Pittsburgh Writers Workshop

Pittsburgh

Writers

Workshop

This is an overall summery of the March 9th 2019 workshop. It was very revealing and educational which was one of my biggest reasons for attending. I also went to pitch an agent in person. An in person pitch gives a bigger advantage than emailing a query which I highly recommend all do. Please do this at a conference or workshop. These are scheduled meetings and are far more appropriate than running up to an agent and surprising them.

Querying is never a one shot deal. Publishers Market Place is a good resource to find agents. Be sure to thoroughly review the guidelines provided on literary agency websites. You want to try and find something that connects you, your book, and the agent together. Comparative titles or comps are a must. It helps make your book a more desirable one. A tip from one agent was to write the query before the whole book. This is very useful and I've heard that writing a synopsis first also helps you with what you want.  

Be sure to do your research of the market to see where your book fits. I don't write to the market personally because it changes rapidly. The choice is ultimately up to you. Fast writers can write to the market yet a good story should never be rushed. I encourage everyone to trust in themselves in this task.

Marketing is possibly the most important of what are really two halves to being a writer. Make a list of what others do to gain popularity and sales. Remember that if you truly want to sell books in either the traditional of self publishing way that your book is a product. To sell the most you must do as much as can be done. This means an editor is a must for querying agents to be published or doing all the back back breaking work in self publishing. I want to to remind you that there is no right or wrong way to your book dreams. This means self and traditional publishing both work. I personally feel I need a team at my side which is provided by traditional publishers. The higher an advance you get from a publisher means that they will put a lot into getting your book off the ground. This means they believe in you.

Your mission in marketing is to create a strong social media presence. Use Amazon, Goodreads and all sources available to get your book out there. Ultimately, you are selling yourself which means watch what you say. Whether you have ten or a thousand followers everyone can see everything. You want to spend per day up to fifteen to twenty minutes on social media. This will leave room for more reading and marketing.

Once on the market send out review copies of your book to reviewers, newspapers and magazines. In self publishing you want these reviews done six months prior to your release date. I don't know when you will have to do this for traditional publishing. It maybe even earlier. 

Mesh your comparative titles with blurbs from reviewers is a good way to bring in readers. Use regular blurbs in advertising as well. I plan to do whatever I can to get the word out. 

Funds are limited for all of us, even with a high advance or good job. No matter the amount you must budget as if you don't actually have a ton of money. This will mean that responsibility is being taken for your actions.

In conclusion, I wish you all the luck in the world. It's not a race. I often times feel that it is, especially when I see a new book out. It still and always will hold true to me that a person's ultimate competition is themselves.