Caren Johnson Literary Agency

I’m on my way to Atlanta, GA this morning to attend the Moonlight and Magnolias conference. It’s one of my favorites because not only do I have a lot of authors attending (and that means I can see them all at once), but the writers attending and those who belong to the chapter are some of the most talented and accomplished writers I know. It’s a great conference so I encourage anyone who can to go.

I’ll be taking group appointments this year instead of individual appointments. I thought I’d share some tips about how to shine in a group setting.

First, relax. That may be the hardest part of the group pitch, but it makes it so much easier for me if you relax. This should be pleasant; you’re talking about the masterpiece you’ve written so don’t worry about your note cards or timing your pitch exactly. Tell me about your story and I’ll let you know if it is something that I’d like to see or not. None of this is personal either; there are some stories that I won’t be interested in because they’re simply not for me or one of my authors may be working on a similar story.

Second, since this is a group pitch everyone is going to have about 3-4 minutes to tell me about their book. Don’t worry if I look at my watch. I’m not bored; I just want to make sure everyone gets their fair share of talk time. Also, be prepared to answer questions. I may jump in to ask you to clarify a point made or the like.

Third, and this is also an important one, I will never, ever say that your book is bad or that you’re a bad writer! Please don’t take criticism personally. It’s just a part of the business and only my opinion. Another agent may feel very differently about your work so please don’t take what I say as gospel.

That’s all the wisdom I can muster at the moment. Wish me a good conference (and I fully expect it to be).