My Loncon Schedule - Provisional

[jacey]

Looks like I’m going to have a busy morning on Saturday at Loncon3 in August. I get to spout guff about Doctor Whoish goodness and Red Wedding gore. And then sit on a panel with: an agent who rejected me, and an agent who made me an offer but whom I turned down (with much heart-searching) in favour of my present agent Amy Boggs of Donald Maass. Should be fun.

2014 Hugos: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

Saturday 11:00 – 12:00

The nominees for this year’s Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation: Short Form, are:

• An Adventure in Space and Time written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Terry McDonough (BBC Television)


• Doctor Who: “The Day of the Doctor” written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Television)


• Doctor Who: “The Name of the Doctor” written by Steven Moffat, directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC Televison)


• The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot written & directed by Peter Davison (BBC Television)


• Game of Thrones: “The Rains of Castamere” written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, directed by David Nutter (HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)


• Orphan Black: “Variations under Domestication” written by Will Pascoe, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions; Space / BBC America)

But which should win? Our panel will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the nominees, try to second-guess the voters, and tell you what else should have been on the ballot.

With: Ashley Pollard Ms. (M) , Iain Clark , Jacey Bedford, Abigail Brady, Saxon Bullock.

Finding an Agent

Saturday 12:00 – 13:30

A great query letter is all you need! Write a great manuscript and the rest doesn’t matter! Network at conventions and you’re in good shape! These nuggets of advice and dozens like them float around the writersphere as gospel. How many of these have a ring of truth? What is the secret to finding an agent? And what does an agent do once you have one? Our agents will decrypt the process.

With: Betsy Mitchell (M), Jacey Bedford, Joshua Bilmes, Ian Drury, John Jarrold

Comments

[seawasp]

You leave out the one I was told, and that turned out to be a lie: "Oh, once you've been published, it'll be easy to get an agent! They'll probably come to you!"

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Well, it kind of worked like that for me. I was in the middle of trying to get a new agent, my old one having left the business. Over the course of five weeks I researched and queried fifty agents. In the meantime I sent my MS to DAW with a writer friend's recommendation. Once I got the offer from DAW I emailed my top ten pick of agents (Some had already asked for partials or full but others had not yet responded.) I told them there was a deal on the table, but I'd not yet accepted the offer pending input from an agent. I told the agents (politely) that I needed an answer within the week and out of ten queries I got six offers after long phone conversations.

But I think this only worked for me because there was a deal on the table that they could still influence. If I'd taken the deal on offer and then tried to get an agent, I don't think it would have worked nearly so well. It's not just being published that attracts an agent, it's having an open deal on the table that makes it more appealing. You're basically offering them something for nothing, which is a big hook.

I've worked with three agents now and two of them never made a penny out of me. I'm glad number three has.

My agent, Amy Boggs of Donald Maass, got the original (modest) offer increased by 50% and also retained all the foreign rights, and got it upped to a three book deal. I'm very happy with that.

[gorgeousgary]

I shall have to try and make that Hugo panel. Would be fun to see you in action.

(Long-time Artisan fan from Maryland here. Looking forward to the novels.)

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Oh that's lovely. Thanks very much.Do come and say hello.

Incidentally Artisan is doing another reunion in 2015, unfortunately only in the UK - but I thought you'd like to know. :-)