Blog Challenge #12: Conference Etiquette

I'm at the Florida Writers Conference in Lake Mary, Florida this weekend and having a great time talking to prospective clients, other industry professionals and the amazing staff and faculty of the FWA. While I'm here, a few of my clients are attending GayRomLit in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and getting up to all kinds of fun shenanigans if the FB pictures are anything to go by). Before they attend conferences, my clients usually ask me what should they be doing (especially if I'm not attending and there are pitch appointments available) so I thought it would make for a good blog post.

If you're an unagented author at a writer's conference, your focus should be to pitch your work to as many agents and editors as you can. Get your work and your face in front of these amazing individuals who will eventually fight each other for the privilege to say they signed you. If you're already represented however, what are you supposed to do?


  1. Talk to editors and agents about your work in casual conversation. When sitting at dinner or during any of the Meet and Greet events, approach the editor your agent is courting with your work and introduce yourself. You don't need to pitch your work, you simply want to garner interest and put a face to the pitch the agent has sent them. Mention anything you're working on and if they seem interested let them know you'll let your agent know they'd like to take a look at the project. Ask them for their business card and give them one of your own.
  2. When you get back to your room that night, send them an email thanking them for the opportunity to speak to them that day and to e-introduce your agent. Make sure to cc your agent in the communication and mention that you spoke with them about your upcoming project and your agent will be following up with them.
  3. Network with other authors and ask them about their experience with the publishers you're interested in working with. If you hear too many negative experiences at one particular publisher, you know to avoid them and let your agent know. Make that discussion part of your career planning talk.
  4. Talk with readers and at book signing events, let them fangirl you. Feel free to talk about your upcoming projects or even works you're thinking about (especially if they're sequels to successful books) and start building the book buzz.
  5. Relax and schedule time during the day to take a nap, hydrate and spend some time away from the masses. You need to recharge your batteries and keep yourself as healthy as possible. While "Con-crud" is likely to set in when you leave, having moments of rest and keeping yourself hydrated go a long way toward keeping those nasty germs from settling in your system.
Conferences can be a great networking opportunity if you know how to do it. Mingle, mingle, mingle. If you're an introvert (and many authors are) think about attending your first conference with a close friend. Having a friendly face around while you're doing these scary things can help you feel more at ease.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 22, 2012 at 2:21 PM

    And here I thought this would be about what NOT to do...*snicker*

    I make the effort to reach out to everyone involved in my convention experience and thank them when I get home. As I don't do industry conventions yet I rarely run into editors but when I do, I tend to talk to them as editor to editor, rather than writer pitching.

    Writers should ALWAYS carry business cards too. Seems like common sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saritza HernandezOctober 22, 2012 at 4:35 PM

      Hee! I figured the list of what NOT to do would be a much longer post. ;)

      And yes, authors should always business cards with them. A definitely MUST!

      Delete
  2. LisaOctober 22, 2012 at 4:25 PM

    Wow, to think you were posting this while we were there, and you were giving workshops and appointments. Busy busy. Good advice here and, it was a pleasure to meet you at the conference. Thank you for attending. I learned a lot in your workshop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saritza HernandezOctober 22, 2012 at 4:37 PM

      Hi Lisa! It was great to meet you and continue to run into you during the conference. :) Yep. I'm always a busy-busy-bee! Keeps life interesting and the days going by faster. :)

      Delete

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