York Festival of Writing

GigiF · Aug 12, 2014

Just seen this on Twitter. Has anyone been before? I'm most interested in the 1-2-1's. I've provisionally booked one with an agent who seems to have childrens books on her 'wants' lists but I'm not 100% sure what I'm really doing and as it's £174 it's a lot of money for me to waste on just having a general brief chat with someone.

Any advice etc?

Thanks.

millymollymo · Aug 12, 2014

I've not been personally, (like you say, it's pricey and if you know where to look you can find the same cheaper) but know of plenty who have and loved it. They return year after year for the social side of it. The feedback has helped them, though I only know of 1 person (because of agent publicity) that has been picked up from it. It also depends where you are in your stage of writing and career development. Check out New Writing North, Writing East Midlands, Lincoln Inspired, all offer more affordable events/listings that may help.
Good Luck!

Ari Meermans · Aug 12, 2014

Gigi, I'm moving your thread to Roundtable where there has been previous discussion on the festival. (AE&BP is for promoting your published writing.)

I think Old Hack has been a speaker at the festival in the past and might be able to give you some insight.

SaveitForaRainyDay · Aug 12, 2014

I was thinking of going to this, but I have no idea what to expect from it, so I was also looking to see if anyone had been.

I'm worried about not being taken seriously because of being young (19, but looking about 12. Is this an issue?), being shy (do you have to really, really sell yourself? do they expect overly talkative people?), not having writing up to the standard of other people's (at what stage would you recommend going?), plainly just embarrassing myself by attending (will they honestly tell you if your writing is going nowhere?)

But I have recently been given some money, and have nothing to spend it on, so I was thinking of investing it in this.

Realistically, I'm not planning on going to land an agent, actually just to hear opinions on my writing, and see how to improve from professionals.

If anyone's been, I'd love to speak to you just to ask questions. I'd love to have a slight idea of what it's like before committing.

Thanks!

GigiF · Aug 12, 2014

Ari Meermans said:
Gigi, I'm moving your thread to Roundtable where there has been previous discussion on the festival. (AE&BP is for promoting your published writing.)

I think Old Hack has been a speaker at the festival in the past and might be able to give you some insight.

Thanks. And apologies for posting it in the wrong place - genuine mistake.

Buffysquirrel · Aug 12, 2014

Here's a link for those who had the same trouble finding any useful info I did

.

http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/FestivalofWriting2014.html

GigiF · Aug 12, 2014

Lady Silver said:
I've not been personally, (like you say, it's pricey and if you know where to look you can find the same cheaper) but know of plenty who have and loved it. They return year after year for the social side of it. The feedback has helped them, though I only know of 1 person (because of agent publicity) that has been picked up from it. It also depends where you are in your stage of writing and career development. Check out New Writing North, Writing East Midlands, Lincoln Inspired, all offer more affordable events/listings that may help.
Good Luck!

I've found one of the agents doing 121's does MG which is where my MS is positioned. It's going to cost me £240 to attend a number of talks and workshops but most importantly for me is that 121.

It's a lot of money but I'm very tempted....

GigiF · Aug 12, 2014

SaveitForaRainyDay said:
I was thinking of going to this, but I have no idea what to expect from it, so I was also looking to see if anyone had been.

I'm worried about not being taken seriously because of being young (19, but looking about 12. Is this an issue?), being shy (do you have to really, really sell yourself? do they expect overly talkative people?), not having writing up to the standard of other people's (at what stage would you recommend going?), plainly just embarrassing myself by attending (will they honestly tell you if your writing is going nowhere?)

But I have recently been given some money, and have nothing to spend it on, so I was thinking of investing it in this.

Realistically, I'm not planning on going to land an agent, actually just to hear opinions on my writing, and see how to improve from professionals.

If anyone's been, I'd love to speak to you just to ask questions. I'd love to have a slight idea of what it's like before committing.

Thanks!

I have the exact same worries and concerns as you - new writer, haven't got a clue what I'm doing, know I'm going to make a fool of myself.

But the equation I did turned in a conclusion that:
Concerns of making myself look stupid < my desire to get my MS published.

I did the same equation on:
£240 < how much I'd pay to help me get my MS published.

aliceshortcake · Aug 12, 2014

Come to York!

Spend lots of money!

Tourism and festivals are all we have left.

(Yes, I'm a York resident.)

Old Hack · Aug 12, 2014

Ari's right, I've spoken there a couple of times and have chaired quite a few panel discussions, usually the ones with agents.

GigiF said:
Just seen this on Twitter. Has anyone been before? I'm most interested in the 1-2-1's. I've provisionally booked one with an agent who seems to have childrens books on her 'wants' lists but I'm not 100% sure what I'm really doing and as it's £174 it's a lot of money for me to waste on just having a general brief chat with someone.

Any advice etc?

Thanks.

It is a LOT of money to spend, but if you're gregarious and have stamina it's a fun event to attend.

The one-to-ones are very brief, though: they're limited to just five or ten minutes and while I know a few people who give very good advice in the ten minutes they're assigned, I also know a few others who are less organised and focused. Also, if the publishing professionals giving you the advice have been heavily scheduled they're going to be tired and might not be as together as you'd want them to be.

It can be a bit of a lottery. But it can be very helpful too. BUT you can get just as good advice here at AW for free.

GigiF said:
I've found one of the agents doing 121's does MG which is where my MS is positioned. It's going to cost me £240 to attend a number of talks and workshops but most importantly for me is that 121.

It's a lot of money but I'm very tempted....

Again, the one to ones are helpful, but they are limited by the short period of time you have with the agent or editor concerned.

GigiF said:
I have the exact same worries and concerns as you - new writer, haven't got a clue what I'm doing, know I'm going to make a fool of myself.

But the equation I did turned in a conclusion that:
Concerns of making myself look stupid < my desire to get my MS published.

I did the same equation on:
£240 < how much I'd pay to help me get my MS published.

Going to York is not going to get you published. Writing a good book, revising it well, and submitting it appropriately, might.

If you think you'd enjoy a weekend of talks and meeting new people and late nights and early mornings then go, attend, you'll get a lot out of it. But if you're only going in the hope of being picked up by the agent who gives you a one to one, or of being told a Great Publishing Secret by that agent which will get you published, think again. There are no guarantees.

millymollymo · Aug 12, 2014

Old Hack said:
It can be a bit of a lottery. But it can be very helpful too. BUT you can get just as good advice here at AW for free.

Going to York is not going to get you published. Writing a good book, revising it well, and submitting it appropriately, might.

If you think you'd enjoy a weekend of talks and meeting new people and late nights and early mornings then go, attend, you'll get a lot out of it. But if you're only going in the hope of being picked up by the agent who gives you a one to one, or of being told a Great Publishing Secret by that agent which will get you published, think again. There are no guarantees.

Much sense in what Old Hack says. My 1-2-1 cost less than £10, for 20 minutes, and I didn't get it at York, nor did it get my novel published. It wouldn't, it was a work in progress.

Ari is right... all the advice you'll get in a 1-2-1 you'll find right here on AW.

GigiF, SaveitForaRainyDay, depending on what you are writing and, which genre it falls under, you might be better heading to York FantasyCon - no one to ones that I know of, but info and loads of other people in the same boat as you. Remember, no matter what you are writing.
Or if your 'YA' - check out Project UKYA.
There is a bucket load of stuff out there for a lot less that will give you the "where do I go from here" that you are looking for.

We all started at the beginning and none of us knew what we were doing. Some of us still don't!

Hi aliceshortcake, how's the Ouse today?
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

GigiF · Aug 12, 2014

Wow. Thank you fir the information everyone who's replied. Given me a lot to think about now.

I wasn't expecting the agent to sign my MS (although that would be great) but I was expecting some detailed feedback from someone working in the industry as to whether or not they thought my MS would cut it or not...

Sounds like I'm not really going to get that eh?

Buffysquirrel · Aug 12, 2014

I'd be tempted if I had the money.

thepicpic · Aug 12, 2014

This sounded really good until I saw the price tag. One day, maybe...

Old Hack · Aug 13, 2014

GigiF said:
Wow. Thank you fir the information everyone who's replied. Given me a lot to think about now.

I wasn't expecting the agent to sign my MS (although that would be great) but I was expecting some detailed feedback from someone working in the industry as to whether or not they thought my MS would cut it or not...

Sounds like I'm not really going to get that eh?

Check out how long the one-to-ones are. I think they last ten minutes. While that's plenty of time for some really good feedback it isn't enough time for detailed feedback.

If you do decide to go, make the most of your one to one time. Don't argue with the person giving you the critique: you'd be surprised by how many people do argue with the agent, in an attempt to defend their work. It's understandable: but it wastes time! Instead, listen; ask questions. You might not agree with what you're told (and people often don't); but still. It's worth considering, and the more you hear the more you have to consider.

If you decide not to go, you can get good feedback from AW.

GigiF · Aug 13, 2014

Old Hack said:
Check out how long the one-to-ones are. I think they last ten minutes. While that's plenty of time for some really good feedback it isn't enough time for detailed feedback.

If you do decide to go, make the most of your one to one time. Don't argue with the person giving you the critique: you'd be surprised by how many people do argue with the agent, in an attempt to defend their work. It's understandable: but it wastes time! Instead, listen; ask questions. You might not agree with what you're told (and people often don't); but still. It's worth considering, and the more you hear the more you have to consider.

If you decide not to go, you can get good feedback from AW.

Thanks so much for your advise. I've decided not to go. I was only going for the 121 and whilst the workshops etc sound interesting they were by far secondary.

I thought I'd get a decent half an hour with someone who would have read my MS and was able to give me really good feedback on what changes I would need to do to hopefully get published. But it sounds like too much of a lottery for the cost involved.

Thanks again.

Old Hack · Aug 13, 2014

I've had it confirmed: the one to ones are only ten minutes long, and the time limit is strictly enforced.

Put some work up in AW's Share Your Work section. While you're waiting for people to critique it, give several critiques to other writers because that's a brilliant way to learn how to improve your work.

GigiF · Aug 13, 2014

Old Hack said:
I've had it confirmed: the one to ones are only ten minutes long, and the time limit is strictly enforced.

Put some work up in AW's Share Your Work section. While you're waiting for people to critique it, give several critiques to other writers because that's a brilliant way to learn how to improve your work.

Well, that puts paid to that. Thank you SO much for checking that out - really appreciate it.

Buffysquirrel · Aug 13, 2014

Are you going to be there this year Old Hack? It's a place I can actually get to!

Old Hack · Aug 13, 2014

I'm not speaking, but I have been known to turn up at the last minute. If I do decide to go I'll let you know: it would be fun to meet up.

York Festival of Writing

GigiF

millymollymo

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter

SaveitForaRainyDay

GigiF

Buffysquirrel

GigiF

GigiF

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

millymollymo

GigiF

Buffysquirrel

thepicpic

May or may not be a potato.

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

GigiF

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

GigiF

Buffysquirrel

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman