Hope Clark Talks Conferences

Hope Clark is always welcome at Lyrical Pens. She brings her extensive experience in the writing world to the page, and today shares with us advice on how to approach a writing conference to get the most bang for our buck (and as we all know, bucks can be short for writers) a subject near and dear to our hearts. 

Be sure and check out Hope's new mystery series set on Edisto Island, a place near and dear to my heart. I used to own a condo there and wish I still did. Beautiful beaches, beautiful scenery, and beautiful people. The first book has just been released.

 You Signed Up For A Conference - Now What?

You paid your conference fee and reserved your motel room. You're finally going to a writers conference, but once you think about it, you aren't sure what to do once you arrive.

First, make sure this is a conference that suits your needs. If you are unpublished and seeking agents or publishers, then don't stick to a conference that focuses on craft, and vice versa. Make sure the majority of the classes fit your goals.

Second, while you're researching, dig deeper and research the teachers, agents, and so on. If you see teachers that really haven't published much, yet they’re talking about publishing, think twice. Anybody can teach. You want teachers who have experience, as well. And make sure what they are teaching is what you want to learn.

Third, participate in at least one critique or pitch session. Unless you are green as a gourd and just dipping your toe in the water, you have a piece you've been working on. Toss it into the fray and see what feedback you get. They might rip it up, but that's okay. You show you've got guts and you walk away much more educated.

Fourth, plan your agenda. Don't wait until you get there to decide what you want to attend. They publish that schedule ahead of time for a reason. Map out your days and evenings to include the questions you want to ask and the goals you hope to achieve. Get the most of your sessions.

Fifth, meet at least one new person per session. Speak to those at your table or seated around you. There's a wealth of networking opportunity available to you at a conference, and that networking might be the biggest plus you come home with. I once sat next to a self-published young woman who saw my nametag and FundsforWriters and whispered she knew nothing about money. She’d made $30K the previous year and $300K in the present, and it was scaring her.

Sixth, plan your clothes. Sounds like a woman thing, right? Wrong. You'll be sitting for long periods of time. You might have to trek up and down stairs or from one end of the motel to the other to make classes. Look sharp but make it comfy. Throw in a scarf, the boots, or those special pieces of jewelry. Give the person you meet something to remember you by.

Seventh, plan your one-liners. If you've read The Shy Writer Reborn, (http://chopeclark.com/shy-writer-reborn/) you know that I'm keen on one-liners. Plan for those expected questions someone will ask like: what do you write, what's your current story about, why are you at the conference, what have you published, etc. Come prepared with succinct answers. You'll sound smart, trust me.

Eighth, pack your writing stuff to include:

=> two copies of your WIP (just in case)

=> business cards (don't say WRITER/AUTHOR on it and avoid Vistaprint templates)

=> notebook - You'll not only take notes, but you'll dabble on your WIP as these productive ideas come to you in class. I've rewritten chapters in class as the teacher led me to a new concept.

=> name tag - They'll give you one, but consider having a permanent, professional one made. I have two: one with a magnet and one with a pin, so that they can go on anything I wear. People remember tags, and if yours is unique, they'll remember you more.

=> one-sheets - See this article on one-sheets. These are marvelous if you are pitching and speak volumes about your creativity and professionalism. http://www.fundsforwriters.com/something-to-remember-you-by/

Ninth, before the last day, take a moment to go over your notes and goals and determine what you're lacking, then approach the teacher, writer or agent while you can. Walk up and ask the question. That's why they are there, and what you paid for.

Tenth, You can do this! And you can do it better if you go prepared.

 Been to a conference lately? We'd love to hear about it. Mahala

BIO: C. Hope Clark’s is the award-winning Carolina Slade Mystery Series, and editor of www.chopeclark.com / www.fundsforwriters.com   FundsforWriters.com, chosen by Writer’s Digest for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for 14 years. When she’s not walking the sand of Edisto Beach, she’s dipping her toe in the waters of Lake Murray, SC.

The Edisto Island Mystery Series

Murder on Edisto debuts this series in September 2014. Set on historic, scenic, intriguing Edisto Island, one of the South Carolina sea islands, the Edisto Island books feature former detective Callie Jean Morgan. Dragging a tragic past with her, she relocates to her parents’ vacation home on Edisto Beach only to find that murder and mayhem happens in paradise, too. She had no plans to return to law enforcement, but for some reason, Edisto thinks that’s what she was sent to the shore to do.

Carolyn Haines on Daddy's Girls Weekend

Today, we are excited to have Carolyn Haines, prolific author of over fifty published books to grace the pages of Lyrical Pens. Carolyn, Southern to the core, an animal lover and avid participant in rescuing animals, a professor at the University of South Alabama, an author well known to the New York Times best seller list, and the creative mind behind the wildly popular Bones series complete with houseghost, is a wonderful friend to writers. She won the coveted Harper Lee Award in 2010 and writes in multiple genres, including the popular Sarah Booth Delaney mystery (Bones) series and her sinister books written under the pseudonym, R. B. Chesterton.                            

March 4, 2014

If you haven’t sent in your registration for the hilariously serious Daddy’s Girls Weekend, do it now. You don’t want to miss this wonderful opportunity to meet and greet authors, agents, and readers!

Now let's turn out attention to what Carolyn Haines has to share.

Daddy’s Girls Weekend, our annual writers/readers conference, is just around the corner. I got off the phone a few minutes ago with Ben LeRoy, the editor and publisher at Tyrus Books, which is part of F&W Media. We were making plans for the conference (Ben is one of our loyal presenters), which will be held April 3-6 at the Battle House Hotel in Mobile.

Madcap weekend blend of fun and publishing information/business. And this year we have a wonderful slate of writers/industry professionals, some new and some who have supported the weekend for the past three years.

Readers and Writers Invited: When the idea for the conference was first born, I knew we would be walking a fine line—one that was helpful to writers, but one that also included readers. I think the speakers who have come to the weekend in the past did a fine job of straddling that fence. And this year will be no exception.

Exciting Speakers:  If you’re interested in learning more about the broad range of professionals who will attend, check it out at www.daddysgirlsweekend.com  We are also offering manuscript evaluations by professionals and sessions with energy worker/writer/artist DeWitt Lobrano. Holly McClure, a wonderful agent I’ve known for many years, will take pitches.

Day Rate for those who work on Friday and can’t attend the whole conference. Or for those who really just want to play, there’s a costume party at Grand Central Bar and Grill on Dauphin and a treasure hunt on Saturday in the downtown area.

Value:  People sometimes ask me “what is the value of a conference?” First of all, there is so much to learn about writing and publishing. I’ve been writing for a long time, and last year I went to the World Horror Association conference in New Orleans. I learned a ton of new things and met a bunch of great new writers. (I met Greg Herren there! Like me, Greg writes horror and mysteries. He also edits and does a lot of other wonderful stuff. He is one of our presenters and a Big Daddy candidate.)

Conferences offer a chance to meet industry professionals face to face. Personal contact is very important. If you have a chance to speak to an editor or agent, you have cracked open a door into the world of publishing. It’s often said about many other businesses that it isn’t what you know, but who you know. This also applies, to some degree, to this crazy world of stories and books. A face-to-face in any business is a powerful thing.

Making New Friends is another plus. I met some great people at WHA that I would never have met anywhere else. My writing community is far flung.  I know some terrific writers in Mobile and this region. But by going to conferences, I have met people who share my love of fiction and my passion for writing from all over the globe. This gives me community, and even solitary writers need that.

Living in the Deep South can be a drawback in some ways when participating in an industry that has been mostly focused in New York. Even if a writer went to New York hoping to meet industry professionals, it would be very hard to do. But these same professionals are at conferences with the goal of finding new writers. They are hunting for a great new story or voice, and conferences are the place to make it happen. 

Focus:  Conferences allow for writers to spend time with others who share their focus. I teach at the University of South Alabama. I’m encouraging my students to attend DG Weekend (or any other conferences they can get to) because exposure to different writers who are willing to share their knowledge and stories broadens that learning experience.

The best thing you can do for yourself today is register for Daddy's Girl Weekend (rates are sinfully low) and check out everything Carolyn at  www.carolynhaines.com.  One thing is for sure, if you attend the conference, you will meet Carolyn Haines and a world of other good writers, agents, readers, and maybe a ghost or two.  See you there.    Mahala
 

SCBWI

Conferences are great. The Southern Breeze regional arm (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi) of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators held their annual fall conference in Birmingham, AL, on October 15 . . . and I was there. The theme was "WIK '11" -- the WIK stands for Writing and Illustrating for Kids.

Breakout workshops were led by some highly credentialed facilitators. Subjects included Creating Dialogue that Lives, How to Write Narrative Nonfiction that Pops, Achieving Tension Without Stressing Out, and, one that was a special interest to most everyone, How to Get Yourself Out of the Slush Pile, led by Alexandra Cooper, a senior editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

There were contests to enter, prizes to win, and networking opportunities galore.

In my mind, however, one of the greatest things that comes out of a conference is getting invited to send in your work to an agent or publisher. The ticket in the door, past the gatekeeper and out of the slush pile is your attendance at the conference. Definitely worth the price of admission.

I, of course, am not ready yet to do that. (Sigh) I have the nugget of an idea for a young adult novel, and the conference was to be my introduction to the complexities of the genre. Maybe next time.

After the two-day event, I spent the next week driving . . . met my sisters in Louisville, Kentucky, for lunch (they had travelled down from Michigan for other reasons), spent a few days at two of the incredible Metroparks in Cleveland, Ohio, photographing wood ducks, sped past the exotic animals on the loose in Zanesville, Ohio, drove through a near-blinding rainstorm coming out of Cincinnati, and crawled back into my comfortable bed six days after I left home and more than 2,000 miles later. My body is still humming.

Okay, that's all for now. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same.

cj

Robins and Mardi Gras forecast spring

I feel as though I haven't blogged in for-ev-er. Just so you know, it hasn't just been the blog I ignored . . . I had a good friend E-mail me and wonder where I was. Been busy with family stuff is the only excuse I can give, hoping no one can argue with that.

For all you snow-bound readers, I'm happy to report that several squadrons of robins have made re-fueling stops on the grassy plains of Mobile Regional Airport. Can Spring be far behind? Probably yes, because I forecast that Groundhog Phil is likely to see his shadow tomorrow if not from the sun, than from all that bright, white snow on the ground in PA.

Mobile is also the source for another early arrival. Fat Tuesday for the year 2011 doesn't officially arrive until March 8, but the celebrations have started where I live. The Wednesday that marks the beginning of Lent may not be a great big deal in the North, but the heavy Spanish and French ancestral influences along the Gulf Coast make Mardi Gras an important holiday--one that warrants not just ashes on the forehead, but days off work and school. Mobile, New Orleans, and Biloxi, Mississippi, all claim to be "THE" first city in the New World to celebrate Mardi Gras. New Orleans probably has the most well-known and maybe the largest, but as to who was first, history and Wikipedia are a little vague on that. Like Christmas, this religious observance has been transformed into an extended major secular event for these cities--the parades start early and, like the Energizer bunny, keep on going and going and going. Knights, Krewes, Kings, Maids, Mullets, Mystics, and Orders try to outdo each other in revelry and moonpie tossing. The Mobile area has already had one parade, and the next one is Feb. 5--the Krewe De La Dauphine Parade on Dauphin Island.

In lieu of hoping to catch one of those extravagant beaded necklaces or a sweetly delicious moonpie on Feb 5, I'll be at a writers' retreat in Northport, Alabama, just north of Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama. (Disclaimer: Disregarding the intense rivalry that exists between the two institutions, especially in football, and at the risk of getting mauled when I next meet up with my son's in-laws, I don't favor either Alabama or Auburn. I'm a baseball fan, specifically for whatever team needs my support at the time.) The Breeze Hill Retreat is short and small--one day, twelve writers--but intense. (Harumph, sounds like me.) I'm hoping to come away with a better idea of how to write for "young adults" since that is my next/ongoing work in process. I'm also hoping the enthusiasm of my fellow retreaters will rub off on me. It's the first of two Gulf Coast writerly events I've scheduled to attend this year. I also have eleven new books to read, "she says optimistically."

A thunderstorm is coming in, so I think I'd better unplug this lightning rod for now. You keep on keeping on and I'll try to do the same.

cj

The Jeff Johnston picture is a trophy necklace from the Knights of Revelry. Their 2011 parade takes place on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), March 8.

Late update, Feb 2: According to his "handlers," the Pennsylvania prognosticator Phurry Phil predicted an early spring. My foot! He should have turned around; the sun was shining in his face.