The 29th Washington Writers Conference
THE WRITING LIFE: Where We Are and Where We Are Going
Sponsored by Washington Independent Writers

The George Washington University
Cafritz Conference Center
Marvin Center Building
800 21st St. N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20052

Saturday, June 14, 2008

29th Washington Writers Conference
The Writing Life: Where We Are and Where We Are Going 

By Glenda C. Booth, WIW Member

WIW President Cecilia Sepp Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

"Writers are passionate about what they do,” declared WIW President Cecilia Sepp, opening the 29th annual Washington Writers Conference on June 14.   “When writers aren’t actually writing, they’re thinking about writing. When writers aren’t thinking about writing, they are studying writing and getting to know each other," she stressed.

Writers’ passion permeated the day at The George Washington University’s Cafritz Conference Center, under the banner, “The Writing Life:  Where We Are and Where We Are Going.” Gina Thompson, a first-time attendee, commented, “I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I immediately felt welcomed and inspired by the mix of talented writers, editors and agents.  I feel fortunate to have found this conference at the beginning of my career as a writer, so I can make smarter decisions for a successful future.”

In 14 breakout sessions, the 226 attendees soaked up strategies for reaping rewards—financial, professional and emotional.  Experts explored topics ranging from finding your voice to writing poetry in the digital age to maximizing commercial writing. Many panelists touched on writing in the Internet era, the opportunities and the frustrations.  Nineteen literary agents cracked open doors for writers aspiring to publish.

Here are a few highlights:

• Peter Bowerman, author of The Well-Fed Writer, kicked off with 13 practical pointers for being memorable in his plenary speech.  “For commercial freelancers and magazine writers, the easiest way to become memorable is to specialize,” he urged.  “A dear friend who’s been writing magazine articles in the gardening niche for 12+ years can often command $2 a word and higher because of it.” Writers can specialize in a particular industry or a project type, like web copy or speeches, he suggested.

WIW Vice President Rosemary King Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

Practice “spinoff,” he also advised, by creating ancillary products from a base piece.  His books have been “a starting point” for other products, like e-books, CDs, seminars, blogs and articles.

• One panel delved into research resources.  Steve Vogel noted that D. C.-area writers are blessed with seven university libraries.  “A writer must get the details right,” he emphasized, “because some day someone may use them.”  Vogel covers military issues for the Washington Post and wrote, The Pentagon: A History, a book on the history of building and restoring the Pentagon. 

Tom Mann, a Library of Congress reference librarian, described the riches of the nation’s premiere library where one can probe in-depth arcane subjects like turtle gonads.  “Come to the Library of Congress,” he invited. ”I love to help writers because you do interesting things.”

• Former WIW President Joseph Barbato of Barbato Associates led a discussion titled “Writing for a Good Cause.”  “Get outside your own head,” he nudged. Writing for an interest group means having a strong point of view and making a persuasive case, he clarified.

WIW Past President Joseph Barbato Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

Chuck Anderson, a National Parks and Conservation Association official, touted foundation grant writing as a promising market begging for strong writers.  “Good writing is a precious commodity in the nonprofit world,” he maintained, “and nonprofits are often happy to outsource.” 

• What does the future hold for freelancers?  In the session titled “Future Freelance Commercial Writing in the Era of Social Networking,” panelists predicted more online jobs and shrinking in-house staffs.  Translation: Freelance opportunities will grow.

• Those attending the “The Well-Fed Sampler” session studied multiple commercial writing samples, authored by Bowerman:  internal newsletters, customer newsletters, promotional brochures, company profiles, website articles and annual reports.  Get established with a company and the work often snowballs, he encouraged.

Lunch keynote speaker Larry Kirshbaum, a literary agent and founder of LJK Literary Management, described publishers’ expectations. The writer must know what makes the book and the author different, he said.  “Find a hook, find what makes you unique.”  Nonfiction must have an edge and the “narrative drive of fiction,” he advised.  “Don’t be afraid of rejection.  The Bridges of Madison County was rejected 15 times,” said Kirshbaum, to audience giggles.

WIW members pitch their books to literary agents. Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

Literary agents held over 260 one-on-one meetings.  Fiction writer Rebecca Thomas said that her agent meeting was a wake-up call,  “a wake-up call from a one-on-one pitch session with an agent who was kind, gentle, courteous and frank enough to give me the feedback I needed on my novel.  The agent told me what I already knew deep inside and it needed to be dragged to the surface.  The material needs to be reworked.”

Ruth Schimel, Career and Life Management Consultant, said, “I was thrilled to have my two meetings with agents result in a 1.5: one invitation to submit a proposal for Becoming Courageous: Small Steps to the Life You Want and one to stay in touch." 

WIW members pitch their books to literary agents. Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

The conference “had more substance than other conferences I've been to,” said Karen Hamlin, travel writer, “and the literary agents seemed like they were really looking for new material."

Agents said they found the gathering useful.  Tony Outhwaite, JCA Literary Agency, said, “Of the various conferences I've attended since, say, 2000, the attendees seemed probably the most intelligent, the most realistic, the most pleasant, and the most accomplished at what they are trying to do. I hope to discover writers with interesting and unique projects, fiction or non-fiction that I might successfully market. I'm always pleased to be invited to any conference, but the bottom line is the quality and determination of the attendees.”

Literary agent Diana Finch had similar sentiments:  “It’s important for agents to get out once in a while.  I also think that it’s almost a duty for agents every so often to hear questions and concerns directly from writers; we need to hear what new writers want to know about and what concerns them.  The Washington, D.C., area is home to writers with a fascinating range of backgrounds and interests and I am already enjoying hearing from writers I met at the conference.”   Finch heads Diana Finch Literary Agency in New York.

Lisa Hagan, President of Paraview, Inc., came away inspired.  “Meeting with passionate authors always gets me even more jazzed up about being a literary agent,” she e-mailed.  “I met with some fantastic authors and look forward to assisting them with getting their books published.”

As an added plus, the conference offered many networking opportunities, including a group breakfast with literary agents, and closed with liquid lubrication, live music by Mort Langstaff on the piano and Christopher Carrino on the guitar, and first-ever door prizes.

WIW Members at the 2008 Writers Conference Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

NUGGETS FROM THE 2008 CONFERENCE

“Writers are truly blessed.  They can bring perspective to the world.”--Kirschbaum

“Your voice and style are chosen. They’re a series of small decisions – not something arrived at.”
-- Bill Black

 “Clients don't want writing services. Clients want you to solve their problem.”-- Bowerman

“Words are money.”-- Majorie Lightman, QED Associates

On researching via the Internet: “Technology is not everything.”-- Vogel

On writing for nonprofits:  “Your asset is that you are not steeped in their [the client’s] words and views.”-- Beth Duris, Trout Magazine

“Nonprofits will ‘play the charity card.’  Don’t do favors; don’t do pro bono work.”-- Barbato 

On time-consuming book research:  “Keep receipts for everything.”-- Scott W. Berg, George Mason University 

PRINT SPEECH (PDF)

PLENARY SPEAKER AT THE 29TH WASHINGTON WRITERS CONFERENCE

Plenary Speaker Peter Bowerman Photo courtesy of Alice M. Starcke/AMS Photos

Peter Bowerman Plenary Speech
29th Annual WIW Conference
Saturday, June 14, 2008

So nice to be back here again. Thanks for having me back.

I want to welcome all of you to the Washington Independent Writers 29th Annual Washington Writers Conference: Where We Are and Where We’re Going.

Each of you are here today for your own reasons and with your own goals. But, I think it’s safe to say that we’re all here to perhaps ratchet up our businesses a notch or two.

And with the smorgasbord we’ve laid out for you today, there’s no excuse for any of us to not truly be “well-fed” writers. Of course, my expertise lies in commercial freelancing and non-fiction self-publishing. So, while the ideas and stories I’ll be sharing this morning come from those arenas, the overarching concepts can apply – with a bit of
adaptation – to most any writing direction.

And by the way, at the end of the talk, I’ll be handing out a cheat sheet of sorts with all,
covering the main points and web links discussed in the talk. So, don’t worry about
taking furious notes…

Some years back, I took some interesting woo-woo self-investigative workshops. One of
the many intriguing ideas that came out of them was this: Human beings hate living in, “I
don’t know.” Simply put, we homo sapiens like to put things in boxes. We want to know
what something is, OR, at the very least, we want to know what something’s like.

Eating a strange food? What’s it like? Does it taste like chicken? Got a new favorite
musical artist. Oh, he’s sort of a cross between Tom Jones and… Marilyn Manson. You’d
like him. A great book? Oh, it’s sort of ChickLit Lite – with a shot of espresso.

So, what’s the point of all this? Oh, no point. Just thought it was interesting… Kidding,
kidding…

Given the theme of today’s conference, and its focus on gazing into our crystal writer’s
ball, I thought I’d offer up one man’s suggestions for thriving as a writer in the coming
years. So here’s the point of the story:

Given that humans like to put things in boxes, the best way to be remembered by those
who can put money in your pocket – is to be remembered for something specific – AND
preferably positive.

Create a box worth remembering.

What does that mean? Well, as an overarching statement, how about this: Make what you
bring to the professional table a “predictably enjoyable and rewarding experience” for
your clients and you’ll find a receptive and returning audience. And that can mean so
many things…

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