OCCWC 2016, Part III: What I Found Myself Saying Over and Over Again

"But it's my only line..."

Along with meeting and listening to some amazing people at the Orange County Christian Writers' Conference, I also got to take appointments with attendees who wanted to talk about small press publishing, queries or pitches, working with an editor, or publishing with Kalos Press.

Each appointment was different, but there were a few subjects that came up over and over again.

It's not enough to have a good story

Some people write because they're writers. Yes, they have subjects or styles or themes that they love and use over and over, but they write because they're writers. You just can't stop them. They're writers and they're going to write for the rest of their lives. They love books and words and hone their skill through hours and days and weeks and years of practice. They write. They always will write. That's just who they are.

But other people write because have a specific story to tell. They've had an extraordinary experience or God's taught them something they can't help but share. They might well become the first sort of writer eventually, but they came to the craft by a different path.

I spoke to quite a few people who were working on memoir, and I found myself, over and over, talking to them about the craft of writing. Many of these people really did have extraordinary stories or good and true spiritual messages to share.

But no one is ever going to hear those stories or messages unless these writers learn their craft. You can have the best, most worthy story in the world, but if you don't learn how to make the reader turn the page ... well, no one is going to keep reading long enough to benefit from your message.

(Btw, this isn't a comment on the skill of anyone I talked to. I read queries and proposals, but I don't believe I read any attendee's chapters. This was relevant to many of the attendees, but I'm not critiquing any of them here.)

Many memoir ideas, queries, and proposals I've seen over the years are so focused on the experience or message of the writer that they forget the experience of the reader. As a writer, you have to think of your reader. Even if you are crafting your book out of real experiences, you must use the skills of a novelist. You need to present those real experiences with an eye to story structure and character arc. You have to be mindful of tension - not the whodunnit? tension of a murder mystery, but the tension what-happens-next?, the tension of and-then-what?, that is, the tension that will pull the reader through chapter after chapter, all the way to the end of the book.

Non-fiction writers must make their stories as compelling as any novelist, or only the most motivated reader is going to bother to read them.

The difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing

There's apparently a lot of confusion about this out there. Here's your one, simple rule of thumb:


If the publisher pays you, it's traditional publishing.
If you pay the publisher, it's not.

Now, there are different kinds of traditional publishing, and different kinds of self-publishing. This infographic by Jane Friedman is a fantastic resource for understanding all the variations on the spectrum.  As you'll see, there are a lot of different terms in use, and so it's always important to dig a bit deeper and make sure you understand exactly what you're being offered in any given situation.

And that leads me to the second important point on this subject:

There is no one right form of publishing.

Over and over, I had people ask me which I recommended: self-publishing or traditional.  And the answer always was: it depends. It depends on you and it depends on your project. Do you want to do most of the marketing, all of it, some of it? Is your project aimed at a narrow niche or does it have broad appeal? Are you the super-organized sort who can handle all the bits and pieces of a big project? Do you want the support of a large publishing team? A small one? No team at all?

Those are just a few of the questions you'll want to ask yourself. The truth is, there are authors doing well in all of the channels you'll see in that infographic I linked. Find people who are flourishing in the path you're considering, and study them. Learn the best practices for whatever path you choose. And then, go for it!

What is Kalos Press?

This was maybe the best thing I got to do: I got to talk up Kalos.  :)

Here's the official description of our press off of our website:

Kalos Press was established to give a voice to literary fiction, biography, memoir, essays, devotional writing, poetry, and Christian Reflection, of excellent quality, outside of the mainstream Christian publishing industry. 

We believe that good writing is beautiful in form and in function, and is capable of being an instrument of transformation. It is our hope and ambition that every title produced by Kalos Press will live up to this belief.

I'd add to that: we want to tell the church's stories. We're a small press (we'd fit in that second column from the left on Friedman's chart: traditional, but no advance) and we have the flexibility to take on more niche projects, projects from authors who have stunning voices but maybe smaller platforms, projects that are lovely and innovative.

You should check us out.



And here ends my series on the 2016 OCCWC. I'm glad I got to go and I look forward to keeping in touch with folks I met there in the years to come.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

OCCWC 2016, Part II: The People

Yes, this is my only conference-related pic.

I really should do this post last, because it's probably going to be the best one, but I can't wait and you can't stop me.

The people at the OCCWC were a blessing. What struck me over and over again during the weekend was how generous almost everyone at the conference was. Both the staff and the attendees were generous in sharing their wisdom, information, and opinions.

But even more striking than that, they were generous in listening. Veterans of the industry listened to the students, older writers to younger, editors to writers ... and vice versa on all of those.

That kind of generous listening made for really good conversations.

Yeah, but who was there?

Okay, with a few exceptions, I'm not going to name any of the attendees, because they weren't there in any official capacity and so they deserve to manage (or not) their public images however they please. But the pros were there officially, so let me tell you about a few that stood out to me (though, heavens! I am going to end up missing some very cool folks) ...

The Spec-Fic Folks

It's not a secret around here that I love sci-fi and fantasy. (Hey! go read my first pro-pubbed spec. fic. short story here. Seriously. I'll wait.) And at this conference, I got the chance to listen and talk to some Christians who are writing and publishing science fiction and fantasy in real life.

-Mike Duran - Mike is one of those talented folks who writes both novels and short stories. His blog is chock-a-block with great thoughts about the intersection of faith and fantasy. He was kind enough to answer my questions about what it was like to be a Christian writing in this space -- and he also engaged the whole table with a hilarious theory about why so many Christian fantasies seem to involve the Nephilim. This post on his blog is a good example of the kind of thinking he's engaged in.

-Paul Regnier - Paul is one of my two exceptions, but only because I came home, checked my Goodreads to-be-read list* and discovered, yep! he's on there. A little while before the conference, I'd gone on Enclave Publishing's site and marked down a few books that looked fun to me. Read that description. Doesn't a humorous space adventure sound like a fun way to kill a few hours? (Yes. The answer is: yes, it does.) Paul was a blast to talk to; I'm glad I got to meet him and I'm looking forward to reading his book.

-Ben Wolf - Ben is a writer and the founder of Splickety Publishing (which looks fantastic - I got to page through some of the issues at the conference bookstore and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna subscribe). He was generous with his time; I got to chat with him about flash fiction, and his Christian vampire novel is now on my to-be-read list (hey, now that I've read one, I've got to keep going, right?).


-Realm Makers - Okay, this is not a person, but a lot of people at this conference were talking about that conference. It's definitely an event I want to keep my eye on.

The Editors

-Kathy Ide - Our Fearless Leader! Kathy is the reason there was a conference at all, and she was such a gracious hostess. And she'd probably be the first to turn around at point at her volunteers, so I should mention: there was a stellar bunch of volunteers at the conference who worked hard to make everything happen and they were amazing. Thanks, guys!

-Jennifer Edwards - I had so much fun meeting Jennifer. We got to the conference early on Saturday morning and spent an hour drinking coffee and animatedly discussing our lives as editors at small Christian presses. (You can check out the press she works for here.)  Meeting someone else who does what I do is so rare. I loved, loved, loved talking (in real life!) to someone who is doing the same kind of work I do every day.

-Lindsay Franklin - Lindsay's another one who could go under "spec fic", but I mostly talked to her about editing. She was lovely to talk to, and you should go poke around her website, which is fantastic!

-Debbie Dillon - Debbie runs Joyful Kitchen and Christian Women's Voice Magazine.

-Susan Osborn - Susan's not just an editor, she also employs a bunch of editors! It was interesting to hear her speak about being both an editor and a small businesswoman.

Other

-Eric Lorenzen - Eric could also go under "spec fic", but I put him here because we mostly chatted about self-publishing. He had some great info about all the different things that go into putting together a high quality self-published book (there's more to it than most people think).  

-Carol Alwood - Carol wasn't on staff, but I wanted to mention her because her website for church planters' wives looks like a neat resource.

Like I said: I'm still leaving out a ton of interesting people, but I hope that gives you a taste of what it was like to be there!


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell


*My to-be-read list isn't in order according to which book I want to read first. It's in order of: 1) modern non-fic, 2) older non-fic, 3) modern fiction, 4) older fiction.  When I want a new book, I just skim the whole thing and pick one.  (Or five. Let's be honest: this is me. When I have I ever read just one book at a time?)














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OCCWC 2016, part I

If a con attendee comes home without handouts, did the con attendee actually attend the con?

This past weekend, I had the joy and honor of attending the Orange County Christian Writers' Conference as a member of the staff. I went as a representative of Kalos Press, and committed to spending both days in the Resource Room, taking appointments with writers who wanted to talk about small press publishing, working with an editor, tightening up queries or proposals, or, frankly, anything else writing-related that came up.

Of course, the real fun of teaching or presenting any subject is that you learn twice as much in the process as your students or listeners do, and this weekend's con was no exception to that rule. In listening to the attendees - as well as to the other editors and writers on the staff - I learned a ton, and met some amazing Christians who have made wrestling with words their lives' work.

So, over the next few days, I'm going to post about the things I learned from my time there, the things I found myself repeating over and over as I met with new writers, and (best of all) about the amazing people that I met as we all gathered together to celebrate books, writing, and words.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

I'll be at the Orange County Christian Writers' Conference

I'm excited to be representing Kalos Press at The Orange County Christian Writers' Conference!

If you're in the southern California area and interested in spending some time learning and talking with fellow writers and other publishing professionals, you can check out the conference page here.  They've got early-bird specials available through the end of February.

Here's a short blurb on what I'll be doing, from Kalos Press' blog:

Jessica is looking forward to talking to attendees about: 

-small press publishing 

-the querying process 

-working with an editor 

-publishing with Kalos Press specifically. 

She's also willing to give feedback on your query or pitch. 

The OCCWC is a great opportunity to receive mentoring, attend classes, discuss your work with publishing professionals, and meet other writers.  There are options for those who wish learn more about fiction and non-fiction at all writing levels, as well as a more economical option for those who simply want a chance to spend time in the Resource Room attending appointments with the publishing professionals. See the full menu of options here.

I hope I see you there!
-Jessica Snell

my first writing conference

I had the pleasure of going to my first writing conference this past weekend. Someday I want to go to the big national ACFW conference, but that’s probably out of reach this year, and besides, I thought it would be good to go to a smaller, local one first.

Since I live in Southern California though, my small, local writing conference isn’t actually that small (or that local; I got to drive freeways I’ve never driven before, anyways); I would guess there were a couple hundred people there, at least.

The weirdest thing about it, for me, was how diverse it was. I don’t mean diversity of race or gender or age (though it had all of those), but diversity of purpose. I think I’ve gotten spoiled as part of the ACFW. In the ACFW, everyone is, first of all, a writer of fiction. Also, there is a strong, strong drive towards cultivating excellence of craft. The conference I attended seemed to cater more to non-fiction writers than fiction and it also seemed to emphasize message a bit more than craft.*

Though not across the board, by any means. My favorite workshops were put on by Jeff Gerke, and he had lots to say about writing well. He talked about point-of-view errors and shallow characters, but far and away what I have the most notes on from his lectures is showing-not-telling. He explained it better than anyone I’ve heard yet.

I also got to have a couple of conversations with Susan Meissner, which I really appreciated. She talked about editing and about publicity, and I found everything she had to say helpful. She was also lovely to everyone who asked her a question, no matter how aggressive or how uncertain they were. It was a pleasure to watch someone field so many hopeful people with such grace. So, even though the conference wasn’t heavy on fiction, the people they did have there to talk about fiction did a great job.

I was also glad that I got to go to my first writing conference before I had anything to sell. I’m not planning to query my novel till late this summer, at the earliest, so I was able to go to this conference just to listen. Whenever I sat next to anyone, I was able to ask, “What do you write?” and listen to the answer without feeling that interior urge to interrupt and tell them what I write. I’m hoping that when I do go to a writing conference with something to sell, should that ever happen, that I can remember how I acted at this one and act the same way, listening lots more than I talk. It was good practice, I think. And I got to hear lots of interesting stories, lots of other writers’ journeys. The funniest story I heard though wasn’t from a writer proper at all, it was from a woman who had come to the conference to find and hire a ghostwriter! Not a bad place to look, actually!

I also felt like I got confirmation that I’m on the right path. I heard a lot of things where I was able to say, “yes, I’ve done that” or “yes, that’s what I’m doing”. There was new stuff too (there’s always new stuff!), but there was also stuff I’d heard before, and that was, to me, a good thing. It’s good because it let me know I’m headed in the right direction, even if I’m not there yet.

So that was my first conference experience!

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

*(It’s one of those old false dichotomies where the true answer is probably a balance of two not-so-opposing forces. But I have lots of sympathy for how hard it is to talk about without slipping into defending one side or the other – see me doing the same thing in this very entry! So I am not saying that people at this conference didn't care about craft. Just that the emphasis was different.)