Two NY Pitch Alums Share Thoughts on the Event

New York Pitch Conference Memory 2

Now on the other side, what stands out most of all is the memory of being in that space, with those women, for those four days in the autumn of 2019, when we flew like a flock of wild geese, giving each other a break from the resistance, and wind beneath our wings. 

                - When I Flew With Writing Sisters 

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Written by Pia Kealey following the September 2019, New York Pitch Conference

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The writing in many cases comes from deep vulnerability, which is not an easy place to go, to begin with. Then there’s the courage it takes to work hard for the mere possibility of putting the work out into the world for others to share. Requiring still more bravery is the effort of sending queries and attending conferences to try and give it to the world. Knowing that publishing gatekeepers often have a limited purview and only a tiny number of manuscripts they can take on, what an amazing thing to pour your heart and soul out, facing rejection, or the effort of self-publishing, and in all likelihood, very limited reach. Of course, impacting just a handful of people, or even just one person, may be worth it. Something that’s never, ever published still reaches one person very importantly, and that’s the writer.

P. K. 

A New York Pitch Conference Memory

Memories courtesy of Susan Breen - Love You Susan.

https://www.missdemeanors.com/pitches/

Come this Thursday I’ll be leading a workshop at the New York Pitch Conference. This is where I sold my first book (The Fiction Class), met my agent, and met the editor who bought Maggie Dove in its first incarnation. So it’s a happy place for me. But it’s also a really intense place. People come from all over the world to pitch their novels to editors from the big traditional publishing houses. There’s a lot at stake.

My job is to stay calm. (In the picture below, I’m the short one in the middle.  )