Agent Tips from Storymakers 2010

by Heather Moore

Laura Rennert & Heather Moore

Over the weekend, I attended the Storymakers Conference in Provo, Utah, with my fellow editors and 450 other writers.

I was lucky to host Laura Rennert, a talented agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She had great advice, along with agent, Nephele Tempest, of The Knight Agency (it was fun learning to pronounce Nephele's name and we all agreed she should be an actress with such a fine stage name--Neh feh lee). Both agents were friendly and outgoing women who were simply a delight to hang around with.

I think the most interesting thing about listening to an agent speak is learning what their preferences are. Most of their advice is the same across the board. Bottom line, they are looking for good writers with compelling stories.

Nephele Tempest told us to not be afraid when pitching to agents--they are just people who love books and are fortunate to work in an industry they love.

I liked that. I love books and therefore, it already gives us writers a lot in common with agents.

Laura Rennert made a point of saying that publishing contracts vary by quite a large degree. But she told us not to get caught up in the number or the size of the publishing house. She said that the books she represents will find the right home for that particular book. She also talked about fine-tuning your craft in her workshop. Out of the criteria that she considers when reading a submission, she said that voice is the hardest thing to edit. And her advice on finding the right voice for your work? Write. A Lot.

Conference Tips

by Annette Lyon

The entire Precision Editor Group staff will be at a writers conference this weekend as presenters. We love participating, both as speakers as well as attendees.

Conferences are a great place to do lots of things:

Learn the craft.

The first conference I attended was nearly 14 years ago. In that time, I've had the chance to listen to some amazing (and, okay, some less-than-stellar) speakers. I know a lot about writing, but I can always learn more. I attended a friend's class a few years ago simply to support her. While most of the workshop was a review for me, I still learned . . . and came away with some fantastic ideas for developing my characters further. There's always a nugget to be learned, regardless of how "good" you are.

Learn the industry.

I recall attending a conference where the visiting agent was getting questions that I thought were elementary. It wasn't until that moment that I realized that six years prior, I hadn't known the answers to those very questions. I'd come a long way!

Meet other Writers.

Some of the people who are now my best friends are those I met through conferences and other writing networks. Writing is a rather solitary profession; it's just you and your keyboard. I'm still amazed at the positive impact that a strong support network of friends who GET what being a writer means (and have been there, done that) can be.

Meet Industry Insiders.

As unfair as it sounds, the reality is that very often it's not necessarily the best manuscript that gets published. Often it's who knows who and what manuscript lands on the right person's desk on the right day. The more writers, editors, agents, and other professionals you know, the greater the chance of reaching the right person when your time comes.

As we've mentioned before, these kinds of meetings can sometimes happen in pitch sessions and manuscript review appointments. Prepare for them, but be professional. Don't stalk the agent and start with your elevator pitch WHILE IN THE ELEVATOR.

Recharge Your Batteries

Even if you think that you won't learn much from a particular conference, chances are that if you go, you'll leave pumped to write and improve. I know that every spring after this conference, I come home jazzed to get back to the keyboard and do what I love most: WRITE.

I can hardly wait for this weekend to arrive, when I get to see the friends who understand me best, be immersed in the writing world, and come home totally on fire.

Write-a-Thon Winners!

What a night! Thank you to each and every one of you who participated, it is amazing what we can do when we block out that time. What a fun experience this has been. We had 29 participants for a total of 106,005 words!

So, without further adieu, here are your winners:

Word Count Winner: Sarah Eden @ 8991 words

*She wins either a 50 page edit from PEG or a $50 gift card to Amazon.com. Way to go Sarah! She just couldn't bring herself to write 9 more words I guess :-)

Random Winner: Jade Simmons

*She wins a $30 gift card to Amazon.com, Congrats Jade! She also wrote 3,954 words--awesome!

AND, because our total was over 100,000 words we have a third winner:

Word Total Random Winner: Amy

*She wins BOTH a copy of my There, They're Their: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar from the Word Nerd AND a hand-bound blank journal from Pendragon's Bookbinding. Congrats Amy! She also wrote 5,206 words!

Thanks again for being a part of the first PEG Write-a-thon. We'll do it again.

(winners, please e-mail Josi at kilpack@gmail.com with your address so we can get your prizes to you.)

START Write-a-Thon April 8, 2010

This was supposed to post automatically, but maybe it was on East Coast time. Sorry. It's 4:22 now so . . .

Rev up your engines, it's time to get this party started!

Here's a repeat of the rules-and-or-processes for tonight's write-a-thon:


1-Enter your starting time and starting word count in the comment section of this blog. Contest is open from 4:00 pm, April 8 to 12:15 am, April 9.

3-Write for four hours--set a timer if you need to! (You can take breaks, but track your time!)

4-When finished, come back to this blog and put your end time, end word count, and total words written in those 4 hours in the comment trail.

5-All "end time" posts must be posted by 12:15, Mountain Daylight Time (we're giving you 15 minutes to tally your numbers). To calculate your times based on where you live, go HERE and educate yourself about time zones.

6-Please be honest. You are your own time/word keeper and we are trusting that none of our dearly beloved readers would sell their integrity for $50 or 50 pages :-) You must post a start comment AND an end comment to be eligible to win and have your words counted toward the total.

7-The winner--whoever has the most words written in their four hours--will be posted Tomorrow, Friday, April 9th here on the PEG blog. The winner will receive their choice of a $50 gift card to Amazon.com or 50 pages of a content edit from one of the Precision Editing Group editors.

**Bonus prize: If all participants combined word counts meet or exceed 100,000 words an additional prize drawing will be held for a hand crafted journal from Pendragon's Bookbinding.

Ready, set, go...

Write-a-Thon **NEWS** and Tips

by Annette Lyon

Are you ready for Thursday evening?

You know what I'm talking about, right? The big Precision Editing Group Write-a-Thon!

You know the basics:

• Write for FOUR hours between 4:00 pm and midnight, Thursday, April 8, MDT.
• Enter your start time and beginning word count (if applicable) on the post that will be up then, titled, "The Write-a-Thon Starts Now!"
• Track your 4-hour block (set a timer if you need to so you don't go over).
• Come back and post your finishing time and your total words written during the 4 hours.

PRIZES: So here's the fun part!

• The person who writes the MOST words will receive a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com OR a 50-page content edit from Precision Editing Group.
• One participant (selected at random) will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com

PRIZE UPDATE!

To encourage as many people as possible to participate, we've added a third prize, courtesy Pendragon's Bookbinding, who hand-sew blank journals. (Check out their website HERE. Their work really is a nearly lost art.)

One participant, again chosen at random, will win BOTH a copy of my There, They're Their: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar from the Word Nerd AND a hand-bound blank journal from Pendragon's Bookbinding . . . IF . . .

Yes, there's a catch: The journal (a writer's best friend, no?) and my grammar guide will be awarded ONLY if all participants' word counts written during the 4-hour marathon add up to more than 100,000 words.

That means in order for anyone to win a third prize, we need lots of participants!

So spread the word far and wide on your blog, via Twitter, and Facebook! Let's get as many people doing this as we can so someone can win prize #3!

Write-a-Thon TIPS:

I've done a few all-day writing marathons (8-10 hours each), and here are a few things I've learned that can make the time more productive than if you sit down and plunk your fingers on the keyboard cold:

• Think ahead, very specifically, to what you'll be writing. Consider going so far as writing a list of scenes you know are coming. A few key words or a sentence that will trigger your memory is plenty.
• Make your scene list 50% longer than you think it needs to be. This helps in two ways: not only will you have plenty to work with and not run out of material at 3.5 hours, but if you end up stuck on one scene, you can easily abandon it and jump to another one--without losing valuable time trying to work through a block.
• Have snacks and water nearby. You may think you won't need them, but four hours can (actually, WILL) result in brain fry and low blood sugar. Small snacks like cut-up apples, a little container of raisins, something with protein like nuts, or (because who are we kidding) some chocolate can help you keep writing . . . and prevent you from getting up to check the pantry.
• Plan on tiny breaks, then take them, but make them brief. Yes, technically you may lose 5 minutes here and there if you get up to walk around. But I've found that simply pacing the house for a few minutes is enough to get the juices flowing again. It helps your muscles AND your brain unkink, making you more productive when you sit back down (and more than making up for lost minutes).
• Do NOT use breaks for replenishing snacks. Mini breaks are meant to get your brain and body back into gear. If you spend them staring into the fridge, you'll not only get sidetracked, but your brain won't be taking the pit stop it needs (instead, it'll be contemplating salami versus bologna, Monterey jack versus cheddar).
• Write with a buddy. As long as the two of your are both committed to writing and not chatting, a buddy can keep you on track. Hearing another person's keyboard clicking away can be just enough to keep your fingers going (much like having a buddy in a race can keep you taking the next step and the next).

I can't wait to get started on my write-a-thon, and I hope we have lots of participants.

Good luck, everyone! Let's crack 100,000 together!

Write-a-Thon Contest!

On Thursday, April 8, 2010 Precision Editing Group will be sponsoring a Write-a-Thon and we're inviting writers to show us how many words you can write in 4 hours! The contest will open at 4:00 Mountain Daylight Time and end at midnight (You choose the best 4 hours during that period of time). There will be two winners. The person who writes the most words will receive their choice of a $50 Amazon.com gift card OR a 50 page content edit by one of the Precision Editing Group Editors. An additional winner will be chosen from everyone who participated in the write-a-thon. This winner will receive a $30 gift card to Amazon.com and be chosen through www.random.org.

Here's how it will work:

1-The Write-a-thon will officially begin at 4:00 Mountain Daylight Time.

2-The blog titled "Write-a-Thon Starts Now!" will post at 4:00 MDT--you need to enter your starting time and starting word count in the comment section of the blog when you begin.

3-Write for four hours--set a timer if you need to!

4-When finished, come back to the PEG blog and put your end time, end word count, and total words written in those 4 hours as another comment on the blog.

5-All "end time" posts must be posted by 12:15, Mountain Daylight Time (we're giving you 15 minutes to tally your numbers). To calculate your times based on where you live, go HERE and educate yourself about time zones.

6-Please be honest about your word count and use your time to write REAL words. You are your own time/word keeper and we are trusting that none of our dearly beloved readers would sell their integrity for $50 or 50 pages :-) You must have posted a start comment AND an end comment to be eligible to win either of the prizes.

7-The winner will be posted on Friday, April 9th here on the PEG blog.

We'll also be adding up everyone's words, think we can hit 100,000 words in one night?

Feel free to spread the word to other writers (Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs), wherever they may live--send them here to read up on the specifics. This contest is open to anyone, anywhere. While the prizes are a perk, the true challenge is to see how much you can do in a four hour period of time dedicated to writing. Buy hot dogs for the kids, turn off the phone, TIVO Letterman, and let your fingers go.

*Please ask any questions here, we'll answer them throughout the week.