Helen of Troy'
http://www.juleswatson.com

User avatar
Divia
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4435
Joined: August 2008
Location: Always Cloudy, Central New York

Post by Divia » Mon February 9th, 2009, 12:09 pm

Thanks everyone :) No, I havent signed up to meet with agents/editors. Are some still available? I am on the fence about this conference because I am worried Icould get laid off in June. it is a big expense. But if I do sign up I want to make sure that I can meet with agents/editors or otherwise 1/2 the reason I am going is lost.
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Ariadne
Bibliophile
Posts: 1151
Joined: August 2008
Location: At the foothills of Mt. Level

Post by Ariadne » Mon February 9th, 2009, 3:29 pm

Yep, there are still plenty of appts available. As long as you sign up before the deadline (May 22, or when we reach 300 people), you should get an appt, though people who wait until the last minute may not get their first choice. It depends on how many slots each person has left... the signup form asks attendees to prioritize who they want to meet with (list here).

User avatar
Divia
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4435
Joined: August 2008
Location: Always Cloudy, Central New York

Post by Divia » Mon February 9th, 2009, 10:43 pm

Excellent. I think I am going to check some flights tonight and book it! :)
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/

User avatar
donroc
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 858
Joined: August 2008
Location: Winter Haven, Florida
Contact:

Post by donroc » Mon February 9th, 2009, 11:27 pm

Divia, some advice about flights. I searched the "el cheapo ticket sites" from my area, and in the end the airline itself beat the lowest price by $20. That's almost the cost of a one-way ride to the hotel from O'Hare.
Image

Bodo the Apostate, a novel set during the reign of Louis the Pious and end of the Carolingian Empire.

http://www.donaldmichaelplatt.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZthhY6 ... annel_page

User avatar
Divia
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4435
Joined: August 2008
Location: Always Cloudy, Central New York

Post by Divia » Tue February 10th, 2009, 3:16 am

ooh, now thats something to think about.

BTW does the hotel have a shuttle?
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/

Post Reply

Return to “The Writing Business”