ThrillerFest Archives - L.J. Taylor Books

My Adventures at Thrillerfest 2017

Posted on August 4, 2017August 17, 2017 by LJ

A few weeks ago, I attended Thrillerfest 2017 – the premiere conference for thriller enthusiasts, which brings together famous authors and new ones along with industry professionals, agents, and fans. The conference, which took place from July 11-15 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, is divided into three distinct parts (four if you count some of the preceding activities): Craftfest, Pitchfest (formerly known as AgentFest), and Thrillerfest.

Craftfest is comprised of writing seminars designed to teach the art of thriller writing. In addition to the writing seminars included in the overall conference fee, one could, for an extra fee, attend the Master Craftfest, which is comprised of eight writing classes taught this year by Steve Berry, Lee Child, Gayle Lynds, Grant Blackwood, Meg Gardiner, and Andrew Gross. I did not sign up for the Master Craftfest.

Pitchfest is like speed dating with agents. Each person who signs up gets a few minutes with agents to pitch their manuscript or book proposal. Hundreds of writers are lined up and sent into a room to pitch 50 or so agents and a few editors. Those who plan to participate in Pitchfest would do well to prepare in advance. It's a good idea to research the agents and editors online, find out which ones are looking for your type of book and make a beeline for them first when you get to Pitchfest.

Thrillerfest is composed of additional craft and career seminars, as well as book signings and other events. The main event for Thrillerfest 2017 was the ITW 12th Annual Thriller Awards Banquet, which was held on Saturday, July 15, 2017. At the banquest, the 2017 ThrillerMaster award was presented to bestselling thriller author Lee Child (the creator of the Jack Reacher series by the 2016 ThrillerMaster Heather Graham. The 2017 Silver Bullet Award was presented to bestselling author Lisa Gardner by the reknown thriller author John Lescroart. The most coveted award – the 2017 Thriller Legend Award was presented to Tom Doherty by Jon Land.

I'd been to Craftfest and Pitchfest before, but this was the first time I attended Thrillerfest. I took the whole week off from work so that I could participate in most of the events.

I signed up to volunteer at the conference again this year. I like doing that. It makes me feel like I'm a part of the event. It also helps me make new friends and gives me the inside scoop on the goings on. Plus, it helps me get up close and personal with some of the famous authors. For example, last year, volunteering at the conference gave me the opportunity to meet one of my favorite thriller authors – Jon Land – and to attend dinner with him and a group of authors at a nearby restaurant. This year though, my assignment was to be the timekeeper who informed the speakers when they had ten minutes left before the end of the seminar. They gave me a ten minute, a five minute, and a “wrap it up” sign to hold up at the appropriate times. Needless to say, I wasn't very popular with the speakers this year. 🙂 Just kidding. They said that I was very discreet. That faint praise made me wonder how the other timekeepers behaved.

On Monday, July 10, 2017, I visited FBI Headquarters in NY to attend seminars on forensics and such. The FBI allows a small contingent of writers from the conference to attend in the hopes that we portray the agency more accurately. To get a full account of my visit to FBI headquarters, see my previous blog post here.

Since Craftfest wasn't scheduled to begin until Wednesday, July 12th, I got some much needed sleep on Tuesday and got some writing done. I also used that day to scout out sources of vegan food and to stock my room with fruit, almond milk, cold salads, etc. so that I could make smoothies during my stay. To learn more about my vegan culinary adventures while in New York City, check out my health blog here.

On Wednesday, Craftfest began in earnest. I attended scores of craft seminars – some as a timekeeper and others because I had an interest in the topics discussed. On the second day of Craftfest, I had an epiphany. In fact, I came to several realizations, the first of which was that, having written and published four books under two different pen names, I already knew a lot about what was taught in the craft seminars about pacing, plotting, prose, etc. Don't get me wrong, I still learned a few nuggets of wisdom that made the conference fee worthwhile, but I already have the basics down. It took actually writing those books, getting them edited by a professional editor, and publishing them to drive that knowledge home for me.

Thinking about how far I've come as a writer makes me cringe when I think about the type of work I used to submit to agents at Pitchfest in past years hoping to get signed up. Back then, I didn't realize that I was formatting my dialogue incorrectly. That work also had a lot of rookie mistakes like opening a novel with a dream sequence, for example. It made me realize that I have a much better chance now at finding agents and editors to sign me up than I did before. I may decide to participate in Pitchfest next year and see what happens.

Thrillerfest began with a reception on Thursday, July 13, 2017 and ended with the banquet on Saturday, July 15, 2017. Thrillerfest's seminars were more focused on the thriller genre, the thriller market, and issues facing the thriller author. I listened with rapt attention since my next project (after finishing Caged Dreams and my holiday novella) is to start a spinoff thriller series featuring Tara and Tyrone – the brother and sister CIA agents from The Liberian Agenda.

All in all, I had a great time. I learned a lot, mixed and mingled with thriller authors, ate some fantastic vegan fare, and caught up with my Dad and some of my siblings while in New York. I also met my new baby niece for the first time. She's five months and adorable. I would post a picture of her, but my sister won't let me.

Peace,

Looking Forward to Thrillerfest 2014

Posted on July 8, 2014November 3, 2014 by LJ

I'm really looking forward to attending Thrillerfest this year. Several of my favorite authors will be there including Anne Rice, Scott Turow, Brenda Novak and so many more. There will be great fiction writing seminars offered including a special seminar given by the F.B.I. for more accurate portrayals in novels. The conference also offers fantastic opportunities to network with agents, editors and other writers and to get autographed copies of books published by your favorite writers. Last year, I had dinner with one of my idols, Jon Land, whose books I used to practically inhale.

I agreed to serve as a volunteer at Thrillerfest this year as I did last year. Volunteering at writers conferences can be really beneficial. It gives you the inside track, affords you more opportunities to meet and interact with the presenting authors, and provides you with a sense of belonging. I enjoyed volunteering last year and am sure I'll enjoy it again this year.

I usually stay at the Thrillerfest host hotel – the Grand Central Hyatt – but this year I'm trying something different. I elected to save $100 plus a night by staying at Pod39. The place has gotten great reviews on Tripadvisor and is not far at all from the conference venue. It's a more modern and trendy hotel with three bars including a swanky rooftop bar that has received a lot of recognition. My sister and I plan to check that out tomorrow.

I checked in a couple of days early intending to lock myself in my room and edit my book “Just Dreams” which is coming out in two weeks. The rooms are tiny even for New York City. They're more like single dorm rooms in size and shape and are certainly not made for two. My father, who dropped me off, said he would feel claustrophobic if he stayed in a room that small. I think he was a little worried about leaving me there because he called later to check up on me. His call found me in one of the bars having a nice glass of Rioja wine. I had gone looking for coffee and ended up having a nightcap.

I sent pictures of my room to my boyfriend. He compared it to a jail cell in terms of size. But jail cells are presumably not as clean and colorful and well-designed. They probably don't have queen-sized beds, flat screen TV's, free Wi-Fi, or private bathrooms with frosted sliding glass doors. The frosted sliding glass bathroom doors are another feature that made me glad not to have company. Who wants an audience in there?

The room actually feels cozy to me. I wish I had a little more desk space to spread out on while I work, but the chair is comfortable and the desk is the right height and the wi-fi signal is great. I also lucked out in the food arena as the hotel is near some very decent reasonably priced restaurants. I picked up a delicious roasted turkey breast, cheese and cranberry sauce sandwich on Italian bread and a cup of split pea soup for lunch for less than $8.00 from Melange Green & Gourmet. For dinner, I had rotisserie chicken, sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes from a small French place called Provence Chicken. The meal was great but the carrot cake was out of this world – perfectly spiced, not too sweet and without the cloying cream cheese frosting it traditionally comes with.

I can't wait until tomorrow. There's a bagel spot around the corner that's gotten some great reviews. Nothing like bagels in New York. Or pizza or Chinese food. Huh. So many experiences, so little time . . . I'll keep you posted.

Peace

Thrillerfest VI

Posted on August 12, 2011 by LJ

Last month, I attended Thrillerfest – an annual conference put on by International Thriller Writers – for the very first time. The conference was held in New York City at the Grand Central Hyatt Hotel, July 6-9, 2011.

Thrillerfest is an event devoted to thriller writers and thriller enthusiasts. Every year, bestselling authors such as R.L. Stine, Ken Follett, Jon Land, John Lescroart, Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry, and more participate in the conference along with some of the top agents and editors in the industry.

The conference is divided into three parts: Craftfest, Agentfest and Thrillerfest. I attended Craftfest and Agentfest but did not stay for Thrillerfest. Next year, I will be sure to rectify that.

Craftfest is a day and a half of writing seminars given by bestselling thriller writers on such interesting topics as forensics in fiction, writing suspense, how to keep relationships alive without killing the pace of your novel, point of view, psychic distance and passive voice., ways to make your thriller ring with emotion and how to write compelling and believable villains. The seminars were interesting and informative and I learned new things in each of them.

The event that gave me the most bang for my money was Agentfest, which was held on Thursday, July 7, 2011. Because the conference is held in New York, which is publishing Mecca, Agentfest offers unprecedented access to the most top-notch agents I have ever seen in a single setting. More than fifty agents participated this year.

Agentfest is a version of speed dating with agents held over a two and a half hour period with a short break after the first hour (to allow the agents an opportunity to breathe). Agents looking to sign up the next bestselling novelist are seated in alphabetical order in three large rooms. Writers hoping to find an agent to represent them line up and then head into one of the three rooms to pitch their novels to the agents of their choice.

Since there are a lot of writers participating in the event and some agents are more popular than others, it helps to have a game plan. Being the maniac that I am, I researched the agents participating in Agentfest beforehand. By the time the event began, I had a chart in hand listing the agents I wanted to pitch and the book best suited to pitch to each particular agent. I had to do that because not all agents would be interested in hearing about a romantic suspense novel. So, I pitched my mainstream suspense novel to those agents and my romantic suspense novel to the agents who represented romance authors.

My plan of attack was to first pitch those agents on my list who had either no line or only a short line of writers waiting for them. After I picked off the low hanging fruit, I got in line to see the agents I thought would be the perfect fit for me and my novels to the extent I hadn't already pitched to them. I had time left over after that, so I pitched two agents who were not on my list but who were available. One very kind agent was even willing to hear my pitch after the event had officially ended.

It proved to be a wildly successful afternoon. I was able to pitch to a total of fourteen agents and every single one of them asked me to send them anything from the first 25 pages and a synopsis to a full manuscript. Many of my colleagues did not enjoy the same measure of success. Apparently, all of the preparation I had done for Agentfest paid off. That preparation included evading the persistent advances of a fellow writer the night before Agentfest and returning to my hotel room alone to hone and practice my pitches.

Speaking of fellow writers, Thrillerfest offered great networking opportunities. The night before Agentfest, I met a group of writers at a cocktail reception who invited me to have dinner with them afterwards. That group included one of my personal idols, Jon Land. He is the writer of amazing thriller novels featuring a hero named Blaine McCracken. I followed that series avidly during my spy novel craze in the late 1980's and 1990's and devoured every single one of those books I could find. He now writes great novels featuring a heroine named Caitlin Strong who is a female Texas ranger. It was amazing to be able to meet him and tell him how much I enjoyed his work. He turned out to be a very nice man who offered to help me with my pitch for Agentfest.

I missed the Thrillerfest part of the event which, according to the program, offers additional seminars on writing and publishing topics, including a bonus session given by the C.IA. on how to make your spy novels more realistic. It also offers even more networking opportunities.

All in all, I had a great time, met some great people and had a very productive conference. I will definitely attend Thrillerfest next year and stay for the entire event. Maybe I'll see some of you there.

Peace

Scriptfrenzy – It’s Almost That Time Again

Posted on March 26, 2011 by LJ

To do, or not to do, Scriptfrenzy this year? That is the question. For some of you, the question might be: “What the heck is Scriptfrenzy? ” Scriptfrenzy is a wonderful event where writers all over the world sign up on a website – http://www.scriptfrenzy.org – and vow to write a 100 page script within 30 days from April 1 to April 30th. It could be a stage play, a movie script or a script of an episode of your favorite television show. It's a great exercise for novelists and scriptwriters alike because it forces you to focus on dialogue and to plot out your story in three acts scene by scene. I used it as a tool to plot out and visualize my third book and it was very useful.

So, should I participate in Scriptfrenzy this year? You see, I have a nasty habit of starting new projects and finishing first drafts, but then not completing the editing necessary to get the projects ready for publication. On one hand, my participation in activities like Nanowrimo and Scriptfrenzy since 2007 have resulted in my having first drafts (and, in one case, a nice chunk of a second draft) of three novels and a movie script. On the other hand, none of those projects are complete enough to send out to agents and editors for review. I think the problem is that I love to get together with fellow writers during Nanowrimo and Scriptfrenzy in cafes to write and I do my best work under pressure. It has to do with having a set time parameter in which to complete a measurable task and doing it in a group setting with all of the attendant cheerleading, accountability and support endemic to such an exercise.

Writing is normally a solitary task and, although I am a solitary child, it's hard to self-motivate to complete a rewrite of something you've already “finished.” I put the word “finished” in quotation marks because a first draft of a novel or a script is usually far from finished and you rarely even finish a first draft in 30 days. This is especially true if you have a full-time job, gospel choir practice, a diet and exercise regime, a blog and maybe a husband and some kids (I don't have those last two items, but some do). Events like Scriptfrenzy and Nanowrimo get you fired up and motivated to get some writing done. Unfortunately though, they require you to work on new projects and not existing ones.

When I pitched to agents at the San Francisco Writers Conference, they were happy to hear that I had written three novels. Agents and editors want their writers to be prolific – the more product, the more sales. However, they also want writers who timely complete their projects.

So, knowing that I have to finish editing my second novel and then complete the rewrite of my first book and the editing of my third book so that they are ready for Romance Writers of America's national conference in June and Thrillerfest in July, am I really going to throw myself into writing a new movie script in April? You bet I am! Why? Not only because I'm just crazy like that, but also, when I finish editing and selling (I'm claiming it) my other works, I'm going to need to have new projects in the pipeline. Moreover, I need an outlet for the new ideas rattling around in my brain. You wouldn't believe the things that rattle around writers' brains. I find it best to only express those thoughts with other writers for fear of being locked up in a loony bin.

If you have a story idea rattling around in your brain and you can see it play out on a stage or on a big or little screen, you may want to seriously consider participating in Scriptfrenzy. If, like me the first year, you have no clue how a movie script should be formatted, invest in a copy of “Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need” by Blake Snyder. It is fabulous and proved to be an invaluable resource for me. Also, check out Scriptfrenzy's website (http://www.scriptfrenzy.org). It will give you leads on scriptwriting software (which formats scripts for you) and other great resources. I used Celtx. Also, download scripts of a couple of your favorite movies to see how they were done.

I have to go now. I have a book to edit and a script to plot out. Let me know if you decide to participate in Scriptfrenzy. If you're in Miami maybe we can get together for write-ins.

Peace