Gotham Writers Conference 2019
Introduction
I attended the Gotham Writers Conference in New York City, New York on October 25, 2019, sponsored by Gotham Writers Workshop. This was the first year for this conference. It was at the Ace Hotel on 20 West 29th Street, New York City. There were five panels and presentations at the conference. Day two of the conference on October 26, 2019, was for pitching roundtables. The roundtables had a group of picked authors pitching their work to two agents in their genre. I did not get picked for the roundtables, so I did not participate.
The Gotham Writers Conference opened with a welcome from Gotham President Alex Steele. He related the story of how the genesis of the conference occurs. Josh Sippe’s job is to go to other writer’s conferences and report back to Alex. Josh asked why don’t we do a con? Alex replied that it was a “terrible” idea, so of course, they put on a conference.
https://www.writingclasses.com/
This is the swag bag we received at the conference. It said “Write” on the back of the bag.
This was the badge I used at the conference.
Summary before Lunch
Friday, October 25th at 10 AM
The Writer’s View: If I can do it, you can too, a panel with Seth Fried, Kody Keplinger, Joselin Linder, and David Seigerman (moderator)
The authors had different backgrounds. Kody is a fiction novel writer, Seth started with Literary Magazines, and Joselin writes non-fiction using proposals. The moderator asked questions about their process and experience. There were many interesting comments. I will detail three of them here that I found particularly helpful. Use comp titles that have been released in the last twelve months for your queries. Social media is part of your job as a writer. Being a professional means you meet deadlines because writing is a job.
Links to the authors
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4460711.Seth_Fried
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3095919.Kody_Keplinger
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1188589.Joselin_Linder
They held the presentation in the Basement of the Ace Hotel with about 160 attendees
Friday, October 25th at 11:25 AM
Embracing Rejection, a lecture by Kim Liao
She said to shoot for rejection instead of acceptance because that puts your fears in a box. Then you won’t be paralyzed by fear to submit your work.
She asked the attendees to take three minutes to answer two questions and put our answers down on paper. What are your biggest hopes and dreams as a writer? What stops you from achieving those hopes and dreams?
She then asked a series of five questions to the attendees. Five things to do in the next year to accomplish your goals or dreams. Four things to do in the next six months. Three things to do in the next two months. Two things to do in the next month. One thing to do before next Friday. The questions were helpful to help prioritize tasks to be completed.
https://www.writingclasses.com/faculty/bio/kim-liao
They held the presentation in the Basement of the Ace Hotel with about 160 attendees
Friday, October 25th at 12:25 PM
Weike Wong is interviewed by Gotham President Alex Steele
Alex had Weike read a passage from her novel Chemistry. In the passage, the unnamed main character is given a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend. That event starts off the novel leading to the main character’s dilemma and change.
Weike wanted to write a novel without shocking turns of events. She wanted a character-driven story and chose to find other ways to create tension in the story.
Alex had Weike read another passage from the novel. The main character is a grad student in Chemistry. She a psychologist to help her understand why she feels the way she does.
It was Weike’s choice to write a first-person novel with no names except for the boyfriend, Eric. It is a short novel with no chapters. Weike’s advice is to have a vision and stick to it.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15679271.Weike_Wang
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31684925-chemistry
They held the presentation in the Basement of the Ace Hotel with about 160 attendees
Summary after Lunch
Friday, October 25th at 2:45 PM
The Agents View: What We Talk About When We Talk About You, a panel with Kurestin Armada, Suzie Townsend, Jim McCarthy, and Susan Breen (moderator)
Susan asked a series of questions to the panel and they responded. Who was the latest client you signed and why? They talked about searching the slush pile and related that it feels like panning for gold. What do you like to see with a platform? They said it is essential for non-fiction writers but is up to the author for fiction writers. How quickly do you know you love the book you are reading? They say within the first few pages. She asked about pay and they said the going rate for agents is 15%. Is finding an agent only the first step? They talked about the agent must be a partner you trust and trusts you and that it is some kind of magic when a book works.
The panel ended with a question and answer session with the attendees.
Kurestin Armada’s literary agency
Suzie Townshend’s literary agency
Jim McCarthy’s literary agency
https://www.dystel.com/jim-mccarthy
They held the presentation in the Basement of the Ace Hotel with about 160 attendees
Friday, October 25th at 4:10 PM
The Agent Game Show with J. L. Stermer, Noah Ballard, Alec Shane, Jeff Kleinman (host), and Alex Steele (fill-in host)
Jeff was late because of a time mix-up to Alex filled in as host of the panel. Alex ran the Game Show by having the agents answer questions and having the attendees vote on their favorite responses.
Alex’s questions were the most awkward situation, most uplifting experience, most challenging book you sold, worst pitch for a book, and name an author you would love to represent. At this point, the audience favored Noah’s answers.
Jeff continued the questioning. He asked about elements of a great query letter, is platform important to you, and after the sale is made what do you do as an agent. Jeff gave out gag gifts to the panelists at the end with input from the audience.
J. L. Stermer’s literary agency
Alec Shane’s literary agency
Noah Ballard’s literary agency
They held the presentation in the Basement of the Ace Hotel with about 160 attendees
Recommendation – Conclusion
I enjoyed attending the Gotham Writers Conference. Thanks to Josh Sippe for getting me into the conference at the last minute due to a late cancellation. The Conference was packed with eager writers looking for advice from the pros. I wish I had gotten my novel presentation completed in time to try to earn a spot at the pitching roundtables conducted on October 26, 2019. Hopefully next year there will be another conference and I could submit my novel then. My star of the Con was Alex Steele. He gave a great welcome speech, conducted an interesting interview with Weike Wang, and filled in admirably at the Agent Game Show. The conference was well worth the time invested and I would like to attend next year.
Links
A similar conference I attended this year was the Indie Author Conference in Parma, Ohio on October 12, 2019, at the Parma-Snow branch of the Cuyahoga County Library at 2121 Snow Road Parma, Ohio 44134. The Cuyahoga County Library sponsored the conference for the fourth time. There were three presentations in the morning and a local author fair in the afternoon. The focus of the conference was for writers and authors to learn more about self-publishing. They featured thirty-one authors in the showcase. The listed authors all had at least one published book in either 2018 or 2019 for sale.