Conferencing and Pitching (Day 1)

Hello You Wonderful Peeps!

 

 

I’ve had…or, well, am having the incredible honor of attending the 2014 Pikes Peak Writer’s Conference in Colorado Springs and I must say WOW! These last two days have been spectacular. The conference brings a wealth of information, a remarkable list of professional names with the skills of the trade, and an all-around camaraderie any writer could ever hope to experience. First, I must say I may be a bit anal because I made me a creative ‘memory’ journal. I printed the material from the conference, cut, and pasted it into the book. Throughout my time here, I’ve been getting autographs of those I’ve met and spoken with and of course I’ve logged my workshop notes in it, as well as journaling my personal thoughts and feelings. (I’ve gotten lots of great comments on it so I don’t feel so silly having done so.)

Thursday, April 23rd, was the Prequel. I hadn’t intended on going, having accidentally signed up for it, but you know what, sometimes these things are meant to be. One of my workshops was led by Linda Rorhbough  and was titled: Pitch Perfect: 3 Steps to Getting Their Attention. May I first say this lady knows her stuff! Man, oh, man. I took this class because I am pitching for the very first time and I felt it was necessary information. And it certainly was. I realized how completely unprepared I was. LOL Though I left the class having gained a new understanding of ‘pitching’ I also left feeling deflated and uncertain about whether I should even attempt my pitch this year. I most definitely had my work cut out for me and had an inclination I wouldn’t be going to bed at a decent hour that night.

I was right. I stayed up until about 2 a.m. working on my pitch. I labored intensely over it, taking careful consideration all what I’d learned in Linda’s workshop. I’m telling you, this woman is brilliant! Her formula is so clear, so concise, and if you work it, it will work for you. Just a few things, and really, these are things I (and you) probably know but need to be reminded of. Then there are things you probably don’t know as well.

1. Get out of your comfort zone. Linda said, “Nothing can change when you’re comfortable.” How true!
2. She shared the basic elements of a log line. She even went so far as to suggest having a second log line.
3. She shared what not to do during a pitch. One was “Don’t compliment your work.”

You should definitely visit her website. Even better, support her by buying her book, The Prophetess One: At Risk.

Overall, I would rate this workshop a solid 10/10 because she made me think, put me to work, and taught me a lot. And then gave me resources to continue my learning journey through her website. (Just go to articles and eat your heart out!)

(Reprinted from Pikes Peak Blog Writing from the Peak )

Linda Rohrbough has been writing since 1989, and has more than 5,000 articles and seven books to her credit along with national awards for her fiction and non-fiction. New York Times #1 bestselling author Debbie Macomber said about Linda’s new novel: “This is fast-paced, thrilling, edge-of-the-seat reading. The Prophetess One: At Risk had me flipping the pages and holding my breath.” The Prophetess One: At Risk has garnered three national awards: the 2012 International Book Award, the 2011 Global eBook Award, and the 2011 Millennium Star Publishing Award. An iPhone App of her popular “Pitch Your Book” workshop is available in the Apple iTunes store. Visit her website!

There is more to come. So stay tuned!

Cheers,

Michala