Living On Words
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The 28th Washington Writers Conference
Sponsored by Washington Independent Writers
Cafritz Conference Center
The George Washington University
800 21st St. N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20052
June 9, 2007
The 28th Washington Writers Conference
By Jennifer Pullinger, Special to WIW
Another Washington Writers Conference (it’s 28th) has come and gone, and this year a palpable energy was in the air. On Saturday, June 9, writers of all varieties headed to The George Washington University Cafritz Conference Center to hear from authors, agents, and other writing professionals about the nuts and bolts of the business.
 Plenary Speaker Peter Bowerman Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos |
Later, at one of the day’s first sessions, Bowerman discussed sales and marketing for the self-published author. Self-published authors should consider what he calls the “features-benefits equation” when devising a promotions program. Features, he said, are all about the author and his or her services, while benefits are all about the reader and what you can provide them. Bowerman advised not making your sales program all about you. What does your audience get by reading your book or by paying for your writing services? Does it solve anything for them?
Many authors think getting their book on bookstore shelves is the “holy grail,” he said, but it isn’t. He initially listed his self-published book The Well-Fed Writer with book distributors Ingram and Baker & Taylor so anyone could order it, even if it wasn‘t in stores. As demand kicked in, he started to receive “requests for title information” from the major retail bookstores for the book.
If you decide to write a book, make sure you know its “unique selling proposition,” he continued. Research the competition and know what makes your book different enough that it needs to be written and published. The crucial first step, he said, is to “write a book that people will want to read.”
Meanwhile, at the “Fiction Writing Tool Kit” session, authors Leslie Pietrzyk, Doreen Baingana and Mary kay Zuravleff, and Amy Stools talked about how to improve your story-telling and writing skills. Moderator Pietrzyk said everyone should have a Macmillan Visual Dictionary on hand, which helps with character and setting details¾critical information to have especially if you aren’t an expert on your chosen subject.
“What makes writing good is the details,” she emphasized.
 WIW member Rosemary King and literary agent Tony Outhwaite. Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos |
There are a few caveats, however. Don’t do this if you have some sort of relationship with the editor, were invited to submit your work, or were recommended by someone. No matter what the circumstance, keep good records and let journals know if your work has been accepted elsewhere.
At another early morning panel, the discussion centered on research online versus traditional reference sources. Thomas Mann, a reference librarian at the Library of Congress, detailed the numerous free and subscription-based databases available where he works, noting that many of the subscription-based ones can be accessed for free if you simply go to the Library of Congress.
 Author C.M. Mayo and conference attendees chat during a book signing. Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos |
Amy Rose, research manager at DoubleStar Inc.’s Talent Intelligence & Research, said when referencing a source, it is especially important to use not just any source¾use an authoritative one. Library staff can help writers discern those best sources. “Trust the librarians. This is what we are here for,” Rose said.
As the morning drew to a close, breakout sessions covered a range of topics from speechwriting and how to “restart” your writing career by working with your interests and strengths to two separate roundtables featuring fiction and nonfiction agents.
At the fiction roundtable, it appeared that writers with “quirky” voices are the most sought after today. Mollie Glick with the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency and Gabriel Davis with Loretta Barrett Books, Inc. both agreed that they seek authors who tell a story in a way that hasn’t been done before.
When asked what they liked best and least about representing authors, Peter Miller, president of PMA Literary & Film Management, said he likes it when the writer “takes me into another world.” Both Miller and Ellen Pepus, founder of the eponymous literary agency, agreed that the biggest challenge is the current market, which is tough on fiction writers because there is too much competition for everyone’s time, money, and attention.
At the nonfiction agents roundtable, panelists discussed what happens to a writer’s proposal when it goes to the publisher. Tony Outhwaite with the JCA Literary Agency explained that a proposal is seen by everyone¾from the publicity director to special sales to the subsidiary rights director¾all of whom will want to weigh in on if and how they can sell a potential new book and author.
Linda Konner of the Linda Konner Literary Agency seconded that¾ a whole committee will review a proposal. Konner says her office also often calls authors in for an in-house visit to see if they can “walk the walk and talk the talk.” At these meetings, the editor, the publisher, the publicity director and others will sit in on the meeting to talk about how they can possibly make the book successful. But, she said, these meetings often go deceptively well. Behind closed doors, after they’ve crunched the numbers and evaluated the overall cost of promoting the book in question, it is her job to bring the author “back down to earth” when those excitable meetings don’t result in a publishing offer.
 Keynote Speaker Francine Prose Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos |
For the nonfiction writers in the audience, she described how they can write dialogue and dramatize scenes like fiction writers. With nonfiction, she said, you are working “on a very thin line” because you are trying to convey the truth of the situation. If a writer can’t remember, for example, the precise words used in a particular interchange, she said she doesn’t think it’s necessary to repeat verbatim what was said, as long as the truth is captured. But there are limits.
“To my mind, poor James Frey got into so much trouble because you can’t say things like, ‘I spent a year in rehab’ when you only spent a month in rehab,” Prose said.
Afterwards, the first round of afternoon sessions began and touched on the subjects of travel writing, health writing, and “the power of character.” Freelance writer, editor, and consultant Kristen King held court at her session with a discussion on cyberspace marketing and promotion for writers. King said before she decided to work freelance full-time, she established her online presence by creating a website to promote herself.
“The website that you create for your writing business will be the best investment you make,” she said.
So why have a website? Because it’s cheap advertising, she said. Plus, you’ll find a ton of networking opportunities and your market and revenue potential will be enhanced. Another bonus is that people can check out your services anywhere, anytime online.
 Literary agent Jaimee Garbacik talks with WIW member Monica Myers. Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos |
As the day wrapped up, a final slew of sessions focused on such topics as creating a writing life while maintaining a full-time career and writing for the internet. Another session examined writing biographies. Kenneth Ackerman, author of Young J. Edgar: Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties, said the genre itself has become highly popular over the last few years.
“Biographies are no longer about someone being born, walking through their life, and then they die,” he said. They are much more flexible—they can come in the form of a memoir, an autobiography, a strongly character-driven narrative, or a biography of a group of people.
If you look at the nonfiction hardcover bestseller list in Publisher’s Weekly, Einstein by Walter Isaacson, Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI, Presidential Courage by Michael Baschloss, and Rickles’ Book by Don Rickles are all biographies that are in the top-15 best sellers.
Ackerman advised that when you decide to write a biography, pick a subject that intrigues you, because “you are basically living with that person for two years.” The subject must also have an issue about them that’s relevant to what’s happening now in the world.
Linda Lear, author of Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature, said biographies about literary and scientific figures are easier to sell these days. To really make them sell, editors want a hook¾a political controversy, movie potential, or disclosure of new material.
 WIW members listening intensely at the 2007 Washington Writers Conference. Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos |
“I was very encouraged by people who completed books while riding the metro to and from work. I drive in and it’s a very long commute, and I think I may actually change that as a result of the conference,” the attendee said. She added, “All in all, it was a very good learning experience. I just wish there were another day!”
Self-published poet E. Tara Scurry said she also found the conference to be informative.
“The most helpful of all the sessions was the one by Kristen King. She was really good. I think the web will be the main venue for promotion [for writers]. It is that constant source and it’s cost-efficient and that, to me, was very relevant,” Scurry said.
She added, to promote authors, “publishers now are reducing the amount of money and time that they spend on sending people to bookstores and signings.” Scurry seized the opportunity to do a little promotion herself by handing out postcards for her book of poetry entitled Storm of Roses. Looking and sounding like a seasoned pro at 24 years of age, WIW may want to consider adding Scurry to the panel of next year’s conference.
Jennifer Pullinger is a freelance writer and book publicist in Richmond, Va. Her website is www.jenniferpullinger.com.