New
Year Begins for Hollywood Schmooze
Hollywood Schmooze writers want
their monthly meetings to focus on writing, connecting with other writers, and
the business of writing.
“I’d like us to
talk about our own writing process and how it’s going.”
“I’m here for support, encouragement, and
accountability.”
“I want to share
info and get new info about the industry—especially about agents, and
publishers.”
Some writers want
to concentrate on various aspects of publication.
“I
want to find out about e-books.”
“I want to explore
self- publishing.”
(“If you’re
self-publishing with the goal of attracting a traditional publisher, you’ll
need to sell 10,000 books to be considered,” said a writer familiar with that
route).
Others are looking
for a supportive community in a world where friends and family get the end
process—a published work—but not the road to it.
One writer said
she’s looking for “A place to share knowledge. Bring something new, learn
something new; a community, bouncing ideas off each other.”
Some came with
ideas for topics for future meetings.
“I’d like a
meeting where we talk about the titles and authors we love.”
“I want to talk
about character building.”
“I’d like to find critique group members.”
Others declared
specific goals: “I want to learn about middle grade writing and I want
encouragement in finishing my book.”
At their first
meeting of the new Schmooze year, the coordinators elected to begin with the
end in mind, asking writers to research agents.
Tips gleaned from
their research included reading books the agent represents to determine if the
work you’re sending in is a good fit for them. If it is not, keep investigating
until you find an agent representing work similar to yours. If you don’t a
single place where represented books are like yours, ask why? Is it the writing, the topic, the structure?
A critique from a professional book doctor, or attending SCBWI’s Working
Writers Retreat, may help you pinpoint where to send your work.
Suggested websites to begin
researching an agent:
Agent Query.com
Agent Query Connect.com – a forum
Query Tracker.com
Writer’s Market
Orson Scott Card.com
By Jean Perry
Co –coordinator SCBWI’s Hollywood Schmooze
Co-Coordinator Deborah Fletcher Bloom of SCBWI’s Hollywood Schmoozehttp://deborahblum.blogspot.com
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