THRILLERFEST, CRAFTFEST, PITCHFEST, OH MY!

A writer’s conference is a place to learn about your craft, gain insight into publishing, and get face-time with agents and editors. It’s also a lot of fun! And Thrillerfest was no exception. Cathi and I were more than excited to get to New York but leading up to the trip our lives seemed to go crazy. Would we be prepared for all we wanted to accomplish? Armed with business cards (check out Cathi’s post) that were updated to include our new blog site, our manuscripts in the best shape we could get them, and a list of the agents that were best for our type of thrillers, we met at the airport with mile wide smiles. We were exhausted and ecstatic at the same time.  Thus began the whirlwind of two wild and crazy girls aka the GOB writers.

Thrillerfest is divided into several different Fests, and this year we chose CraftFest and PitchFest. Conferences are an expensive enterprise, but I learn so much and meet so many fellow writers and other industry professionals, that I find it worth it. I love to travel so I always have a budget for vacations, which now have become writer’s conferences. Even so, I hope to choose wisely and couldn’t be happier with our decision this time. Craftfest was full of useful workshops put on by authors and other professionals in all areas of thriller writing. And believe me, there is something for everyone. If you have a non-English degree like me, then you can do a workshop on the structure of novels and other writing tips. If you have that down, then you can go to the workshops on hacking or firearms or behavioral analysis. It is impossible not to learn something that will improve your writing or enhance your criminal activity (of your characters, of course). So many classes, all day long that the biggest problem is deciding which one to go to … and if you can’t then you can buy the recordings of the sessions.  CraftFest was also a perfect preparation and lead in to PitchFest, the part Cathi and I were hoping would make the trip to New York worth it.

PitchFest is like speed-dating for agents. New York is home to many literary agents and those looking for thrillers can hop over to the hotel for a few hours in the afternoon and be able to meet hundreds of potential clients. And the writers can meet agents face to face and see if we’re a match. This seems like a formula for stress but if approached the right way, it can be fun. After all we get to talk about our baby again and again to an eager audience. With each 3-minute meeting, you can get a better feel for what makes them excited enough to want to read it, the best hooks among your cherished pages. And you get to gauge whether the agent you liked on paper is one that you can work with in person. Aside from aching feet from standing in line with heels on, Cathi and I felt things couldn’t have gone better. Now we have our fingers crossed that we met a match, but if not, we are certainly one step closer with much more confidence.

I’m sure over upcoming posts we will delve more into our conference takeaways, both tips and experiences, since there are too many to fit in one blogpost. And we are already planning our trip to ThrillerFest 2019 – we’re aiming high and hoping to be part of the Debut Author Panel …