Are editor/agent appointments really that valuable?

Warning: soapbox alert:

I’ve been listening to a lot of people stressing out about editor/agent appointments. There were even some drama queens who insisted that their CAREER was FINISHED because they didn’t get an appointment with editor X or agent Y. It was now a waste of money to attend the conference. Life, as they knew it, was now clearly over.

There are other people who are gloating that they DID get their appointment but the stress of pitching their book is practically giving them a nervous breakdown.

I have attended three national conferences now, and I have a different opinion. When you get an appointment, the editor/agent is looking for new authors. They WANT to find somebody hot, hot, hot! They are automatically going to ask you for three chapters, minimum (unless you’re writing a two-headed vampire mystery with bestiality). If they like the concept, they’ll request the full manuscript. But guess what? That’s all you get. The rest depends entirely on your writing skills. If you ain’t got it, honey, no request will help your career. Editor/agent appointments are just an open door. This is the first year I actually received an appointment that was appropriate to my manuscript (don’t know why anyone didn’t want a two-headed vampire story, but there you go). Not my first choice, but I have something lined up.

But here’s the thing–at my last conference I didn’t get any appointments. I made my own opportunities by talking to editors after workshops, at book signings, and in general by trying to be a decent person. I came away with four requests.

So my advice to the whiners who moan about not getting any appointments is this: write a query letter. Write three chapters. Send them to all the people you wanted appointments with but didn’t get and tell them how you regretted not getting that opportunity in person. If you get a request, when you see that editor at the conference, tell them how much you appreciate their time. Maybe they’ll remember your submission when they see you.

Who knows, if you’re really lucky, maybe you’ll sell your book BEFORE the conference.