Sarah Cypher

Growing up in Steelers country, I learned the phrase Monday morning quarterbacking young. Whatever happened to the boys in black and gold on Sunday afternoon, and whatever calls Bill Cowher made in the heat of the game, you can bet that hundreds of thousands of nonathletes across the Pittsburgh area would be swearing by Monday that they could have done it better.

The conference was a success. But today, I am looking back at my three days at Backspace and seeing some things that I’d like to do differently next time.

• I shouldn’t have written my pitch on the plane. I should have written it at least a month before, and practiced it with E, my parents, my friends, and whoever else would listen until I could say it in my sleep–or better, until I could  reel it off  when I was nervous.
• I should have run my query letter past my critique group at least once. The agents cut me off halfway through, saying it was too long and too scattered. I could have gotten more out of the critique had I presented a later draft.
• I should have also practiced the answers to some questions about my novel that I knew people were likely to ask: Why blue? Why the Israel-Palestine conflict? What folktale in particular gives Elspeth the power to manipulate how people see her? I have lived and breathed these answers for the past 18 months, but still fumbled to articulate them.

The game is over, it’s Monday, and I came through the weekend with a win, albeit with a few bruises. (Actually, thanks to my heeled sandals, the wounds are on my feet, and recall Yeats: “To be born woman is to know — / Although they do not talk of it at school — / That we must labour to be beautiful.”)

I did some things right, too. I showed up with a finished manuscript. I took lots of notes at the panels. I took notes during my critique. I made my top priority “having fun and meeting people,” which took some of the pressure off and resulted in some lovely new friends. All told, it was a good game to kick off the season–of submissions.

From Saturday's peregrinations

Oh, what you can see in comfortable shoes!