5 Keys to a Successful Editor/Agent Appointment by Elizabeth Ludwig ~ Conclusion

Elizabeth Ludwig

Last week, Elizabeth Ludwig offered two keys to a successful editor/agent appointment. If you missed it, you can read it here. This week she's wrapping up with three final tips, just in time for the ACFW Conference in September. Enjoy! ~Dora

To recap: So, what can you expect from a successful appointment with an editor or agent? Well, it can mean the beginning to a long and wonderful professional relationship if your appointment leads to a request for a manuscript. It can also provide valuable insight into what the industry is acquiring, and finally, it can present you with a powerful network of contacts. With those goals in mind, I have created five keys to conducting a successful editor/agent appointment:

Key #1 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Take charge. You have a product you believe in, so conduct your appointment with confidence.

Key #2 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Do like your momma told you and study!

3. Do you remember that old Brady Bunch episode where Mike Brady gives sage advice to Marcia and Jan regarding their upcoming driver’s test and public speaking event? He told them to picture their audience in their underwear! Now, obviously, Mr. Brady never saw a Victoria’s Secret commercial, or I’m sure his advice would have been much different. The point, however, was simply to realize that the audience was human. The same can be said for sitting down with an editor or agent. Don’t view the appointment as a job interview. View it as an opportunity to get to know the person you’re talking to and open yourself up to chat. You’ll be more relaxed, and so will they!

Key #3 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Talk to the person sitting across from you. They’re human. They like that.

4. Have fun! You heard me. If you’re at a conference to meet with an editor or agent, you paid money to be sitting where you are, right? So why not look at it as a fun, learning opportunity rather than a life and death struggle to get your manuscript into the hands of a professional? After all, what are the odds that the words you speak in a 15 minute interval will actually determine whether or not your book is published? The fact of the matter is, the most that appointment can do is garner a request to see more. So get that part out of the way by telling the editor or agent what you have, and then enjoy the rest of the time. Chat about some funny thing that happened while you were at the conference, or how you’re looking forward to a particular class. You’ll become human in their eyes, and much more memorable than if you stumbled through a rehearsed pitch.

Key #4 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Enjoy your appointment and let yourself have fun.

5. Remember who you are. I wish I could say I was kidding about this one, but the most embarrassing moment I ever experienced was when I had to look at my badge in order to remember who I am! Now, in my own defense, I publish under my legal name, which is different from the name my friends know me by. So when the editor called me by my legal name, I was temporarily thrown for a loop (chalk it up to nerves). LOL! Funny as that is now, the point isn’t about who we are to others. Ultimately, what matters is who we are to God. I’m pretty sure He’s never been confused by my legal name versus my nickname, which means when He called me to write, He knew exactly who He was speaking to. My career, my future, everything I am and ever will do is in His hands. Reminding myself of this truth has been the most beneficial thing I’ve ever done when sitting down to talk with an editor or agent.

Key #5 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Remember who you are…and whose.

Dora here. Have you pitched to an agent or editor either at conference or online? 

What tips would you share to help writers release their anxiety?

Purchase Link

Ana Kavanagh's only memories of home are of fire and pain. As a girl she was the only survivor of a terrible blaze, and years later she still struggles with her anger at God for letting it happen. 

At a nearby parish she meets and finds a kindred spirit in Eoghan Hamilton, who is struggling with his own anger--his sister, Cara, betrayed him by falling in love with one of his enemies. Cast aside by everyone, Eoghan longs to rejoin the Fenians, a shadowy organization pushing for change back in Ireland. But gaining their trust requires doing some favors--all of which seem to lead back to Ana. Who is she and who is searching for her? As dark secrets from Ana's past begin to come to light, Eoghan must choose which road to follow--and where to finally place his trust.

Elizabeth Ludwig is the award-winning author of No Safe Harbor, Book One in the Edge of Freedom series. Her popular literary blog, The Borrowed Book, enjoys a wide readership. Elizabeth is an accomplished speaker and teacher, often attending conferences and seminars where she lectures on editing for fiction writers, crafting effective novel proposals, and conducting successful editor/agent interviews. Along with her husband and children, she makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, visit ElizabethLudwig.com.

5 Keys to a Successful Editor/Agent Appointment by Elizabeth Ludwig ~ Part 1

Elizabeth Ludwig

Few things strike fear into the stout of heart more than speaking in public. In fact, according to a recent Gallup Poll, the only thing more petrifying is a fear of snakes. Is it any wonder, therefore, that writers are often reduced to stuttering, terror-stricken imbeciles when faced with the prospect of sitting down with an editor or agent? After all, any hope for a writing career rests in their powerful hands. Blowing a 15 minute appointment/opportunity could be the difference between having a manuscript published or seeing it forever banished to the realm of unused computer folders! Right?

Wrong—and if that’s what you’ve been telling yourself before every editor or agent appointment, you’ve been setting yourself up for failure. Your appointment is intended to create interest in you and your work. It very rarely (if ever) leads to a contract on a manuscript that is sight unseen.

So, what can you expect from a successful appointment with an editor or agent? Well, it can mean the beginning to a long and wonderful professional relationship if your appointment leads to a request for a manuscript. It can also provide valuable insight into what the industry is acquiring, and finally, it can present you with a powerful network of contacts. With those goals in mind, I have created five keys to conducting a successful editor/agent appointment:

1. Conduct your appointment…did you catch my use of that word? Very often, authors approach their appointments as they would a trip to the gallows—with a whole lot of fear and very little confidence. The truth is, you are an inventor with a product you believe in, and what you’re really doing is looking for the best manufacturer of your idea. Don’t sit back and expect the editor or agent to guide the appointment. Know your material well, and let the appointment be about introducing yourself first and your work second.

Key #1 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Take charge. You have a product you believe in, so conduct your appointment with confidence.

2. Think back to grade school. What were the two words that made you break out in a cold sweat faster than a teenager at their first dance? 1. Pop. 2. Quiz. Right? And do you remember why they made you want to cry like a little girl? Because you didn’t study! But if you took the time to actually research the material, hearing the teacher utter the dreaded words was no big deal. In fact, your score was usually so high, you ruined the curve. What a difference studying can make not only to test scores, but to a person’s overall attitude. The same can be said for researching publishing houses. When you know what an editor is looking for, and what kind of books their house is currently publishing, you can approach them with a lot more confidence because you know your manuscript fits within their guidelines.

Key #2 to a successful editor/agent appointment? Do like your momma told you and study!

Dora here. What frightens you the most about pitching your book to an editor/agent?

Make sure to join us next Thursday when Elizabeth offers three more keys to a successful editor/agent appointment. See you then!

Purchase Link

Ana Kavanagh's only memories of home are of fire and pain. As a girl she was the only survivor of a terrible blaze, and years later she still struggles with her anger at God for letting it happen. 

At a nearby parish she meets and finds a kindred spirit in Eoghan Hamilton, who is struggling with his own anger--his sister, Cara, betrayed him by falling in love with one of his enemies. Cast aside by everyone, Eoghan longs to rejoin the Fenians, a shadowy organization pushing for change back in Ireland. But gaining their trust requires doing some favors--all of which seem to lead back to Ana. Who is she and who is searching for her? As dark secrets from Ana's past begin to come to light, Eoghan must choose which road to follow--and where to finally place his trust.

Elizabeth Ludwig is the award-winning author of No Safe Harbor, Book One in the Edge of Freedom series. Her popular literary blog, The Borrowed Book, enjoys a wide readership. Elizabeth is an accomplished speaker and teacher, often attending conferences and seminars where she lectures on editing for fiction writers, crafting effective novel proposals, and conducting successful editor/agent interviews. Along with her husband and children, she makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, visit ElizabethLudwig.com.

My Journey to Publication by Elizabeth Ludwig

Author Elizabeth Ludwig is here this Fortifying Friday to share her journey to publication. If you’re not published and are struggling to acquire that elusive contract, you’ll be encouraged. Many of you who are published will be able to relate to her story. Enjoy!

My Journey to Publication

I got the author copies of my third published novel in the mail recently. While it was different from the first novel, it was still quite a feeling. I was immediately swept back to the tears, trials, and triumphs—and I knew my dream of writing was realized. But it’s not only the tears and trials I want to talk to you about today, it’s also the triumphs.

You see, I like many other struggling authors, wasted months and years thinking there was only one triumph—publication. I missed so many opportunities for rejoicing in what God was doing through the trials.

I first started writing in 2001. I’d written before that, but never with the singular goal of actually becoming published, so for all intents and purposes, we’ll start there. I wrote my first manuscript, sent it off to be published, and was heartily disappointed when it came back to me rejected.

I must be doing something wrong, I thought to myself, and promptly revised my cover letter. It wasn’t until I joined a writer’s group and began learning the CRAFT of writing that I realized it wasn’t my letter that needed revising.

So, armed with the understanding that I had much to learn, I began attending writer’s conferences. With each passing year, I saw my skill grow. With each passing year, my collection of rejections also grew. I entered what I recall fondly, now, as the desert years.

The desert years were a lonely, desperate time of self-pity and despair. How I wish I had realized then the presence of God in my life. With every tear I wept, He gently and lovingly molded me. Like a potter using water to make the clay pliable, God used my tears to soften and shape me. I’ll never forget the moment the realization hit that nothing, not a moment of time in my long and difficult publishing journey had been wasted.

Karen Ball once said at a conference I attended, “Don’t be so focused on the goal that you miss the journey.” (Paraphrased).

Suddenly, I realized that was exactly what I’d been doing. My goal was publication. Only that. Not the knowledge to be gained along the way, or the friendships forged in adversity. I missed the fleeting opportunities God had prepared to comfort me, and for me to give comfort. Like a darkened landscape exposed by a shaft of lightening, my life suddenly became visible, and I became determined to ENJOY the writing journey God had set me on.

Later during that same conference, I told a colleague, “I thought I was ready to be published at the first conference I went to. I soon discovered I wasn’t. The second conference I attended, I only hoped I was ready. This year, my third conference, I have no idea if I’m ready or not, but God does, and I’m leaving it in His hands.”

What a good decision I made that day. All things are safe in God’s hands, including my hopes and dreams. Once I’d been broken enough to turn it all over to Him, He was able to direct my path. There were still countless rejections to follow, mind you, but none of them ever cast me into despair the way the first ones had. Instead, I saw them as challenges to face, more difficulties to be overcome. Always, my Lord stood beside me, leading me, fighting my battles.

My hope for you, dear author, as you read this, is that you will be encouraged in the midst of your desert—that you will see the promise that is yet far off, and be inclined to wait for it. Our God is faithful, and He has great and mighty things to teach you.

May it always be our goal to accept whatever comes from His hand.

Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. –Hab. 2:2-3



Elizabeth Ludwig’s first novel, Where the Truth Lies, which she co-authored with Janelle Mowery, was released in spring of 2008 from Heartsong Presents: Mysteries, an imprint of Barbour Publishing. This was followed in 2009 by “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” part of a Christmas anthology collection called Christmas Homecoming, also from Barbour Publishing.

In 2010, her first full-length historical novel Love Finds You in Calico, California was released from Summerside Press. Books two and three of Elizabeth’s mystery series, Died in the Wool, and A Black Die Affair, respectively, are slated for release in 2011 from Barbour Publishing.

In 2008, Elizabeth was named the IWA Writer of the Year for her work on Where the Truth Lies. She is the owner and editor of the popular literary blog, The Borrowed Book, and she is an accomplished speaker and dramatist, having performed before audiences of 1500 and more. She works fulltime, and currently lives with her husband and two children in Texas.

To learn more about Elizabeth and her work, visit her at:
http://www.elizabethludwig.com/
http://www.theborrowedbook.blogspot.com/