This year, I bit the financial bullet and decided that with my novel coming out in March, I just had to go to the Write-to-Publish Conference this year (June 3-6) at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Bless Lin Johnson’s soul (she’s the director). She’s been sending me brochures advertising the conferences for years, but I simply never found the finances (or the courage) to take the next step. I know; it’s silly. I’ve been involved in publication work of some kind and publishing short stories and articles for years, but the thought of going to a writers’ conference freaked the fire out of me. Anyhow, God seemed to be prodding me like a little lamb who didn’t want to follow the flock, but I decided to do the right thing after all. Not a fun step (because I’d rather stay cloistered in my north woods office), but definitely a necessary one. Especially this year.

And boy am I glad I went to the conference this year! Where do I start?

The one-one-one meetings with agents and editors made the conference worth every cent. Before I talk about the agents I met, I probably need to briefly explain what agents do and why I feel I need one. Publishing has become more exclusive in recent years. Most publishing houses, even Christian ones, won’t even consider projects (these are called “unsolicited manuscripts”) unless the author has approached them through an agent or met an editor at a conference. (My publishing story for my first novel is an unusual one.) For a 15 percent take on sales, an agent improves writing and book proposals, provides career advice, and looks at contracts and makes sure the author is being treated fairly (advances and royalties). He or she also knows what the various Christian publishers are looking for and can shop the author’s projects to the houses that are the best fit. The long and short is that a career novelist (someone who would like to do more than produce an occasional book) needs to have an agent in today’s world. As a freelance editor who lives on a shoestring budget, I’d love to make a little more money on my advances, though I’ll admit upfront that money is not my chief motivation for writing. But I’d really like to focus on the writing and not have to think about which publisher to approach for which book and what x, y, and z in my contract mean. An agent helps in those areas, too. more…