Anyone heading to ThrillerFest?

[nikkidj]

I just found out I have that weekend off, and I'd love to go.  Just wondering if anyone here had gone before, or plans to go.

[AshK]

I totally want to go but my dayjob has other plans...

[greta garbo]

I signed up this morning.

(looking for emoticon that combines 'yay!!!!' with 'omg, what have I done?')

Any other QTers going? Please post if you will be there -- I won't know a soul.

gg

[nikkidj]

I decided to go, so I'm all signed up and ready to rock.  Are you doing AgentFest?  Just the thought gives me an ulcer.  Need to go practice pitching some more...

[greta garbo]

@nikkidj,

I'm doing the first two days - Wed and Thurs - including the agent pitch thing (that was the OMG part of my previous post). My budget won't allow the whole shebang, and the seminars that most interested me are held those two days - I guess because they are all about 'craft' and less about hello/famous author/tell us how you do it . . . .

Btw, Jenny Bent has my full right now, so I am particularly interested in stalking meeting her.

Let's get together. I'm driving down from New Hampshire Tuesday afternoon and staying in Brooklyn.
gg

[nikkidj]

Oooh, we can practice our pitches on each other!  I'm sending you a PM.

[LittleNell]

So how was it? Any conference experiences to share?

[nikkidj]

It was amazing!  GG can tell more about CraftFest- I missed a lot of that due to day job/traveling issues.  But AgentFest was great.  The agents were so nice, and I saw several at the cocktail party that night and they were more than willing to talk to me about various issues.  Plus, who doesn't want to be in the same room as John Sandford, Ken Follett, Diana Gabaldon, and Karin Slaughter???  Suffice it to say, I was a wee bit starstruck.

[greta garbo]

As nikkidj said, I attended Wednesday and Thursday, the CraftFest and AgentFest days.

AgentFest was intense, but a wonderful experience for a novice writer (me). Next time, I will know better what to do; preparation gets you only so far. Going through the process clarified a lot – about the selling-a-book business and about the selling of MY novel.

CraftFest was uneven:

The talk by Ken Follett was all by itself probably worth the price of admission.

Some of the individual sessions were excellent – see this link for Janet Reid’s appreciation of Mark Tavani’s talk:

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2011/07/forget-your-weaknesses-attack-your.html

Hallie Ephron gave a great talk on generating suspense. What I liked most about it was how she got us all participating. She has a lovely stage presence, very comfortable with questions, clearly knew her craft and was skilled at discussing it.

Michael Palmer’s session was a regurgitation of this information on his website:

http://www.michaelpalmerbooks.com/writing-tips

Sort of useful, full of personal anecdotes.


A couple were silly (I won’t name names).

That said, the presenters were speaking to a roomful of people who ranged from published best-selling authors to total newbies – like the man who raised his hand to ask “What’s a query letter?” aargghhhhh

The universe of thriller writers in attendance ranged from cozy mysteries with hints of suspense, medical and legal thrillers, spy stories, military adventure, to horror and erotic paranormal thrillers. The camaraderie amongst the writers was a delight, something I wasn’t expecting and had never before experienced. I have already exchanged emails with a few of my new friends and hope our paths will cross again. (Hi nikkidj!)