ECWC 2010 - Saturday
OMG - after a whopping 4 hours sleep, off went the auto-wake up call. I snarled and moaned but then a thought flashed into my mind - AGENT APPOINTMENTS! Zing! A huge boost of adrenaline surged through me and got my fat butt moving. While I still looked like the living dead, at least I was an awake corpse.
When I finally left my room an hour later (yes, in another pair of shoes), I was still only slightly caffeinated and had my "war paint" on. Wasn't much I could do about the bloodshot, puffy eyes. Even though I was almost an hour early, I rushed down to the waiting area outside the rooms they were holding the agent/editor pitches. (The spaces for all the workshops, meals, registration desk, hospitality desk, meeting rooms, etc. were spread over three levels of the hotel.)
So, I ran into some of my peeps right away who were waiting for pitches shortly. All the agent/editor appts this year were groups sessions with about six to eight per group.
Gaah! I would have to have missed that! Plus, I don't have a book out. Great timing. Crap.
That aside, I did have a wonderful time connecting with friends. And I did get to meet Barbara, who is sweeter than cheesecake.
Back to the pitching . . .
I got lucky and a friend gave me her appt. with my previous agent whom I hadn't seen during my 5 year hiatus from writing. It went well, thanks to a gnat.
Let me explain since I can hear you scratching your heads in confusion. I hurried to her table in the room and grabbed the seat next to her. I decided I'd go last in pitching and let the others begin. About half way through the wonderful Terrel Hoffman's great pitch, a gnat suddenly buzzed around between me and the agent. My natural instinct was to brush it away.
Agent: "Did you just swat at me?"
Me: "No! It was a gnat."
Agent: "Did the rest of you see that? She swatted at me!"
Me, completely red faced: "No. Honestly there was a gnat, a bug."
Agent, laughing hysterically: "I've never been swatted at during a pitch before! This has to be the funniest pitch group I've ever had!"
Terrel: "She's The Swatter!"
Agent: "Lori, you have to mention that in your submission!"
Me: "Um, okay."
Of course, I did. I'm not stupid, just embarrassed.
So, that agent and another one requested submissions. Go me!
Then it was time for the Award Luncheon, the wonderful speaker Brenda Novack , and I got to be a Raffle Vanna and help hand out baskets of donated bliss from dozens of authors and groups. Fun, fun, fun!
After chatting with more people, a brief stop into the crowded Book Fair, and a drink in the bar with yet more friends, I decided it was time to go change for dinner. I was hosting a group in the hotel restaurant as a volunteer Dinner Diva.
We had a great group, great food and lots of laughs! Afterward, we moved our group to the lounge where others joined us.
Some of us made our way to the karaoke party for a while, cheering on those braver than us.
Finally, our little group decided to once again go up to my room for yet more drinks and to unwind a bit from the busy (and early!) day. Some sensibly decided to call it a night a while later, since Sunday would be the final day and it was once again crammed full of great events. Others of us (you're not shocked that I was one, right?) just needed a couple more hours of chatter before we could unwind enough to think of sleep, no matter how badly needed.
I think the shoe count reached an even half dozen so far.
When I finally left my room an hour later (yes, in another pair of shoes), I was still only slightly caffeinated and had my "war paint" on. Wasn't much I could do about the bloodshot, puffy eyes. Even though I was almost an hour early, I rushed down to the waiting area outside the rooms they were holding the agent/editor pitches. (The spaces for all the workshops, meals, registration desk, hospitality desk, meeting rooms, etc. were spread over three levels of the hotel.)
So, I ran into some of my peeps right away who were waiting for pitches shortly. All the agent/editor appts this year were groups sessions with about six to eight per group.
I really wanted to attend fabulous Barbara Vey's talk about "Books, Blogs & More" with my beloved speakers Mary Buckham and Deborah Schneider , but I worried about having to leave half way through to be sure to make it to an editor appointment. I so should have gone and just skipped the appointment (editor wasn't requesting anything anyway). Apparently, she used me and my having the sodas delivered to her room as an example of what TO DO RIGHT for "building name recognition"! She even mentioned it in her blog !
Gaah! I would have to have missed that! Plus, I don't have a book out. Great timing. Crap.
That aside, I did have a wonderful time connecting with friends. And I did get to meet Barbara, who is sweeter than cheesecake.
Back to the pitching . . .
I got lucky and a friend gave me her appt. with my previous agent whom I hadn't seen during my 5 year hiatus from writing. It went well, thanks to a gnat.
Let me explain since I can hear you scratching your heads in confusion. I hurried to her table in the room and grabbed the seat next to her. I decided I'd go last in pitching and let the others begin. About half way through the wonderful Terrel Hoffman's great pitch, a gnat suddenly buzzed around between me and the agent. My natural instinct was to brush it away.
Agent: "Did you just swat at me?"
Me: "No! It was a gnat."
Agent: "Did the rest of you see that? She swatted at me!"
Me, completely red faced: "No. Honestly there was a gnat, a bug."
Agent, laughing hysterically: "I've never been swatted at during a pitch before! This has to be the funniest pitch group I've ever had!"
Terrel: "She's The Swatter!"
Agent: "Lori, you have to mention that in your submission!"
Me: "Um, okay."
Of course, I did. I'm not stupid, just embarrassed.
So, that agent and another one requested submissions. Go me!
Then it was time for the Award Luncheon, the wonderful speaker Brenda Novack , and I got to be a Raffle Vanna and help hand out baskets of donated bliss from dozens of authors and groups. Fun, fun, fun!
After chatting with more people, a brief stop into the crowded Book Fair, and a drink in the bar with yet more friends, I decided it was time to go change for dinner. I was hosting a group in the hotel restaurant as a volunteer Dinner Diva.
We had a great group, great food and lots of laughs! Afterward, we moved our group to the lounge where others joined us.
Some of us made our way to the karaoke party for a while, cheering on those braver than us.
Finally, our little group decided to once again go up to my room for yet more drinks and to unwind a bit from the busy (and early!) day. Some sensibly decided to call it a night a while later, since Sunday would be the final day and it was once again crammed full of great events. Others of us (you're not shocked that I was one, right?) just needed a couple more hours of chatter before we could unwind enough to think of sleep, no matter how badly needed.
I think the shoe count reached an even half dozen so far.
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