How To Fail Literarily

I had different intentions for this post, but I have a bunch of nervous energy now and need to spill it.

I'm going to a writing conference this Saturday in Provo, called Writing for Charity.  I've been to this conference before.  That's where I met Janette Rallison two years ago and was inspired to change my favorite short story into my favorite Sci-Fi/Western novel.  So, I'm very excited to go.

Now comes the part where I divulge my reasons for being nervous.

I signed up for a pitch session with an editor from Simon and Schuster.  Eek!  I've never done a pitch session before.  (For those of you who don't know, a pitch session is when an author stands in front of someone who could make or break them and talks about the novel they've been writing for the last few years.  If they're good at talking, and the editor/agent is interested, and the planets align, the editor/agent will ask to read a sample of their writing.  If you want to get published by one of the big publishing houses, or even a medium-sized publishing house, you need an editor/agent to like you and your writing. But usually the editor/agent isn't interested in the talking because writers become writers for a reason.  And even if the editor/agent does get a sample of your writing, odds are it won't go beyond that. Take a breath and close parenthesis.)

So, eek! again!  I've basically signed myself up for failure.