The Yosemite Writers Conference is August 24-26, Noveltown is going. Are you? – By Melinda Carroll

The Yosemite Writers Conference is just around the corner. Quite literally. In fact its next week, August 24-26. My excitement is growing by leaps and bounds. I can’t wait to be among so many great writers that I admire. I can’t wait to attend the workshops and panels and soak up all the knowledge I can about writing and the publishing world. I can’t wait to connect to writers from all over the country. I can’t wait to be inspired!

Noveltown is going. Are you?

Want to meet literary agents, publishers, editors, and authors?

Want to learn about the many facets of writing in today’s literary world?

Whether you’re a published author or just realized that you want to be a writer, the Yosemite Writer’s Conference is for you.

Noveltown’s own N.L. Belardes will be speaking at this year’s Yosemite Writer’s Conference, among many others. (Read my previous interview with N.L. about his speaking at the YWC).

I’ve literally been vibrating with anticipation for the Yosemite Writers Conference. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed a preview. You know, like a movie trailer. A teaser. The coming attractions as it were. I went straight to the source. I tracked down Bonnie Hearn Hill, accomplished novelist, instructor and one of many who work very hard each year to put on the Yosemite Writers Conference and I asked her a few questions about what we could expect at this years conference.

She was kind enough to oblige me, instruct me, and encourage me. Read the interview.

Bonnie Hearn Hill
Volunteer faculty
Novelist and instructor

Noveltown: Who are the ‘big’ agents and editors attending the Yosemite Writers Conference this year?

BHH: Please, honey. Never use orphan quotes, and especially not single orphan quotes. I’m excited about all of our agents. Irene Webb is a top film agent. June Clark specializes in nonfiction and works for a leading New York agency. Katharine Sands is also with a major NY firm, and Jeffery McGraw and Arlene Cardoza are building their lists and actively seeking new writers. This is a great opportunity to learn from the people who are in the best position to know what sells.

Noveltown: Which conference panel or workshop are you most excited about this year?

BHH: I’m really excited about the young adult panel. That’s a great market, and we have Farrin Jacobs from HarperCollins, Susan Chang from Tor, along with Melissa Manlove from Chronicle Books. Melissa is also presenting a two-hour picture book critique workshop, and she’s actually doing free line edits. For those who are ready to test their work, the Sharpen Your Hooks workshops are an almost painless way to get feedback. For the first time this year, we’re offering one for fiction and one for nonfiction. Also for the first time, we’re offering two workshops on the high-paying ghostwriting field with representatives of a New York ghostwriting firm, and a magazine-writing panel for those who want to write articles. So I sound as if I’m excited about everything, right? For me, though, the most intriguing might be the Sunday morning one with our Saturday keynote David Morrell, the author who created Rambo. David is actively involved in the conference this year, and he asked if he could do a bonus workshop on Sunday on marketing for writers. I can’t wait.

Noveltown: As a keynote speaker, what does David Morrell bring to the conference?

BHH: We have two keynote speakers, Steve Yarbrough and David. Both are excellent.

Noveltown: Are you participating or speaking on any panels or workshops?

BHH: I’m moderating a few panels. You can check them out under schedules on the Website. Two of the highest rated panels last year were the point of view panel (which I think you attended) and the Sharpen Your Hooks panels. We’ll be repeating both of those. I’ll also moderate a panel on ghostwriting and serve on the mystery/thriller panel moderated by Sheree Petree. Sheree is a mystery novelist who is on our volunteer faculty, along with Hazel Dixon-Cooper, the Cosmopolitan magazine Bedside Astrologer and a best-selling author in her own right.

Noveltown: Is the Yosemite Writers Conference just for experienced or published writers or will beginners and aspiring writers benefit from the conference too?

BHH: We have four workshops an hour geared for everyone at every stage of her/his career; however, we encourage writers to follow their passion. If a beginning writer wants to attend a workshop on how to sell books to film, that’s fine. I should add that we have a talented sound professional from Hawaii recording all of the workshops, so if you miss one you think you might like, you can purchase a CD.

Noveltown: What do you hope writers will gain from their conference experience?

BHH: Depends on where they are with their writing and what they want. Writers should attend conferences at two places in their careers—when they first start, so that they can get a sampling of opinions from many professionals, and then again, when they have a manuscript to sell. They will also build contacts along the way. Your novel may not be ready to sell for three years, but you will still have that contact you made at the conference. As my friend literary agent Andrea Brown says, “Don’t send it to me Monday. Send it to me right.”

Noveltown: What’s new at this year’s Yosemite Writers Conference compared to past conferences?

BHH: A silent auction where those who attend can bid on anything from a line-edit by me to breakfast with an editor or agent. If I were a first-time attendee, I’d go for the agent breakfast. Just think. You’ll have this person’s undivided time. You might also (hint, hint, Ms. MK) want to bid on the invitation to the Friday night presenter reception. Thanks for the excellent questions.

Noveltown: Thanks Bonnie for taking time out of your busy schedule to give us a sneak peak at next week’s Yosemite Writers Conference.

***************
2007 Partial List of Presenters

Keynote Speakers: Steve Yarbrough and David Morrell
Literary Agents: Katharine Sands, June Clark, Irene Webb, and Jeffrey McGraw
Magazine Editors From: Sacramento Magazine and Visalia Lifestyle
Editors: Meg Bertini of Dream Time Publishing, Kate Gale of Red Hen Press, Susan Chang of Tar Books, Farrin Jacobs of HarperCollins, Brenda Knight of Weiser Books, Steve Mettee of Quill Driver Books and Word Dancer Press, Melissa Manloe of Chronicle Books
Authors: N.L. Belardes, Hallie Ephron, BJ Taylor and Ginny Rorby
Yosemite Faculty: Rik Bollman, Hazel Dixon-cooper, Bonnie Hearn Hill, and Sheree Petree

****************
Conference details:

$390 after June 1

Registration fee includes: all workshop sessions Friday and Saturday, continental breakfast, two keynote luncheons and evening reception Friday and Saturday.

The registration fee must be paid in full by check or credit card in order to secure a space for the conference.

Registration fee does not include lodging.

The beautiful Tenaya Lodge is the official conference hotel. When booking your room, be sure to ask for the Yosemite Writers Conference rate of $189 per night. Call (559) 683-6555, 800-635-5807 or log on to tenayalodge.com to reserve your room.

Consultation: Confer with any of the agents or editors at the conference for only $30 per session.

Visit Yosemite Writers online for more details.

*****************
Read Noveltown’s experiences at last year’s Yosemite Writer’s Conference:

By N.L. Belardes
A Writer in Yosemite: Part One
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Two
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Three
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Four
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Five
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Six
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Seven
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Eight

By Matildakay
A great literary weekend
What's your type?
How to Approach a Literary Agent...
The Mary Wong Lee Memorial Scholarship
Malcolm Margolin is Posh
Hanging out with the Pirates of Yosemite and setting the record straight
Kill Your Darlings

In book sales, when is a book a flop? – By Melinda Carroll

In commercial publishing how many book sales does it take to be a success or a flop? Gawker.com recently answered this question in a discussion about Bridie Clark’s debut novel, Because She Can, which has only sold 5,300 copies since its publication two months ago. “That’s very low considering all the promotion they put behind it,” according to Nielsen Bookscan.

Gawker.com demystifies the commercial bookselling process for us:

“The way bookselling actually works is a) shrouded in mystery and b) more boring than a lawnmower parts catalog. The most basic thing that a lot of people who don't work in publishing and bookselling don't know is that early in the game, the most accurate predictor of a book's success/failure isn't so much the number that Nielsen is reporting as having sold as the number of books a publisher has actually printed.

This first printing number is based on the response of buyers at big chains to a minute-long pitch delivered by a publisher's sales reps. This is a big part of the reason why copycat publishing is so rampant: it's easier for a sales rep (who, no matter how valiant or dedicated, might not have time to actually read every book on her employer's list) to pitch "a cross between The Devil Wears Prada and The Da Vinci Code" than to try to sum up something new and unheard of. The buyers' responses determine how many books are printed: That is, how many books are actually available to be sold.”

(Read the full article)

So depending on the number of copies actually printed… Bridie Clark’s novel may or may not be a flop.

In the Indie publishing world where print runs are considerably smaller than those of commercial publishing, due mainly to funding, the same bookselling formula can be used to determine whether a book has been successful or not.

While the commercial publishers are buying up storefronts for books, Indie publishers like Noveltown work very closely with their authors and independent bookstores to promote their work through creative grass roots and guerilla marketing to get the books into the reader’s hands.

No matter the size of the print run, book sales are the goal for both Indie and commercial publishers. Noveltown is committed to our authors in every way possible and some we haven’t even thought of yet. We want to work with you... submit your work to Noveltown.

Literary writing versus Genre writing – By Melinda Carroll

Literary agent Kristin sparked a great conversation among writers when she tried to define the term literary on her Pub Rants blog.

Kristin defines literary as:

“I wish there were a quick and dirty definition I could give you but there’s not. It’s often like porn. I know it when I see it. It’s pretty clear.

I can at least make a stab at defining it though. The term literary refers to the level and quality of the writing. The language itself is art. It also refers to the level of complexity in the story. So works like THE CLOUD ATLAS or GILEAD are definitely literary.

The writing itself has a beauty that’s palpable. Now, these works can also tell a good story (which both do by the way) but when you sit back in awe at the tightness of the writing and the sheer scope encompassed, then you know it’s literary.”

She went on to explain that most genre writing or commercial fiction is not necessarily literary but it could be genre or commercial fiction with literary leanings. Her statements got everyone in an uproar over literary writing versus genre writing.

(Read the full blog and the comments)

Kristin followed up the discussion in another blog post titled: “Literary Can of Worms.”

She states:

“Where in my post do I denigrate genre writers? Simply because I mention that “literary” writing is usually recognizable or defined by level or art of the writing doesn’t mean that genre writers don’t also achieve that. It’s simply that the industry doesn’t DEFINE them as literary. Folks, I don’t make the rules. I simply try and point out that they exist. That there is an expectation an editor has if I pitch a work as literary fiction. They are expecting whatever it is they consider to be literary—and in the way I took a stab at defining.”

(Read the full blog and the comments)

I myself love good literary prose and literary themes. I would agree with her statement: “The writing itself has a beauty that’s palpable.” Even though I read a lot of commercial fiction and women’s fiction I’m always looking for a great literary work of art that just blows me away.

What are your thoughts on literary writing versus genre writing and the labels the publshing world uses to define books?

No matter the genre or label, I think most people want to read good writing. Good writing stands out. And that is exactly what Noveltown is looking for. (Submissions accepted here.)

Indie Presses and Writer’s reminiscent of American Punk Rock - By Melinda Carroll

An Argument for Writers’ Taking Charge by Johnny Temple, publisher and editor of Akashic Books of New York, while written in 2005, is an article that captures the spirit of Indie Presses and Noveltown to this day.

“Today’s indie publishing community is in some ways reminiscent of American punk rock in 1982. In that era, bands took it upon themselves to carve out networks that would connect the punk scene in San Francisco to the one in Phoenix, the one in Lawrence, Kansas, to the one in Washington, D.C., to Amsterdam’s, to Belgrade’s, to Israel’s, to Bangkok’s, and beyond. Working closely with indie labels, bands did the dirty work of booking their own tours and driving in decrepit vans and sleeping on floors and in parking lots—hammering out a vibrant (and, yes, highly flawed) new underground culture where one didn’t exist before. A similar grassroots approach to local- scene building—and to the networking between those scenes—is under way in indie literature.”

A grassroots approach to local scene building and networking… now that is what Noveltown is all about!

Temple goes on to make the argument for why writers should work with independent publishers.

“For starters, one’s editor at an indie is often the publisher herself, who can’t easily up and leave for greener pastures…

And independents are often far more attentive to their books, and more creative with their marketing, even if their budgets are smaller…

Reaching beyond traditional venues and actively seeking out new audiences, rather than waiting to be “discovered,” young writers and publishers are rolling up their sleeves and carving out new networks through which literature can be promoted…

The love of books remains the guiding principle for almost all indie publishers.”

(Read the full article)

Noveltown loves books and writers and we’re working hard to connect the indie literary scenes as we grow in the world of indie publishing.