The University of Arizona Press
We’re excited to be kicking off a new series called “Author Toolbox,” a collection of insider tips and tricks for both aspiring and established authors. Through this series, we hope to demystify parts of the university press world and share lessons learned from our work with the incredible authors who form the foundation of the University of Arizona Press.
First up in this series are some suggestions to help authors optimize their limited time at a professional conference. Read on, and then go pitch that book!
Why attend conferences?
Conferences are a way to stay up-to-date on academic trends, and they provide dedicated time for networking and collaboration. Conferences are also an essential moment to connect with publishers and fellow authors. That goes for both seasoned academics who have published extensively in their discipline and first-time authors promoting a new book that may be an important step toward academic advancement.
For many of our authors, conferences are also a valuable chance to promote a new or forthcoming book. Depending on a book’s publication date, authors will sometimes bring promotional fliers with a discount code so that anyone interested can pre-order the book, or they will work with their publisher to arrange book signings. In the photo below, for example, you can see University of Arizona Press authors signing books for admiring fans—and sometimes, signing books for other authors!
Navigating the exhibit hall
As Rebecca Knight writes, “Conferences are exhausting, and can be especially so if you’re not an extrovert.” This is true nowhere more than conference exhibit halls. But before you skip your visit, remember that some of the most important networking happens here: the exhibit hall is the “public square” of the conference, part social gathering, part workday meeting. The mood is casual and people are ready to chat, unencumbered by the usual demands of the office and classroom.
Before you commit to visiting every booth, it’s worth taking a moment to find the exhibit hall map and prioritize which publishers you want to meet. You can also usually find a list of exhibitors in the conference program. Doing some reconnaissance in advance will save you precious time and energy. Which leads us to the next point…
Know your potential publisher
Being familiar with a university press’s publishing program before you talk to editors can be a big advantage. For example, we always appreciate when fiction and poetry authors who visit our booth at the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference are already familiar with our Camino del Sol and Sun Tracks series, highlighting Latinx and Indigenous literature, respectively. An author who is familiar with some of our titles in either series will probably have a decent idea about whether their work is a good fit for our Press.
Before a conference, check prospective publishers’ websites and take a quick glance at their current catalog or recently published titles in your field. Do you recognize any of the authors’ names? Do you like the design of the covers? Do you notice any bestsellers or books people in your network are talking about on social media? If the answer to any of these is yes, it may be a sign that you’re on the right track.
Talking with exhibitors and pitching your book
Once you stop at a publisher’s booth and strike up a conversation, it’s wise to take a moment to do proper introductions before launching into a book pitch. A good exhibit interaction might follow these steps: explain your academic role and affiliation, ask what the person you’re talking to does at the press (acquiring? marketing? editing? production?), and then ask if an acquiring editor has time to hear about a book project that might be a good fit for their list.
Don’t feel weird about asking to talk with an editor—it’s a big part of the reason they’re attending! Acquiring editors typically use conferences to find (and compete for) the most compelling new books in their fields. They want to know about your project! But set reasonable expectations: editors have packed schedules and won’t have time to read a whole chapter from your manuscript (this is where having a good two-minute pitch ready comes in handy), and you’re not going to leave with a contract in hand. If an editor is truly interested, they may ask to exchange information, to meet again later during the conference, or to receive a draft of your project proposal. You might just get a link to their website or a business card. If your project isn’t a great fit, they might politely redirect you to another publisher at a booth nearby.
Find the University of Arizona Press at an upcoming conference
Keep an eye on our events page to see the most updated list of conferences we plan to attend each year!
Do you have some conference wisdom you’d like to share? Things you wish you’d known when you first started attending the conferences of your professional organizations? Whether it’s at WHA, ASA, AAA, or WLA 2024 right here in Tucson, we hope you’ll stop by our table and tell us about it. And if you have a book project in the works, we’d love to hear about it!
