Take Your Novel to the Next Level

ATTEND THE SAN FRANCISCO WRITE AND PITCH CONFERENCE

February 19 -21, 2010. All Genres
From the Algonkian Writer Conferences

What does the market really want? Reality check time. 50,000 or more in this country are struggling to write first novels, thousands of manuscripts flooding agent offices, but only a few hundred at most will ever be published by a major house. Why? … This unique writer conference was developed by the editors and authors at Algonkian Writer Conferences to provide you, the aspiring author, with not only network connections, but comprehensive, hands-on experience utilizing the craft skills, insider advice, and hard-to-swallow facts you must possess before you can even hope to get a first novel successfully published in this tougher-than-ever market–experience and info you will not receive at any other conference, and certainly, not from any Craft and Tips 101 writer magazine.

The W&PC is also the only writer conference to evaluate your novel or work-in-progress even before you arrive. As a participant, you will discover many days worth of eye-opening pre-conference work and study, our valuable MS analysis conducted by business pros (like Charles Salzberg on the left), our own time-tested Competitive Fiction Guide, as well as network pitch sessions, panels, lectures, Q&A, and interactions with some of the best list-building agents who will be present to provide connection and advice in proportion to your needs.

After this conference you will be able to:

• Display the craft, voice, and narrative verve that will put you on top even with the most discriminating editor or agent.
• Develop a reality check-list for all major structural and narrative issues that profoundly affect your novel.
• Reevaluate your novel premise, development, and all else in a manner the market demands and rewards.
• Demonstrate how to build your “platform”–publishers are now looking for solid credentials more than ever.
• Forever avoid the pitfalls of the query and pitch process.
• Use crucial must-knows to stop the rejection cycle, and write from the heart with newfound smarts.
• Do whatever is necessary to make an agent or editor feel confident in promoting your novel.

Getting published by a major house

In today’s environment, you will face more obstacles than ever. An aspiring author attempting to write the breakout novel must not only create a high concept novel premise that rings with “ca-ching” but must avoid all the common pitfalls in title, hook, early character development, prose craft, and ongoing narrative composition. Sound complicated? Well, it is. Welcome to reality! Writers unable to fulfill the many and picky demands of discriminating agents and editors will be rejected every time, and usually within seconds after reading the first page (or even the first line–no kidding).

Everyone is looking for reasons to reject

Why shouldn’t they? Hundreds of projects are right behind yours, all clamoring for publication, all written by ambitious yet soon-to-be-disillusioned writers who believe all they ever needed for success was Writer’s Digest and their local critique group to get it all straight.

After working with writers for many years, we know that isn’t true.