Agent Conference and Cosmos Stacy

The Agents’ Conference went well this weekend. Let me rephrase; after nausea and crippling self-doubt receded, the conference went well.

Kenzie sent me off with a virus I fought all day on Friday. The drive down to Austin was miserable but I took it as an act of faith. Once I got to Austin and checked into the hotel, I took a short nap and felt a bit better. At 3, I attended the first workshop where we distilled our literary endeavors into one hook sentence. It was difficult to get mine into one sentence and I never truly did because, frustrated, I quit trying.

Next, we were all off to court the agents at the cocktail party. It was high school with legal drinking. The poor agents, the popular kids, stood cornered by one author after another while trying to respond to pitches that were not really heard because the noise was approaching the decibel level of a rock concert. I stood in many of these lines and would get almost to the front when a lovely colleague would elbow me out of the way to sell his/her blockbuster that was, no doubt, better than anyone else’s. Authors then compared the notches on their highball glasses as to how many agents they hit up and how many they had to go. I again gave up and resolved to talk to people, regardless of the color of their name tag, a novel idea in a room full of novelists.

Disheartened, I went back upstairs and anxiously awaited the arrival of my soul sister who I had no doubt would help me put all of this in perspective if only by listening to me and making me feel as if I mattered again. Of course she did and when I went to sleep I prayed for peace and a new frame of mind. The phenergan helped me sleep and the extra oxygen soothed my rattled nerves.

I slept in a bit on Saturday and then went to a seminar where the panel instructed us to reject rejection. While I pondered this, the re-frame hit me. I had been going about the whole thing all wrong, following the same rote path everyone else was taking and feeling as if I were prostituting myself and my novel in the process. I resolved to do this conference my way.
I did this first by introducing myself to agents and complimenting them only. I complimented personalities, speaking voice, attitudes, hair styles, author/agent relationships. I did not pitch my book, but instead validated others. It fit me, allowing me to get the attention I needed while still honoring my personal creed that we all have a story and all are, first, human beings each given skills and talents. I met great agents this way and had several request partials of my manuscript. I bonded particularly with one and hope she likes my writing as much as she liked me. Ironically, that particular agent’s last name is my first married name and the name I just recently had dropped from my daughter’s legal name. Life is funny that way, because honestly, I had not even considered this agent, yet we saw a familiarity in each other and enjoyed a moment of bonding. I love when the Universe reminds me I must not be dismissive.

So, all in all, the weekend was a success. I learned an overwhelming amount of information about the publishing business as well as the cosmos Stacy, and I rest in faith that I was and am exactly where I should to be.

Peace and Love.