Sarah Berges (a writer friend who I know from high school) told me to give up on query letters and try a writer's conference. She said she got more leads that way than query letters ever provided. It gave her a chance to connect with agents on a far more personal level. This article tends to support that How to Pitch and Agent at a Writer's Conference.
I've read most of these tips before, but now, with the understanding that going to a writer's conference may and should be in my future, I'm reading them with new eyes. I particularly like this advice: The trick to a good pitch is to practice it so you are familiar with the content, but to present it in a way that is more conversational. Practice your pitch with friends, family and your writers group. Get some feedback and try to get rid of that nervousness.
I'm a bit dubious of this other bit of advice: our goal is to become an expert on this person. Then when you sit down for the pitch session, you will feel like you know the agent. You can break the ice by commenting on something you learned, “I read on your blog that you are re-reading War and Peace. What page are you on?” I know I have a limited experience, but just from querying, I've found that most of the information you find on agents is so dated and so wrong, it isn't worth acknowledging, much less remembering.
I don't know why I'm not looking forward to going to a writer's conference. I've been to the little writer's workshop here in Sugar Land twice. It wasn't too bad. Good test run. Time to move up I guess.
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