Willamette Writers Conference, 2011

I got good news and bad news at this year’s conference.

The good news was that Miriam Kriss, an agent with Irene Goodman Literary Agency, asked to see a synopsis and the first ten pages of Forging the Blade. She was the only agent I pitched to because I’d already pitched to all the other agents there that were looking for YA fantasy.

The bad news also came from Miriam Kriss. After carefully listening to my pitch she said:
 You’re book isn’t really young adult fantasy because you’re main character doesn’t have the same concerns and problems that young adults have and she spends most of her time with adults.

 Your book is high fantasy, which doesn’t sell as well as urban fantasy.

 Your second book should never be a sequel to your first book (mine is), because if you don’t sell your first book, or if it sells poorly, you’ll never be able to sell your second book.

Ah well, maybe she’ll like the first ten pages and decide to sell Forging the Blade anyway.

I only went on Sunday, but the three workshops I attended were interesting.
 In a workshop on Fantastic Fiction I learned that in the early to mid 1800’s when Mary Shelly’s monster was created and The House of Usher fell, and Captain Nemo cruised the seas in the Nautilus, they were all characters in literary fiction. It wasn’t until about 100 years ago that literary fiction redefined itself as real-life “serious” fiction and banished fantasy, horror, adventure, and science fiction their own separate genres in the realm of commercial fiction. They are slowly becoming serious literature once more.
 The take-home lesson from Christine Fletcher’s workshop on plotting YA stories was: “Voice is character is plot. This is the very essence to the young adult novel.”
–Stephen Roxburg, children’s book publisher
 Jane Friedman’s workshop on “How to Get Readers and Keep them” reminded me of the marketing concept of cheese cubes. Internet advertising isn’t about advertising. It’s about getting involved in chats and offering help, and offering cheese cubes of interesting, useful information. It’s about developing an online presence, which allows you to reach people that are interested in your work. The unspoken but vital given is that your cheese cube has to be tasty.

I returned home to my computer with lots to think about.