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Belated Highlights from the LWC}NYC
November 12, 2007
The other day I mentioned that I'd be attending the second annual Literary Writers Conference}New York City (or LWC}NYC), run by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses and held at The New School. While I missed Thursday night's opening gala because I was out with the Cat Pack, I really enjoyed the sessions on Friday and Saturday. I thought I'd offer a potpourri of highlights...
-- Richard Russo joined his agent Nat Sobel, editor Gary Fisketjon, and Knopf publicity director Paul Bogaards to talk about "The Making of a Bestseller: Bridge of Sighs." Sobel gave attendees hope when he revealed that Russo's first advance for Mohawk was "in the high four figures," and that that debut novel's title was originally The Yellow Window (eliciting groans from all four panelists). After Sobel and Russo discussed the difficulty of finding the best structure for the book, Fisketjon said he didn't worry about that while he was editing: "When you edit you don't want to know the whole story. You want to approach a manuscript as a reader would."
-- At the "Why Not YA?" panel, Amy Stolls (director of literature programs at the NEA), said that while she was working with her editor at FSG on her YA novel Palms to the Ground, "they replaced every instance of 'piss' with 'pee.' At one point, I had one of my characters saying 'Oh, shit.' They put in 'Oh, Jesus.' I said, listen, you're replacing 'shit' with 'Jesus' -- isn't there something wrong with that?"
-- Amanda Stern (Amanda, will you be my new BFF? Call me!) talked to Myla Goldberg about how to manage a writing life for the long haul. Two things struck me: one, how easy it is to wind up skint even after publishing a bestseller that's made into a major motion picture -- Goldberg's now an adjunct writing instructor and actually told the audience she'd love to hear about any teaching gigs. Two, how easy it is for the young and gifted and focused to forget that there's more than one way to become an author: "Don't forget, writers, that publishing needs you. People in publishing can't do what you can do." Hmmmmmm. That's odd, considering one of the conference attendees was a friend of mine who is an assistant editor at a major house whose first novel is coming out next spring... and a YA panelist with a newly released book is an editor at FSG... and... well, I could go on. Glad Goldberg isn't looking for a marketing gig.
-- After agents Sarah Burnes and Ira Silverberg had given a remarkably good-humored overview of exactly how to get an agent, the first question was... "How do I get an agent?" No wonder Burnes discourages plot summaries: "A synopsis is just an excuse," and Silverberg says his only question to writers at conferences is "Are you working on a novel, are you working on a novel, are you working on a novel... " All else, the agents agreed, is moot.
-- "Judging the National Book Awards" wrapped up the LWC}NYC, and while I could provide a number of bon mots, I must just say that the question posed by NBA judge Scott Spencer says it all: "I've always considered that the relationship between novelist and reader is fundamental," he said. "A novel demands a lot of a reader, and in order to give the time and effort necessary to read a novel, a reader deserves a good book. But without active, passionate readers, can we have active engaged writers?"
Posted by Bethanne Patrick on November 12, 2007 | Comments (2)
