Cleveland Writing Workshop 2018

Introduction

I attended the Cleveland Writing Workshop on July 14, 2018, at the Holiday Inn 6001 Rockside Road Independence, Ohio 44131. The Cleveland Writing Workshop was a one-day event conducted by Writing Day Workshops who present workshops across the county throughout the year.

Summary Beginning

The day began in the large meeting room which had space for over 100 attendees. The presenter was Brian A. Klems who gave four talks during the day. He was the senior online editor for WritersDigest.com. He wrote the parenting guide for fathers called Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl which is linked below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16219954-oh-boy-you-re-having-a-girl

There was also a writer’s got talent panel. There were three other opportunities available for writers for an added fee. The extras were a query letter critique, a critique of the first ten pages of an author’s novel, and opportunities to pitch a novel to up to seven different agents. Before the workshop, I sent off my query letter, the first ten pages of my novel, and signed up for two pitches. I will write about my experiences at the workshop.

Summary Session One

The first session by Brian A. Klems was titled A Bird’s Eye View: Publishing and Books in the Year 2018. He discussed the three ways for an author to get published. They are traditionally by using an agent, by a university press not using an agent, and by self-publishing. In traditional publishing, the author gets an advance, but the marketing is mostly done by the author. In self-publishing, the author controls everything, but it’s difficult to get your books into bookstores.

Summary Session Two

The second session was also given by Brian A. Klems about 15 Tips on How to Write Like the Pros. There was a handout on the topic. Advice highlights were to avoid prologues, avoid information dumps and edit ruthlessly (kill your darlings).

Break

We had an hour-long break for lunch. I reviewed the information I had for the three meetings I had in the afternoon. Ten minutes before the meetings I left the main hall and waited at the queue for the meetings held in the meeting room. There were eight tables for the seven agents and an editor in the meeting room. The meetings were all ten minutes long and when they were completed; I returned to the main hall to attend the session in progress.

Summary Session Three

After the lunch break, they presented a panel on Writer’s Got Talent–A Chapter One Critique Fest. Five of the seven agents that took pitches were on the panel. At check-in at the beginning of the workshop, authors submitted the first page of their novel if they wanted. I did not. I had taken part in a similar panel at a different conference. The author’s names were not on the page, only the genre identification. Brian A. Klems read the submissions. During the reading, the agents raised their hand when they knew the writing did not work for them. When three agents passed, Brian stopped reading. At the end of the reading, the agents stated why they passed or why they liked the submission. I heard 14 submissions (But not all of them. I had a meeting during the session). Brian read only a few all the way to the end.

Summary Session Four

The next session was by Brian A. Klems about 25 Questions You Need Answered BEFORE You Seek an Agent or Self-Publish Your Book. There was a handout about the questions. Highlights were if you want to get published traditionally then you need an agent, you get an agent by submitting queries and a synopsis to them, and building a platform is becoming necessary for successful authors.

Summary Session Five

The next session was by Brian A. Klems about 25 Questions You Need Answered AFTER You Seek an Agent or Self-Publish Your Book. There was a handout about the questions. Highlights were Amazon reviews are extremely important, build a platform, and stick to it.

Activities

There were four activities I did at the workshop.

I sent a copy of my example query letter to Brian A. Klems before the conference. He e-mailed a detailed critique of the query letter to me. The insights he gave were excellent. I have improved my query letter based on his comments.

I sent the first ten pages of my novel, Assassin in New Marl City to editor Ricki Schultz before the conference. We had a ten-minute meeting where she gave me a written critique of the pages and we discussed the pages. Her comments helped me clarify what I was trying to do with those first pages and setting up my story. Her critique was helpful and the changes I made to the chapter made it better.

During the Workshop, I had a meeting with agent Cyle Young. We talked about what he was looking for in clients and about my novel. He suggested that I update my picture on Facebook/Twitter (I did), use SEO for my blog (I haven’t done it, but I should), and to send him a proposal (I did). I went to his website, wrote a proposal from his specifications, and submitted my proposal after the conference. It was not a fit for him, but I learned valuable lessons about writing and submitting a query. I also learned the importance of developing a platform from him.

During the Workshop, I had a meeting with agent Gabrielle Piraino. It was not a fit. I learned that sometimes an agent and a writer do not mesh and that’s okay. It’s about finding the right match and that is why it will take many queries to find the right one for me.

Conclusion

The Cleveland Writing Workshop 2018 was interesting and useful. I am glad I took the time and the effort to take part in the added activities offered. When the workshop returns next year, I will consider attending again. I will be a better writer then and will be readier to understand what it will take to be successful.

Links