Blog Guest Jacqui Jacoby: Schmoozing 101

Hey everybody. I want to thank The Seekers crew for having me on to talk with you today. I thought a lot about what I would discuss -- what might be of interest at this time of year and then I looked at my calendar.

Did anyone else notice the Romance Writer’s of America National Conference is two months away?

Wow -- two months to get ready. To get our clothes picked out, our business cards printed. Two months to plan and organize and put it all together in a package which will scream at the first editor or agent we run into “Here I am ... you want me ...!”

Conferences are a great experience. Great for networking, great for having fun. We get a chance to meet with like-minded people who understand us.

This year, Washington DC will be my seventh National and my fifteenth conference over all. I have learned a few of the tricks – tricks which can be used at either the great big National or a smaller chapter conference.

The main thing I have learned: networking isn’t only about selling books. It’s about the people. It’s about making new contacts, new friends. It’s about smiling and saying hello to the person sitting alone in the coffee shop. Maybe this is their first conference and they don’t know anyone. Maybe they don’t know what to say, who to see or where to go.

It doesn’t matter if they have had fifteen books published or they are working on their first. A conference is a variety of people in so many different stages of their career.

You might be in the middle somewhere and yet, I can promise you, there is someone nearby three steps behind who would love to hear what you have learned so far. And right next to them is a person five steps ahead who would be willing to talk to you for a few minutes and the price of a cup of coffee.

I do a lot of non-fiction writing which requires me to meet a lot of people you might have seen on the shelves of your local book store. Over the years I have come to realize they are just people, too. They aren’t scary, they aren’t mean. There is nothing to be afraid of if you happen to get on an elevator and Nora Roberts is already there.

Smile. Say “Hi.” Tell her you loved: (fill in your favorite Nora Roberts book here). Ask her if she has seen any cool sites in the area. When she gets to her floor, say thanks.

It really is that easy.

Have you ever written an article for your chapter’s newsletter? Trust me – the editor would love you if you did.

And a conference is a great way to meet people who would be willing to talk to you about your piece. Author quotes, editors’ opinions, agents’ notes, these are all great ways to add pizzazz to the article you are working on.

An interview is much like a pitch. Both require you to prepare and to think. Both can make you so nervous you don’t think you will be able to talk.

The thing to remember when doing either is that the person across from you is just a person. They are there because they said yes: yes to hearing your pitch, yes to letting you interview them -- they are there because they want to be there and you can take a deep breath and relax. No one bites at conferences.

A good article to reference when planning your pitch is “Ten Minutes to Glory: Your Editor/Agent Pitch” by Laurie Schnebly Campbell. It can be found on her website: www.booklaurie.com .

Says Laurie: "When you're nervous, it helps to remember that this pitch can’t win you a contract -- all it can win you is a look ... Go in there with the idea that both of you are professionals with a common goal -- getting a great-selling product to the market -- and immediately you'll have something in common."

Interviews are more difficult as they are less spur of the moment and need to be set up in advance. But how do you get these people to give you the thirty minutes or the hour you need to get your questions answered?

You ask.

It’s that simple. You send an e-mail or you make a phone call, and you ask this person if they would be willing to meet with you. Explain the article you are working on, tell them what you need from them.

There are two cardinal rules to conducting interviews: be prepared, be professional. Research your subject before you sit down with them. Chances are your subject has been interviewed before and you do not want to ask the same questions. Read prior pieces, read their web page. If the person you are meeting with is giving a workshop at the conference, attend it, take notes and modify your questions accordingly. If you’re interviewing an author, read a few of their books to get a feel for their voice. If nothing else, you do not want to have to admit to an author you’re sitting across from that you have never read one of their stories.

When it comes time to sit down with them, be cool. They granted you this interview and they want to be there. Keep that in mind when you get nervous, because, no matter what, you will get nervous. It’s the nature of the beast. However, if you prepared ahead of time, if you wrote out your questions, if you are wearing that one professional outfit that makes you feel like a million bucks – and it doesn’t have to be a suit – then you are ready. If you know you are ready, it will show as you shake hands and smile and offer to pay for the coffee. And always offer to pay for the coffee.

Meeting people in a conference environment is a really good experience. Some people call it networking. Some people call it schmoozing. I call it a really, really great time.

Who can ever say they have too many friends? And if at a conference you can make a few who are writers, then kudos to you. Have fun!! Have a blast!! And remember that person sitting near you who needs you to say hi!!

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Award winning author and current Golden Heart Finalist, Jacqui Jacoby lives and writes in the mountains of Northern Arizona. She is a working mom whose career includes writing books, penning short non-fiction and teaching online and live courses – one of which -- Schmoozing 101 -- will be offered this June through not one, but two RWA online chapters: www.heartofcarolina.org and www.heartsthroughhistory.com. If you would like more insight on what to say and who to say it to, sign up and look forward to a lot of fun!! Jacqui can be reached via her website at http://www.jacquijacoby.com/ – where you can check out Jacqui’s addiction to Brendan Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes. The reserve was met and it is going fast!!!