MASTER Recap of 2011 Writer's Digest Conference

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This post is a collection of:



Best tweets from the 2011 Writer's Digest Conference

Links to official live blog posts of selected sessions



Best recaps of the event by attendees & presenters





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BEST TWITTER TIPS BY CATEGORY


Search #wdc11 to view all
tweets from the event. (Pictured above: Me hunched over at WDC11, tweeting, alongside
Guy Gonzalez and Kevin Smokler.)

Craft/technique

A hero must show glimmer of humanity or a flaw in 1st 5 pages.
—Don Maass




Avoid "happy people in Happyland" when starting a book. Readers don't connect with
that." 


—James Scott Bell




Commercial women's fiction: premise should have something that couldn't happen to
most people."


[Ask Agent panel, unattributed]



At about 20,000 words, I stop and ask, "Is my lead character sympathetic, as I wanted
him to be?"

—James Scott Bell




[Collection of tweets on the revision session]

After a draft, take at least two weeks' break. Then read. In first read, I put in
check marks where the story is dragging and parentheses around bad phrases. Circles
go in the margin for where emotions aren't working. Question marks are for confusing
passages. After the first read, I ask, "Does this story make sense?" Do characters
act as people really would?" Characters in a novel have agendas, they don't just take
up space. What do they want in each scene? Look for coincidences that help a character,
and cut them out. You don't want a deus ex machina effect. Novels should be like a
chess match. There has to be a purpose for the characters to act. After draft revising,
do a polish. Polishing involves looking at scene openings and chapter endings.

—James Scott Bell






Self-publishing




Biggest problem for self-publishers is visibility. If you can achieve it, the money
can rival traditional. 


—agent Richard Curtis




If you're going to give your writing away (e.g. Huffington Post) do it on your own
platform instead.

 —Guy Gonzalez




Major keys to success are good story & true editing. Self-pub cannot be lower
quality than traditional.

—agent April Eberhardt






Blogging




[Collection of tweets on blogging session]

The more you work your blog, the more value you build for readers over time and the
more they find you. Your blog is a body of work, not just some marketing channel.
Don't think: "I'm going to create blog (a thing)." Think: What is my purpose? What
are my goals? Before you start blog, think about who'll send you traffic. Know community
players, who you'll build relationships with. Cannot overstress how important headline
writing is in your blog. It's your hook. Make it descriptive, compelling. Comment
on other people's blogs. Create a post as a response to someone's blog + tweet + comment
+ e-mail. Guest-posting builds credibility with partnership. And a weekly digest /
newsletter on your topic builds value.

—Dan Blank






Marketing, platform & social media




The book is not your whole brand. It's about connection to readers. Brand starts before
a book and resonates. Brand means you've ID-ed your audience, learned its needs, gotten
a clear vision of how you connect to that. Where you hang out online can say a lot
about your brand—without you having to say it, per se. —Dan
Blank




Rather than think of platform as an economic leverage point of misery, think of it
as what makes you happy.


—Richard Nash




I use Twitter to focus on certain people. Prior to this conference, I was watching
Twitter for who was coming to wdc11. … But it's not about the platform you use, it's
about the quality of the connection. … What's the ideal number of followers? There's
isn't an ideal number. It's all about quality. You want the right people more than
big numbers.


—Dan Blank




It all seems like a waste of time until something happens.—unattributed [Social Media
panel]



You analyze connections between people, not just topic but person-behind-topic. Then
build relationship.


—Dan Blank




Blogging on existing sites can be a good addition to building a topic-specific blog
of your own. Also consider participating in forums, writing guest posts.


—Kate Rados




Don't expect to make money with the 1st book (no matter how you publish); use it to
build readership, move onto 2nd. … Your job is to get your name out there. That's
how you become successful as an author.


—Patricia V. Davis






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Pitching/queries


(Pictured above: WDC11 pitch slam!)




In pitching agents, don't mention "blockbuster," Oprah, or the fact that God or aliens
told you to write.


—Chuck Sambuchino




Should an author get a pro edit before submission? Start with beta readers for affordability.


—Chuck Sambuchino




In nonfiction, platform often more important than in fiction. In fiction, story &
writing may trump other issues.


—Jud Laghi



"When is your project is ready to query? If beta-readers see more you need to do,
do it. Often, it takes years."


—Donald Maass




"If you're not published, don't apologize! No pub credits? Just leave that info out
of query. Focus on that book!"


[Ask Agent panel, unattributed]



"Editors are constitutionally unable to say 'no' to nice people at conferences. No
answer after submission means: no (rejection)." —Janet
Reid




On persistence in querying: If you're not getting the right response to your work,
something isn't working. If you're getting rejections, look at your novel and query.
Don't exhaust all queriable agents before you rework things!

—Donald Maass




Single biggest problem in queries: What's the book about? Start where the book starts:
a choice that illustrates the stakes. Don't reach for publishing credentials! If in
doubt, leave it out. Don't need to mention sequels/other work in your query. Agents
sign you for your whole career, so focus on the book you're querying.

—Janet Reid




Pitch: Who's the main character, what decision do they face, what will happen if he
chooses A vs B? One or two sentences max! Your pitch is comprised COMPLETELY of your
main character (name, age) and what CHOICE they face. Drop backstory/situation. After
those two sentences, stop talking! The agent will ask you questions—have a conversation!

—Janet Reid




Nonfiction writer: If your blog is your platform, you've got to have THOUSANDS of
hits. If that's not the case, don't bring it up! —Janet
Reid

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WRITER'S DIGEST OFFICIAL CONFERENCE BLOG


Many sessions were covered live during the conference. Here are recaps.



The
Future of Publishing (opening talk) by agent Richard Curtis

Keynote
address by Richard Nash

Closing
talk by Benjamin Leroy




Pitch
Perfect by Chuck Sambuchino

10
Things You Must Know to Craft an Effective Query by Janet Reid

Ask
the Agent panel



Branding
Yourself by Dan Blank

Your
Publishing Options by Jane Friedman

Marketing
Yourself in the Digital Age by Guy Gonzalez



Author
101 by Kevin Smokler

DIY
Publishing panel



The
Art of the Page Turner by Hallie Ephron

Putting
Fire in Your Fiction by Donald Maass

Building
the Perfect Plot by James Scott Bell





EXCELLENT COVERAGE & REACTIONS ELSEWHERE


Go read what others had to say (both attendees & presenters):



Agent Janet Reid's coverage on her session at the conference, on how
to write effective queries




Digital Book World's Guy Gonzalez's slide deck from Marketing
Yourself in the Digital Age




Recap
& thoughts from attendee Julie Weathers (I don't agree with everything she
says, but that's mainly because conference tweets almost always deliver a message
out of context, and can be interpreted to mean things they really don't … so she takes
different meaning from the tweets than what was often intended. Hard to avoid, though.



Here's a great recap of Richard Nash's keynote, titled How
Reading Can Change the World




And, by the same person, a recap of the agent panel: Quit
Obsessing




A Publishers
Weekly blog-reporter gives her take




Here's
one attendee who didn't participate in the pitch slam, and offers reasons why attending
such a conference is still helpful




ScriptChat hostess Jeanne V. Bowerman offers a
comprehensive recap at WriteOn!




This attendee tells some good
anecdotes from the pitch slam




Finally, read Chuck
Sambuchino's wrap-up at Guide to Literary Agents, and catch a few great photos





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