murder.booklocker.com

Cheryl has asked me to comment on three things that a “newbie” - either shopping a manuscript or newly published — would gain from attending/participating in a small mystery conference like Murder In the Grove.

For someone not yet published, with a manuscript ready or nearly ready to show to an agent or editor–or simply an idea for one–some of the large mystery conferences can be very intimidating. Many icons of the publishing field are there, and generally seem to have a coterie of people constantly surrounding them, practically forming a wall that says “strangers, keep out.” Even the friendliest of authors can be difficult to reach through such throngs.

The smaller conferences aren’t that way, and that’s the reason you’ll find that many authors, fans, and even agents and editors, prefer the more relaxed atmosphere they provide. At Boise’s Murder In The Grove, I’ve found myself eating dinner with Michael Connelly and going shopping with Anne Perry! Believe me, that wouldn’t happen at Bouchercon! Okay, I hear you saying that I’m on the committee, so that makes all the difference. Not really. We set things up purposefully so that the authors, agents, and editors who attend are accessible to everyone.

For those who arrive early (and many do, since Idaho seems to be far from everything, and many people have to travel for a number of hours to get here, they tend to arrive early and/or stay late), we have a Thursday evening stroll through downtown and Old Town Boise, led by…me. This is a way for people to get to informally meet each other in a relaxed atmosphere, share interests in food, architecture, shopping, etc. It’s an ice-breaker.

Throughout the next two days, we set up sessions and even the luncheon so that the authors, editor, and agents are interspersed amongst the crowd. That means the important thing is to talk to strangers. You never know who you’ll end up meeting. Networking is important in publishing, and we do what we can to make the networking as comfortable for everyone as possible. (Published authors are often very shy, believe it or not–introverts tend to gravitate towards solitary endeavors like writing, so it isn’t that easy for many of them, either, to talk to strangers.) Boise is a friendly, relaxed, casual city–and the conference reflects that.

Again, you aren’t competing with scads of top authors. Yes, there are several–there must be to draw attendees. But without lots of people competing for the attention of everyone else, attendees of whatever ilk have the chance to meet and remember each other.

Murder in the Grove offers you the chance to have an agent or editor read the first ten pages of your manuscript and comment on them. (This isn’t only for unpublished people. Several published authors have taken advantage of this program, either looking for a new agent or editor, or looking for a market for a work that is outside the scope or area of interest of their current agent or editor.) But, nothing in the rules says you can’t talk to other agents, editors, or even authors about that same work in a casual way as you’re eating lunch, having a drink at the reception, at the book signing-dessert party, or whenever. The people you need to talk to will be around you. You’ll easily spot them and have opportunities to talk with them. If you’re happily published, but want more information about ways to get publicity for your books, other conferences to attend, bookstores to sign at–no matter what–you’ll easily find someone who has answers for you.

You simply need to show up, put yourself out there, and ask questions. It isn’t easy. But few things worthwhile are.

I hope this helps. And keep us in mind some time: www.murderinthegrove.com. You might fall in love with Idaho the way I did.

Joanne Pence
www.joannepence.com
The Angie Amalfi Mysteries

USA Today best-selling author, Joanne Pence has published fourteen books in the Angie Amalfi culinary series, plus romantic suspense, short stories, and a novella. Her latest mystery, a March 2007 release, is The Da Vinci Cook. [She also serves as one of three at-large board members as well as webmistress of the Murder in the Grove site]