ACFW Conference Blog

Psalm 143:8a–Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You.

Father, we worship and praise your name. You are a holy God willing and able to answer our prayers. We are thankful for our courage, strength, and abilities that come from You.

We pray Your blessing upon the agents attending conference. Supply them with patience, compassion, and knowledge as they meet with the many writers–the timid, anxious ones so eager to please.

Grant them knowledge to judge the work presented. Give them wisdom and understanding to speak words of truth, tempered with love and kindness. And as they accept and reject proposals allow them to plant seeds of encouragement inside each writer’s heart so they will grow and achieve all that You have designed for them to become. Allow the agents to be filled with Your peace as they look to You for their strength during conference and the years to come. This we pray in Your wonderful Son’s name Jesus.

Amen.

It was a sticky hot September day in Dallas, Texas, as I shuttled with other writers from DFW Airport to our conference headquarters in a hotel van. As we crawled through a mass of Lexus and Mercedes sedans, the fanciest SUVs I’d ever seen, two well-known authors chatted about their latest works in progress and compared notes about a recent book signing. Sweaty underarms made a mess of my new suit, and it wasn’t just the horrendous heat and occasional hot flashes at work. Why had I spent the better part of my allotted expenses to devote three and a half days announcing to all these success story types that I was a nobody?

I checked in with a hotel clerk, a pit in my stomach remaining but the efficient air conditioning system solving the other problems. A brightly lit tiled corridor led me to the conference registration and packet pick-up area. Chatting woman marched by, ACFW nametags hung around their necks. Colorful ribbons fluttered like war commemorations from the plastic lanyards, announcing they’d engaged in the war to get published and had emerged victorious. And here I was, agentless, contractless—and already dispirited though the first meeting hadn’t even started. Shoulders sagging, I stepped to the Information desk.

“Welcome to the conference!” A woman with smiling eyes reached across the counter and shook my hand. “What’s your last name?”

“Lacy,” I mumbled.

“What a pretty name.” She continued chatting until the tension left my gut. She pointed me toward the prayer room, asked about MY writing, then narrowed her eyes and listened, as if I was describing complex literary fiction. Her encouraging nods and occasional word of praise were enough to remind me of my commitment to write for an Audience of One, of my goal to make a few new writing friends, of my intent to connect with one Christian editor.

If this is your first conference, I know how you’re gonna feel when you recognize famous authors and don’t believe there’s a single person who wants to talk to you. I encourage you to swallow down the sick feeling lodged in your throat and reach out. Set some attainable conference goals, then ask God to give you the opportunity to meet them. And if you aren’t blessed to connect with an encourager right away (even though I think you will), remember that your value comes from being a child of the Living God, who by sending His son Christ Jesus to this earth, redeemed those who call on His name. And that is enough, my dear fellow writer. That is enough.

Patti Lacy

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.

Hello!

Welcome to my wing of the ACFW conference tour. Here is a link to the <A HREF=”www.acfw.com/conference”>conference page:</A>

I can’t wait to see you in Minneapolis, and meet some of you for the first time! Be sure and come up to introduce yourselves.

I’m going to take this opportunity to share some conference experiences I’ve had (some REALLY EMBARRASSING and funny). That will hopefully ease your jitters, especially if you are a first time conferenec goer.

My first conference, I went with my own agenda. I felt I had to fill every minute with activity. And by the second day, I was SO tired and had sensory overload. Brain felt like a soppy sponge that couldn’t hold another drop of water.

So I recommend you leave time for rest. Yes, I know how much money you’re spending to go. I also know you can purchase the CD afterward if you happen to miss a workshop. Hit the gym. Take a nap. Lounge by the pool. Sit in the lobby and talk to people, especially someone from ACFW that you don’t already know.

Don’t know anyone? Join the club. Seriously, look around and ask the Lord to highlight someone who’s feeling just as out of sorts as you. No matter how brave we look on the outside, many ACFWrs are terrified and anxious on the inside. Some have never met published authors before, or editors, agents or other industry professionals.

Speaking of….it’s easy for us to get stars in our eyes. But remember, they’re people too. They need naps. Rest. Downtime. Respect that if you approach an agent or editor and they seem scattered or tired or rushed. Like you, they’re human. BUT, they came there for you. They’re looking for new talent. So don’t be afraid to talk to them if you see one. They don’t have sharper teeth than the rest of us. Honest, even if you don’t have a book to pitch, ask them about their hobbies or what kind of books they love to read during their downtime. You might find things you have in common. And the pressure will be off of both of you the moment they realize you’re not trying to pitch. More often than not, the conversation will veer toward your writing, but let them take that lead. No matter what their level of interest in your work, thank them for their input.

Bring business cards and a One Sheet. But….never, I repeat, never put your room key in the same neck pouch slot as your business cards. I accidentally (PROMISE!) handed a MALE AND VERY MARRIED industry professional my room key at the end of a pitch session rather than my business card and didn’t figure it out until much later. He’d figured it was a mistake and turned in my key to the desk, thank goodness. I didn’t want to come out of my room for DAYS after that. But, it’s something to laugh about now.

Speaking of coming out of rooms…every year I hear of conference goers who are so terrified to be in a crowd or so nervous, they cancel their appointments and stay in their rooms and don’t come out the entire conference. I’ve heard of people throwing up in the bathroom before their pitches. If this is you, you’re not alone. But don’t waste your money or the opportunities by letting fear get the best of you. Head to the prayer room or pull someone aside and ask them to pray for you. I am always willing to pray for anyone at the conference and in fact that is the main way I volunteer.

Speaking of volonteering…DO IT! Anyone can volunteer, even first timers. It is a great way to meet people and form friendships. Fine someplace to help. Or be on the lookout for someone who looks on the fringes or lonely. Pull them into your group if you are “known” at ACFW. Be sensitive to others and especially to first timers.

Leave God room to work. Don’t fill your schedule up too much. Go trusting that God has His agenda for you and be obedient and receptive to that. His agenda is much better than ours. Ask and trust Him to set up divine appointments for you.

Go expecting to come back spiritually refreshed. If you’ve never been to an ACFW conference, boy are you in for a treat. God has great things in store for you. He knows the sacrifices of time and money and time away from your families that many of you are making to be able to go. But He will honor that.

Lastly, I’d like to offer some of the best conference advice I’ve ever received:

<strong>Go praying like breathing.

Go with a heart to serve others.</strong>

And I’d add to that:

<strong>Give God’s agenda more attention than your own.</strong>

<em>Okay now, so let me turn the tables, what is the best conference advice you’ve heard?

Come on folks…talk away!</em>

Cheryl Wyatt