Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 132

Conference Tips

Today I'm off to my regional SCBWI conference, the Pocono Retreat. Last year was my first ever conference, and I absolutely loved it. I met some great writers, attended amazing workshops with editors at big publishing houses, and had a one-on-one with an agent who I really like.

This year I'm looking forward to even more. The conference is bigger. The number of agents and editors attending is greater. I'm exhibiting my upcoming picture book, MAY THE BEST DOG WIN. And I have a one-on-one critique session with an amazing editor.

I plan to share some highlights after the three-day conference, but in the meantime I thought I'd open up the floor to the best tips you've learned at writers' conferences. The conferences can be online or in-person. (Everyone knows I love a good online conference, too. Go WriteOnCon!) I'll get the ball rolling with a tip I learned from a "First Page" critique. Begin your story with your MC, and don't let them be overshadowed by people and things around them.

So, what are the best tips or advice you've gotten from a writers' conference? Let's share the knowledge.

How I Got My Agent

I've been dying to share this news. I recently signed with Lauren Hammond of ADA Management. Yes, you read that correctly. I have an agent!

I've read a lot "How I got my agent" stories, and I wished for the day that I'd get to tell my own story. Well, today is that day. So here it goes.

How I Got My Agent

A few months back I found out about a new agent who also happens to be an author and has worked in the publishing industry for seven years. I was very excited to hear she was becoming an agent and would be looking for clients. So naturally, I queried her--um, early. Yes, I was so excited that I queried before she was technically open to queries. Luckily, she very nicely replied, stating she'd hold on to my query until she was officially open.

Well, that time came and shortly after, I heard back from Lauren in the form of a request. Yay! I eagerly submitted my manuscript and waited. I didn't have to wait long. Pretty soon I got an email from Lauren, letting me know she wanted to speak with me on the phone. When I opened the email, I turned to my husband and squealed, "She wants to talk to me!" Now to be completely honest, I was not assuming this was "The Call". I wouldn't allow myself to get my hopes up that high.

Even so, I stayed no more than two inches from my cell until it rang. The first words Lauren spoke, other than her name, were "I want to sign you." I proceeded to have a heart attack. Okay, not really, but I couldn't breath--seriously. When I spoke, my words barely came out. I was shaking. All I kept thinking was "Snap out it and talk!" I mean, what's worse than a writer who can't form words? Within minutes, Lauren had me calm enough to speak fluently again. She was very easy to talk to, and she was so excited about my manuscript. Just hearing her talk about my writing and my voice was the best feeling.

When we hung up, I screamed and jumped up and down with my daughter. Then I called my husband and screeched into his phone. After that, I called my mom and dad and did the same. I hadn't accepted Lauren's offer yet, but I was so excited about the idea of working with her. The next few days dragged while I contacted other agents who had fulls and partials. My husband told me that it seemed like I'd already made up my mind. I'd gone from elated when Lauren offered, to wishing away days of my life just so I could finally accept her offer.

My husband was right. I had made up my mind. I knew I wanted Lauren to represent me. So, after communicating with the other agents who had my manuscript, I called Lauren and accepted her offer. And now that the contracts are signed, it's official. I have an agent. Looking back on my journey, which was filled with tears and countless hours of hard work, I'm thankful that I went through all of it. I think when you have to really work to get what you want, it makes it that much better in the end. I couldn't be happier.

And that's my story. My name is Kelly Hashway, and I'm represented by Lauren Hammond of ADA Management.

Monday Mishmash 4/4

Mishmash time! Happy Monday, everyone. Here's what's on my mind:

 

Pocono Retreat My regional SCBWI conference is this Friday through Sunday. I'm very excited. I had a blast last year and met some great writers, editors, and agents.Pulled tendon? I have a tendon in my right hand that is sticking out and really itchy. Yes, itchy. I think it may be a typing hazard. Guess I have to deal with it because I'm not about to stop typing.Piles of books Um, I may have bought a lot of books at Borders last week, and now this pile is staring at me. Next to it is the pile of books I took out from the library. Where to begin?Patience The publishing industry has taught me a lot about having patience. I'm waiting on several things right now, and I'm trying to remind myself that patience is a virtue.Mice We have at least one mouse in our garage. My husband met him last night in a stare down. The mouse apparently won on account of being adorable.

 

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

*I was interviewed on Paper Hangover today for my upcoming picture book. Click here if you'd like to read it.*

Amazon Takeover?

I've been a big fan of Amazon for a while now, but it seems like the huge sensation is getter even bigger. Just last week, my dad searched everywhere for a new phone battery. No one had it. Then he tried Amazon, and wouldn't you know they had 12 in stock!

Now let's switch gears and look at the publishing industry. Amazon and CreateSpace are changing the way people view self-publishing. Thanks to authors like Amanda Hocking, self-publishing is being considered by multi-published authors. I'm talking about authors who've published traditionally. So why the switch to self-publishing? Is it about money? Is it about pursuing other avenues to get your work out there? Or is it simply Amazon? I'm very curious to see where this will lead in the future.

And today I saw an advertisement for the Amazon Cloud that will store your music downloads for you in this Cloud instead of on your computer. I'm wondering if iTunes is shaking in their boots over this one.

Is Amazon taking over the world? Are they changing the publishing industry? What do you think?

Good is Not Enough

For me, good is never enough. When I started submitting short stories, I was elated when I got an acceptance. I've published over sixty short stories now and that's good, but it's not enough.

When I got my first picture book acceptance, I was elated--jumping through the roof. The book will be available very soon and that's good, but it's not enough.

Plain and simple, I want more. No, I'm not being greedy. I want a writing career. When I started taking courses to become a better writer, I said I wasn't going to let writing just be a hobby. It was going to be my career. The problem? That's not easy to do.

The more I learn about publishing the more I learn that good isn't enough. I have to keep making myself a better writer. I have to keep submitting books and working toward more deals. Will I ever think what I'm doing is good enough? Probably not. Because like I said, I want to make this a career, which means constantly bettering myself and doing more.

How about you? Do you feel like good isn't enough? What do you do to make yourself better?

Monday Mishmash 3/28

Happy Monday! It's Mishmash time.

Here's what's on my mind:

Accents in books I'm trying to read a book that my local librarian recommended but the accents are written into the story--narration and dialogue. Very tough to read.Author copies Last Thursday my author copies arrived! Yay! I'm mailing books out for my blog tour. Post office, here I come.Myrtle Beach Exactly two weeks from today, I'll be in Myrtle Beach!Spring I'd really like to know where the spring weather is. We're expecting more snow at the end of the week. :(WriteOnCon Live event at 5pm today with Michael Bourret and Jim McCarthy from Dystel and Goderich.

What's on your mind today?

First Books

I've been a book lover for as long as I can remember. Learning to read was such an amazing thing for me because it meant that I didn't have to rely on other people to read to me--although my mom read to me all the time.

I'll never forget the first time I read a book on my own. It was Green Eggs and Ham. It took me a while, but I read it from cover to cover. It was an amazing feeling. I still remember it clearly.

Now I'm teaching my daughter to read. She's doing really well, and every since she turned four, she wants to read all the words. The poor thing thought you magically learned to read when you turned four. Bless her little heart! Well, I started combining all the words she can read into silly sentences, and she was elated when she discovered she could read them. The look on her face was priceless, and it reminded me of my own first experience reading.

Do you remember the first book you ever read on your own? What was your experience like when you were learning to read?

The Perfect Road

So far this isn't turning out to be my week. I received two rejections on picture books. Ouch! As usual, I allowed myself a little time to sulk as I went over my list of publishers that still take unagented submissions. That depressed me more, so I stepped away from the computer and danced with my daughter.

Katy Perry's "Firework" came on and one line stood out to me:

"Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road"

 

No one likes being rejected, but it's inevitable. Rejection helps us find our perfect road. So with Katy singing in my head, I began revising my picture books and researched more publishers to send them out to.

Then I picked up the proof of MAY THE BEST DOG WIN to remind myself that one of my stories has already found its perfect road.

Writing is a journey. Where are you in your search of the perfect road?

Monday Mishmash 3/21

It's Mishmash time again! Here's what's on my mind:

Spring It's official. Spring is here! Now someone tell that to the weather. Go away snow!Harry Potter It was a Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family. My daughter lives for those weekends. Good thing I love the movies because they were on from about 7am to almost midnight! (No, we didn't really watch them all day.)My car I've had my new Accord V6 for just about a month and I love it! It's fully loaded with more things than I know how to use, and it's such a smooth ride.Kin 2m Anyone have this phone? It's amazing. I just got it last week. I have to admit I had to call Verizon to find out how to use it. But I'm really enjoying it now.Librarians I love librarians. The librarian in charge of the children's department of my local library greets me with lists of books she thinks I'll enjoy. Gotta love that! I've read so many good books in the past two weeks thanks to her.That's it for me. Your turn. What's on your mind today?
*I also want to thank Girl Friday for giving me the One Lovely Blog award. I'm so honored as this is my third time receiving it. Since I've already passed on the award, I'm just going to thank Girl Friday. Check out her blog if you haven't already.

Days, Weeks, Months?

I've been reading like crazy lately, and it's made me realize something. I love a good mystery, and I love action. The books I read occur over very short periods of time in order to keep a fast pace.

Well, I thought about my own manuscripts and realized I write that way. My stories don't ever span more than a few days. Why? I hate down time. Yes, every book has some slower moments. Characters have to sleep and eat. But I really don't want to hear about it for more than a sentence or two. I want to be in the action and constantly moving forward.

As usual, I wondered if only spanning a few days instead of months to a year, like many popular books, made me part of the minority. So today I'm asking you to help me decide.

Do you prefer books that take place over the course of a few days or books that span months? Why?