Studio Blog

Writers gather for a session at the Writer's Digest Conference in New York

Editor's Note: We're at the Writer's Digest Conference in New York with the winner of our guest conference pass, Heather Brautman. Heather has been writing full-time for Demand Media Studios since 2009 and leverages her education and experience to specialize in technical articles (she holds a M.S. in technical writing, M.A. in public relations and communications, and a B.A. in writing/English). Read her initial thoughts about the conference in her first post.

"The second one isn't finished yet." Kenneth Kraus of West Orange, New Jersey has just kicked off a session at the Writer's Digest 2011 conference by telling me this, and he's not talking about home additions, bottles of Coke Zero or even two cats battling a mouse into submission. He's talking about novels. In my super-writer-brain, I could therefore conclude if he's talking about a second one, it means there's a first. Ken Kraus has two novels. Would you be surprised if I told you I met people this weekend who have three? Four? Eleven? Inside of them, waiting to come out and be exposed to the world.

As I walk through the halls here at WD11, I am overcome. I am overcome by the people who are here with a dream. For some, it's as simple as coming, talking, and making it happen. But for others, the ones who are talking to me and are fragile and scared but HERE, I am overcome by their perseverance and courage.

I'm overcome by the stories. There's a man here talking up a book about him walking from Boston to San Francisco in early 2008 collecting the country's thoughts on the presidency in a journal to give to the incumbent. One of the presenters, Janet Reid, said "Write what you feel is powerful." The sheer strength in that room could have made an American Gladiator even out of this noodle-bodied writer.

And I was physically, mentally and even psychically overcome at yesterday's Pitch Slam. Imagine a speed dating scenario (seriously, with the three-minute bell and everything), then imagine the people sitting at those tables hold the thing you want the most. Maybe it's a book deal, maybe it's a cure for your child's cancer, maybe it's James Spader. They have it. And you have three minutes (actually 90 seconds) to make it yours. It's hot in there. It's loud. Some of the agents aren't paying that much attention to you. People are pushing, shoving, complaining, and tweeting (which, strangely, is not a quiet activity). You have three minutes. Go. Go get your dream.

Since I wasn't ready to pitch a book idea, I used the time to sit down with as many agents as I could and ask them a question or for a piece of advice. Most were friendly, though a few looked at me like, "If you're not pitching, what are you doing here then?" I felt bad for them (I've actually DONE speed dating and by a quarter-way through, you're wishing for a needle to the eye). My face STILL hurts from the smiling. But I was mostly looking at the other writers. I was coaching on my new friend as she had a semi-panic-attack waiting to pitch her book. (And she scored four out of four, so go girl!) I am secretly thanking the quiet guy who pointed out that I had a little bit of lunch in my teeth, though I'm not-so-secretly cursing the 20+ people I talked to before him. I'm wide eyed with wonder with the amount of dreams, hopes and desire in that room.

It was a bloodbath. While I don't think anyone was harmed in the making of this WD11 (ok, actually not true, the very first day, an old man passed out flat as a board on one of the doors, making a noise louder than a gun shot -- PS, he's OK!), that pitch slam wall left the walls smeared. People walked off that battlefield dragging a limb, hunched over, rivules of shedded sweat stinging their eyes. I went back in a few times to grab who I could -- no writer left behind. Then we all went out for what turned into several glasses of my new friend Prosecco and toasted their success. No matter what happens with their novels, they did it. They overcame.

So, as I get ready for the last sessions of the conference, I'm overcome with happiness to have been dropped -- even for just a weekend -- into the presence of such people. It's inspiring and invigorating and empowering all at once. I could not be prouder of a group of people in the world, and I hope to see them all in a Barnes and Nobel "best-seller" table soon.