The Chicago Writing Workshop

On Saturday, June 24, 2017 I attended the Chicago Writing Workshop. It was a whirlwind day of sessions and agent pitches. It was also my first big writing conference. I’ve attended learning seminars and networking hours and BookCon and all sorts of writing-related events, but never a straight up conference. I am very glad that I went. 

I’ve split up this review into four sections: Quick Observations, The Sessions, The Pitches, and Gratitude.

QUICK OBSERVATIONS

• I thought it was very well organized. My name tag was ready when I got there. They provided an agenda and it was clear what rooms to go to, and the rooms were all very close together. Everything started on time. I appreciated all of these things
• I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of people in attendance. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was great to see so many different people, especially so many different ages!
• I was also really soaking in how varied people were in their writing journey. Some were just starting to think about writing. Others had several books published already
• The wide range of types of writing will always be marvelous to me. Just listening to what people are writing about was fun in and of itself

THE SESSIONS
There were three sessions for each time slot. I thought there was a good variety of options to choose from. My day was broken up with four pitches, so there wasn’t a session I could attend in full. BUT, I did get to sit in on large chunks of them, and here’s what I observed / my general thoughts on the sessions. 

Session 1: A Bird’s Eye View of Publishing Books in the Year 2017

• I thought it was really fun to see Brian Klems speak. His face is all over the Writer’s Digest website so to see him in person was really fun
• I was expecting a little bit more about trends within the publishing industry (maybe that came when I wasn’t in the room) but was happy to hear his thoughts about agents v. editors and the process of getting published
• I also thought his breakdown of how an advance works was good information. I knew it already, but it was great to have someone verbally lay it out
• Overall, the session made me feel good because I knew a lot of what he was talking about. I’d done my research. I like feeling prepared
• It’s both heartening and disheartening to know that so many people get published, but also that it’s really hard and rare for it to happen. It’s an odd paradox that I’m still wrapping my brain around

Session 2: Everything You Need to Know about Literary Agents and Query Letters

• Chuck Sambuchino was leading this session, so it was great to hear from the person that had just reviewed my own query
• He had a very straight forward style that I liked. No nonsense. You could tell he’s been doing this for years and knows his stuff
• I really marveled at how easily he could turn a bad pitch into a good one. I’m sure he has these examples in his back pocket, but to hear them out loud was really helpful
• He gave some good tips on verbal pitches (which frankly I could have used earlier that day… more on that later) and said that you basically need to do a verbal version of your query. 
• He didn’t mention loglines at all, which makes me wonder when they are needed and when they aren’t

Session 3: “Writers Got Talent” - a Page 1 Critique Fest

• This was my favorite session of the day, and the most brutal. A panel of agents critiqued the first page of book manuscripts. For the brave souls that submitted their work, I commend you
• All of the feedback was spot on and all the agents came across as consummate experts. They looked for not only what was happening in the story, but where, how it was described, who it was happening to, etc.
• There didn’t seem to be a single page that they liked - I don’t think any of them would have passed onto the next stage
• However, they would occasionally call out a good passage, character trait or turn of phrase
• Some of the work I could discern wasn’t good, but some of it I was listening to and was like, okay, sure. And then the panel would point out the myriad of things that caught their eye and I would be like “oh yeah”
• This prompted me to go home and make some tweaks to my first page - tweaks that definitely make the first page better. Mission accomplished!

Session 4: Voice and Style in Your Fiction: 15 Tips on How to Write Like the Pros

• I only got to witness a small bit of this, but Brian Klems was back going through a list of things to keep in mind when writing. He wasn’t stuck to a podium anymore, so he seemed much more natural. Funny. His tips were basics about writing
• This session was the one that actually made me feel the most prepared. I didn’t feel like a novice as he was listing all the things to keep in mind. That felt great

THE PITCHES
Holy crap this was a nerve wracking experience!! I’m not going to get into too much detail, but here’s what I will share. 

• This was such an emotional roller coaster. The physical changes that happened to my body, nerves, adrenaline, etc. were really hard to keep in check. I had to pretend like this wasn’t a big deal. I had to pretend like there was nothing riding on how this went. VERY different than sending out email queries into the ether. 
• This was also well organized. They kept to the 10 minutes. While you waited, they had someone at the door to point out where to find the agent you were looking for. The same person did a two minute warning at the end of each pitch session and really kept things moving. Zero complaints about how this was set up or handled. 
• My first pitch wasn’t good. At all. I started off with why I wrote the book. She stopped me right away. Told me she didn’t care. She wanted to know what the book was about. 
• I took this approach because I read several websites that said this was the way to go. Obviously that was incorrect - and the idea that you are supposed to just verbally state your query was reiterated by Mr. Sambuchino
• During my debacled first pitch though, the agent was pretty stand up. She did her best to guide me with questions about my story and then she basically read it back to me in a format that sounded more like a pitch. Then she coached me on how to pitch. How awesome is that? She could have just said no and sent me on my way, but she gave me actual usable advice. I will be forever grateful
• I had a brief period of time between my first pitch and my second to get over my embarrassment, regroup, and try again. Thankfully, the advice worked. I went in with confidence and explained the where, who, why of the book. The ten minutes went by quickly, but I had enough time to bring out a visual aid for the symbols in my book. That went over well. She had a really positive response.  
• And then she asked for twenty pages
• Then the third agent said she definitely wanted to know more and (editor actually) asked for five chapters
• Then the fourth agent asked for fifty pages
• That’s three out of four! Woot! Woot! 
• The fourth agent also gave me some great advice that has been itching around in the back of my head but that I haven’t had the guts to do yet - to ditch my book’s prologue. She said it wasn’t needed and would take away from just starting the book. She said I could always use it later as a ‘deleted scene’ for readers. 
• I have since bit the bullet and removed the prologue from my work. She was right. It’s better this way. 
• She also told me I need to make sure readers know there are stakes to the game my book is about, as well as to the character. Loved that advice

So, yes, three out of four agents asked for pages. And I learned a lot from each. I soaked in everything they said, every question they asked, every clarification they requested, and realized that I need to make sure I know what the most important parts of my story are. The more high-concept the book is, the harder that is to nail down, but I’m getting better and better at it. 

I kept imagining that they must ask pages from everyone, but that’s probably not true. It’s just me trying to wrap my head around the idea that I actually got to follow-up with them. The validation of even a small amount of interest from professionals was to-the-moon-and-back cool. 

GRATITUDE
What made the day even better was that I wasn’t alone. Three additional things to be thankful for. 

First: I got to meet one of my #WritersQuick5 writers in person! Bibi Belford was there and we got to hug and chat. I loved getting to actually talk to her. So special. And, she was a rock star, bouncing back and forth between this event and the ALA event close by. 

Second: One of my dearest friends, Margaret, came to lend me moral support. She met me for lunch and then hung out the rest of the afternoon and we even rode the El back north together. To have her there, to hug, to process things with, to lean on for support, to enjoy the afternoon, to take a walk when I needed some fresh air, to pump me up, to just have a friendly face. I am so blessed and will be forever grateful. 

Third: I had a cadre of people that were texting me for updates throughout the day, including my husband and my daughter, my sister and sister-in-law, and several of my girlfriends. I felt wrapped in good will and so grateful that I could share my experience in real time. 

SUMMARY
I left the day excited and exhausted. I seriously crashed when I got home. But it was worth it. I had my first experiences of the verbal pitch. I got to be around other writers and I got to learn from some of the experts in the industry. And my query and my book are better for it. 

I spent all Sunday sending out my pages (no word yet). Whatever happens next, I’m glad I went and that I’m making progress.

If you are an author, new or otherwise, I highly recommend attending a Writing Workshop event.