It’s been a busy week, but here’s what this stepdad has been up to!
A conference where I hope someone will be interested in my writing.
What’s the definition of insanity, again? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
Yeah, that’s it. Einstein, right? Or Bieber? I can’t remember. Some great mind, anyway.
So, let’s be clear, going to the Surrey International Writers’ Conference was an act of insanity for me.
It’s a conference where you can learn new stuff, meet new people and pitch your projects to attending agents or editors. I’ve been going on and off for about 10 years, and the result has always been the same. I go to workshops, listen hard, try to learn a bit, then go home and try to make my writing better.
Don Maass, one of the best writing teachers I’ve ever met.
That’s all good. Sometimes, especially with the Don Maass workshops, I learn a ton and it makes my writing a WHOLE lot better. He just has a way of making me think about how I can make any story better, deeper, more entertaining.
But sometimes, I don’t get as much. Sometimes it’s just stuff I already know.
As for the ‘meeting new people’ part, well, let’s just say I’m far more comfortable sitting in the basement in a dark room and writing alone, than having to talk with people. It’s the secret side of my nature. The extreme introvert. If you want to see what it’s like when I make conversation, I have a video for you.
This is me going to talk to someone. Only I’m less cool.
However, the big fail for me has always been the pitching part. I stress for days over what to say, how to say it, then, when I actually sit in front of someone, my nerves get the best of me.
The conversations often go like this…
“So, I have this book I’ve written, no, wait, I mean novel, cuz a book could be, like, you know, hahaha, a non-fiction thingee or anything, so uhm, yeah, I have this novel and it’s completed and it’s about this guy who does something and must solve some problems and then, at the end, it’s all resolved except for the parts that aren’t resolved. And it’s science-fiction. Did I mention that?”
Bring on the full body sweat.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that not a lot of agents or editors are interested in my stories. More surprising is that I’ve sometimes been escorted out by security or had the agent/editor look quietly away while I weep uncontrollably.
Ok, it’s not that bad, but last time I ate a lot of rejections, and that stung. I thought I had a pretty good story, a pretty good pitch and, yet, yeah, zip. Nada. Not even a pity send-me-ten-pages requests.
So why go back if that’s all going to happen, again?
Why?
Because there is always that hope that this time will be different. Maybe one day, I’ll pitch the right story to the right agent/editor at the right time.
See?
Insane.
But what happened this year was not something I expected at all.