Well, you know something wacky is going on when it's 57 degrees and sunny in New York City and it's 65 and rainy in San Diego. The SDSU conference was a whirlwind three days of author pitches, agent panels, presentations, and the occasional relaxing lunch with editors. The quality of participants was really high, and everyone was receptive to hearing feedback, so I think participants and industry professionals alike made good connections. It's always hard to evaluate someone's work on just a pitch, but I'm hopeful that I'll see a few good requested submissions in the coming weeks. But of course not everything is all roses and sunshine- I just got back from my weekend on the West Coast and returned to the news that Collins, the non-fiction division of HarperCollins, is being folded back into the company and some amazing editors are now out of work. This isn't good news, but hopefully it's the last major announcement we will see for a while. I'll repeat the advice that I was giving to authors at the conference: in a downturn, time is a gift. People are being picky, and the industry is in flux, so be patient and edit and revise and make your book a gem. Your work ultimately speaks for you, so now's the time for it to be the absolute focus.
-Michelle Brower