The Muse and the Marketplace 2011 writers conference sponsored by Grub Street in Boston is just a week away. I've had a busy spring, but in the background I've been preparing for the conference.
I attended last year's conference for one day and liked it, mainly for the excellent panel discussions and for a chance to talk with other writers. For example, my writing focus is mostly on fiction, but I occasionally get ideas for non-fiction projects, so it was helpful to attend a panel which focused on how to market a non-fiction proposal. I also had my "writer / blogger" business cards printed last year, so I'm all set with plenty of cards to bring along this year.
This year my focus will be mostly on fiction. I've decided to participate in the Manuscript Mart portion of the program, which offers an opportunity to get feedback on a proposal from an agent or editor. The proposal format for fiction includes a query letter, synopsis and the first twenty pages of the manuscript. I'm pitching my first novel, Growing Up Single, which is a coming-of-age story set in the turbulent decades of the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. Ideally, the end result would be to get representation for this book, but I'm in this for the long term and expect to get constructive feedback which will help me not only on this project, but on the marketing of future books.
Another cool feature of the conference is the "power lunch." By signing up early, I was able to book a spot at a table with a couple of well-known agents and a local author. All of this is subject to final confirmation, but I expect the result will be a lively lunch with lots of useful chit-chat about getting ahead as an author in the rapidly changing publishing business.
I'll plan to report back after the conference on my experiences.
Have you attended any writers conferences? Have they met your expectations?