
2025 Agents Symposium: “Building a Writing Career” with Ann Leslie Tuttle
November 22, 2025 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM CST
$35.00 – $45.00
- This event has passed.
This Event is for Members only.
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$35 for Members
$45 for Non-Members
Registration for the live presentation is now closed. The recording is available for purchase by our members until December 31, 2025. Become a WLT member here.
NOTE: If you are registered for the Agents Symposium package, you are already registered for this event and DO NOT need to purchase a ticket via this page.
The 2025 Agents Symposium is a curated year-long experience that brings writers into a virtual space to connect with and learn about publishing today from featured literary agents. Learn more about the 2025 Agents Symposium here.
Establishing a career as a writer is about more than selling your first book. It requires tenacity, resilience, flexibility, professionalism, and long-term thinking and goal setting to realistically achieve this coveted dream. This presentation will strategically explore the initial first steps of what to consider when accepting an agent’s offer of representation and strategizing on the submission process. From there, the presentation will explore points to consider when negotiating a publisher’s contract and working with your new editor and the publisher’s PR and Marketing teams to successfully launch your debut and subsequent works into the marketplace.
The presentation will be followed by a moderated conversation and an audience Q&A. For the conversation, our presenter Ann Leslie Tuttle of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret will be joined by WLT Program Director Sarah Renee Beach.
Do you have burning questions about building a writing career that you want to make sure we answer? You can share them with us ahead of the event via this form and then tune in for the live webinar on Saturday, November 22 where all will be revealed. The deadline to submit your questions is Thursday, November 20 at 5:00 PM CT (questions will also be accepted via the Q&A box during the event).
Registration for this presentation will close on Friday, November 21 at 5:00 PM CST.
This class will be recorded and made available to class registrants until January 31, 2026.
CONTINUING YOUR WRITING JOURNEY
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION:
The WLT is committed to making the 2025 Agents Symposium programming accessible to writers from all backgrounds. 20 seats in each of the 10 monthly programs have been set aside for scholarship recipients to attend free of charge. Please fill out this application no later than 2 days prior to the event you’re requesting free registration to. (Example: For the Saturday, February 22 session, this form should be completed no later than Thursday. February 20). We do not ask for any corroborating documents; we only ask that you help us understand your situation.

Ann Leslie Tuttle joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret in 2017 after working for 20 years at Harlequin Books where she most recently was a Senior Editor. At Harlequin, she was fortunate to work on an extensive and varied list of bestselling and award-winning titles in romance and women’s fiction. She is actively acquiring women’s fiction, especially beach reads and historical fiction; contemporary romance, rom coms, historical romance, Southern Gothics, thrillers, mysteries, narrative nonfiction and Middle Grade. She received her B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. Finding and nurturing talented new and established writers has always been Ann Leslie’s passion.