Cool Stuff

That last post was kind of dark, though I didn't mean for it to be. From my perspective, it was kind of a "that's life" train of thought, but the subject matter was melancholy, and I try not to ride that train for long. So I want to share some exciting news.

I mentioned before that I read several agent, editor, and writer's blogs, some more consistently than others. Evil Editor's blog is one I read just about every day, same with Janet Reid, Nathan Bransford, and a few others. I read the blogs of some writers with whom I'm friendly (some damn good friends, too).

A couple of weeks ago I was checking the blog of one of the agents I follow. I was scrolling down, looking at her side bar having read the posts already, and saw that she lists the conferences she'll be attending. I was surprised to see that one of the conferences is only about 90 miles from me. I was immediately intrigued.

I followed the link to the conference website, checked the dates and the sessions in which this agent will be involved. I also read the descriptions of the different workshops being held. One immediately caught my attention. You can submit the first 25 pages of your manuscript to be critiqued by a faculty member of a nearby university, or one of the editors or agents that will be at the conference. That would be cool, to get a professional opinion of the WIP from someone in the publishing profession, and spend 30 minutes getting skewered by them. A face-to-face with someone who can smash my dreams with a pitiful shake of the head, or send me into orbit with an encouraging word.

Unfortunately, the deadline for submitting my work for this particular workshop had passed about five days earlier. No big deal, I would still go to the conference, if for nothing more than to attend the agent's sessions, and maybe try for a chance encounter in the hotel bar and offer to buy her a drink and happen to have several copies of the the first 50 pages nearby, in the event she finds my conversation so enchanting that she asks for some pages. I've heard it can happen at these conferences. It's bad form to ask the agent to read your pages, but you definitely want to have them available if she asks to see them.

So, I called the conference organizer and asked if I could register over the phone. No problem, they take Visa. I tell her I want the half-days for this particular agent's sessions. I tell her that I plan to query this agent when my WIP is complete, and it would be cool to meet her beforehand.

Wonderful, she says. All signed up. Is there anything else?

Well, I said, I wanted to do the manuscript workshop, but the deadline has passed. She says no problem, she hasn't sent the materials off yet. If I can email her the pages that day, she'll still get me in. Cool, excellent, yes sign me up for that. Great, she says. Would you like to do it with (The Agent)?

What?

I can pick?

Hell, yeah, let me do it with her!

So here I am. Registered, paid, and the pages sent.

What the fuck have I done?

I mean, I think the pages are fairly polished, I've been shining them up for a while now, but still. The Agent. Seriously. What the fuck have I done?

This particular agent (I'm not trying to be mysterious, I just don't want to jinx the meeting, not that I'm superstitious or anything) is not known for her gentle handling of us wannabes. At least, not from what I gather reading her blog. She's respectful, but she isn't going to sugarcoat her critique. If you can't handle her opinion, don't ask her for it. Okay, I guess I've asked for it. In a big way. Maybe the drinks should come before the consultation. Lots of them.

It's a strange, pleasant mix of emotions. Excitement blended with apprehension, hope stirred up with dread.

There are many variations of what I might hear from The Agent. Anything from laughter followed by "Oh, you were serious?" to "Send me the full when it's finished."

Realistically, it will probably be somewhere between the two, hopefully toward the "this is pretty good" end of the spectrum.

Whatever happens, I have a feeling it will be an experience I'm not likely to forget. I'm looking forward to it. The ultimate reality check. Pretty cool stuff.