Agent extraordinaire Jennifer Laughran has posted some great advice for conference-goers, and I thought I'd chime in from a teenage conference attendee's perspective. I sold my first books as the direct result of a conference, and I know how helpful they can be, but there are a few particular things that I think can help teenagers who go to writing conferences.
1. Go to a smaller, local conference first. It's cheaper than a big national conference, and it'll help you get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses at conferences. My first was the Willamette Writers Conference, when I was 12 years old. I was terrible at mingling with people I didn't know, but I signed up for pitch sessions with editors and was able to wow them that way (I also lied about my age. Don't do that). You may be great at mingling, but not get much out of classes. Practice with small conferences first.
2. Be professional. If you don't want people to treat you like a kid, don't act like one. Wear clean, grown-up clothes (at the very least a nice shirt) and make sure you haven't chosen something better suited for a party; if your clothes are a vital part of your author platform/persona, tread carefully. Talk to people, even if they aren't your dream agent/editor. Don't use crude language. You'll probably see adults who don't follow these rules; that's because they tend to be taken seriously by default. Life isn't fair; make it easier on yourself.
3. Be prepared. At the very least, carry pens and pencils as well as a notebook from which you can rip pages (a convenient way to meet people, lending them paper or pen). Business cards are handy, but don't be cute - just print them with you name and contact info. Speaking of which, if your email address is anything but your name, get thee to Gmail. "teengoddess2010@aol.com" will not make a good impression when you email people to follow up afterwards. Similarly, though it may seem obvious, read up about the speakers and about the industry in general - you don't want to be the person who asks how to write a query letter. It's called Google: use it.
4. Don't go big until you're ready. I went to SCBWI-LA for the first time when I was 13. Standing in line for punch at the evening social, I found myself next to Arthur A. Levine. Yes, the one who published Harry Potter. Was I in any way ready to meet him and do something besides babble? Of course not. Big conferences cost a lot of money, especially on a teenager's budget; make sure you're getting the most out of them.
I loved Willamette Writers, and I had a fantastic time my second year at SCBWI-LA. There's great general advice out there about making the most of a conference - if you have questions specific to teenage attendees, I'm happy to answer them!
1. Go to a smaller, local conference first. It's cheaper than a big national conference, and it'll help you get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses at conferences. My first was the Willamette Writers Conference, when I was 12 years old. I was terrible at mingling with people I didn't know, but I signed up for pitch sessions with editors and was able to wow them that way (I also lied about my age. Don't do that). You may be great at mingling, but not get much out of classes. Practice with small conferences first.
2. Be professional. If you don't want people to treat you like a kid, don't act like one. Wear clean, grown-up clothes (at the very least a nice shirt) and make sure you haven't chosen something better suited for a party; if your clothes are a vital part of your author platform/persona, tread carefully. Talk to people, even if they aren't your dream agent/editor. Don't use crude language. You'll probably see adults who don't follow these rules; that's because they tend to be taken seriously by default. Life isn't fair; make it easier on yourself.
3. Be prepared. At the very least, carry pens and pencils as well as a notebook from which you can rip pages (a convenient way to meet people, lending them paper or pen). Business cards are handy, but don't be cute - just print them with you name and contact info. Speaking of which, if your email address is anything but your name, get thee to Gmail. "teengoddess2010@aol.com" will not make a good impression when you email people to follow up afterwards. Similarly, though it may seem obvious, read up about the speakers and about the industry in general - you don't want to be the person who asks how to write a query letter. It's called Google: use it.
4. Don't go big until you're ready. I went to SCBWI-LA for the first time when I was 13. Standing in line for punch at the evening social, I found myself next to Arthur A. Levine. Yes, the one who published Harry Potter. Was I in any way ready to meet him and do something besides babble? Of course not. Big conferences cost a lot of money, especially on a teenager's budget; make sure you're getting the most out of them.
I loved Willamette Writers, and I had a fantastic time my second year at SCBWI-LA. There's great general advice out there about making the most of a conference - if you have questions specific to teenage attendees, I'm happy to answer them!
4 comments:
Thank you so much for posting this! I've been looking for this kind of advice for a while. One question - what is the typical first impression/reaction agents and other adults have to teenagers that attend conferences? That you observed?
I found that adults were often very nice to me - no one ever acted like I didn't belong there. A few people took me under their wing[s] and made sure I was getting around all right, which was great. In my experience, as long as you're polite and well-spoken, adults will treat you well. As for agents/other publishing folks, they were open to what I pitched them; with all the hot young authors now, why wouldn't they be?
Thank you, that's very helpful =)
I STILL don't know if I'm ready for a big conference.
You are made of awesome.
Post a Comment