A critical point on my path to getting published occurred last Spring when I attended the SCBWI conference in Redmond, WA. For those of you not familiar with SCBWI, the acronym stands for Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (rumor has it the acronym was created by the Fruitful Fellowship Of Fun Loving Folk With Exceptionally Long Org Names, also known as FFOFLFWELON).
I signed up for the Spring conference thinking 'what could be more enjoyable than hanging out for the weekend with a bunch of children's authors?' And, as an added bonus, I signed up for a ten minute private writing critique with a New York literary agent. Difficult as it is to get the attention of an agent I told myself $35 for a face to face meeting was well worth the price. A lot can happen in ten minutes. I know that and have two children to show for it.
The flyer promised the weekend would get off to a bang with a social at the hotel the evening before the conference started. This was a time to rub elbows, share a few laughs and pose for pics with like minded others. Excellent.
I arrived to discover the lobby filled with about two hundred unfamiliar faces, all of whom seemed intimately acquainted and not looking to add to their ranks. I felt like the new kid at school attending prom without a date, or a keg in the trunk.
I worked my way to one corner of the room and found solace with a few other wide-eyed souls who were neither published nor initiated into the authors' in-crowd. We comiserated on how it is cliques form, even at a gathering like this.
My luck took a turn for the better when I bumped into a cool breeze by the name of Bryan Bliss. He was the sort of guy that glides across social waters like Jesus across the dead sea. Jesus, thank god, took a liking to me and spent the next hour introducing me to his posse of new-found friends.
Along the way I met Jay Asher, one of the keynote speakers. We connected about the creative process. He seemed a kindred spirit and I suddenly felt I was in the right place after all. Not until the next day did I discover his book THIRTEEN REASONS WHY had been on the bestseller list for over a year! Pretty cool (the book, BTW, should be required reading for all high school kids as it confronts teen suicide in a most compelling honest sort of way).
At this point I was feeling pretty good, ready to tackle anything the publishing world had to throw at me. I shared with Bryan the name of the agent I was scheduled to meet with the next day and he immediately went to work tracking her down via his informants in the crowd. Yes, I thought to myself, I'll chat her up tonight and set the seeds for our developing relationship. By this point, with each sip of my beer, I was increasingly convinced I would find a way to woo her into being my agent before the weekend was over.
Bryan returned and pointed her out. There she was, not more than ten feet from me, a real life literary agent with angelic face and Italian leather boots. With Bryan at my back I took a last sip and walked right up and said hello. I expected the light of recognition to cross her face, having read the manuscript I sent her in advance, right before she gave me a warm literary agent hug.
Instead, her eyes flicked over me like a cat's over the carcass of a mouse. My heart pounded. Didn't she know who I was? Dan Richards. The Dan Richards. I stared at her Italian leather boots suddenly feeling like a small town kid thrown down on Broadway.
With a pleasant there-are-three-hundred-other-more-interesting-people-trying-to-get-my-attention smile she mumbled something and drifted away into the chattering, gurgling throng. I watched her disappear, my ears burning like the insides of a toaster oven.
And so I was introduced to the meat market known as a literary conference in which hundreds of unpublished authors attempt to woo, harrass or in all ways imaginable gain the attention of a smattering of industry professionals. All done in the spirit of camraderie and literary love.
In my next post, I'll describe day two of the conference in which I embarrassed myself in the restroom, was found passed out in my car and had my much anticipated agent meeting.
Cheers!
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