The La Jolla Writers Conference

After the first day of the conference, and please don't think me horrible for saying this, I didn't feel like I was told anything that I didn't know. Little did I know, the next two days would knock that cocky little attitude right out of my thick skull.

It sort of felt like the time I told a friend about having an autographed picture of a particular favorite football player, and he said, "Yeah, that guy is great. I have an autographed jersey of his."

I have been writing all my life and thought that I had it all figured out. Then here comes along this conference to humble me. It's like I have been playing chess with children all my life, patting myself on the back over my numerous meaningless victories, and then was suddenly put into a match with Bobby Fisher, and he beat me in four moves.

Ah, but that's how you become a better chess player. You play against the better players, and this conference was full of them.

At one particular critique the first chapter of my Political Pistachio was shredded up quicker than classified papers at The Pentagon. They tore me a new asterisk, or two. Then I tried my pitch out in a marketing class, and was left speechless (which is pretty hard to accomplish with my rapidly flapping lips, sometimes).

I needed vindication.

So in the final class of the third day I pulled out my last work, The Way of Deception, and even manipulated it a little to make sure it was perfect. Granted, it wasn't pounced on as bad as Political Pistachio, but it received the jabs that it deserved.

What's the moral to this story?

I nearly decided that the moral was that I need a good butt kicking. But that isn't it at all. And the moral could easily be something like that you are never as good as you think, and every writer can use a little skin-thickening every once in a while. But the true moral to this story is that writing is like no other business I know. It is cut-throat in the sense that few get through the guarded door to publication, and that it is a difficult process, though not impossible. But, writers are not cut-throat to each other directly. Writers are the most giving people you will ever meet when dealing with other writers. The critiques are not designed to put a writer in his or her place. The advice is not designed to expose inexperience. All of it is for one reason and one reason only. To make you a better writer.

After 34 years of writing, I am growing up and becoming a writer. 300 rejections or so has toughened my hide. The La Jolla Writers Conference polished it so that I may shine.

Thank you, my fellow writers; and for those of you reading this that have never been to a conference, go to one, and network like crazy.

Day One at the La Jolla Writers Conference

What an interesting day. I handed out some cards, spoke with a published author, and spoke shortly with an agent at the tail end of one of the classes. The agent represents an agency I queried two years ago for A Light in the Shadow. Of course, I was rejected at the time. I quit sending queries to this agency because they are based out of California and after the bad agent I had in 2005 which was also based out of California, I had decided to stay away from California based agencies, but . . .

Day two starts early, and I must get up even earlier because it's over an hour and a half to get there.

The MWSA bookfest

Yesterday I spent the majority of my day at a bookfest sponsored and held by the Military Writers Society of America. The event was extraordinary. I don't mean that in the sense that it was an amazing spectacle of lights and wonder. It wasn't. The bookfest was simple. A roomful of authors, the public was welcome but I don't think many people appeared, seated at tables with their love affairs bound within printed pages sat and networked, and laughed, and cried, and got to know each other. Speakers were present. Marketing, self-publishing, traditional publishing, writing habits, how to network, and a long list of other various topics were addressed. Writers spoke about their books, told their history, embraced the room.It was a day well spent.

One speaker made a statement that set me back. He is a writer's consultant, and to be honest, and this is probably foolish on my part, but I don't recall his name. Anyhow, his shocking statement was, "The query is dead."

The query has been my friend (or enemy depending upon how you look at it) for many years. Granted, it hasn't worked yet, but then again, J. A. Konrath was discovered through the query after hundreds and hundreds of rejections, and look at him now. But, listening to this gentleman, I did realize that he was correct to a point. The business of becoming a published author is more difficult than it has ever been before. The big five houses don't want to take a chance on unproven talent, and the readers don't read like they used to. Readership is down, publications are down, and the number of creative writers is up. What's a writer to do?I don't believe the query is dead. It is, however, limping and hobbling. Some success stories still rise from the ashes of the query method. Fewer now than before, but they are still there. Self-publishing puts out a few success stories as well. Just look at Christopher Paolini and his book Eragon. He self-published, marketed the heck out of it, got lucky, landed a traditional house, and now has a major motion picture coming out this holiday season based on that novel.

Two key factors in every success story, however, is this. First, they market the heck out of it; and second, they got lucky.

Perhaps I need to hit the small press first. Perhaps I'll catch an agent and hook on to a larger house. Maybe I need to self-publish. Regardless of how I get there, I need to be lucky, and market the heck out of it. That's all fine and dandy, but how am I going to get there?

Todd Uebele, a fellow writer, said to me that for him the key was networking. Networking. Wow, why didn't I think of that? Thankfully, I have this habit of going to book signings. I search them out. I talk to the writers, getting to know them. You may ask, "What good it that? Writers don't get you published. Publishers and agents do." True. But knowing writers gets your name in the loop, and you just never know what will pop up for you.I am a veteran of the United States Navy. I served proudly. No, I did not see any wartime. I suppose you can call me a peacetime veteran, or at least that's how Veteran's Affairs categorizes me. Still, as one marine so graciously told me once in a comment on my Political Pistachio site, it doesn't matter what was going on at that time. The fact is, I was in the military willing and ready to serve my country if needed. At the last book signing I went to, where I went to meet Gary W. Moore who is the author of Playing with the Enemy, and Jeff Edwards, who is the author of Torpedo, an unexpected opportunity arose. Jeff's wife is vice president of the Military Writers Society of America. They took to me, liked me, and asked me to join. I was flattered, and recognized it for what it was: A huge opportunity to network.

And now, at this bookfest yesterday, I have one writer who volunteered to read my manuscript and give me some editing tips regarding it, a publisher who claimed that she does not publish the type of book I write but pointed me in a direction toward a publisher that does (recommendations are huge, by the way), and a number of writers that gave me their cards and said to me, "If you have any questions, or need any help, let me know.

"Wow! And this is just a little book fest! I am going to a conference next weekend!

However, this is huge. I am now treating my writing like it is a business, I am creating a database of friends and associates, and I am receiving help and advice from published writers.

The query isn't dead, my friend. A little CPR from networking, however, will get you in.

I told my wife that now, after years of darkness, I can feel my dreams within reach.

I know that the odds are against me, all writers know that, but the dream is what keeps them writing. Failure is only the prelude to success for those that keep pushing, keep writing, and keep networking. I want to be like Stephen King and his wife Tabitha, standing in their living room in each others arms, crying after that first phone call that told them that Carrie was going to be published, and with a good sized advance.

My wife disagrees. She wants us to be like us, standing in our living room, arms around each other, crying, because that first book finally made it.

See you on the other side, my friends.

Military Writers Society of America

The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) is an association of more than five-hundred writers all of whom share the common bond of military service. I have just been granted membership into the organization. The membership is extremely valuable to me not only in the opportunity for networking with other writers, publishers, and marketing people, but also as a way of showing the industry that I am serious about my craft. Serious enough to join such an esteemed organization. I am excited about this membership, and how advantageous this is to my drive for publication. The first function I plan to attend is on October 14, 2006: "Salute to the Military" Book Fest. Visit their site by clicking the title above, and since they expect no membership dues, donations are important. Feel free to donate by paypal on the site. For those of you from MWSA visiting my site, thank you.

Networking is a good thing

On October 1, 2006 I met an individual at the final Angels Baseball game of the season that has a friend in the publishing business. Tonight I received an e-mail from him indicating that he forwarded my information to her in New York. Cool. It may or may not pan out into something, but as another writer friend has told me, it's all about networking.

Then, tonight, I had the opportunity to meet with two writers in San Diego. I purchased their books, and can't wait to start reading them.

The first book I bought at the booksigning is "Playing with the Enemy" by Gary W. Moore, also soon to be a Major Motion Picture. The second book is "Torpedo" by Jeff Edwards, STGC(SW), USN (Ret.). For those of you that like to read, especially where the military is involved, these books are for you.