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Hope For New Authors




 
This group meets on the first Wednesday of each month.
 
Purpose: To allow writers to express their doubts and concerns in an encouraging and supportive setting.  
 
If you're interested in learning more about this group, click on the following link:Alex J. Cavanaugh   

Hello All,
It's time for another ISWG post. I realize this is the A-Z challenge, but I've decided to ignore convention and share some news which I believe will benefit many of you.

Last week I attended the Algonkian Pitch Conference in NYC.  It was an expensive trip, but I found it was money well spent. The host and moderator, Michael Neff, genuinely wanted our projects to succeed.  On the first day, he dissected each of our plots and story arcs until they were down to the bare bones.  Although his critiques were tactful, they were also brutally honest.  Many of us had a tough time accepting that our stories weren't the masterpieces we thought them to be.  

The following day, the group had an opportunity to practice their pitches on editors from big name publishing houses.  I tanked on the first two attempts, but after the umpteenth rewrite, the third time was the charm. Two editors requested my manuscript.  Though this is great news, my novel still has to pass muster. According to Mr. Neff, impatience is a new author's worst enemy. I intend to take my time and ensure the MS is polished until it shines before submitting it.

Not only did I learn a lot from the conference, but I also met some incredibly talented people. I will likely keep in touch with them for the rest of my life. We even formed a private FB page.  I am now in the throws of  major edit.  It will probably take a month or two to get through it, but in the end, I hope my efforts will pay off.  For those of you wishing to publish a commercially viable novel, I highly recommend this conference.  Until next time, my friends,  Happy writing.  



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