Preparing for a Writers Conference

It’s conference season and many of us are making plans to attend at least one. Today I'm going to share some of the things you may want to prepare before you go. Two of the main reasons to attend a conference are Networking and pitching and I’ll concentrate on what you’ll need with these two goals in mind.

Networking

Networking is the easiest to prepare for. If you're just going to meet other writers and professionals the main thing you need is a good business card. Please take note, I said, good, NOT expensive.

These are the things a good writers business card includes:

Your picture - I know, I hate to have my picture taken and I always hate how it looks. But, in this business you need to be remembered and recognized and your picture is the best and easiest way to do that. If someone has a card with your picture on it, they'll remember who you are months longer than if it's just got your name. Also, it's harder to throw away a card with a picture on it than a card with just text on it.

The name you use when you write - if you use a pseudonym, be sure it's on the card. Here's an example (I just made up the names - they're not representative of a real person): Susie Stone, writing as Catherine Milo.

Your email address - this is going to be the main way others will contact you.

Your website or blog address - never pass up the opportunity to encourage new visitors to your sites. Also, many people will follow up on what you've told them and this will be a way for them to get to know you better.

Cell phone number - this isn't absolutely necessary, but it helps if your email goes down and someone has a hot lead for you.

Please take note of what is NOT included on a business card now. You do not need your physical address on the card. Actually, it's a liability. It can be dangerous to give out your home address, so if you feel you must include an address, invest in a PO Box.

It is possible to make your own business cards, using Avery brand sheets that go through your ink jet printer. The trick to successfully printing your own cards is to keep them simple! Another inexpensive way to go is by using VistaPrint. This online company is very reputable and I personally know a lot of writers who get their cards through them.

Bring some writing samples:

These are good to have simply because you'll probably find yourself in a group, or at a table, where everyone is sharing something they've written. It might not happen, but chances are, if you don't have anything to show, you'll be disappointed.

Pitching

This is when you attend a conference because you have something you want to sell to a publisher or if you want to get an agent. The things below that you'll need are specifically for those wishing to sell a fiction or non-fiction book.

It's important to keep in mind that everything you prepare for the conference to pitch a project is incremental in nature.

Your tag line or hook should make the editor or agent ask to hear more about your project (this is the time for the elevator pitch).

The elevator pitch should lead them to ask for your one sheet.

Your one sheet or pitch sheet should lead them to ask you to send them a proposal when you get home.

Your proposal should lead them to ask you to send them your entire manuscript.

Your entire manuscript should lead them to offer you a contract.

These are the generic steps in publishing. God can step in at any time in the process and something completely different can, and often does, happen. But, until that happens, I try to take it one step at a time.

Now Let's look at what's involved in each one of these components.

tag line or hook - this is one sentence, preferably 15 words or less. It should NOT be a synopsis of your book, but rather it's to intrigue the editor/agent and make them want to know more.

elevator pitch - this should be short, around 45 seconds. It will sound a lot like back cover copy or what is on your one sheet. Again, it's to make the editor/agent ask to see more.

one sheet or pitch sheet - this gives the blurb about your book, information about yourself (bio) and general info, like genre and audience for your project. If it's fiction, it states that the project is finished. If it's non-fiction it gives a completion date if the project is unfinished

You won't need a full proposal or manuscript for the conference. If an editor or agent is interested they'll ask you to email or snail mail them one when you get home.

Again, as with networking, you'll need to bring some samples of your writing.

This is just a general overview of what is needed. If you have specific questions, feel free to use the contact form at the bottom of the blog and send me your question. You can also post your question in the comments section. In the next few weeks I'll address each of these components individually or in groups and give you some examples to see exactly what others have used successfully.

Scene Goals

by Pam Zollman

I was working on a scene in my WIP middle-grade novel and it was causing trouble for me. It made me go back and review what I was doing. I learned how to write scenes from Dwight Swain’s book, TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER.

Scenes have three parts:

• Goal
• Conflict
• Disaster

Today, we'll discuss "goals.”

Every story has a goal.

Your character has an overarching story goal -- the problem he or she has to solve, something he/she wants to achieve. My character, Joetta, wants respect from her family, but she doesn't understand at first that *that* is what she wants. She thinks she wants revenge for her twin brothers' pranks. She thinks she wants relief from a copycat younger sister. She thinks she wants her parents to punish her siblings, while giving her a break. This is what drives her through the story.

Every scene has a goal.

Her brothers continue to prank her, and in the previous scene attacked her with pillows until she screamed for help from her parents, who were unhappy at being awakened. So now she's lying there in the dark in her great-grandmother's home, thinking about revenge. She decides to wait until the twins are asleep and then write on their foreheads, "dumb" and "dumber." Her goal in this scene is to write on their foreheads without waking up them -- or her parents -- and getting away with it.

Goals create active characters.

Scenes are action. You want your character to be active, not passive. Passive characters react to what happens to them; they seem to allow things to happen. Active characters make things happen, good or bad. They don't wait for something to happen. Not all of their decisions are good, but they do make decisions and ACT. These characters are more interesting and engaging for readers.

Every scene goal leads eventually to solving the overall story goal.

As your character moves forward, scene by scene, goal by goal, he or she gets closer to solving the problem or achieving a desired outcome. Your character will not only reach the final goal, but will grow in the process. As your character handles each problem presented by each scene, he stretches and grows and is able to make new and better goals.

So give your character a goal in every single scene. It's what moves your story forward. Next time we’ll talk about “conflict.”

Farewell, Welcome, and Updates!

Today I want to share some news from the Founder of The Book Doctor, Sandi Rog. I know you've all been following her progress in her battle against cancer. We also have some exciting news about a new addition to the Book Doctor. 


News from Sandi

Many of you already know of this, but on November 1, 2010, the very day my debut novel THE MASTER'S WALL was released, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 T-cell Lymphoma: cancer. Since then, I've been undergoing the fight of my life, but not without the support of my family, church family, friends, schools, and the ACFW family. Truly, the prayers and support have rocked our world! 

Well, I'm now nearing the final battle. I'm in the hospital getting ready to undergo a bone marrow transplant. I've completed three days of totally body radiation, and just finished my last round of chemo today. Without the donor's bone marrow, I won't survive. The donor's bone marrow will arrive on the 24th (this Tuesday) and will be injected into my body (much like getting blood). Please pray for my donor. We haven't met, but I know he's in a lot of pain with the injections he has to take to produce more blood (all this for a complete stranger; it's amazing!). 

Anyway, I just wanted some extra prayers coming my way during this time. I likely won't have much energy in the upcoming weeks as my body will be at war within itself. The new marrow is supposed to grow and wipe out my old marrow, and in effect, tackle the cancer. Please pray it only takes out the cancer and nothing of "me." There's a chance it could attack my skin, gut, or liver. 

It's a scary time, and I have four children counting on this to work (17, 14, 11 and 3). My husband is using time off to be with me during my difficult times (he's also able to work from the hospital most times), and his parents are in town from Holland to help out at the house with the kids. My sister will be with me during my worst of times next week.

In the meantime, my second book galleys are being proofed. I sent them on to my editor, Wendy Chorot, to proof them. I just can't do it. I pray I'll have the strength to read the ARCs once those are released, and Lord willing, I won't find anything major that needs fixing! :-) It's rather ironic that this story is to release after/during all I've been through. You can read the book jacket description of it on my last blog entry and see the cover. In the meantime, I'll share the foreward with you below, which gives better insight into just how deep this story goes. I thought the foreward was very touching, and it might give you all an idea of what this road has been like for me.

Love you all, and thank you so much for your prayers. If you'd like to share this with other prayer groups or blogs, please do! ALL the prayers I can get mean everything to me! EVERYTHING!

Love in Him,

Sandi

Farewell and Welcome
I know everyone has been blessed by Darlene Franklin's time with the Book Doctor. We're excited about her new opportunities, but she will be missed! 


Today, I want to introduce a new addition to The Book Doctor family, Pam Zollman. Pam and I have become friends through the years and I greatly admire and respect her. She's a gifted writer and an amazing editor. I'll post her full bio next week, but she's written over 40 books and is a former editor with Highlights for Children. 

GOOD-BYE

Eighteen months ago, Sandi Rog honored me by inviting me to join the staff at the Book Doctor. I have been privileged to share my experience as a multi-published author, my heart as a struggling Christian writer, and my expertise in various aspects of writing with you, my fellow writers.

During this same time, God opened the doors wide for my writing. I currently have four books under contract to write; three of them are 80,000 words. I have become a grandmother twice over; and my health has gone downhill.

So the time has come to evaluate my activities and unfortunately, I will say goodbye to The Book Doctor.

Thanks to all of you who have made this such a memorable experience.

Writing Advice

When someone asks me what I do or where I work, I always hesitate to mention that I’m a writer. Not because I’m ashamed of it or think I’m not worthy to be called a writer, but because it often leads to some frustrating conversations. Let me see if any of you can relate to some of my experiences. 

• “I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Can you help me?”
• “I have a book I’ve written. Can you send it to a publisher for me?”
• “I used to write in high school, maybe you could look at a few things and tell me what you think.”
• “I’ve been through (you fill in the blank) and want to write a book about it. Can you tell me how to get it published?” 

Don’t get me wrong, there’ s nothing inherently wrong with these questions, the problem comes when I answer them. I’ve found that most people don’t really want to hear the truth – they want a shortcut to fame and fortune, not the truth. 

• There’s no shortcut to becoming a professional writer. It takes time and commitment.
• I don’t have an inside track into getting your book published.
• If I take the time to look at your samples, I’ll tell you the truth and that may not be what you really want.
• It’s hard to sell a memoir or personal experience story.  

There are no shortcuts to becoming a master at your craft and writing is no different. Even exceptional talent needs time and experience to hone it into brilliance. Occasionally I come across someone who’s willing to put in the time and really learn about the craft of writing. Those individuals are a joy and I love taking time to help them.

How do you answer those who want help on the path to writing? How do we tell the truth without killing the dream?

THE LIKEABLE HEROINE

One of my writing friends says "How do you create a likeable heroine--one who isn't sickeningly sweet?"

I will confess, I find some of the heroines in Christian fiction "sickeningly sweet" and their so-called problems laughable. In the early days of Christian fiction, this seemed to be the norm and not the exception. Thankfully, that trend has changed.

"But it's still true in romance."

Well--yes. We want a heroine we can root for and romances must end in "happily ever after" or not be a romance.

Well--no. I have written numerous novels for Heartsong Presents. As a Christian romance book club, some of their stories are simple stories well told of a man and a woman falling in love.

Some are much more. I remember one story (to my shame, I don't recall the title or author) that dealt with rape. Another, Dear John, introduced me to author Kim Vogel Sawyer--and a series that dealt with downs syndrome, alcoholism, and ex-cons. My own heroines have run lighthouses, worked in a Romanian orphanage, fought for women's suffrage, among other problems.

Consider the following characters from the secular world: Scarlet O'Hara; Miss Marple; Mary Poppins; Kinsey Millhone; Brenda Leigh Johnson; Ziva David; Alicia Florrick; Mary Richards; Emily Pollifax.

Each of those names conjure up images of unforgettable women. These women have unlikeable qualities. Ziva used to kill people for a living; Scarlet is completely self-centered. They also have weaknesses. Brenda Leigh sneaks chocolate whenever she can.

But they are strong, and we root for them--in spite of their less than sweet personalities.
What makes a heroine likeable? Why do we care about what happens? How about these ideas for starters:

• She has weaknesses that we can identify with.


• She faces opposition.


• She cares for other people.


• She takes risk to help others.


• She is strong (different ways for different heroines)


• She is real--her responses to life ring true


• She is persistent


• She's an independent thinker

Who are some of your favorite heroines? What qualities appeal to you?

Make Your Bad Guys Better

One common mistake I see when I’m editing fiction is a lack of depth for the characters—particularly the antagonist. The days of the dark villain twirling his mustache are long gone. Readers expect the author to deliver a bad guy who is complex and understandable. We may love to hate the antagonist, but we also want to know why he’s the way he is. Below are some quick tips to help you begin to sculpt such a character.

• Know your villain’s backstory. Your antagonist may think destroying the world is a credible option and that’s fine—but the reader needs to understand why.
• Find something good within your antagonist. As I mentioned above, readers demand complex characters, and I character who is all good—or all bad, is a cliché. Give your villain a few good points and you’ll craft a more compelling story.
• Allow your villain some face time. We've all read novels where the villain is some faceless, evil mastermind. But, especially in first novels, it’s better to let the reader see the villain with some POV (point of view) scenes. You don’t have to reveal all, but don’t neglect him.
• Give your villain the advantage. Yes, we all want the hero to succeed, but a story where it’s obvious the he can overcome the villain isn't much of a story. It robs the reader of tension and fails to deliver strong conflict.
• Let your hero find something within the villain to admire. I know it sounds risky, but again, this will add complexity and depth to your novel. It will also give your hero more internal conflict.

 Now it’s your turn. What are some things you love to hate about villains in your favorite stories?