The Novel Effect

 
As I  mentioned earlier, I am blogging at the advice of Jane Friedman at the Writer’s Digest Editors’ Intensive last weekend.  One of the coolest things about the Intensive was that I heard a lot of information that I have not heard before – I love that!  There is nothing worse than paying for a conference or a retreat and hearing the same old, same old.  I am delighted to report that I learned a lots of great NEW information at the Intensive.  For example, I had been operating under the assumption that I did not need a blog until I finished my manuscript, found an agent and had a book deal.  Jane pointed out that agents typically Google prospective clients before contacting them and the greater the writer’s online presence, the more likely the agent is the follow-up.  So here I am, building my online presence and thoroughly enjoying it.  The Intensive is being offered quarterly.  If you are a writer or would be author (there is a difference) you can attend in October.

Just to whet your appetite, I’ll share a few details about the event. The agenda for Saturday included topics such as: Succeeding as a Writer in a Transformative Time, Writing Great Queries, Social Networking, Websites and Blogs, Why I Stop Reading, Open Q & A.  There was also a meet and greet at the hotel Saturday night but I could not attend.  There were about 25 attendees and each was allowed to submit up to 50 pages for one of the editors to review.  On Sunday we met with our reviewing editor for 30 minutes.  I had the privileged of meeting with Jane and her review of “The Legend of Coin Castle,” the middle grade novel I’m working on, was extremely insightful.  The most significant thing I took away from the time I spent with Jane was to trust my intuition as a writer and reader.  Jane confirmed my fears about each aspect of the novel I felt was weak or problematic.  I sounds odd that I was happy to have Jane affirm the flaws I find with my work, but on my path as a writer I am still learning to trust my own judgment.  And, to top it all off, Jane liked my prologue.  That’s a little bit of an inside joke for anyone who was at the Intensive, where we were told prologues were rarely a good idea.  

One additional perk of the event was a set of fantastic handouts on the following topics: Publishing in the 21st Century, Twitter, Nonfiction Book Proposals, Is Self-Publishing Right for You, Quantifying Your Platform, Online Sites and Tools, Helpful Websites for Writers, Novel Query Basics, Finding the Right Agent for You.

As social networking continues to evolve I am sure the Editors’ Intensive will also evolve. Which makes me think I should book a spot for next June now.  By then tweeting will be passe and the next big thing will be . . .