03/12/10 - Plymouth Meeting, PA - Workshop: Editor Agent Panel - First Impressions: A View Into Editor and Agent In-Boxes

March 12, 2010
12-4 pm
$15 VFRW Member
$20 Non-VFRW Member
www.VFRW.com

Greater Plymouth Community Center
2910 Jolly Road
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

Want to know what editors/agents think when they see YOUR query in their
in-bin?

Submit a one-page query letter with your registration fee. VFRW cannot
guarantee all queries will be discussed at the meeting, but will be provided
to the panel beforehand, so the editor/agents will have the opportunity to
read them and perhaps contact you after the panel if they are interested in
seeing more.

For your convenience you can:

Register online
Print out and mail in the registration form

Registration will remain open until Friday, February 19, 2010. All
registrations must be received by midnight EST on February 19, 2010. No
queries will be accepted after that date, as they will be forwarded to the
panel on the 20th.

Industry professionals attending:

LaToya Smith is an editor at Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of
Hachette Book Group. She acquires romance of all kinds as well as fiction
with high romantic elements.

What about a manuscript grabs your attention and makes you consider making
an offer?
I look for creativity (hook), a captivating voice, and well-developed
characters.

What do you look for in a synopsis? I want to get a clear idea of what the
story is from beginning to end; who the major players are &how the
characters feed into the plot scheme.

What makes a great editorial relationship with an author?
The author being willing to take direction and make necessary changes to
make the story as strong as possible. Revisions are always necessary and
it's not realistic to think one's story is perfect and without need for
revision.

**

Stephany Evans is the president of Fine Print Literary Management. She
likes stories with a strong and interesting female protagonist, both
literary and upmarket commercial women's fiction, including romance,
mystery, contemporary, historical, paranormal and romantic suspense. Sexy
and intelligent are high on her list of favorite qualities in fiction, and
she loves a good giggle. Some areas she now actively looks for were big
surprises - she didn't know she liked them until a writer hooked her with a
terrific query. She'd sooner pursue something marvelous outside her
established core categories than something ordinary within her usual domain.
As a writer seeking to hook an agent, you are just like an entrepreneur
looking for venture capital. Bottom line, you seek a business partner,
someone who will believe in your "product" and invest their time, energy,
expertise and passion in you and your work. So keep it professional.

**

Danielle Poiesz is an editorial assistant at Pocket Books. She works mainly
on women's fiction, romance, and erotica titles at the moment, but her
interests are a bit broader. She'd love to acquire powerful crossover YA,
women's fiction (she loves magical realism and southern lit!), literary
fiction with a strong commercial elements, and memoir. But if a good query
hooks her, she's always open to projects outside of those genres, of course!
For Danielle, a good query is four things-concise, clear, compelling, and
complete. She wants to look up from a query with an understanding of what
the book is (genre, length, etc.), what the book is about (basic plot, main
characters, etc.), why the book is special (don't be afraid to showcase your
voice), and who you are as a writer. If you can do that in just a few
paragraphs-and without any errors-you'll have her attention.

Questions? Please email workshop@vfrw.com.

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