From February 11 to 14, 2016, I attended classes, met other writers, presenters, editors and agents. Everyone gave us their best advice and did it with kindness.

This conference would not exist without the many volunteers who gave their time before, during and after the conference. Their smiles and friendly attitude added to the appeal of the event.

The Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco gave a discounted rate to conference attendees. We appreciated that because it is a four star hotel with a great reputation. Their service was excellent and the meals outstanding. I recommend it to anyone.

I prepared for the conference by writing and memorizing the pitch for my completed novel, Against the Wall. My critique group helped me ahead of time by giving their input in order to make it the best presentation possible. On Sunday morning the agents listened to many writers tell about their book. Each of us had three minutes per agent. I saw six agents and four were interested in receiving a query letter and sample of my book. One agent said she was intrigued. My head swelled a bit at that compliment.

Now I need to compose four fantastic query letters and write in less than one page about my book. In addition, I’ll choose the sample of my writing I wish to include. This won’t be a simple process even though it sounds like it. Agents toss hundreds of queries a year because the writing in the letter is poor, the story is poorly written or they aren’t interested. They need to market a superb book to publishing houses. I want to meet the challenge.