Live from PNWA

What a great conference! I am currently waiting for a new session to start. The title of it is, "How to set up an Author Blog Tour." It happens to be on my list of things to do/learn. I will let you know what I learn! Karen

PNWA Conference - Here I come

I am heading to Bellevue, Washington to the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association conference today. It is about a six hour trip.

This is the third time I've been to this conference. At the 2010 conference I met my now-editor, Peter, from Sourcebooks, Inc. So, I have a good feeling about the conference. This year, however, in looking at all of the course offerings, I realize that I have had a crash course in most of what is being taught. Getting a book published will do that. Still, one can always learn, right? And I will meet lots and lots of writers/authors. Connect, connect, connect...that's the name of the game.

So -- I'm on my way to Bellevue (near Seattle). I hope to blog about it, internet willing. ~Karen

Elevator Speech

photo: I don't have a photo of an elevator - stairs will have to do.

I was reading a blog post here This Itch of Writing by Emma Darwin. Great information on her page and always makes your brain hurt. That can be a good thing, OK? Anyway- it got me to thinking - dangerous, I know.

Can you summarize your book in one sentence? I had to learn this the hard way. I was getting ready for the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association Conference. My goal was to pitch my book to anybody who would listen, including but not limited to, agents and editors. That meant I needed to figure out just what my pitch would be. I started with a summary of my book.

I pretended that I had a half hour to talk to someone and wrote what I'd say if they asked the coveted question, "What's your book about?" My summary was five pages. Yikes! Said agent would have walked off the elevator and had breakfast at the hotel coffee shop by the time I'd finished. So, back to the drawing board. I edited until my eyeballs bled - getting it down to 2 pages. Still too long.

I was trying to hit on all the major points in the book. That's not what an elevator speech is supposed to do. So, I pretended that I was not only on an elevator, but that the agent had already hit the button for the next floor. What would I say then?

Cut...cut...cut...

You know those movie posters in the theater or the ads for the movie on television? Quick and to the point. Intriguing. Right? I set out to do that with my pitch. I came up with something like;

"Breaking the Code, is a memoir about a daughter's quest to figure out why her father, a WWII veteran, suddenly started having flashbacks and nightmares more than 50-years after the war."

I'd like to say that I came up with that before the conference, but truth is, it was during the conference that I perfected it. It turns out that writers like to ask other writers, "So what's your book about?" Random strangers (if writers can be such a thing) gave me advice. And my pitch got shorter and shorter. It got more concise and more intriguing. I pitched it over and over and over before ever getting to an agent or editor. So, is is my advice; DO do this at home!

Pitch your book to your neighbor, your friend, and as many strangers as you can find. Tell your coffee girl about it, your mailman (you might have to walk fast), your dad's mom's friend's bosses cousin. Believe me, you will learn when eyes glaze over. You will also learn when tears come and when people laugh. All of these reactions will benefit your pitch. Go home and start writing.

What's your pitch? I wanna hear it. Really!

PNWA conference

The conference was fabulous! I got so much more out of it this year. I did get the coveted requests for proposal/pages from a few agents/editors, which is amazing. Very excited about that. But I also made a decision and with it a goal.

Decision: While it would be great to have the book published in the traditional way, with a big New York agent/editor getting behind it, that is not the only way. There are also smaller, independent publishing companies and there are many options now for self-publishing. So, I have decided that self-publishing is a real possibility for me.

Goal: By this time next year, I will be launching my book, one way or the other.

Reality: It's a lot of work, in a lot of areas that I am not accomplished in. But hey, live and learn, right. It keeps us young!

Realizing that I don't have to rely on the planets to align perfectly for my book to be published has given me a new excitement for the project.

Don't forget to, WRITE NOW - BECAUSE IT'S LATER THAN YOU THINK!

Pacific Northwest Writer's Association conference

I am so excited about the PNWA conference this year. I went a few years ago and it was good, but honestly, I didn't really know what I was doing. I made the best of it, but this time I actually have a plan.

My priority is my narrative nonfiction book, Breaking the Code - a Daughter's Journey into her Father's Secret War. Wish me good fortune! ~Karen