The Work Conference 2017

On Oct. 1, the submission window opens for The Work Conference, a boutique writers' conference in New York City that's suited to hardworking, unagented authors of YA or adult literary or upmarket fiction who are serious about publishing traditionally. I had the extreme good fortune to attend the inaugural, 2016 conference as a faculty member, and although I won't be there in 2017, I highly recommend that you check it out.

It's a boutique conference, which means that everything from the agents and editors who comprise the faculty down to the food you'll eat and the types of pens in the free pen buffet are hand-picked by my friend and editing colleague Becca Heyman, whose attention to detail is astonishing. Example: the name tags were magnetized so that you didn't have to poke holes in your clothing. (Who thinks of that?! Becca, that's who.)

Even the conference attendees are hand-picked: one must apply to be admitted to this conference. While that may sound like a strange idea to some, there's great reason behind it: Becca is looking for authors who share a similar level of writing ability as well as dedication to their writing careers. Most - if not all - attendees may have day jobs, but every attendee of The Work is serious about their writing. This creates a wonderfully rich, mutually supportive environment in which to learn about craft and the business side of authorship. And the small number of attendees (30 max.) results in everyone getting to know one other by the end of the very first day. The closest I can come to describing the dynamic is a small summer camp for lit geeks. HEAVEN.

The Work Conference (*squeal*)

My normal "excited" face.

I'm not one to get visibly excited about much, but last spring, when my colleague Rebecca Heyman (Rebecca Faith Editorial) told me about the idea she had for a boutique writers' conference, I could barely refrain from jumping up and down on my bed. And when she invited me to be a part of it, I shattered eardrums within a three-block radius with my squealing.

Why am I so excited about The Work Conference?

1. It focuses on literary crossover fiction (aka "upmarket fiction" or "literary fiction with commercial appeal"). As Chuck Sambuchino wrote in an article for Writer's Digest back in 2009, upmarket fiction is "fiction that blends the line between commercial and literary." Think Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Ursula K. LeGuin. THIS IS MY FAVORITE.

2. One-on-ones with agents.
Every conference attendee is guaranteed one-on-ones with two agents. Right at the start of the weekend.

3. A small number of attendees.
Only 30 authors will be invited to attend the conference based on their application materials. What this translates to for me is (1) retention of sanity, aka not getting completely overwhelmed by the crowds; (2) the opportunity to meet and talk with everyone and not feeling like I probably missed out on about a hundred great people that I never got to meet, (3) not competing with a hundred other raised hands when you want to ask a question in the panel.

Guest post: Rebecca Faith on voice

Last quarter I ran a guest post series on this site about what it means to be a successful writer. This quarter I'm pleased to bring you a series about the characteristics of good writing. I intend to bring you a variety of perspectives on this topic over the next couple of months and am excited that my editing colleague Rebecca Faith has agreed to kick off the series with her thoughts on voice - what it is, what it does, and why it's crucial to her enjoyment of a book. Enjoy!

In March I spent three days at the 2015 PubSense Summit—a conference focused on innovation, trends and technology in the publishing industry. In nearly every panel I attended, including the one I sat on, someone in the audience asked a version of the question on every author’s mind: How can I sell loads of books and be successful? And in nearly every panel I attended, including the one I sat on, someone provided a version of the same answer: Produce incredible content, and success is all but inevitable.

Divorced from genre, demographic target or mode of publication (indie, traditional or hybrid), content reigns supreme as the #1 factor determining your success. And in my seven-year experience as a freelance book editor, I’ve found that what transforms “moderately good” writing to really excellent prose boils down to one thing: voice.