ACFW Conference

Phew! In the past two weeks I've logged over 36 hours of drive time in my mini-van. It's been a whirlwind adventure.

Just outside of Ames, Iowa.

I've been to Indianapolis, Des Moines and Webster City, Iowa.  I reunited with old friends, made new friends and have a whole new treasure trove of memories stored away in my heart. I met God in amazing ways and watched other people encounter God in their own lives.

On Tuesday, September 10th I left my home in Minnesota and traveled five hours south to Des Moines, Iowa to meet up with Melissa Tagg and Alena Tauriainen. We spent the night at Melissa's apartment, loaded up the mini-van and then left for Indianapolis the next day.

The trip to Indianapolis took us about seven and a half hours. We enjoyed catching up, listening to each others pitches, sharing funny stories, and laughing our way to the Hyatt in Indianapolis.

Inside the Hyatt in Indianapolis.

That night we met up with the My Book Therapy Staff and went to the Eagle's Nest Restaurant, a rotating room at the top of the Hyatt, where we shared the highs and lows of our year. It was a humbling experience to hear the amazing things God is doing through the ministry of Reba Hoffman and her bicycle.

Sitting with the My Book Therapy Staff in the rotating Eagle's
Nest Restaurant above the Hyatt.

The next day, Thursday, many writing friends began arriving at the Hyatt and I had the privilege of helping with the registration table for the conference. It was there that I met my agent, Mary Keeley, in person for the first time! I also met new friends and reconnected with old ones.

Mary Keeley and I

The second night at the hotel was when all my roommates arrived! I roomed with Jessica Patch, Cynthia Herron and Lindsay Harrel. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard and so much! We had such a good time we didn't realize how late it had become...or how loud we were being...until the lady next to us was kind enough to tell us we needed to be quiet. :)

My funny roommates: Jessica Patch, Cynthia Herron and Lindsay Harrel.

After that, the conference went by in a wonderful blur! Friday night was the genre dinner where I dressed up in a mid-1910's gown. It was fun to see others get into the spirit of the dinner.

Here is Anne Love dressed in her 1890's attire!

I spent my time attending workshops and seminars, pitching my story to editors and visiting with fellow writers. On Saturday night I went to the My Book Therapy Pizza Party where I was a finalist for the Frasier Contest. I didn't win the award, but I felt like a rock star being a finalist!

 

Here I am with the other finalists!

The Pizza Party was a lot of fun. The highlight was watching a spoof on the Wizard of Oz, where Lindsay Harrel sang her heart out.

 

The My Book Therapy Pizza Party performers! Lindsay
is on the left with the silver hair. :) Susan May Warren
is dressed as Dorothy in the blue.

After the Pizza Party I went back to the Eagle's Nest and had tea and dessert with my lovely agent, Mary. We had the opportunity to visit and get to know one another better. We talked about my writing and she encouraged me in wonderful ways. I feel blessed beyond compare by her work on my behalf. It was a much different experience attending a conference with an agent on my side. I'm excited to work with her and I can't wait to see where we go from here.

I also attended the Books & Such Literary Agency breakfast on Sunday morning. This was an amazing event for me. I felt honored to be sitting among the authors represented by my agency. It was fun to meet many authors I've dreamed of meeting my whole life. It was humbling to be included.

The Books & Such Literary Agency Breakfast

Sunday, September 15th marked a very special milestone for my friend Melissa Tagg. Her debut novel, Made to Last, released! I'm so thankful we were there to celebrate with her. Alena, Lindsay and I had release day buttons made to spread the good news.

Here we are showing off our buttons.

I cheered with friends who had successes and I cried with friends who were disappointed. I laughed at funny stories, empathized with those who are struggling, and took a few moments to sit quietly and marvel at this journey God has called me on. Who am I that He would use me?

Susan May Warren and I in our 50's inspired dresses.

The conference ended with the Gala Awards dinner on Sunday night where author Frank Peretti was given the lifetime achievement award. This event was a wonderful time to take all those last minute pictures with friends and to celebrate the work God is doing through Christian Fiction.



One of my favorite mentors, Beth Vogt.

I walked away from the conference sleep-deprived and elated! I am encouraged and equipped for this next leg of my journey. I feel really good about where I'm at and I look forward to where I'm going. It's the best place to be.

Your Turn: If you were at the ACFW Conference, what was your highlight? I've missed being on my blog and visiting with my readers. If you weren't at the conference, I'd love to know what you've been doing these past two weeks.

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On Wednesday I'm hosting author Jody Hedlund on my blog. I'll be sharing information about a fun giveaway for the month of October. You won't want to miss it!

On Friday I'll share some fun pictures from Melissa Tagg's Made to Last Launch Party in Webster City, Iowa!

Juggling



It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted. The longest break I've taken from my blog since I started it in February of 2012. I needed a break...still do. I've been juggling numerous balls these past few weeks and I had to drop one of them--and blogging it was.

The two heaviest balls I'm juggling right now are planning for the ACFW Conference in Indianapolis this week and starting our family homeschool.

Planning for the conference involves more than just preparing one-sheets, practicing my pitch and packing my bags. Over the past week I've been doing laundry, creating meal plans, shopping, coordinating schedules for four children, one dad and a grandma, cleaning the house...and cleaning some more. I don't want to forget anything! I've also been polishing my manuscript, ordering business cards (and reordering business cards...long story), putting together outfits, editing my one-sheets, and making flower pins (see my blog post about being memorable here).

I'm looking forward to so many things at the conference this year. I will be meeting my agent, Mary Keeley, in person for the first time. I am a finalist in the My Book Therapy Frasier Contest. My friend, Melissa Tagg, will be celebrating her first book release while we're there (her book Made to Last releases September 15th). Seeing old friends and meeting new. Attending amazing workshops. Meeting (and pitching to) editors. And fellowshipping with other like-minded writers and Christians. What could be better?

Homeschooling is the other ball I'm juggling right now. I was homeschooled as a child and it has always been my hope and prayer that we could homeschool our children. We've decided to start with just our oldest this year. She entered the third grade and she was excited to start. Our second daughter (first grade) has stayed in the private school we've had the girls in for the past few years. We plan to eventually start homeschooling her, as well--but we're going to take it a year at a time.

The other balls I usually juggle are also lying next to my blogging ball. I've had to decline some of my volunteer activities, postpone much needed visits with friends, and miss a few events I would have loved to attend--but I know when September passes, I'll be able to go back to my regular activities and pick up those balls again.

I can't wait to meet you back here to share all my conference experiences when I return! I plan to post pictures and an overview of my conference experience when I come back. I'm sure I'll be posting pictures on Facebook while I'm there, as well.

I also have a really, really exciting list of guest authors coming up in October! Six weeks. Six authors. One really great prize! I'll share more when I come home.

Your Turn: Are you going to be at the ACFW Conference this year? What do you have planned for the coming week?

Ten Reasons an Author Needs an Agent

Last Thursday I announced I have a literary agent. I signed with Mary Keeley from Books & Such Literary Agency. It's a huge step on my journey to publication, one I'm thrilled to take.

When I started on this journey I wasn't quite sure what an agent was, or if I even needed one. But as I learned more and more about the publishing industry, I discovered the vital role a literary agent plays in the publication process.

Without further ado, here are ten reasons an author needs an agent.

1. An agent has the ability to submit your manuscript to numerous publishing houses, simultaneously. One of the greatest benefits to having an agent is their ability to get your manuscript in the hands of editors at publishing houses. Most publishing houses will not accept an unsolicited manuscript directly from an author, but they will from a literary agent.

There are really only two ways for an author to get their story on an editor's desk, without the help of an agent. You can meet with an editor for a fifteen minute "pitch" session at a conference (and you're still not guaranteed the editor will ask for your manuscript), or you can pay a fee and place your manuscript on a website like Christian Manuscript Submissions, on the (unlikely) chance that an editor will see it.

2. An agent negotiates contracts. When an author is offered a writing contract, it will be the agent's job to negotiate for her. Literary contracts are extremely technical, filled with legal jargon the average writer has never heard of. An agent is skilled in this area and will work hard to get it right. Without an agent, an author would have to hire an attorney each time she needed to negotiate, and most attorneys aren't savvy in the publishing world.

3. An agent works with a publishing house, after the contract is signed. Another important role for the agent is to make sure the publishing house upholds their end of the contract. In some situations the agent becomes the mediator between the author and the publishing house (but hopefully this doesn't happen often).

 4. An agent helps create a marketing plan. As part of the team, an agent wants to help the author sell as many books as possible. She's also knowledgeable in the industry and understands what has worked in the past, and what has not. The agent will help the author create a marketing plan and then the author will implement it.

5. An agent knows the business. As I was learning about the publishing industry, a handful of agencies continued to show up on my radar. These agencies have excellent reputations in the industry and they represent hundreds of authors, many of them on the bestseller's list. Books & Such Literary Agency is one of the leading agencies in the Christian Book Association (CBA).

6. Agents have the inside scoop on what publishing houses are looking for. Often a publishing house is in the market for a specific genre, era or subject to fill in their publishing lineup and they will call a respected agency to ask if they have an author who could fill the slot. Agents work closely with publishers and they create good relationships. They have connections on a broad range that an author (especially a newbie) doesn't have.

7. Agents are the first step on the journey. Every year thousands of people write books, but only hundreds get published. Publishing houses used to accept manuscripts, but they would sit in a "slush pile" for months before an editor had the time to read them. Agents have become the first step in the process. Now agents receive all those manuscripts and it's their job to find the best of the best. If an agent finds an author who has potential, they've cut out a lot of work for editors. Editors still have hundreds of manuscripts to go through in a year, but it's a much smaller--and higher quality--"slush pile" than it used to be.

8. An agent stays up-to-date in the publishing industry. Agents are constantly attending conferences, going to trade shows and meeting with publishers to stay up-to-date on trends in the publishing industry. An agent will help the author process this information and apply it to their goals.

9. Signing an agent is a career-long decision. Most agents and authors consider their partnership as long-term. An agent has many years in the publishing industry and one of her goals is to use her experience to help the author navigate her writing career. There will be many decisions to make and having her knowledge is priceless.

10. An agent encourages you. The road to publication can be long and winding. I've often heard my writer friends tell me their agent is always at the ready to encourage them when things are tough and celebrate with them when things go well. It's helpful to have a voice of reason to keep the journey in perspective.

This is not a complete list of why it's important to have an agent, but it's a good start.

What do you think? Did any of these things surprise you? If you're an author (or an agent), what can you add to this list?

I Have an Agent

I'm posting off schedule this week because I have a big, BIG announcement and I can't wait to share!

 

I have a Literary Agent! And not just any agent, I'm honored to be represented by Mary Keeley of the Books & Such Literary Agency, one of the finest agencies in the industry.

For those of you who have been following this writing journey with me, you know I've dreamed of being an author for as long as I can remember. God called me to lay down my pen for a season (called parenting infant twins), but last January He told me to pick it up again. Since then, it's been a whirlwind experience and I've seen His hand at work in my life in mighty, everlasting ways.

I started this blog last February and since then I've met hundreds of authors, agents and editors, online and in person, creating lifelong friendships with many of them. I attended my first writer's conference, I went to two major writing retreats and I've spent countless hours learning about the craft of writing through blogs, craft books and fellow authors.

While at the ACFW Conference in Dallas, Texas I had a conversation with a writer friend of mine. She offered to read my manuscript and, if she thought it had potential, she would be happy to recommend me to her agent, Mary Keeley.

I was so excited with her offer because I've been a huge fan of the Books & Such Agency and I had heard many wonderful things about Mary.

I sent my manuscript to my friend and three days later she replied with an encouraging email, telling me she couldn't put my story down. She offered to recommend me to Mary.

I sent a query letter to Mary, my friend emailed her recommendation, and the next day Mary asked for my full manuscript.

And then the waiting began! For those of you who have experience "The Waiting," you know what it's like.

But two weeks ago The Waiting came to an end and I received a lovely email from Mary. She asked for a phone conversation to talk about my book and possible representation. To say I was excited is an understatement. But I had three days to pull myself together.

Mary called on Thursday, March 21st and we talked for over an hour. It was a wonderful conversation and I knew instantly that I had found my dream agent. We talked about writing, about my book, about my future story ideas and so much more. When Mary offered representation, I accepted. I had already prayed about it, and talked it over with my hubby, so I knew if the phone call went well, it was the right move to make.

The author-agent agreement arrived in my mailbox on Friday, March 29th, on my twin boys' third birthday. The significance of this date is not lost on me. A couple of week after I found out we were expecting our twins, I had a long conversation with God about my writing. With tears in my eyes, I accepted His choice to lay down my pen for a season. He whispered in my heart a promise, one I've clung to for the past three years. He promised to fulfill my dream to be an author--in His timing.

To receive the agreement on the boys' birthday was a confirmation that all of this is in God's hands. He's weaving an intricate tapestry right before my eyes. One I haven't had to fight for, or struggle to achieve. He's been placing each beautiful strand in place, creating a pattern so exquisite I want to weep as I watch it unfold. It's Him. All Him.

I'm honored, humbled and awed by this writing journey. My prayer remains the same. Lord, use my writing for your glory.

 

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For my non-writing friends, I will be sharing a post on Monday to explain what a literary agent does for an author. It's an exciting step on my journey and I'd love to answer your questions!