How to Get Ready for the Colorado Gold Conference

The Colorado Gold Conference is coming up next month. I know I look forward to this event all year long. Seeing my fellow writers, gabbing about the previous year, and celebrating my friends’ publications are all things I do at Gold. I also take classes, eat way too much, and barcon after dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

If you’re going to the Colorado Gold, you’ve got to prepare yourself. You’ve got to budget for the shenanigans, wear comfy shoes, and have a plan—especially if you’re pitching agents and editors. Today I’m going to give you my top six suggestions for wooing that agent and getting a traditional book contract.

1. Follow the agents and editors on Twitter.

You can go to the conference website and look at all the agents attending the conference this year. Let’s look at Shannon Hassan. She’s an agent at Marsal Lyon Literary. I cut and pasted her name into Google, and the fourth hit down was her Twitter handle. I now follow her. If you’re really into Twitter, you’ll begin to notice how often they post, what they like to talk about, and what they’re looking for in a submission.

If you’re not into Twitter, that’s okay. Many of our agents & editors also have LinkedIn accounts. Check out their bio! In addition to finding what they want to represent or publish, figure out some sort of icebreaker and make a personal connection. Perhaps you went to the same college or grew up in the same state. Maybe you’re both fans of the same author. Make yourself memorable through your research.

2. Choose the agents and editors you want to follow up with.

The conference schedules a pitch for every attendee. These are valuable opportunities—but they aren’t the only ones. Choose one or two additional agents you want to research and get to know. Follow them on Twitter and check out their LinkedIn profile. Read their agency’s or publisher’s webpage. You may end up sitting at the same table with them during lunch or dinner. You may end up sharing a morning coffee over pastries. If you volunteer to drive VIPs to and from the airport, you might run into one or more agents in afternoon traffic. Oh, look! A captive audience!

3. Get dressed up.

A friend of mine in the writing game once told me the old adage: Dress for the job you want. So when I’m at the Colorado Gold, I wear a suit and tie every day. On the day I pitch, I wear a black suit with a bright red tie. Now, I am a large Black man. I stand out wherever I go. When I’m doing business at the conference, I make an impression.

4. Have your manuscript ready.

I went to a local conference last year and heard a writing professional tell a story. Over the course of several conferences, this gentleman asked every agent he could find one question: “Why do you ask for chapters from everyone you meet?”

The answer was shocking. Every agent he spoke with said that 80% of writers never send anything.

When I heard this, I felt a quick succession of emotions. Shock, confusion, followed by guilt. I remembered the half a dozen times I had successfully pitched and gotten a request for pages. I followed all of these up with sending nothing.

I wanted to tweak my manuscript. I wanted to go over my chapters with a fine-toothed comb. I wanted it to be perfect. I later realized that perfection is the twin sister of procrastination. I will not do that again. In fact, when I was at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this past year, I got a request for a full, and after finishing my edits, I sent it to her last week. (Wish me luck!)

5. Be ready to pounce like an apex predator.

Whether it’s at your pitch appointment, during one of the conference meals, or at barcon, when your time comes, you’ve got to be ready. Throw on the charm, be suave, and go in for the kill.

Have your manuscript ready, and practice a pitch to give to the agent. Practice an elevator speech. (Tighten Your Query is a great resource for perfecting your pitch.) Dress well, and if you wear makeup, check your lipstick and eyeliner one last time. Survey the surroundings and feel for the right time. Don’t be obnoxious, but be confident!

6. Remember, agents and editors are on your side.

Please remember that agents and editors go to conferences because they want to find the next J.K. Rowling or Christopher Paolini. They are on your side. Be charming, dress up, know what they want to read, and pick your moment. If they ask for pages from your manuscript, go home Sunday afternoon and send it. The publishing business is hard enough without self-sabotage. Have some faith in yourself and the hard work you did to write a book.

When the conference is over, I would love to hear from people who tried my suggestions. I’ll see all of you in a week, and remember: Go for the Gold!