ACFW Conference Blog

Here are Rusty Shelton’s thoughts on the conference. Rusty is with Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists and a regular attendee at the conference.
I started going to the ACFW conference three years ago and it has become one of my favorite events. When I initially made the decision to start attending the conference, it was partly due to the fact that the event was held just up the road in Dallas, TX. It was nice to have such a big event so close to home for a change. Unfortunately, ACFW figured out that Texas remains extremely hot in September and opted to move this year’s event to Minneapolis, MN.

The conference takes place September 18-21, 2008 at the Mall of America and I’m looking forward to making the trip despite a few challenges.Not only is the event no longer close to home, but it also takes place on a home football weekend for the University of Texas Longhorns (I don’t miss those games). Yet, I’m still flying halfway across the country to attend.

Why?

Although we have a great track record with CBA Fiction (thanks in large part to the talents of Nancy Rue, Dandi Daley Mackall and others), since we are so selective about books within that genre that we represent, my decision to return to the conference this year doesn’t really have much to do with getting new business.

I did promise to give a presentation on “How to Land Ink, Airtime and Other Coverage for Your Book,” but that isn’t the main reason I’m going either.

I attend because not only do I get to meet talented writers and see old friends, but I always have a good time. ACFW knows how to put on a quality writers’ conference—this is an event that draws hundreds of aspiring authors each year for several reasons:

- Top agents like Beth Jusino, Chip MacGregor, Steve Laube, Joyce Hart and many others are always in attendance and, much like the Writers’ League of Texas Conference, they are there to spend time with the attendees and pick up new talent. This is an event that has launched many a career thanks to the presence of quality agents.

- Publishing houses also love this event, with top fiction editors like David Webb, Kim Moore, Andy Meisenheimer, Alan Arnold, Sue Brower and many others in attendance to search for quality writers with great ideas.

- ACFW boasts success story after success story and many of their top authors got their start at this conference. My first year at the conference I watched an unpublished Cara Putman win an award and, two years later, she is now awaiting the launch of her fourth book.

- Best-selling novelist Brandilyn Collins never fails to entertain as the MC for the event and Rachel Hauck’s music is just amazing.

- It provides a great forum for industry professionals to interact with up and coming authors. Again, although publicity may be the last thing on an unpublished author’s mind at most conferences, I’m always impressed by the number of authors at this event that understand how important good publicity will be to their success.

I was invited to speak to the Central Texas chapter of ACFW a few months ago and at the end of my speech I encouraged each one of the authors to attend this year’s event. I did so because although experiencing breakout success can be tough, few conferences can provide as much insight into the industry as this one.

Registration is still open for this year’s event, so grab a spot while you can.

I love the smell of fear in the morning. Just kiddin’. Conference time again. I gotta tell y’all, don’t be so worried about your appointments with agents and editors. I know it’s hard to believe, but we aren’t out to get ya. Some of us are even nice. Yes, there are a few pompous people. But being pompous, they don’t take appointments, so you won’t be meeting with them.

Here’s a tip for a stress-lessened (I’m not fool enough to write ‘stress-free’) experience.

Dress for the job ya want, not the one ya have. Don’t know about you, but when I write, I slap my rear in the chair wearing sweats or comfy shorts. When I meet prospective clients, I dress nicely. No, you don’t need an expensive suit. Just wear something up-to-date (newsflash: squeaky polyester is out). Slacks or a skirt, nice blouse, jacket optional. Stick to neutral tones and add a touch of pizzazz (always in style) by way of accessories to show your personality and some color.

Save your jeans (I don’t care if they’re a dark wash) and tennis shoes (I don’t wanna hear your feet hurt) for going to the movies. Don’t show up looking like a “hobby writer.” I took some flack for saying this (One person even wrote me that I was arrogant! Imagine … me … arrogant. Nope, I can’t imagine it.), but my intention is to help, not hurt. Sure, some industry professionals don’t care what you wear, but unless you know who they are, why chance it? People, there’s a line longer than my crow’s feet waitin’ behind you to snag your spot. Wanna give it to ‘em? Take every advantage you can.

I recently went to a small conference. A young lady (to me, young is early forties, but for clarification, she’s in her twenties) showed up in a nice suit, hair neatly swept back, and acted in a professional manner. When her partial came, I noted how clean it was (mechanics-wise). This was her first effort, and she blew me away with her level of competency in that area. Buuut, the story had no hook. Instead of an outright no, I asked her to find a hook and resubmit. I’m lookin’ for authors, not manuscripts. From the way she treated her appointment with me, to the clean manuscript, I knew she’d be a great self-promoter, which I look for. If you can’t look professional for a meeting with me, how will you look when you do a book signing?

The Romance Writers of America conference is at the end of this month. Unfortunately, they didn’t ask me to give my Bleak to Chic: How to Dress for Success workshop. Sigh. Even us agents get rejected. I will be giving what’s called a “late-nite chat” at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in September, and I hope to see some of ya there.

Remember, it’s not only about impressing someone, but impressing yourself. When you look better, you feel better. When you feel better, you exude self-confidence. When you exude self-confidence, you tell me, “Hey, I’ll make a great addition to your family!” (Hope so!)

Kelly Mortimer

www.mortimerliterary.com www.perilsofpublishing.com

Agent Rachelle Gardner has this advice.

Today is my official post for the ACFW Blog Tour. Only 78 days left until the ACFW conference! Let’s talk about those all-important agent-and-editor pitches.

As one of my blog readers wrote, we can probably all agree on the “don’ts” of pitching your project. Don’t pitch in the bathroom. Don’t pitch incomplete projects. Don’t pitch with your mouth full. What are some positive tips we can all use?

Taking into account that I’m only one person and I can only speak for myself, I think the secret to making a great pitch is to give me the information I need so that I can understand what you’re talking about. Start with a bit of context or background, THEN tell me about your book. This doesn’t have to be in-depth, considering your time restraints. But take a moment to introduce yourself before pitching.

Too often, people sit down and nervously launch into some kind of description of their book and I find myself dizzy with confusion. I sit there like a deer in the headlights and then I say something like, “Let’s back up. Tell me about youself. And what genre is this?”

To me, the best pitches include the following information without me having to ask for it:

My name is _____ and I wanted to meet with you because _____.

I’m represented by _____ (agent name if applicable).

I’m writing ______ (what genre).

My publishing history includes _____. OR I’m currently unpublished but have been writing for ___ years.

Today I want to tell you about my book called _____ which is a ____(genre).

This book won the _____ award (if relevant).

I’m writing about this topic because ____ (if relevant. For example, you are a police officer and you’re writing a cop thriller).

My tagline is _____ (20 words or so that capture your book).

Then, launch into your pitch. This should be a couple of minutes long, max, allowing time for the agent or editor to ask questions. Have a 1-minute pitch prepared, too, in case of mealtime or elevator pitches.

What should your pitch include?

a Don’t try to tell the whole story. Start with the plot catalyst, the event that gets the story started.

a Then give the set-up, i.e. what happens in the first 30 to 50 pages that drives the reader into the rest of the book. Include the pressing story question or the major story conflict.

a Round out your pitch with any of the following: plot elements, character information, setting, backstory, or theme. You want to include just enough information to really intrigue your listener. Note that your pitch doesn’t have to be all “plot.” If your story is more character driven, then fill out your pitch with interesting character details. If the setting is an important element, talk about that. If the backstory plays heavily, round out your pitch with that. Be intentional in how you structure your pitch.

a The most common error I see is trying to tell too much of the story in the pitch. The pitch is supposed to get somebody interested, not tell the whole story. Stick to the high points.

a Include only a couple of characters.

a Include one plot thread, or two if they’re closely intertwined. You can hint at the existence of other characters and plot lines.

A good way to learn how to craft your pitch is to spend an afternoon in the bookstore, reading back covers. You’ll notice the cover copy doesn’t tell the whole story, it simply gives the setup, maybe talks a little about theme (i.e. what the reader may get out of the book), and makes you want to read it.

However, beware that back cover copy varies widely in length and style, so you can only take this comparison so far. The one element you’ll see in back cover copy that you shouldn’t include in your pitch is “hype” language such as “this revolutionary book” or “this breathless story.” Don’t use adjectives to describe your book, just convey the story so that we want to read more. Show, don’t tell.

Be prepared to answer questions like:
a How does your story end?
a What published author’s style would you compare your writing to?
a Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
a Tell me about the Christian content in this book?
a Is this a series? And if so, what are the subsequent books about?
a How long have you been writing?
a Have you worked with a critique group or a professional editor?
a Have you pitched this to publishers in the past? If so, what was the response?

Important: Know all the key points of your pitch! But don’t memorize your pitch verbatim. You want to be ready to speak it aloud and sound natural, whether during a planned meeting, a meal, in an elevator or a random encounter. Having your pitches prepared ahead of time (and adjusting them as necessary if you learn new things in workshops) will raise your confidence level.

What to bring: I think it’s a good idea to have a professional-looking one sheet about your book, and make sure you have several so that you can give them to anyone who wants to keep it (although most editors and agents won’t want to carry things). Click here for Mary DeMuth’s instructions on how to write a one-sheet. You should also have the first couple of chapters printed out and with you. Often an agent or editor will want to glance at your pages during the meeting. If you want to bring a couple copies of this just in case someone wants to take it, that’s probably a good idea. Finally, be sure to bring a business card, and ask if the person you’re meeting with wants to take it with them.

And most important: To help raise your confidence and lower the nervousness, realize that agents and editors are regular people just like you. We clean our toilets, we change our kids’ poopy diapers, we stress over what to wear and whether we’re having a bad hair day. Also, we REALLY like chocolate. How much more normal could we be?

Click here to find and read all the other bloggers’ posts on the ACFW Blog Tour.

You can access all my other posts on conferences by clicking here.

Happy pitching!

This interview was originally posted on Ronie Kendig’s blog: Craving the Supernatural. It was so good, I decided we had to have it here, too. So get ready for a look at the industry from agent Steve Laube’s perspective.

—-Hey, y’all! Welcome back to Craving the Supernatural. Right now, we’re hosting my awesome and incredible agent, Steve Laube, and getting his thoughts on the ACFW Conference and conference preparedness. (This is revised from the interview Steve Laube gave us last year.)

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Lived the first 14 years of my life in Anchorage, Alaska (survived the famous ’64 earthquake) then went to high school in Honolulu (Hawaii Baptist Academy). My parents felt called to move to Hawaii after 25 years in Alaska. Went to college at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona where I still live and work.

I have three daughters ages, 26, 23, and 20 and have been married for 27 years. I teach an adult Bible class every Sunday (around 30 attend regularly). We are currently working our way through the chronological history of Israel from King David through the rebuilding of the walls by Nehemiah. Just finished the life of Saul.

I’m a voracious reader and a enduring sports fan (Go Suns! Go Diamondbacks!). Someone asked what I did for a living. I replied, “I read.” They followed with, “Then what do you do for fun?” My answer? “I read.” We have nearly 5,000 books in our home.

Starting in May I began re-reading the Dune series originated by Frank Herbert. I’m into book seven of the twelve right now. Interspersed with those I’ve read a Clive Cussler novel I somehow missed, the new Lee Child novel, Tim Challies’ The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, and am currently working through a fascinating book on economics called Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies by Richard McKenzie.

Music is a hobby as well. I have over 15,000 songs on my computer of all genres. Everything from hard rock (I recommend the groups Red, Flyleaf, and Creed) to meditative vocals or instrumentals (I recommend Vienna Teng, Liz Story, and Natalie Merchant) to classical (I recommend Steven Sharp Nelson’s Sacred Cello and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons). All together I could play music for 38 days (24 hours a day) without repeating a single song.

Our family is very selective when it comes to movies. Of course “Star Wars” is the classic (My youngest has insisted that we watch all six films this Summer while she is home from college…two down, four to go). But I never tire of sports movies like “Remember the Titans,” “Rudy,” “We are Marshall,” or “Radio.” My wife cannot understand why I like “Galaxy Quest” so much, but I confess, it makes me laugh (she says I have to watch that one by myself). Together we have howled at multiple viewing of “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “Monsters, Inc.” We don’t keep a TV plugged in inside the home, but one Christmas I gave the family the entire DVD collection of “The Dick Van Dyke” show. We continue to laugh our way through those episodes. We have also enjoyed the DVD’s of “The Bob Newhart Show,” “The Odd Couple,” “I Love Lucy,” and “The Dog Whisperer.”

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When I first met you in February 2004, you promoted American Christian Romance Writers (now ACFW)—said if we were serious about writing, we’d join. Why do you feel it’s important for authors to be a part of an organization like this?

Continuing education is critical to the growth of a person and a writer. Tricia Goyer wrote on The Writer’s View, “I’ve attended Mt. Hermon twelve times. I don’t have a college degree. Instead I was trained by the amazing teachers and editors there.”

The friendships and networking of an organization like ACFW are for a lifetime. The editor you meet today may become your acquisitions editor of tomorrow. The author today may be the endorsement of tomorrow. Too often we try to quantify these events in dollars and cents. And don’t forget the spiritual charge from hearing great speakers and the learning from attending great classes. But one of the greatest benefits is the camaraderie with fellow dysfunctional writers, editors and agents.

I have dozens of friendships that go beyond the business that started within the business. For a professional defined by isolation the fellowship of other writers is critical to one’s sanity.
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How long have you been a part of ACFW?

Since I became an agent in 2003.
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Obviously you travel the country, attending and working at many conferences. What sets the ACFW conference apart from others?

The fiction-centric aspect of the conference is wonderfully unique. It allows the classes to go deeper than ever in their content. And I truly admire their effort to have material for the beginner as well as the advanced writer.
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What is your favorite part of the ACFW conference?

Talking with old friends and making new ones. We are a part of a tremendous ministry of changing people’s lives through the power of story. To be surrounded by amazingly creative people blesses me beyond measure.

It is also fun to connect with clients and possibly discover that new talent.
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One thing I really appreciate about you is how you make yourself available, sitting in the hotel lobby chatting (casually, not for pitches) with authors. What are some of your memories from attending one of ACFW’s national conferences?

Doing the night owl on author/agent relations with Tracey Bateman. Completely unrehearsed we had a full room of folks who laughed with our antics.
The night owl with Chip MacGregor and Janet Grant in 2007 where we evaluated one-sheets for an hour, unrehearsed. It was a bit like the ACFW version of “American Idol.” We really let down our guard and told the hard truth about what we were seeing.
Late night laughter and camaraderie each year. Don’t be afraid to hang out with the “guys and gals”. It is never an exercise of “cliques-are-us.”
Heart to heart conversation with a client who was so relieved when we agreed to take her story in a new direction that her tears were ones of joy.
A serendipitous conversation with Andy Meisenheimer from Zondervan that turned into a contract for a first time author.
Connecting officially with Cindy Woodsmall at the conference. We had talked before and I loved her manuscript (now published as When the Heart Cries), but we needed the face-to-face to make it official.
I could go on and on. And have left out too many friends, editors and authors in this brief trip down memory lane. But you can see the variety and diversity of the experience, which is my point. Everyone who attends the conference can make it something special.

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At the conference, you take dozens of appointments. What are you looking for in a new author? Is there an element in a pitch that you look for?

This a VERY difficult question. Fiction is the most subjective reading experience of any sort. So even if I like the pitch I may not like the writing. And sometimes the pitch is weak but the writing is great. And what gets me excited may make another agent’s eyes glaze over.
In the pitch I’m looking at the person as much as the writing. It is the connection made with their personality and their passion and their overall presentation of themselves. That is as much a part of the pitch as the actual words in the manuscript. It is one of the reasons why agents and editors go to a conference…to see firsthand that “snap” or “spark” which makes that person stand out. Hopefully the execution of the writing delivers as well.
Understand that I’m not saying that someone has to be a “bigger-than-life” personality. That would be a fairly shallow perspective. Instead it is reading the person behind the page. It is hard to explain and impossible to teach to someone else. But those of us on this side of the table know what I mean. The successful agents and editors have the ability to pick those few from the crowd..
So, please understand I’m not talking about a song and dance routine. But instead I’m talking of the internal fire, that God given spark, that says, “Steve? Pay attention.”

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Is there a particular genre you are wanting to add to your current list?

We cover all major genres with the wonderfully diverse clients we represent. Take a look at our list of clients on our web site. (www.stevelaube.com/authors.htm)

I am a very eclectic reader and enjoy all sorts of books. So it boils down to whether I think I can sell a particular author or story. And it is VERY tough. Usually I say to the new writer, “take what you learn at this conference and apply it to this proposal. Then after another round of hard work, send it….but know that our agency received nearly 2,000 proposals in 2007.”

So far in 2008 we have added four new fiction clients, but every one of them is a previously published author. And yet we are thrilled to say that in the last few years we have secured contracts for ten first-time novelists! So the opportunity is there if you have the right project!

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It’s been said that some editors and agents request everything pitched to them at conference. What is your take on this, and how often do you make requests?

There can be the problem of the “false positive” at a conference - by “false positive” I mean the “Send it to me” from the editor/agent only to later get a stock rejection letter. It is a problem of which there is no real solution. Editors/Agents cannot fully evaluate a project in a 15 minute meeting or over a group dinner table. Back in the office they can weigh your project against the others they are considering. But at least you are being considered! If you had not gone to the conference you would not have had that chance. I can name numerous times in my past where I contracted someone after reading the proposal in the office. Of course the majority receive the “no thank you” letter. Just because the faculty member says, “send it” doesn’t carry with it a guarantee of a sale.

It is especially difficult with fiction because the reading is more of an experience than an evaluation. I’m not afraid to say, “This needs work” to any writer and many of you reading this interview have heard those words from me. But at the same time our agency’s door is always open. We are always in the hunt for the “next best.” I can’t know if that is the “next” unless I get it reviewed and read it myself in a different context outside the conference.
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Have you ever signed an author after meeting with them at conference?

Many times. Both as an agent and back when I was an editor at Bethany House. It does happen. I could safely say that every editor or agent would agree that if they find one (only one) new talent from a conference it is considered a success. I’ve had many times where nothing specific came out of that conference but years later it bore fruit. For example, Paul Robertson attended a conference where I spoke in the late 90s. He said he sent something afterwards that I rejected. Eight years later he sent me a proposal that is now a published book (The Heir) with Bethany House. So while I didn’t necessarily see anything at the time it had results nearly 10 years later.

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What advice would you give to beginner writers about attending this conference?

Go into it with realistic expectations. The biggest mistake is thinking that it is the guaranteed method for getting a book contract. Modify those expectations. Instead see it as a learning experience and a place to listen and absorb the sights and sounds around you.

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Any parting words?

I consider it a privilege to be a small part of this wonderful industry. We are tasked to help spread the good news to a world that doesn’t read. Incredible isn’t it? Our insecurities, our frustrations, our successes (or lack thereof), are all part of the larger movement of souls who find rest in God and His salvation through the vehicle of our stories.
In the 2007 Christy banquet keynote Lauren Winner (www.laurenwinner.net) said that it was the Mitford novels by Jan Karon that showed her that faith could be worked out in daily life. That experience, through the pages of a novel, set her on the path to Faith. What could top that?

Thank you, Steve, for taking the time to answer some questions and help writers at all levels prepare for the awesome ACFW conference, held this year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 18-21, 2008. Check it out: http://www.acfw.com/conference/