Standing Out

Ruth Katcher, Editor at Egmont USA, told one of the WIFYR classes today about recieving a live lobster with a submission. Can you imagine? She never really told us what she did with the lobster, but it must have been a shock when it arrived.

What are editors and agents looking for? Not lobsters or any other exotic gift. Something much more subtle and obvious. A well-crafted submission.

John Cusick, Agent at S©ott Treimel, NY added to this idea in a later session today, by saying, "You stand out by being good and by being yourself."

But how do you polish a manuscript to that point of "being good by being yourself"?  Listed below are some favorite answers to this question.

• Read, read and read some more
• Write, write and ...you get the idea...write some more.
• Finish the novel. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that in the past two days at WIFYR. sometimes we get stuck on the first few chapters and never finish.
• Find a critique group. Critique groups give you the opportunity to improve your own work, as well as developing editorial skills in a friendly environment.
• Put it aside and come back to it later. You'll see it more clearly.

 

Writer's Boot Camp

Two years ago at the WIFYR conference I was lucky enough to have signed up for Ann Dee Ellis' morning workshop. I didn't realize what an intense, emotional, amazing week it would be. Ann Dee knows how to inspire you to do more. She was determined to get us through two rounds in of critiques that week. And we did. I didn't sleep much, but I critiqued and wrote more than I ever have in a week.

The amazing thing about having an experience like that, is realizing you can do more than you knew. You learn that that it's alright to admit you are a writer and be okay with it. You learn that it's alright to embrace it. Because really it only requires deciding. As James Owen states "If you really want to do something, no one can stop you; but if you really don't want to do something, no one can help you." If you haven't read his book "Drawing out the Dragons" where he tells his inspiring story of struggle and success, you've missed out.

When I realized Ann Dee is teaching the Boot Camp class at the WIFYR conference this year, it made sense. Even though our class wasn't labeled "Boot Camp" it was kind of like that. There is only one spot left though, so if you are interested in an experience like this you'll have to jump fast. It won't last long.

http://www.wifyr.com/