The folks at Algonkian have asked me to say a few words once more about the New York Pitch Conference held quarterly in New York City at Ripley-Greer Studios. I attended the workshops not long ago and found it a challenging and worthwhile adventure that improved my novel 100%. I'm still working on it, yes, but I'm a lightyear ahead of where I would have been without it.
They use the pitch as a means of examining the novel and focusing on the major fictional elements. As Michael Neff says, "If they're not in the pitch, they're not in the novel." It's a great way of making you realize that market and story are meshed together in ways you never realized.
I highly recommend the New York Pitch Conference to anyone serious about writing a novel for the commercial market.
The New York Pitch Conference taught me to shelve the ego and apply myself to the heart and mechanics of the way New York works. Sure, you have to make compromises, swallow some pride, but I know many writers who never learned to do that and they're either piddling with iUniverse or getting more bitter by the month. The New York Pitch Conference isn't cruel, just a great reality check (as they put it) on your premise, plot, and hook. I can't thank the workshop leaders and editors enough!
ReplyDeleteAnd NYC is fun also!
Writing a review for the New York Pitch Conference, I would say, do it asap. It's going to give you an idea really quick as to whether or not you are wasting your time or on track.
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