The Gotham Writers Conference 2019: I went, I pitched, I learned
Let me set the scene for you. When I began planning my potential attendance at the conference (there was an application process to attend the agent pitching roundtables on Day 2, but more on that later) I thought about things like business cards, power outfits and crafting some key talking points on my manuscript (MS). I'm in marketing after all, and I didn't want to only hear great panels with writers and agents and get a few convos in with real-live, flesh and blood agents. I wanted to stun and impress. Because writing professionally is something I want to do for the rest of my life.Rewinding back to the application process, I was nervous and excited and the thought of sending in my query and bio and first chapters felt like pitching a million agents at once while naked (and they could somehow see me). It made me feel ready to vomit all of my many mixed feelings at any moment so I could attempt to separate them all. A beautiful description, I know. You're welcome.The submissions guidelines clearly stated that to even apply to Day 2, authors had to have a finished MS and submit a query letter along with the first ten pages. I had that. I'd been working on my query since the moment I finished my first draft. So I did it. I applied. And the very next day, I received my acceptance email. Which was jarring. And made me cry tears of joy and screenshot and text everyone who I had told about this mini (yet massive for me) step in the road to getting published.It was the first time that I'd gotten past a barrier like this one. And it felt good to have my writing validated, along with my understanding of the business side of publishing. I was ready to take this conference by storm and dazzle with my witty wordplay and thoughtful questions.Why did I feel so ready? Well, I was doing yet another (re: seventh) revision of my full MS, my business cards were ordered (and adorable, I might add) and I had a killer pair of dark green high-waisted pants to show off that combined contemporary and chic style with power-business-woman vibes that made all five feet of me stand out (as much as a person who is five feet tall can).When Friday, October 25 rolled around I arrived early (of course) to The Ace Hotel, the beautiful venue the Gotham crew selected for this intimate and insightful gathering. Registration was seamless, coffee and tea were flowing, the room was an inspiring homage to vintage stereos.
A quick moment here to shout out Josh Sippie, the Gotham Writer's Workshop Director of Conference and Contests. He's not only friendly, down to earth and professional, he's a damn angel. This conference was so GOOD. The agenda was curated to perfection, balancing a Day 1 agenda including one-on-one interviews with writers, agent panels and interactive sessions that engaged the audience. Plus, the pitching roundtables were the brainchild of direct input from agents who shared their ideal setting for a pitching moment during a writer's conference.Additionally, I want to mention I even participated in one interactive session all about embracing rejections (given by Kim Liao based on her awesome and wildly popular article "Why You Should Aim For 100 Rejections A Year") and I shared a goal with everyone in attendance to pitch five agents by November 1. I participated in #DVpit yesterday so I'll count that since I got nearly TWENTY agents interested in my MS!Day 1 was fabulous for me. I quickly befriended another agented writer and fellow Arab American, Moe Shalabi who introduced me to DVpit, god I'm so lucky all my writing friends both old and new are the best and most supportive. The entire day was the accumulation of over a decade in public relations and marketing, and unleashing my innate ability to network and connect to people on a personal level.Another highlight of the day: meeting and talking with Weike Wang, author of CHEMISTRY. Have you read it? You haven't? It's freaking amazing, you should read it. She was so humble and friendly, I could see the genius literary thoughts whirring around in her brain. Also, she signed my copy of her debut novel "with admiration" I mean hello!? You're the one that deserves admiration. Blessings to you and I cannot wait to read your next book.
So what you're really here for is to know all about the pitching roundtables. Right? You want to know what it was like, what the agents said, the feeling in the room, and you want me to describe the buzz of anticipation, sweat and a dire need for validation that what we write is good enough.Here's a glimpse.The pitching roundtable setup is brilliant. A binder filled with the queries and first five MS pages of eight writers. And let me tell you something. My query and pages were critiqued heavily. I was by no means the best writer in the room, at my table, not even. I wasn't even in the top half. There were some incredibly, and by some I mean a shit ton, of talented writers that I can now call my peers.So here's how it went down:
- The first half of the day, each writer would read aloud their query and the two agents (representative of the genres we were writing in, that's how they organized the tables) spent fifteen minutes dissecting the content therein. They provided feedback. They offered suggestions to move things around. They were open about what worked for them (and what didn't). They even shared when they loved a specific line (I see you! I'm keeping that line in, don't you worry!). It was incredibly helpful. Then they'd open up the floor to any other of the seven writers who had anything to add and the feedback we learned from each other and questions we asked were so helpful. Then the author could ask questions.
- The second half of the day, we repeated this same process except the author read their first two pages from their MS. Let me tell you, I'm really proud of my (as yet unpublished and unagented) book but the first chapters are the ones authors and editors and agents agonize over foreverrrrrrr. You have to hook 'em. And then keep 'em hooked. I know I've got some gorgeous prose and some really strong characters and a kindred spirit/love interest that would make anyone fall in love with him on the page. But CAN WE TALK ABOUT my first two pages. And my first chapter. The feedback I got from the agents and the other writers made me realize the reality of the situation. I needed to throw my reader directly into the action. And in that iteration, my book wasn't doing that.
- Note: Since the conference I've written a brand new chapter one and have been giving the entire MS a polish and a proof before I pitch wider and send out my MS to all the agents that requested during DVpit.
The best part wasn't just the one-on-one time (albeit small group workshop time) with two stellar agents that represent my genre. It was the camaraderie of writers and the belief that we all have the powers and prowess to pursue our publishing dreams. It will take a lot of hard work, and a lot of candid conversations. And that's my biggest takeaway from the conference:Applying constructive feedback is one of the most important parts of publishing. Here are some stats from the conference I want to share:
- I connected with 13 new writers
- I pitched to and/or had extensive conversations with 5 literary agents
- I met and networked with 3 very cool published writers
- I received multiple pieces of laser-sharp (and spot on) feedback on my query and first two pages that I'm applying currently
- I gained a world of knowledge, and
- I had a whole lot of fun!
How do I feel post-conference? Grateful seems trite, but whatever, I'm going to use grateful. I'm beyond grateful and honored that I had the opportunity to attend Day 1 of the Gotham Writer's Conference and that my application was accepted to pitch on Day 2. This was the perfect foray into the publishing world and I can't wait to see Gotham put on future conferences with a similar format.Did you attend the first-ever Gotham Writer's Conference last weekend? Are you a writer just finishing up your manuscript and not sure where to start when it comes to pitching and networking? Leave a question or a comment below and let's get this dialogue party started!