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There's an old saying, variously attributed, that goes: "Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." All the write stuff
on Maui
By Tim RyanStar-Bulletin
Getting published typically means taking that bloody brow and beating it against the nearest wall.
The Maui Writers Conference was created to relieve the pain of step two.
According to John Tullius, who with his wife, Shannon, created the conference eight years ago, "People have great ideas for stories but not the faintest clue how to get it to New York," and into the major publishing houses there.
"Anyone who treats writing as a business and respects the craft can get published if they know how to get on that train to New York," he said. "Ninety percent of (MWC) attendees can get published if they do the right things."
Tullius knows writing, having had 14 novels published, including three best sellers. He and his wife now spend most of their time organizing what Writers Digest calls the No. 1 writers conference in the world, including the more than 400 events hosted annually throughout the United States.
If its success can be measured by the number of attendees it attracts, this four-day event has grown so big that the number of participants will be limited in 2001, Tullius said.
The first MWC in 1993 cost about $20,000 to stage, attracted 135 attendees and 22 presenters including publishers, literary agents, authors, producers and screenwriters. This year's event -- costing about $3.5 million and, as always, offered over Labor Day weekend -- will draw 2,000 attendees, including 150 Hawaii residents and presenters.
"It's as large as it can be for us to do our mission," Tullius said. "One speaker can talk to 1,000 people, but one agent can only talk to one person at a time."
Despite its scenic surroundings and luxurious setting at the Grand Wailea Resort, Hotel & Spa, the conference involves more business than partying. Deals between entertainment movers and shakers are becoming nearly as commonplace as book contracts for some attendees.
"Most definitely the conference has become an (entertainment) industry event," Tullius said. "An agent will kill to get 5 minutes on the phone with the editor-in-chief of one of the major book publishing houses. But here, they they lay on the beach next to them.
"Then the following week, after they get home, they call the same editor in New York and get put right through because both have been Maui-ized."
A few years ago director Ron Howard asked to meet with best-selling author and presenter Elmore Leonard. They would later agree that Howard would direct one of Leonard's future books as a movie. The following year, an ABC TV executive initiated a deal at the conference for a series featuring writers Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz.
This year's event includes several New York Times best-selling authors: Dorothy Allison, Catherine Coulter, Frank McCourt, Malachy McCourt, Paul Ka'ikena Pearsall, Michael Palmer, Dave Pelzer and Susan Shreve. Award-winning screenwriters Allison Anders, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski also will be presenting and teaching.
Best-selling author John Saul has been attending the conference since the first. Other returning writers include Elizabeth George ("In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner"), Terry Brooks ("Sword of Shannara"), Jack Canfield ("Chicken Soup for the Soul") and Bryce Courtenay ("The Power of One.")
It's not uncommon to find celebrities like Ron Howard, who will be attending his third MWC, walking around the Grand Wailea grounds talking with attendees. Past invitees have included: Dave Barry, Jackie Collins, David Guterson, Jimmy Breslin, Joe Eszterhas, Tony Hillerman, Susan Isaacs and Nicholas Sparks.
"We attract very good people who are very generous with their time and like teaching," Tullius said.
The original concept for the conference had Tullius teaching a few select people to write while taking them through the publishing process.
"If a beginning writer wants to write 'War and Peace: Part II' they'll have a very difficult time getting that published," he said. "Editors aren't looking for the next Ernest Hemingway but writers who can do the job for them. Reach for the stars but be humble."There are hundreds of other talented people out there plowing away every day at their typewriters with a history behind them. How ready are you to try to knock Stephen King out of the way?"
At a conference a few years ago, California writer James Clemens signed a three-book deal with Ballantine books for his book "Witch Fire, Banned and the Banished, Bk. 1" after John Saul took a peek at it.
"John walked right over to his (Ballantine) editor who was attending and said 'Read this,' " Tullius said. "The rest is history."
The dozens of seminars over the four days all have moments of inspiration but that's not the emphasis, Tullius said.
"Everyone leaves with a blueprint of how to get published, the business side of writing," he said. "It will be a long hard journey ... If you pick the subject that's right for you, there's a place out there for your piece."
And part of understanding the business is understanding that publishers need to publish books every year.
"They need committed professionals so we try to get people to understand that," Tullius said.
Frank Weimann, president of the New York City-based The Literary Group International, is making the 10-hour flight to Maui in hopes of finding "that one unique writer." The company represents a variety of fiction writers, like James Bradley and Homer Hickam, athlete writers Bill Russell and Terry Bradshaw, and pop icons like Britney Spears.
Weimann says he's looking for a writer with a unique voice, a story he hasn't read 50 times before, who makes a statement. "If the first few pages don't grab me by the throat that's it," he said.
About 1 percent of the 1,200 manuscripts received by The Literary Group International annually get published. First books usually earn writers $10,000 to $15,000, Weimann said.
For his first book, Tullius sent out 100 queries at the same time. It sold in two weeks.
"My theory was I didn't care if I got a 'no,' I only cared about getting a 'yes,' " he said. "I could have papered the walls of my house with rejection letters.
"You have to resurrect yourself every day and that's a whole lot easier to do when you understand the business. Take your small victories wherever you can find them."
MAUI WRITERS CONFERENCE
When: Friday to Monday
Click for online
calendars and events.
