Last weekend I spent three and one half delightful days
at the Mystery Writers Conference at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California.
This was the 20th conference for the store owners Bill and Elaine Petrocelli.
It has a reputation for excellence in both guests and attendees, many have gone
on to brilliant writing careers and take this opportunity to give back to
other writers learning their chops. I recommend it to any
mystery/thriller/suspense/detective scribbler out there.
The faculty this
year included incredible Martin Cruz Smith, award winning Elizabeth George, D.P. Lyle,
Kirk Russell, the delightful Isabel Allende, Cara Black (of Paris fame), Ivy
Pochoda, Cornelia Read, Jacqueline Winspear, and of course the ringmaster of
this circus, Sheldon Siegel. The list also included technical help from retired
FBI agents, firearms experts, and literary agents. Intense, funny, fascinating,
inspiring and even instructive, the days went by faster than a 9mm through Jell-O.
What did I learn? Here are seven tips for conferences:
1. Remember to
bring a notebook. It needs to have a stiff back or clip it on a clipboard. Many
of these conferences don’t have tables so your lap is your only option. Carry
extra pens (I like gel types), pencils need sharpening so use pens. Post the
date and who the players are at the session on the top of the page, good for later
reference. A lot of attendees work directly on computers taking notes, for me
this is too confusing and distracting (and complicated with cords and chargers
and everything). Transcribe later.
2. Meet as many of
the faculty as you can. Don’t get all pushy and try to impress them with
your work. In fact don’t even show them anything. Ask questions, try to steal a
little of their brain if you can. Watch how they act, someday you might be in their
shoes, it’s always good to have a mentor.
3. Meet as many of
the attendees as possible. Every one of them has a reason to be there. Some
are working on their first book, others maybe their sixth or seventh. Be
sincerely interested in what they are doing and they may even listen to what
you’re writing about. Pass them a card, get theirs. They might be sitting next
to you on stage at some future event.
4. Send thank you
notes. Honestly didn’t your mother bring you up right? Send the organizers
a note, send the MC a note, and if you have interviews with agents or other
faculty send them a brief note as well (I also slip in a business card). A
little civility is always appreciated. And I mean a note, handwritten with a
stamp – not a Facebook posting or an email (if you can’t get their address I
guess an email is marginally okay).
5. Arrive early,
stay late; you never know who you might meet. As hard as it is, try to go
to all events and discussions. It is a grind especially late on the third day
and early Sunday morning. But there might be one nugget of help in your career and
it was at the session you missed. You paid for the ride, now take it.
6. Ask questions.
Every member of the faculty has been where you are now. They asked questions
and learned. Squeeze them for the information, put a hot bright light on them,
grill them, make them sweat – it’s good practice.
7. Summarize and
store your notes. A few days after the conference pull out the notebook and
transcribe your notes. Reorganize the odd string of thoughts you posted.
Reflect and add more notes now that you have had time to think about the
sessions (and save the old ones). This will help to imprint your brain with
what you learned and remember to also go back in a few weeks and look at them
again. Add these notes to your writer’s notebook for later reference.
8. Bonus - Buy books
written by the authors at the session. There will always be new writers at
these sessions, buy their work, read them, try and understand what they talked
about and how they applied it to their work. In one session a very successful writer confessed
that he liked a book so much he deconstructed it to understand how the author
built the story – now that’s dedication to your art!
More Later . . . . . . . .
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