I am back from the NINC conference and thinking about the people in the East affected by Hurricane Sandy. My roommate at the conference, Susan Lyons, was on one of the last flights to get out of the White Plains airport Sunday night.
The conference was very beneficial to attend. I have never attended a NINC conference before, and I liked the small size and getting to know the members of Novelists, Inc. aside from on the email loop. We were super busy! The sessions began at 8 a.m. and, if you attended the casual Night Owl sessions, could end as late at 10 p.m.
The first day featured a series of panels, and then, at the end of the day, NINC members asked questions of the panel members. I took notes, but it will be a while before I consult them. Too much on my plate this week to accomplish first.
The Thursday and Friday, there were traditional workshops, where the audience could either ask questions during the presentation or afterward. There were also NINCThink Round Tables, and I participated in two of those. The round tables featured industry guests (agents, editors, reps from Amazon and other digital media, cover designers, independent editors, etc.) and also NINC members. Some NINC members on the round tables were volunteers (like me) who felt they had something to contribute to the conversation while others were invited to sit on the round table as more of an “expert” in the subject area. For example, Bella Andre—who just sold a print-only deal to a major publisher while retaining all the e-rights that she’s managed to build into a hugely successful career—was invited to attend the Foreign and Subsidiary Rights round table. Elizabeth Jennings, who lives in Italy and knows a LOT about translations, what a good translation is and how much they might cost, also had a lot to contribute.
As a side note, apparently, we were told, print-only deals are not possible, but Bella Andre has proved that isn’t the case! Granted, she is definitely an outlier, but she is blazing a trail. Go, Bella!
Perhaps the most “entertaining” round table was the Changing Role of the Agent, where a handful of high-powered traditional agents discussed the rise of Indie publishing and how traditional partnerships might still advance an author’s career. Buttons were pushed, and a rousing discussion ensued.
Something I really enjoyed about the NINC conference is that the writers aren’t there to pitch to the editors and agents. So when you meet NYC editors who are on your panel, you’re meeting them as another round table guest, not someone to accost with a pitch or someone to feel nervous around. Private business meetings were still conducted, but we were there to learn from each other, instead of it being a one-way street. I think the format worked well, except that most of the NINC membership really wanted the ability to ask questions DURING the round tables, rather than finding someone afterward to ask a question. So if NINC uses the round table format again in the future, I’m sure there will be some adjustments. That said, I do feel the format worked well this year, because otherwise there can be a lot of questions from the audience and the specific questions for the round table participants might not get answered.
I hope if NINC does follow the round table format at a future conference, that more NINC members will volunteer to participate. Yes, I was nervous, but it helped that I haven’t had my eye laser surgery touch-up yet and so I couldn’t see the audience clearly anyway! I could see the fellow round table participants clearly and therefore “focused” (haha) on them.
It was a long trip back, but I am now unpacked and ready to begin uploading Catching Claire, the second romantic comedy short story in LOVE & OTHER CALAMITIES. Claire was loaded to Apple iTunes while I was gone. I have MOBI and ePub files to check, cover sizes to adjust, etc. As soon as the story is up, I’ll announce it on my blog. Then the remainder of my week will be devoted to updating my website, preparing a new newsletter, and catching up on bookkeeping. If I can get that all done this week, next week I’ll begin updating and revising BORROWING ALEX for Sindie Pubbing.
What do you have on your plate this week?