If you have any interest in publishing then you already know Writer's House. If you haven’t heard of this agency then you live under a rock, but here are a few names that might jog your memory: Twilight, Eragon, Babysitter's Club, and Sweet Valley High.
Okay, back to my love for Simon. Simon is a big dog at Writer's House and he represents tons of famous authors who are famous, at least partially, because he navigates their careers. I was lucky enough to meet him at the Virginia Festival of the Book and he is quite a character. He started off by telling us how bossy he is and he proved that by doing most of the talking throughout the agent panel. I really enjoyed his straightforward approach. He's a 'tell it like it is' type and I personally like that.
My favorite moment from him came when he broke down his feelings on queries. First, he shattered every rule in my mind by saying that he hates conventional queries. He wants something unique with a lot of character voice. Second, he said you really need to have a market plan for yourself in the world of social media. Third, you need to know your genre and pitch to agents who have sold books like yours. Finally, he stressed that if you are serious about writing that you should attend writing conferences and really tighten your writing before you pitch. He said most rejections come from the fact that the writing is pitched before its ready.
Personally, I would love to work with him but I wouldn’t pitch him. He doesn’t have anything on his list that’s similar to Origins so even if I had an awesome book it still would most likely not appeal to him. Plus, I’m not ready. I still have some more work to do before I am ready to pitch.
Hey, I guess I learned something. Yippee, for me!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
VA Festival of the Book
I drove three and a half hours to spend the day at this amazing free festival. The festival is actually seven days but I could only make it on 03/20/2010. Some of the coolest moments at the festival included:
• Spending the day with my younger brother and not arguing once or attempting to throw him out of a moving vehicle. My brother shares my fantasy writing bug except that he wants to write screenplays.
• Having the opportunity to have the first 250 words of my manuscript critiqued. I was actually chosen out of more than 100 entries which, by itself, was pretty freakin cool. 3 out of the 4 judges liked what I had written which tells me that maybe I haven't lost my mind by trying to make a career out of this. Jury’s still out regarding the loss of my mind.
• Attending a seminar hosted by some pretty heavy hitters in the world of agencies. Simon Lipskar (Writer's House), Laura Renner (Andrea Brown), and Jenny Bent (The Bent Agency) to be exact. They each offered some insight into the wild and crazy world of publishing. I’m going to write a blog for each of these individually because they were each unique and cool enough to deserve their own blog entry.
• Spending the day with my younger brother and not arguing once or attempting to throw him out of a moving vehicle. My brother shares my fantasy writing bug except that he wants to write screenplays.
• Having the opportunity to have the first 250 words of my manuscript critiqued. I was actually chosen out of more than 100 entries which, by itself, was pretty freakin cool. 3 out of the 4 judges liked what I had written which tells me that maybe I haven't lost my mind by trying to make a career out of this. Jury’s still out regarding the loss of my mind.
• Attending a seminar hosted by some pretty heavy hitters in the world of agencies. Simon Lipskar (Writer's House), Laura Renner (Andrea Brown), and Jenny Bent (The Bent Agency) to be exact. They each offered some insight into the wild and crazy world of publishing. I’m going to write a blog for each of these individually because they were each unique and cool enough to deserve their own blog entry.
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