Querying Prior to Conference?

There's nothing like a face to face meeting

First impressions DO count and with a one on one meeting you get to pitch your best where as in a query, unless you are a great letter writer, well..., if it were me, up in their faces would I be for I do my best in person. Think about it and decide where you are in your element.


All good wishes to you.

Keep writing.



And yes, first impressions DO count.

M.A.Gardener said:

There are a number of agents at an upcoming conference that I'm interested in meeting with. Problem is, since I only get one meeting, I'd like to make sure the agent is interested in meeting with me. (And, yes, I've reviewed their bios, but it's still a question.)

So, is it appropriate to query them in an email prior to the conference to make sure I'm not wasting my one, precious meeting time?

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I'm not sure I understand the setup. You're guaranteed a meeting with one agent of your choice or something? I've heard of conferences where they do agent "speed dating" -- you get maybe five minutes to make your pitch with a number of agents -- but not where you only get one meeting. That's pretty make or break, and I hope you're going to the conference for reasons other than this meeting.

The verdict on meeting agents through writers' conferences is pretty mixed -- some agents love them, and pay close attention to unpublished authors. Others say that they often end up with someone who makes a great pitch in person, but whose written work comes up short.

dantem42 said:

Others say that they often end up with someone who makes a great pitch in person, but whose written work comes up short.

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I have to admit, I don't understand why they'd be surprised. "He talks well, therefore he must write well?" If that was the case, management of my corporation wouldn't mostly sound like illiterate rhesus monkeys every time they sent an email. And the reverse would indicate that I, who couldn't even sell Girl Scout cookies as a child, can't write a coherent plot or tell an interesting story simply because I stutter, stammer, and can't remember what I was going to say once you're talking to me face-to-face.

Seems to me the only thing in-person pitching is good for is to decide if you'd even like the person if you did like their story. This is just all my never humble opinion, however.

DeadlyAccurate said:

If that was the case, management of my corporation wouldn't mostly sound like illiterate rhesus monkeys every time they sent an email.

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I guess I should consider myself lucky. Most of the management poobahs I've worked with write like surprisingly literate rhesus monkeys.

M.A., does your conference have a website? If so, see if they have a link called "editorial needs"--and check to see what the agents list as things they're looking for. Go with the one that's the closest match.