Writing Conference Split-Personality Disorder: I Am Legion

Creative Commons Split Personality by Alcino

I'm back from the Missouri Writers' Guild Conference 2008, energized, inspired, and infected with half a dozen personalities.

Memoir personality wants to write a book about our childhood.

• Magazine-article personality wants to pitch several ideas to American Profiles.


• Non-fiction author personality wants to send off requested materials to the editor we met.


• Fiction-author personality wants to get our novel's query letter right and send it out to agents.

The conference did what it was supposed to do. Conferencing is for learning, networking, support, and rejuvenation. And it keeps me away from the kitchen knives.

So what do I say to all these new personalities? Lots of people will say, reintegrate! Banish all the voices that compete with your main project! I say, embrace the crazies - just prioritize.

So listening to all my personalities, the most important thing is to get my non-fiction book proposal to the editor who requested it. Then while it's marinating on the darkling plane of editorial purgatory, I can listen to the next most important personality and get out some magazine query letters to prime the pump before I polish the fiction query.

What I don't want to do is forget any of the personalities, or they'll fade away along with their potential. So I'm makin' a list and checkin' it twice. . . sorry, Christmas personality took over for a minute.

So listen to the voices - they have some pretty good ideas. Moohoohahaha

Pictures From the Missouri Writers Guild Conference 2008

Loved the conference. Tomorrow I'll post on some of the highlights. But these are some pictures.

Upper left: Barbara Robinette Moss speaks at her workshop to an attentive audience.

Middle: Fellow Coffee and Critiquer and President of Saturday Writers, Tricia Sanders, gets one of her many writing awards for the evening.

Lower left: Donna Volkenannt, webmaster extraordinnaire of Saturday Writers and Coffee and Critiquer, gets one of several writing awards.

I hang out with great writers so it will rub off on me.

Emmanuelle Alspaugh: Guest Agent for Missouri Writer's Guild Conference

The 2008 Missouri Writers Guild Conference starts Friday, so I'm profiling a few of the guests this week. If you're a procratinator and haven't signed up, you might want to email Eva Ridenour at bepub@socket.net and see if they still have space. One year I signed up at the door.

The cost for the general conference:
Guild Member $155
Chapter member $165
Non-member $179
Student $139 (enrolled in at least on college course for Spring)

Emmanuelle Alspaugh is a literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates, Inc. She's looking for "literary and commercial fiction, memoir, and nonfiction relevant to contemporary issues." You can see her bio on Wendy Sherman's Website (scroll down a bit to see her entry). She joined the agency a year ago, so she may still be building her client list.

What kind of writing does she like? Check out some of her clients:

Therese Fowler

Danielle Younge-Ullman

Alissa Johnson

Note: She doesn't represent thrillers, horror, cozy mysteries, children's, health/diet/fitness, poetry, or screenplays.

Check out the agency's submission guidelines, so you'll be prepared after you meet her at the conference.