Conferences

Mary C. MooreSeptember 11, 2023

One of my favorite independent publishers is hosting an auction. Levine Querido is doing amazing work in the kidlit publishing space, so I’m happy to support them with a donation of two query letter + five page critique. To bid on one of my critiques click here! (If I have already reviewed a submission of yours, you can still bid.)

Or check out the rest of their amazing offerings at the auction here.

Mary C. MooreFebruary 10, 2020

Looking forward to meeting writers and chatting about publishing at the San Francisco Writers Conference this weekend! If you see me and I have my badge on, feel free to stop me and say hi and ask a question or two. 🤗

Writer’s Digest Bootcamp is Back!

After a long hiatus, the agents of Kimberley Cameron & Associates are once again teaching a Writer’s Digest course. Sign up and you get to join an online forum where you have four hours over two days to ask me anything about publishing. I will be there in real time, and there are no stupid questions.

After the forum, I will critique your query letter and first ten pages (this does not count as a submission, it’s for you to improve your work, you can always submit to me officially at a later date after you’ve incorporated the feedback).

Even if you are not ready to query, you are welcome to join us and to get feedback on your rough draft.

Enroll here: https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/agent-one-on-one-how-to-craft-query-letters-other-submission-materials-that-get-noticed-boot-camp

*Note, although you will have access to all the KC&A discussions, whichever agent you are assigned to will be the one answering your questions on the forum and critiquing your work, so if you are looking to connect with one of us specifically, make sure you let WD know.

How To Query an Agent Workshop

I’m pleased to share that I’ll be heading an affordable and local workshop on how to query a literary agent this month! On Sunday, September 22, at 2pm during the Marin California Writers Club’s monthly meeting, I’ll be discussing the importance of the query, advising how to craft one, as well as answering questions and critiquing a few (anonymously) for the group (if you wish for yours to be critiqued, bring a print copy minus any identifying information).

The event will be held at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera.

Although it is hosted by the CWC, non-members are welcome as well. At $10 a person ($5 for members) this is a really good deal, when you consider attending a conference or online workshop to get the same information would be at least 20 times this price.

I’m always keen to share what I wish I had learned back when I was a querying author, and am strongly aware of the lack of affordable resources for writers. So please feel welcome, even if you’re not ready to query yet. This is a great opportunity and I hope to meet more than a few local writers there!

The Las Vegas Writers Conference

I will be on the faculty at the Las Vegas Writers Conference this May 2-4, along with a fantastic group of publishing industry professionals like Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Jessica Watterson and more. I’ll be taking pitches and leading the workshop “Polishing Your Prose to Make it Submission Ready,” which is always a popular one, as it urges you to take a fresh approach to your prose, particularly commercial fiction, before sending it to literary agents.

Hope to see you there!

UPDATE: April 14, 2016

Upcoming Conferences

Although I am closed to submissions until September, I will be attending two conferences in that time in which I will be accepting submissions from authors who pitch me at these conferences. The Chuckanut Writers Conference in June and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association in July. I’m looking forward to both these conferences!pnwa

If you are able to attend either of these please come pitch me! For advice on how to approach agents at these conferences read my post Conference Etiquette: Advice From A Literary Agent.

Conference Etiquette: Advice From A Literary Agent

Conference Etiquette For Writers
If you come dressed like this, I will definitely notice.

Next week I will be attending the SDSU Writers Conference in San Diego, and then a few weeks after that the SFWC in San Francisco. Both of these conferences are among the top 5 on the West Coast in terms of how many agents and editors they bring in. If you are attending either of these, your primary focus is probably pitching your manuscript to agents, or learning more about the process on how to get an agent. And a lot of you are most likely terrified to meet face-to-face with the agents.

In order to ease your fears, and make it smoother for both of us, I thought I’d share some tips on how to pitch an agent at a conference. First it’s good to realize that agents and editors get hustled around on a very tight schedule. We get VIP treatment, have our faces and names everywhere, and are by default placed high out of the regular conference goer’s reach, giving off the intimidating impression that we are the lofty stars of the conference. Which doesn’t help when you have to pitch your heart and soul to us in under three minutes later that day. Just remember, the reasons for this treatment are because the organizers want to sell us as part of the package of the conference, but they also don’t want us overwhelmed and they want us to come back the following year. So despite the buzz around us, we are human. We are not rockstars nor are we monsters. We know you’re nervous and, while some of us may be more brusque than others, we are all there because we want to support writers as well as seek out new talent. We want to hear your pitch.

With that in mind, a few tips to make your pitch stand out:

  • Attend and pay attention to the agent/editor introduction panel. Most important on that panel, they will tell you what they are currently seeking. The bios in the brochure may be out of date, or there may be something particular the agent is looking for at that exact time. The panel will also help you get a feel for our character. If an agent is snarky on the panel, then you know you need to pitch them directly and professionally to catch their attention. If an agent is sweet, there’s a little more leeway to let your nerves show during your pitch and perhaps being friendlier is a better approach.
  • During the actual pitch open with a nice greeting and then the genre, title, and word count of your manuscript. If your manuscript isn’t finished, say it here as well. It’s okay to pitch an unfinished manuscript, let us know you simply want to practice your pitch.
  • Try to make your pitch easy to remember, so that you can say it instead of read it. When you read from a page, our eyes start to glaze over, especially if it’s late in the day. We don’t need all the little details of the story, just the basic premise. This also opens up the time for us to ask a few questions about you or the story. The most memorable pitches I have had with writers are conversations about who they are, what their career plans are, what inspired them to write their story, etc.
  • Do not offer us a business card or sample pages. We will throw them out.
  • Do not try to be overly clever with your pitch, i.e. reading it in the character’s voice, or bringing drawings of the characters. There is limited time and we want to get to know you as the writer and your story.
  • Do brush your teeth beforehand, or have a breath mint if you know your breath is stronger than average.
  • Be aware of the time warnings and considerate of those waiting to pitch after you. Don’t keep talking when the moderator calls your time up. Courtesy and politeness go a long way when leaving an impression.
  • Thank the agent for their time at the end of the session.
  • My own personal tip, don’t offer to shake hands with me. I’ve gotten a cold or two in the past from conferences, so I’ve become more wary of shaking hundreds of hands over the course of a day. But I always feel rude when I say something, so it makes me really happy when a writer doesn’t extend that hand!

In the end, all of this is easier said than done. So when you approach me, know that I am really nice and understanding, promise. But I probably won’t remember you or your pitch. So these tips are for standing out above the crowd.

*Extra tip. If an agent states during the introduction panel that they are approachable during off times or if there is an general indicator during the conference for when it is okay to approach us (usually this is signaled by our name tags turned out or in), it means we really are open to being approached by writers. You can come up to us and say hi and ask questions and perhaps make yourself a little more memorable. Avoid doing this if we are walking in a group with a clear destination, or if we are heavily in conversation with someone. But if we are milling around a common room chatting with other conference goers even if they are only other agents, feel free to approach and make eye contact, and we will usually open the conversation.

Hope to see you at a conference!