Here I am in one of the hotel’s pleasant courtyards near the end of this whirlwind event, feeling happy about all the wonderful connections I made this time.
Great writing conference in Seattle a little over a week ago. I decided last minute to fly up and attend so I could pitch my new historical novel set in ancient Ireland. I was delighted by the responses from agents I pitched and have now sent off the queries with material they asked for. Fingers crossed. It’s all in the words of course. Hope they love it.
I so enjoy the people at these conferences. Everybody has a story. They are, after all, storytellers. When you meet someone they often ask what you write and you tell the story about that and of course you ask them and hear their story. Attendees also encourage each other. After the pitching begins you share with each other how your pitches went and maybe glean a little information on someone you hope to pitch next. A very upbeat, mutually encouraging atmosphere.
I stopped over in Portland to see family on the way home. One of my daughters just got a new job in Portland and I hadn’t seen the new place yet. Now all my kids are in Oregon for the first time in ten years. I’m so glad. A couple of photos below show views from our walks on a hill overlooking downtown Portland. That’s Mount Hood on the hazy skyline in the second photo.
Looking down to the Portland city center from the heights near Washington Park.A city building seems to echo the sharp peak of Mount Hood behind it.
I’m just back from an excellent conference in Seattle where I went primarily for the purpose of pitching agents for my new historical novel set in ancient Ireland. I was happy that my friend from my Eugene writers group, Kristine Jensen, attended also.
Here we are in one of the many halls at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel with a lovely interior garden behind us.
PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Association) always offers a good conference. People are friendly and mutually supportive, but it’s especially nice to have someone there that I know. Kris was also pitching agents for her new novel.
It’s an intense program because stakes are high. We both scheduled two pitch blocks.
These are 90-minute sessions where everyone who has reserved a certain block pours into a large room where agents and editors wait behind a long table. You get in line before an agent or editor you’ve chosen and when it’s your turn you sit across from that person and pitch your work. You have four minutes. Then the buzzer goes off and you hurry to the line of another agent or editor on your list.
I had four agents I particularly wanted to pitch, and I was glad I had reserved two blocks. The first day I only had time for two. Fortunately the second day I was able to pitch the other two. And that’s when magic happened.
This is my oh-my-goodness-she-loved-my-Ireland-setting-and-my-storyline face. I was so happy.
All four agents and one editor asked me for material. That’s the goal. Whether you get everything said or not, you want that invitation to send pages, chapters, or even a full manuscript, as requested. Whatever you forgot to say or decided not to say because of the strict time limit, you can say in a cover letter.
On one of my pitches I had taken the end of a very long line of people waiting to pitch to this particular agent. I was afraid the 90 minutes would end before I got to her. But I eventually saw that I would make it. I stepped up to the blue line where the next author to pitch had to wait. A lady who was a volunteer helping things run smoothly stepped close to me and asked what I was pitching. I said it was a historical novel set in ancient Ireland. She spoke softly because we needed to be quiet, but she let me know how much she loved Ireland and the special places there. By the time the buzzer went off and it was time for me to pitch she had me in a zone of delight over my story.
I sat down in front of the agent and with the confidence just instilled in me told her I had a historical novel set in ancient Ireland. Her eyes lit up. Her whole face. She loves Ireland. She’s part Irish. And when I relayed my story points, my protagonist’s dilemma, the conflict, the tension, she responded with such enthusiasm I was thrilled.
Here’s Kris after the pitching was over, serene in the knowledge that she had made some good contacts for her wonderful story set in 60s South Dakota. She got requests for all her pitches too. We went to a couple of workshops afterward, feeling good and somewhat drained. One of the things I like about this conference is that you meet many authors who are seeking that positive response, and you’re plugging for them as they’re plugging for you. So there’s a lot of “How did you do?” “How did it go?”
So it’s nice to rest up a bit. My room was about a mile from the lobby, or almost that, but it was a room with a view. The blue peeking through the trees below that building in the distance is a lake.
Here’s the nearest elevator on my trek to the room, which better shows the lake.
And from inside the elevator.
Later that evening I happened to see the volunteer who had encouraged me so much before that pitch. She smiled. “It went well, didn’t it?”
“Yes, it did.”
“I saw her face,” she said. “I knew.”
You never know when you’re going to meet an angel, just when you need one.
