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Got a sizzling manuscript but no literary agent? Find one at AgentFest! It's three full hours of pitching your book proposals to top literary agents eager to find the Next Big Thing. Held speed-dating-style--you pitch for three minutes, and then move to the next agent--AgentFest is the world's biggest gathering of thriller agents under one roof. (See the AgentFest page for the list of confirmed agents.) And yes, it works: more than one author has found an agent through the program. Boyd Morrison is one of them: because of AgentFest, his debut thriller THE ARK launches in May in hardcover, large type, audio, e-book and translations. I thought you'd like to know the details, so I asked him to write about the experience. Here's what Boyd had to say:
'I went to AgentFest, and
it changed my life forever'
Attending AgentFest can change your life. I know that sounds like some corny advertising promo, but it was literally true in my case.
At the first AgentFest in 2007, agents met authors during the lunch session, with one agent at each table. Who you were sitting with was totally random. I was talking with author Jon Land at the time, and we were late to the lunch, so we sat at the very last table in the room, which was about six miles from the front.
At that table was Irene Goodman, a very well-respected agent who has been in the business for 30 years. She had been representing primarily romance and non-fiction and was looking for thrillers to add to her portfolio.
When we were all seated, she went around the table and asked each writer to pitch their novels to her. I knew that having a 30-second summary of your novel is key when pitching agents, so I had one ready to go. Here's the exact pitch I gave her for THE ARK:
"A relic from Noah's Ark gives a religious fanatic and his followers a weapon that will let them recreate the effects of the biblical flood, and former combat engineer Tyler Locke has seven days to find the Ark and the secret hidden inside before it's used to wipe out civilization again."
As soon as I said "Noah's Ark", she asked to see the first three chapters. I mailed them on a Thursday. On the following Monday, she called me. CALLED ME! She was the first and only agent ever to call me, which made quite the impression.
She told me she loved the opening, and would I be willing to FedEx the entire manuscript to her? Uh, let me think . . . Yeah! I would have driven it there on a unicycle if she wanted me to.
Irene received THE ARK on Tuesday. I got a call from her on Thursday offering me representation, which was about the most amazing phone call I've ever gotten. I chewed it over for a day (I'd sent it to other agents who weren't quite as quick to respond). On Friday, I accepted.
Again, this was 2007. After I revised the novel with Irene's input, we sent THE ARK to 25 publishers. It received what I call "rave rejections." Publishers praised the story, characters, and action, but they just couldn't see how the novel would fit into a crowded thriller market. All 25 turned it down.
So in 2009--and with Irene's support--I posted THE ARK and two other unpublished novels to the Kindle store. Through word of mouth and excellent reviews, I sold more than 7,500 copies in three months, proving that there was a market for my books.
Publishers took notice. Simon and Schuster signed me to a four-book deal in the U.S., and THE ARK will debut in May, 2010 in hardcover, audio, large print, and e-book versions. In addition, on the strength of my U.S. deal, foreign rights to THE ARK were sold in 15 countries.
I still have a hard time believing what one meal could lead to. I may have been late to that AgentFest lunch, but the important thing was that I went, and my life has never been the same.
One more time from Shane: When you see Boyd at ThrillerFest in July, be sure to ask him about his life as an actual rocket scientist (an engineer at NASA), an actor, a Jeopardy! Champion, and how he got paid to play video games. THE ARK launches in May, 2010 from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster. Read more about the author at www.boydmorrison.com. And if you're still not convinced, check the AgentFest page for more "I Got My Agent at AgentFest!" success stories.
Ironically, Graham Brown almost missed the Thrillerfest 2007 Agent luncheon. Thanks to a flight delay--on the red-eye, no less--he arrived late at JFK and made it to the Hyatt just as the event was about to begin. "I was completely wiped out at that point, and decided to skip the lunch. All I wanted was to check into my room and get some sleep." Graham confessed. "But another attendee got in the elevator with me, and by the time the doors opened on the ballroom level he'd convinced me to go. So I sat at the very last table and met Barbara, who was not only listening to pitches but helping authors make them better. My first thought was, 'This person had WAY too much coffee today.' I proceeded to come up with the worst pitch of all time, which she politely listened to."
By the end of lunch, Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman agency had invited Graham to submit his manuscript. "He was able to mark it with the coveted words 'Requested Submission,' insuring that his query would avoid the quagmire that can befall unsolicited manuscripts." Barbara said. "I read it within days of Thrillerfest, and didn't even make it to the bottom of page one before picking up the phone to request the full."
"My best moment came just before the first ThrillerFest in Phoenix - I arrived from Europe a day early because of airline issues and decided to spend the time in the Arizona Biltmore's famous spa ... so there I was, lounging around in nothing but a (very small) towel ... and in walks Libby Hellman, also wearing nothing but a (very small) towel ... we became friends fast and now when we meet we always say, sorry, didn't recognize you with your clothes on." ~ Lee Child
"For me, one of the greatest thrills of last year's ThrillerFest was interviewing Clive Cussler. He's been a literary hero of mine going back to Junior High when I first read Raise the Titanic. He was charming, witty, and gracious. It was both an honor and a thrill to share the stage with this literary giant." ~ James Rollins
"I was at a ThrillerFest reception and suddenly realized how many authors I admired were in every direction around me. The experience reminded me of what MGM used to say about having more stars than there were in the sky." ~ David Morrell
"Talking to Lee Child and discovering, from his chapter in The Chopin Manuscript, that he's even more of an audio geek than I am (as his chapter in Chopin proves)." ~ David Hewson
A Toast to ThrillerFest by M.J. RoseI was sitting at the signing table on Sunday of ThrillerFest when a gentleman approached with a copy of my latest novel, The Venus Fix and a copy of the ITW anthology Thriller, and asked me to sign both. Of course, I said. I asked him his name and proceeded to inscribe both books. I'm slightly in awe when someone asks me to do this - of all the things that make me "feel like a writer" it's this moment and I love the chance to stop and talk to readers: find out what they like, what they're tired of, what else they read, anything -- I'd be happy to talk to readers all day.
I handed him back both books and he proceeded to hand me a bottle of wine. A gift he said, for me, and explained that authors give him so much pleasure that he likes to give them something back as a thank you.
The "thank you" I told him is buying the book - but wine too? It was his pleasure he assured me.
I was tired, it was the last day of the conference, it had been a lot of fun and work for those of us who were involved in the event and when this man gave me this gift out of the blue, I was not only blown away, I was speechless.
The cost of ThrillerFest - $300 plus
The cost of the two books - $32.00
The cost of the bottle of wine - $15
The moment: Priceless
Friendships sometimes vanish. Too little time and too much distance are often the culprits, and one mourns for what might have been. How are they now? Who are they now?We knew the first ThrillerFest was going to be special. After all, no one had ever created an international gathering to celebrate the field. But there were other remarkable bonuses in store....
As I was walking past the Biltmore bar (why do so many interesting moments erupt in or near bars?) when I heard a woman call my name. I spun, and there was Jean Jenkins's beautiful face. She's a wonderful writer from San Diego. I'm from Santa Barbara, and here we'd met in Phoenix - at ThrillerFest. I hadn't known she'd changed directions and was writing in the field. We sat together and caught up on that and five years of life. So beware ... it's not only new friendships one finds at ThrillerFest, but old cherished ones. ~ Gayle Lynds
At the first Thrillerfest, in Phoenix, I got to do a wonderful panel with John Lescroat and MJ Rose, moderated by Steve Berry, called "Sex in Thrillers: With Booze." To get the audience in the mood, so to speak, we made Screaming Orgasms in pitchers and poured as people entered (damn, you really can't discuss this stuff without becoming self conscious about word choice, can you? Or at least I can't) the room. As one woman walked in, I approached with my standard line -- "Can I offer you a Screaming Orgasm?" -- to which she, with a satisfied smile, replied, "No thanks, I just had one." I imagine that for her, the panel was anticlimactic... ~ Barry EislerDon't miss your priceless ThrillerFest moments. Register now!
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2011, we’ll be back in the heart of New York in July with the ThrillerFest conference including CraftFest and AgentFest.
ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 6-9, 2011.
More information to follow.
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