The Company of Strangers

by Robert Pobi 

While we were trying to sell my first novel, my agent talked me into attending a writers conference. Anyone who has spent thirty seconds with me will tell you that I’m not much of a people person. Or team player. Or whatever they’re calling us hermits these days. I’ve just never been in sync with the rest of the folks at the methadone dispenser, as much as I try. But she insisted. Something about my having to get out more. Make new friends. Influence people. You know – same old, same old.   

I’m not going to say that I was dreading it, but the people in my old profession would eat their own children if the sushi joint on the corner closed early, so it’s safe to say I was not expecting much. But I went. And stayed. And was knocked out by the individuals I met.

When writers get together a remarkable thing happens – instead of the drunken egomaniacs one expects, they soften, let their guard down, and become very friendly. I was not prepared for the kindness I found in the writing community. There’s a real sense of solidarity, and a real effort to make new writers feel welcome. I have had some great conversations and made some new friends. Not an easy thing at any point in life. 

But along with the friendships and conversations and booze – did I forget to mention the booze? – there are also a lot of offers to help. You need a forensic dentist? Here’s my card. Looking for a Homicide detective? I was an FBI agent for twenty-one years, will that do? You need to know how fast a Zamboni can go on hot sand? Let me make a call. Writers want to help other writers. It just seems to be something that happens. And it took a while to get used to.  

The rules of being a successful writer are pretty complicated to explain, mostly because there aren’t any. This only sinks in when you meet other writers and find out that each one has his or her own way of doing things and it’s not the same as yours. Staring at the cursor for fifteen hours straight can be very isolating; it takes a special kind of person. But I’ve found others out there. Lots of them. Willing to help. 

Which is pretty suspicious when I think about it.     

Robert Pobi is the international bestselling author of Bloodman, a novel that earned a spot on the 2012 Summer Reading List for O, The Oprah Magazine. It was published in more than a dozen countries and became an international bestseller, garnering comparisons to “Thomas Harris in his prime” by Sarah Weinman of the National Post. Pobi does most of his writing at an isolated cabin in the mountains. The rest of the time he is busy getting speeding tickets. Visit him at:  http://robertpobi.com/
                              
A stifling heat wave rolls into New York City, amplifying the already critical level of tension in the fragile concrete ecosystem. The air tastes of electricity – the negative charge of bad things to come – but everyone hopes it’s just the temperature. Then, on the morning Homicide Detective Alexandra ‘Hemi’ Hemingway finds out she is pregnant, a twisted serial killer makes his debut. And the heat goes up.   

Not for the faint of heart - American Woman is a relentless ride that takes you through the fractured world of a nascent killer.  And you will never feel safe again.   

So Many Conferences, So Little Time (and money!)

As a debut novelist, one of the things that has helped me has been attending conferences.

I’ve learned so much about craft, the publishing industry, and marketing, but the networking is always amazing. I never leave a conference without a stack of contacts and having made at least a couple new writer friends. Don't limit yourself to just conferences in your genre. You can learn from all of them, and that diversity will inspire innovation.

Last week I attended Book Expo America.

Now, BEA is actually geared to booksellers and librarians. That didn’t stop me though. Publishers, big and small and self-pubs, too, gathered at the Javits Center in New York City for three days of networking, booksignings, and information sharing. I’ve heard that over 25,000 people were in attendance and it felt like more than that. Free books were flying like meteor showers and lines wrapped as far as you could see as people waited for the chance to get a free autographed copy and a few words with their favorite authors.

Never been to the Javits Center? Oh goodness. I now wish I’d thought to bring my pedometer because I know I put some miles on my shoes last week. In fact, it’s probably a pretty good idea at any conference. Which reminds me...always wear comfortable shoes to these events!

To be such a large event, BEA was very well organized. Locals were staffed and armed with “CAN I HELP YOU” signs to get you pointed in the right direction, and even the registration lines moved smoothly.

I made some memories, like getting my picture taken with Florence Henderson (Yes! Mrs. Brady! Who by the way loved the title of my book!! ), autographed ARCs of David Baldacci’s ONE SUMMER and Leanna Renee Hieber who was out of books by the time I got anywhere close to the front of that line. Doug Lyle’s new book had a corner booth. I got HOT LIGHTS-COLD STEEL along with a pretty awesome ink pen that looks like a syringe full of blood that I worried about getting through security with! No worries, though, I made it through just fine.

Harlan Coben was autographing his audio version of his new YA, SHELTER.

On Wednesday afternoon I attended the “Afternoon Tea” which wasn’t exactly much of a tea but even as a tea-lover I could have cared less because ITWs own Karin Slaughter and Brad Meltzer rocked that session.

In case you hadn't already notices, ITW authors were well-represented!

My debut novel, SWEET TEA AND SECRETS, was displayed in the New Title Showcase. The New Title Showcase is one of the few places that the general public can check out without paying admission. It was pretty exciting to see my book face out among the others. Oh yeah, it was on page 80 of the catalog, too.

I met so many wonderful booksellers and librarians. I’d planned ahead and had plenty of bookmarks and business cards in case I had the opportunity to share, and boy did I have the opportunity to share. It was fun to make connections with others who truly love books as much as we do and share in the excitement of “what’s new” and coming soon.

CALL TO ACTION:: Let’s give each other a helping hand and share the news from the conferences we attend. Who knows what will inspire one of us to the next big thing. Just give me a shout and I'd be happy to put you on the calendar to recap your experience.

NEXT BIG THING:: Thrillerfest is just a few short weeks away and I can’t wait to hear all the great news from it right here on The Thrill Begins.

May the networking begin!

Hugs and high 5s~

Nancy Naigle


Nancy writes love stories from the crossroad of small town and suspense. Visit Nancy at http://www.nancynaigle.com/ on facebook and twitter (@nancynaigle).

Write What You Know by Allan Leverone

It’s July, 2008, and I’m in a hotel conference room in Manhattan pitching a manuscript—a paranormal thriller—to a high-powered literary agent. Agentfest is in full swing, and if you’re unfamiliar with it, that is the annual three-hour pressure-cooker of an opportunity offered up by the International Thriller Writers in which unsigned authors can pitch their manuscripts in three-minute intervals to dozens of top-flight agents.

Tables are lined up around the outside of the big room as well as in clumps throughout the interior. Behind each one sits an agent and in front of each one sits a prospective author, each doing his or her best to convince the agent this book is worth representing. It’s hot in the room and getting hotter, and you can feel the nervousness and determination of the authors. It’s like a physical presence.

And I’m pitching an agent. And the agent isn’t the least bit interested in my manuscript.

I get maybe thirty to forty-five seconds into my brilliant dissertation and he shakes his head and smiles. “It’s not for me,” he says, and suddenly I’m thankful the pitches are limited to three minutes. To make conversation until the speed-dating bell rings, he asks me about myself. “So, what do you do for a living in the real world?”

I tell him I’m an air traffic controller, working traffic into and out of Boston’s Logan International Airport. He gives me a strange look. It reminds me of Tom Cruise looking at Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, you know, like awe and pity are fighting for control of his face and pity is winning. All I can think of is the old commercial with the guy smacking his head and saying, “I could have had a V-8!”

But he doesn’t smack his head. Instead, he looks like he wants to smack mine. He says, “Duh. Why don’t you write an air traffic control thriller?” like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Okay, that part’s a lie. He didn’t say, “Duh.” But I know he was thinking it.

He goes on to explain that publishers love “experts.” It’s one reason why you see spy thrillers authored by former CIA operatives, cop novels written by ex-and-sometimes-current cops, PI mysteries from writers with investigative experience. He explains it patiently, like maybe he’s not dealing with the brightest guy in the room. He’s right about that.

So I take his advice. I go home and write an air traffic control thriller. The thriller genre is not overly populated with aviation-related books and most of the ones out there are written from the pilot’s perspective, the most obvious example being the many outstanding books written by John Nance, commercial airline pilot and aviation expert. There aren’t that many thrillers written from an air traffic controller’s perspective.

And damned if the agent isn’t right! Fast-forward a little less than a year-and-a-half, and I’m signing the contract with Medallion Press for publication of my first novel, an aviation thriller written from an air traffic controller’s perspective titled FINAL VECTOR.

I’m forever indebted to that agent, who wasn’t interested in the book I was pitching but still took the time to chat with me and offer some valuable advice. Of course, he was sort of a captive audience, but still.

I’d love to thank him in person, but there’s one problem. I pitched my manuscript to eighteen agents that day, and for the life of me I can’t remember which one out of those eighteen gave me that sage (not to mention free) advice.

So if you’re a literary agent and you’re reading this right now and you remember talking to a really clueless guy about being an air traffic controller and telling him to get off his dumb ass and write an air traffic control thriller, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

By the way, I still don’t have an agent. Interested?

* * *

Allan Leverone is a twenty-nine year veteran of the aviation industry whose debut thriller features an air traffic controller much braver, younger and better-looking than he. FINAL VECTOR will be available tomorrow from Medallion Press. Allan lives in Londonderry, New Hampshire with his unbelievably supportive wife Sue, three children, one beautiful granddaughter and a cat who has used up eight lives. Learn more at www.allanleverone.com.