BURLINGTON, Vt. -
To become a published author it takes more than putting pen to paper, which is why some local writers are getting some help. The League of Vermont Writers hosted literary agents to hear the ideas of some local writers. It's the third time they've gotten the two groups together over the past six years and these new novelists have been busy brainstorming for book ideas over that time.
They say labor gives birth to ideas but for these writers their work to become published has only just begun.
"I'm one hundred percent behind it," Moira Donovan said.
"I would do almost anything," Jennifer Gonzalez said.
"We've all put literally years of work into this so the stakes are extremely high," Dr. David Page said.
All three are amateur writers and they're pitching their ideas to agents from across the country who could potentially take their book ideas to a new level of notoriety. So the thought of having that opportunity
"Is nerve racking," Donovan said.
"It's an interesting feeling," Page said.
"The group of us who were waiting to come in and pitch we had to calm each other down," Gonzalez said.
These nervous writers sit down to pitch their long dreamt of idea but only have ten minutes to woo an agent.
"That ten minutes may be the only ten minutes I get with someone of this quality," Page said.
"So you have to put your best foot forward," Gonzalez said.
"It's what is going to generate it into something real," Donovan said.
But the fruit of that labor is still a long way off.
"The agents are very special in the whole process," Page said
"To be able to sit down with someone face to face and get their reaction," Gonzalez said.
"This is just the beginning," Donovan said.
I mean they may like the idea. Now they have to also like your first ten pages. Then they have to like your whole novel. Then they have to be willing to work on it for a year and selling it."
So keep dreaming writers. And believing.
