Improvements!

If you haven't checked in on the IWSG blog lately you need to do that. For the last month, you're read some of the tidbits I've learned at the writing conference I attended in May. I can't begin to share the many things I learned and the amount of networking I did with other writers. More of the good stuff will be shared at IWSG later this summer.

If you can attend a writers' conference, I highly recommend it. You'll come away filled with energy and ready to park yourself at your keyboard. And now, thanks to the work of L. Diane Wolfe and others on the IWSG staff had put together a new page listing conferences near and far. There might be one near you. Some are genre specific but many are for all writers, poets, short story authors as well as novelists and non-fiction writers. Think of all the things you can than share with the rest of us.

Also, don't forget to check in on the contest page on IWSG. So many novelists I know have gotten an agent or editor interested in their book by entering a contest. And it is a great thing to use in a promotion if you've won a contest once your book is published. You might be interested in something on that page.

Hopefully, everyone has recovered from the Sunday season finale of Game of Thrones. A few story lines are similar to the book and a few have deviated. I'm pretty sure the next season will come around before the next book comes out. So all the characters are pretty much in trouble and we'll have to see if they survive. There are a few decent characters on the show so I  hope at least a few survive the hiatus.

Summertime TV fare I'm enjoying or looking forward to: Hannibal, Defiance and Haven are back on or will be. I also like TNT's Murder in the First. I'll probably try The Dome again and check out a few new shows on SyFy channel. I'm also going to see Jurassic World sometime this week. Looks like fun.

Have you attended a conference or entered a contest recently? How much did GoT finale shock you? Any TV you're enjoying this summer?

A to Z Challenge: C

Third day already. How many people have you visited on the A to Z Challenge? I hope plenty. I'm continuing with the theme of what I'll be doing to further my career as a full time writer after I retire this June.

C: Conferences. I'm am definitely going to take the time and money to attend at least one if not two writing conferences in the next twelve months. I'm not looking for a publisher or even an agent. I just want to network in person with my fellow writers. Not only is this fun, but I always learn something and come up with lots of ideas for blog posts.

Now today is also Insecure Writer's Post Day and I'm going to relate it to my C. I hope to serve as a presenter at a conference in the near future. I'm entirely comfortable speaking to crowds and have enjoyed serving on author panels. Now I want to do present a session all by myself and not only because it will give me a discount on conference attendance. I want to share whatever I can to help other writers find their way to success. But whenever I think of what session I could present, I worry that I'm not expert enough to be the one speaking. There are so many attendees at conferences with more experience and success than me. Would anyone want to listen to what I have to say? This is my insecurity.

Do you think conferences are worth the money? Do you feel like you're an expert on anything?

I'm thrilled to welcome Hildie McQueen, one of my fellow Crescent Moon Press authors, as a guest poster on my blog today. I'm trading places with her and posting on her blog about selecting names for fantasy characters and places. Hope you stop over at her blog.

 

But for your reading pleasure here, Hildie will share her advice on attending conferences. I'm very envious of the fun she's had and all the networking she managed. Please welcome Hildie McQueen!

 

The Conference Junkie

Conference whirlwind girl reporting from Newark, NJ Airport.  Let me tell you, it's been a wild ride that although I am glad to finally get off, would not have missed for the world.  After each conference, I leave excited and refreshed, fully charged after being surrounded by amazing uber talented authors.

My conference advice to future conference attendees (It's worth at least two cents)

#1 Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone, introduce yourself, make it a goal to meet new people. This is a hard one for introverts, but it's the only way, you'll meet fellow authors and make life long friends.  If you are a shy person, pair up with an outgoing writer and ride her coattails. 

Those being said, if you are one of those life-of-the-party types, reach out to those hanging on the fringes.

#2  Be Flexible -- Don't expect everything to go as planned and do not have a strict schedule that you feel you have to stick to.  Like life, conferences have a way of taking on a life of their own.  A 50 minute session at the Georgia Romance Writers M&M conference ended up lasting over two hours when we decided to take our group to the lobby, sit on the floor and continue a super interesting exchange.  Guess what?  We ended up hanging out for the rest of the conference, made some awesome new gal pals!

#3 Be Proactive - - Carry the following with you at all times:  Business Cards, Tissues, Gum, Pens and safety pins.  Business cards (Self explanatory), Tissues, (well you'll need them, trust me on this).  Gum (in case you get sleepy or after meals/coffee), Favorite pen (to take notes, get numbers) and Safety pins (because if I'm at the conference I'm always falling apart and will yell, "anyone got a safety pin?!"  You will be my immediate hero if you do).

 

#4 Go to lunch or dinner away from the conference with your new group of pals.  It's where friendships are cemented, some 'ah ha' moments happen and y'all can promote outside the conference.

 

Lastly, one of the things I love to do is collect extra swag and when I get back home I make small bags of swag as prizes for my book club, and for my blog and Facebook giveaways!  It's a great way to pay it forward by helping fellow authors reach new readers!

 Bio:

Hildie McQueen's goal is to bring the unexpected into people's lives, one reader at a time.  Using sense of humor, coupled with her love of the unusual, she writes across romance genres, from paranormal to western historical, contemporary to erotic.  The recurring theme in her writing is the search and discovery between two people to find true love.

 

Hildie enjoys traveling, shopping, wine tasting and relaxes by scrapbooking when possible. She lives in a small town in Georgia with her super hero husband Kurt and two unruly Chihuahuas Pancho and Pepito.

Keep up with Hildie on her blog, Facebook or Twitter @HildieMcQueen

 

 

Author of The Protector Novels.  Latest Release Desperate Surrender

 

Wendy O'Sullivan’s life drastically changes upon discovering she is not human, and is charged with guarding the Key of Peace. To make matters more complicated, she reunites with the Protector she's dreamed of since the day he rescued her from a demon attack.

Kieran Frasier, hasn’t kissed, much less loved a woman in over three hundred years, his heart firmly encased behind thick walls. The fierce immortal defends innocents from powerful demons, but can he defend himself from diminutive Wendy, who manages to get past all his barricades?

 

Faced with arranged marriages to others and battling demons that will stop at nothing to capture Wendy, will they be forced to surrender their chance at true love for the greater good?

 

Sometimes your biggest obstacle is not who you are, but who you love.

 Thanks so much for visiting with us today, Hildie. Please, wonderful readers, take a moment to check out Hildie's work and visit me on her blog. Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Conference or Stay Home?

I'm debating going to two different writers' conferences in the next few months.  I have friends at both conferences and certainly the chance to meet more.  I've looked over the presentation offerings for both and found a few workshops I might attend.  I like agent and editor panels and the glimpse they give me into their personalities.  Most of them come off as witty and interesting speakers.  I could always sit in another workshop on promotion.

What really attracts me to a writing conference though are the agents and editors attending and the chance to pitch to a desired editor or an agent.  I'm debating the cost of attending, one of them I wold have to stay overnight, and whether it's worth it to pay the money for a ten minute face to face. 

I can't decide.  What do you look for in selecting a conference?  How do you way the cost/benefit ratio? How many of you found your agent or publisher at a conference?