Another departure on our Follow Friday blog this week, because we have some very exciting news!  In case you just joined us, I will recap.  A few weeks ago, we offered to critique fifteen pages from the manuscripts of five select followers.  Four winners will be critiqued by one of us each.  One winner will be critiqued by all four of us.

But first I'd like to say that we appreciate all of our followers, readers and visitors.  You are all enthusiastic about writing.  Passionate about your work.  Kind and generous with your time and comments.  And we think all of you are winners (I know, it sounds trite, but it's really how we feel.)

However, the random number generator could only choose five winners, and without further ado, here they are:

Beth Hull who tweets @tbethhull
Yahong Chi who tweets @YahongChi
Taffy Lovell   who tweets @taffylovell
PK Hrezo who tweets @PKHrezo

and our grand prize winner is:  (hear that drum?)

PB Rippey!

Winners, please e-mail the first fifteen pages of your manuscript to yamuses@aol.com.  We will critique the pages using comments and/or Track Changes and send them back to the e-mail address you provide. Please allow a week or so for us to do your pages justice.  And PB, yours may take a little longer as we pass it around.

Thank you so much for sharing!

Conferences--both before and afterward--bring out my imagination muscles. I am so good at imagining the worst:

So many people! And they all look like they are much better writers than I am. That keynote? Never in one million years could I pull anything off like that. And did you see those people, just blatantly hanging out with MT Anderson like he's human? Like he's one of us? He is not one of us! He is MT Anderson! You're not supposed to just... talk to him. Seriously. Some people and their equality agendas...

My point is that, for an introvert who spends 50% of her time in pajamas, a conference can really hype me out. And it shouldn't. So many of us carry around the same insecurities when we emerge from our writing caves and blink, wide-eyed at the world.

Am I good enough? How do I fit into this crowd? How do I compare?

Well, I'm here to tell you: You are good enough, but you can be better. I heard recently that in yoga, everyone is a beginner until they are a master. I think writing is that way. We are all perpetual beginners. We are all striving, with every paragraph, scene, chapter, novel. So don't rest on your laurels. Work hard. Dig in and learn until you become a master.

How do you fit into the crowd? Well, you just do. Don't bother comparing yourself to others. We're too different as writers, thank goodness. If you want to compare, compare yourself now with yourself a year ago.

The commandments - Here is something (very revealing/embarrassing) that I do before conferences (I can't believe I'm telling you this). I write a list of reminders to myself. I look at this list a few days before, during, and after the conference. It helps to keep me level-headed about my expectations.

From a conference a year ago:

1. You are there to learn.
2. You love to write. (! You really do!)
3. You love your story and your characters. (And they love you!)
4. You are writing the story you want to read, and that alone makes it worthwhile.
5. When you receive feedback, most of the time you see the value after the burn.
6. You are not there to get an offer of representation so don’t pout if it doesn’t happen.
7. Keep working. Always keep working.
8. Don’t freak out if (agent) hates your writing.
9. Don’t be the obnoxious person who talks too much during sessions.
10. Don’t try to show off because you will not be the best or most creative writer there.
11. But also remember that you don't suck.
12. You are there to improve so keep your eye on that ball and the rest will follow as it should.
13. Sing your silent song. Keep singing. Sing sing sing!

So, yeah.... That's a taste of the inner monologue that's always running through my mind during a conference. You've seen a bit of all of this in the other Muses posts this week. Conferences offer terrific opportunities to learn, socialize, and recharge. Also, you might have the extraordinary opportunity to actually say hello to MT Anderson, who I am almost completely certain is human and nice. Say hello to MT Anderson. I am putting it right at the top of my next list.

What are some of your tips for being mentally prepared when you head into a conference?

Conferences are exciting and let’s face it, a little nerve-wracking.  For people who spend most of their time alone with a keyboard and imaginary worlds, the prospect of interacting with a lot of strangers in the real world can be daunting.  Throw in the fact that you may also get to meet authors you admire, editors who publish actual books, and agents you’d love to have represent you, and it can all seem overwhelming.  It doesn't have to be.  Here are some tips to keep your conference expectations in check.

1.    1.  Expect to be Bored

Yes, after enduring a sleepless night in a strange hotel room with nerves that rival those you had on the first day of school, you will be tired and yes, occasionally bored.  Not every speaker will address topics that apply to you or your work.  Not every speaker will be as entertaining as Bruce Colville or as funny as Rachel Vale.  It’s okay.  No conference can be everything to everyone the entire time.  Don’t feel bad.  For every session you’re bored with, there are ten other people who are getting just what they came for.  Conserve your energy for the sessions you really need.  Take a breather.  You don’t have to see it all.

2.        2.  Expect to be Inspired

It’s impossible to sit in a room with a lot of people who love and hate writing as much as you do without rediscovering the parts you love and drawing inspiration from those who have found success.  I love hearing about how Author X couldn’t get an agent for ten years before finally finding success, or how Editor Y found a best seller in the slush pile.  I love learning how books went from the author’s head to a manuscript I know and love.  I love getting a writing tip that I can’t wait to try on my own manuscript.   I’ve never been to a conference that didn’t remind me why I devote so much of my personal time to writing.

3.       3.  Expect to be Embarrassed

It won’t happen to everyone, but I figure that as long as I know going in that at some point I’m going to embarrass myself by saying the wrong thing, or do something equally stupid, it can take the pressure off when it actually happens.  And, um, yes, this has happened to me.  There was the time I approached an agent at my very first conference and immediately pitched my book.  No “hi, nice to meet you, thanks for the information,” just “I heard you were looking for YA books, and I have a YA book.”  Except I didn’t have an elevator pitch, so I basically rambled and may have accidently compared myself to Sarah Dessen when I meant to say that I am inspired by her.  And I may also have seen myself a few weeks later in said agent’s blog post about how authors should not proclaim themselves as the next Sarah Dessen.  Yeah.  That was me.  But you know what?  This agent was kind enough to ask for pages and we both got over it.  We all make newbie mistakes.  We all make middlebie mistakes.  I bet even the pros say things they regret later.  You know what?  It’s okay.  Be nice.  Apologize if you need to, and move on.  I guarantee that whatever you think you’ve done, they’ve seen worse.

4.      4.  Don’t Expect to be Discovered

You won’t sell your manuscript off a two minute pitch.  You won’t get an agent with your sparkling personality.  Your ten page sample is not going to make everyone in the room stop what they’re doing and demand the rest of the manuscript.  Don’t be discouraged.  Your pitch may be good enough to get a request for some pages, or even the whole manuscript.  Your sparkling personality may lead to a friendship that lasts a lifetime.  Your pages may catch someone’s interest and get them to request more.  But no one is going to read your entire manuscript right then and there.  If you get a request, it will be sent electronically after the conference.  And it’s your entire manuscript, not your pitch or even your first ten pages that must be sparkling.  And you might not get a request.  You might get some valuable feedback on your concept or pages.  You might out that your work isn’t a good fit for a particular agent or editor.  That’s okay.  You’ll get there in time.  A conference will help you on your path to publication, but it is rarely the end of it.

5.       5.  Don’t Expect to Be the Star of the Show

Unless you are giving the presentation or leading the critique session, don’t expect to be the star of the show.  We’ve all been in conference sessions where one attendee dominates the session with questions that have little relevance to the topic, comments that are a rehash of what the speaker just said, or personal pitches for their own work.  For the most part, you are there to listen.  Let the speakers talk.  Do ask thoughtful questions that are on topic and are general enough to apply to the room.  Just don’t use the opportunity to ask questions as a platform for your personal agenda or projects.  There’s time after the session for that.  (See No. 3!)

6.       6.  Expect to Make Friends

You will be surrounded by people who share a common interest.  You all love books and writing.   You already have an opener- “What do you write?” Ask people about their work.  Find out how long they’ve been writing and what they’re working on now.  Even the shyest of us can be coaxed to talk about our project.  Even the most supportive family and friends won’t understand what you’re going through the way fellow writers will.  We know how hard it is to get that first draft on paper, how much that first request for pages means, how disappointing it is to put a book in the drawer.  Exchange emails and Twitter info. In a profession that’s so solitary, we’re all in this together.  That’s why writing conferences are so cool. 

So, you’ve prepared your pages, written your synopsis, got your elevator pitch pitch perfect.  You know who is speaking and who would be your dream elevator companion.  What do you do when you get there?  I’ve prepared a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek list of dos and don’ts for the conference-goer.  The list is based on my own experiences and not intended to be taken (completely) seriously.

DO Be professional.   Your clothes don't need to make a statement.  Wear clothes in which you’re comfortable, though not necessarily your writing clothes (mine consist of fleece sweats and a 10-year-old Humboldt State hoodie which I won’t even wear to the grocery store). Introduce yourself politely.  Applaud the keynote speakers.  Ask pertinent questions.

DON’T Wear miniskirts that show your knickers when you bend over.  Take over the conversation.  Walk out noisily while someone is speaking.  Ask “What is your e-mail address again?” after the agent has given it three times.  DO ask your neighbor instead.

DO Be inclusive.  You may go alone, you may go with a group of good friends.  Remember, everyone you meet may be a potential reviewer/agent/friend.  Treat everyone accordingly.  It is OK to tell someone that you already have plans. It is not OK to pretend they’re not there.

DON’T Find a group at the bar, insert yourself between two people, not introduce yourself or even acknowledge the person sitting to your left and start up a loud and exclusive conversation with the person on your right, even if that person is more interesting/better looking/famous.  That’s just rude.  (Yes, this happened to me).  (No, I won’t name names, not even the more interesting/better looking/famous person.  That’s just snarky.)

DO Bring business cards and a clean copy of at least the first fifteen pages of your manuscript.  You never know who might ask for them.

DON’T follow an agent/editor/famous author to the restroom and slip said items under the stall door.  (You’ve all heard the stories of writers doing this, but did you hear the one about the agent who did at a Romance Writers of America conference?  It may be apocryphal…)

DO Eat well and regularly.

DON’T Wait four hours for your group to get ready together for dinner without at least a snack (and if you’re a vegetarian, don’t go out for tapas in New York unless you prefer a dinner of nothing but olives and miniature fried cheese balls). 

DO Meet new people.

DON’T  Avoid the social parts of the conference because you don’t know anyone (we’re all friendly, we love meeting new people, we don’t bite.  Usually.) 

DO Take care of yourself (even if it means missing a keynote speaker so you can make a deadline/have a bite to eat/sleep).  Find time to relax.  

DON'T Try to do everything.  (some things just need to be let go). 

DO Learn.

DON'T Forget your camera.

DO Have a good time.  

 

And DO say hello!  I hope to see some of you at a conference soon.  I’ll be the one not wearing the tatty green-and-gold hoodie.

This month is all about conferences, so I've prepared a checklist to help you get ready to maximize every moment of an upcoming writing conference. Many of our past posts will help, so I'm going to link to them here, all in one place. I'm using the August SCBWI national conference as my example, but you can certainly adapt to any venue.

______1. Prepare your Manuscript Pages. Many conference give the opportunity for personal manuscript reviews from agents, editors, and/or experienced authors. Although it may cost an additional fee, it's a wonderful opportunity to receive feedback and make important connections. Follow the submission guidelines carefully and make sure your pages are the best they can be. I'm always amazed at how many people met their first agent or editor through this experience. Submissions for the SCBWI conference are due June 8 (YIKES! That's right around the corner!):

1) For Picture Books and Poetry: Submit only the first TEN (10) pages of your manuscript,

2)For Middle Grade, Young Adult, Non-Fiction and Chapter books: Submit only the first TEN (10) pages, even if it cuts off mid-chapter, plus a ONE-page, double-spaced synopsis.

_____ 2. Prepare a Synopsis. This is on my "To Do" list for the week. I'm not crazy about this, but Talia's given some great advice about this in past postings.

_____ 3. Prepare your "elevator pitch." Although an individual manuscript consultation with an editor or agent will certainly require this, I'm always surprised at how often I'm asked at a conference, "What is your book about?" Presenting your project in an engaging, concise way will be useful to many different audiences throughout the whole conference. You might even actually use it in the elevator!

_____ 4. Read Keynote Authors' Books. Authors are amazing people, and hearing their personal stories is enriched by reading their books ahead of time. Sometimes there is a wonderful confirmation of already "knowing" someone by reading what they've written before meeting them in person. Other times, I'm completely surprised by the "in-person" author. Either way, it adds depth to every presentation I hear. This year I'm challenging myself to read at least one book from every keynote author--all genres. The keynote authors for this year's SCBWI conference are: Laurie Halse Anderson, Libba Bray, Bruce Coville, John Green, Norton Juster, Donna Jo Napoli, Mary Pope Osborne, Gary Paulsen, Jerry Pinkney, Jon Scieszka and David Small.

_____ 5. Research editors and agents Connecting with agents and editors is, of course, one of the major goals of attending a conference. To maximize that meeting, I recommend some homework ahead of time. Check out websites of agencies and publishing houses. Try to place your own work in a setting where it seems to fit. Once you're at the conference, there are many opportunities to interact with authors about their own experiences with agents and publishers. There's nothing better than observing how others are treated, personally and professionally, to see if that's a person you want to work with in the future.

____ 6. Get ready to HAVE FUN! Pajama parties, coffee dates, dinner out with new friends, famous author meetings, inspiring talks, challenging conversations, and more...

The YA Muses Prep Your Pages contest is now closed to new entries.  Welcome to all our new followers and thank you all who got the word out.

And thank you, especially, to everyone who commented these past two weeks.  We love getting to know you and interacting with other writers and readers.  We hope you continue to visit and comment even without the contest.

This week we'll crunch the numbers and announce the winners on Friday, May 20th!  We are looking forward to reading!