 WNBA Connects aspiring writers with publishers—By Debra Costner Published: June, 2009 The Women’s National book Association (WNBA) held its 6th annual “Meet the Agents & Publishers Event” on March 28 in San Francisco. The idea is actually to introduce aspiring writers to publishers and agents and allow them to pitch an idea and obtain immediate feedback, directly from those in decision-making positions. The room was crowded with well over 100 women (and a few men) attending the event, held at Sinbad’s Pier 2 Restaurant, along with nine publishers and agents. The agents and publishers each took about 5 minutes to introduce themselves and what they do, along with discussing the kinds of content they’re looking for. The attendees listened closely to each introduction, to get a glimpse of clues as to who might be their best match, or open to a pitch on their book idea. In an effort to be very clear about their purpose, more than one publisher stated emphatically, “I only publish non-fiction. Let me say that again. I only publish non-fiction.” In fact four out of the nine in attendance, were only interested in non-fiction. The list of those include: Allegra Harris with North Atlantic Books, Georgia Hughes with New World Library, Andy Ross with The Andy Ross Agency and Ted Weinstein with Ted Weinstein Literary Management. Those who handle both fiction and non-fiction works included: Steven Dabrowski with MacAdam/Cage Publishing, Verna Dreisbach with Dreisbach Literary Management, Jennifer Joseph with Manic D Press, and Michael Larsen with Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents. The one agent only representing works of fiction was April Eberhardt with Reece Halsey North. When the introductions were completed, the attendees quickly formed lines in front of their favorite agent or publisher to await their turn at a 5-minute pitch session. Many had completed book proposals held tightly in their hands, others were just there pitching nothing more than an idea in their heads. But each person had a turn with the agents of their choice. In fact, most were able to pitch to three or four if they were patient enough to wait in multiple lines. The agents were direct, and didn’t mince words. Random comments overheard included: “This needs work! You need to find a purpose to make this pitch work.” “Who are you trying to reach exactly – who do you think is the audience for this?” “You want to write an autobiography? What have you done that people would want to read about?” And finally the occasional, “Take my card and send me a completed proposal. I think you’ve got a good idea and the knowledge to back it up.” No doubt every person present that day walked away with something, perhaps a new insight or purpose, or just the knowledge that they needed to do a bit more homework before submitting another book proposal. Not to discourage all the aspiring fiction writers out there, but the comment that really resonated with me was, “Writing a best-selling novel, is like winning the lottery. It’s a total crap-shoot. You could write something absolutely wonderful, and still no one may ever read it.” Then again, people win the lottery every day! The San Francisco Chapter of WNBA purpose is to bring together women and men with diverse backgrounds in the literary world to exchange ideas and resources, build relationships, and support the local literary community. It was founded in 1968 by Effie Lee Morris, then coordinator of Children’s Services for the San Francisco Main Public Library as a local chapter of the National WNBA. The organization was established in 1917, before women in the U.S. even had the write to vote, to support women authors, promote literacy and assist women in getting published. Today members are not only limited to writers, booksellers, agents, editors and publishers, but also include publicists, librarians, graphic designers, aspiring authors and avid readers. Their purpose is to support professional development, literacy projects, and to obtain book donations for children to the San Francisco Hall of Justice Teddy Bear Room along with various day care centers, and for adults to prisons and Women's groups. For more information on the local chapter of the Women’s National Book Association go to http://www.wnba-sfchapter.org. | ||
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