If I’m being brutally honest, I almost didn’t attend this day. I was exhausted from the first two days of the AWP Conference, and after the slightly disappointing second day, I kept reading over the sessions I had lined up for this day, and I really contemplated not going.
However, this conference cost money, and it would have been a waste to skip out on the last day. I supposed that even if I went and just listened, and didn’t take many notes, it would be fine. Plus, I really wanted to attend the last session of the day, which was a panel of literary agents who planned to discuss what to do after rejection.
Maybe it’s because my expectations were low from the previous day, but every single session (except one) seemed to knock it out of the park—and I was incredibly thankful that I pushed through my morning’s negativity.
It ended up being the best way to close out the conference.
Session 1: Down to the Wire: The Nuts and Bolts of Editing a Manuscript to Publication
The panelists in this first sessions were two writers and their editors, so they were able to give really specific examples of what the process looks like once you’ve signed with an the agent and sold your book to a publishing house. It was fascinating listening to how the writer and editor worked together to bring the author’s vision to life.
I’ve always thought of book editors as disciplinarians who tell you what you can and can’t do, and I have often had the thought while reading, “An editor really didn’t catch this?” They’ve always seemed like harsh teachers waiting to grade your paper and tell you how many things you did wrong.
But I learned throughout this panel that while editors give suggestions for revisions, ultimately, it’s the writer who decides. For example, if a manuscript’s word count was too high (maybe over 100,000 words for a non-fantasy novel), an editor might advise the writer to edit it down to 80,000 words, but it would be up to the author which words to remove. The editor isn’t going in with a giant red pen and axing chapters.
Another thing to keep in mind is that like the literary agent, that editor went to bat for your book at an acquisition meeting with their team—because they believe in your book and want it to succeed. They are on your team, and you are both trying to reach a common goal.
The panelists talked through several of the different edits that a manuscript goes through before it becomes a published book. There is usually an initial editorial letter that has broader notes, typically about plot and structure. Then there are a few rounds of editorial passes, ranging from structure and pace to the more specific line edits and grammar. There are also copy edits done by a copy editor.
Each of these rounds of edits takes a couple of months, so even after you’ve sold a book to a publishing house, it usually takes about a year before it’s published.
Session 2: Routine Means Keep Doing It: Giving Your Writing Practice, Structure, & Support
Even though I was disappointed by other sessions that were supposed to be more on the practical side, I felt hopeful for this session, especially now that I’m wanting to have a better writing routine in place. I was pleasantly surprised, and I left this session brimming with ideas.
Each of the panelists talked through what their own writing routine was, but they did so in a way that felt more practical to me. Ultimately, they said that each person is different, and you have to find what works best for you (which is what other panelists had said previous days)—but this group went one step further and actually gave examples of routines to try out.
First, they encouraged us to figure out what time of day we wrote best. Was it the morning? Afternoon? Evening? Then they advised to figure out if you were more of a binge writer (spend several hours all at once writing) or a day-by-day writer (write a certain number of words every day). Once you know both of those things, figure out how to create a routine that set yourself up for success.
One of the writers was a binge writer. So one weekend a month, she would rent an Airbnb, her partner would take care of the kids, and she’d spend the whole weekend away from home and bust out huge chunks of her novel.
Another writer on the panel was sticker and candy motivated. She had been potty training her daughter, and after she made her daughter a sticker chart, she made herself one, too. When she completed her word count that day, she got a sticker. Plus, she allowed herself to eat as many M&Ms as she wanted while she was drafting.
Two of the other writers were in a writing group that provided different levels of accountability. The accountability partners didn’t necessary exchange pages, but just checked in with each other to see how their writing was going.
A specific piece of advice that I found useful was to have a piece of paper next to your computer while you write, and jot down everything in your brain that tries to derail you from your writing (appointments, scheduling items, life things). Then you have a list when you’re done with your writing time. Because if you’re in the writing zone, and you’re brain suddenly thinks, “Oh shoot. I need to set up an oil change for my car,” if you stop to call the mechanic, or make a note in your phone, it’s easier to lose the cadence of your writing. You’re suddenly out of the story and back in the real world.
Session 3: There’s No Normal in Publishing: Stories from 2023 Young Adult Debuts
I had such a blast with this panel! It was made up of five debut authors who shared about their debut year. Plus, all five wrote young adult novels, so that was perfect for me!
These authors discussed what it was like to get that elusive book deal and what came next. Up until this point, a lot of the authors at the conference I’d listened to were published both from bigger publishing houses, as well as small presses, but these five were all from the major traditional publishing houses.
Something I hadn’t really realized before this panel was that the publishing houses decide what kind of publicity you get based on how they categorize your book. So if your book is a lead title, they’re going to put a lot more behind it than a mid-list book. (Now, I don’t know all the specifics on how books get put into which category, but the authors assured us that it had nothing to do with quality of the book and more to do with marketability.)
It sounds like the debut year is really busy—and for good reason! You want your book to sell. When a publishing house buys your book, they give you an advance. Then, once your book has sold enough to “earn back” that advance, you start making royalties. But you want to be able to earn out, and as a debut author, no one knows who you are. If you’re with a larger publisher, they’ll help you do that, so it’s not all on you.
One thing these panelists talked a lot about was that even in the midst of the busy debut year, you have to find things outside of writing and outside of publishing that bring you joy. You also can’t seek validation from this. You definitely should be having fun, and if you feel like you have overcommitted (with interviews, podcasts, any marketing events, etc.), you can turn things down. “You don’t have to be everywhere at once,” one panelist said.
Session 4: How Do You Eat? Writers Talk Plainly About How They Funded Their Writing Lives
Of all the sessions today, this one was the only one that was just fine. Basically, they all just agreed that writing full time is not a luxury most people have. Unless you marry rich. (Seriously, this advice was mentioned in at least two sessions each day.)
Once again, I was hoping for something a little more practical than what they provided, but it was interesting to listen to them talk about all the jobs they had—while also writing. But that also means there isn’t a ton to share from this session.
Session 5: Onward!: Agents and Editors on Rejection and What Comes Next
“Sometimes the rejections are just the beginning of the story.”
As someone in the querying stage—a stage that comes with a lot of rejection—the whole premise of this panel felt right up my alley. This session was great, because the panelists were literary agents and editors. It was interesting to hear more about why they pass on certain projects, and the scope of how many queries and pitches they receive.
One of the editors (who works for Bloomsberry) said that she only works on 8-10 books a year, but she gets 10-15 really good submissions a week, which really drove home some of the advice I’d heard a lot during this conference that just because you get rejected, it’s not because your work is bad. There’s just a lot of good stuff out there.
Since book editors have to be selective, that means that agents get rejected too. Sometimes, even by writers. Occasionally, there will be a “beauty contest” where writer has offers from multiple agents who want to represent them, but the writer can only pick one agent.
They also encouraged us to have a rejection ritual—some way to help process the “no.”
One of the panelists bought herself sadness pizza. She would go out and buy the cheapest, worst pizza she could find, sit on the floor of her living room, and eat the pizza until she felt sick. She said it helped her really feel the sadness and be able to just sit in the emotion. Then the next morning, she would feel better. Mentally and physically.
One panelist said, “Rejection is how I know I’m playing. It’s how I know I’m still in the game.”
Another said that she had a writer friend who would make erasure poetry out of the rejections, and another said they would do dramatic readings of their rejections to their friends.
At the end of the panel, one of the agents told us that something she did to help with rejections was to loudly and boldly proclaim, “Onward!” Because even though rejection stings, you have to keep going.
So as we closed out the last day of the conference, we all got to our feet. On the count of three, we all loudly and boldly proclaimed, “Onward!”
Britnie Jenkins 