It's that time again, conferences season. Oh yes, there are conferences earlier in the year. But RT Booklovers conference always feels like the start of the gauntlet. For those not familiar with RT, it's a HUGE conference put on every year by RT Magazine. This year's is in Columbus, OH. It typically begins on Wednesday, so authors and readers have been flooding into the city today. They also have both Begineer and Advanced Writer Bootcamps that run on Monday and Tuesday.
A quick review of the workshop listings this year had me wishing I could attend:
- GET OVER YOURSELF- AND GET WRITING
- FROM REGENCY TO RIGEV V: WORLDBUILDING ACROSS THE GENRES
- SF FOR FEMMES: WRITING CHARACTER-DRIVEN STORIES WOMEN WILL DEVOUR
- URBAN FANTASY: ALPHA MALES AND THE KICK-ASS HEROINES WHO LOVE THEM
- PARANORMAL: INFUSING PARANORMALS WITH A CAST OF UNIQUE CHARACTERS
- CRAFT: SERENDIPITY’S NO SECRET: VISION BOARDS AND GOAL-SETTING
FANTASY: FANTASY UNPLUGGED
- PARANORMAL: MOVE OVER VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES, THERE ARE NEW CREATURES STALKING THE NIGHT
- CRAFT: PREPARING A PARTIAL/EDITING TO AVOID REJECTION
- CRAFT: PITCHES AND BLURBS AND TAG LINES, OH MY!
- SCI-FI/FANTASY: FANTASY & ROMANCE: TWO FLAVORS THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER
And that doesn't even touch all the sessions on marketing, business, or other aspects of craft. Next year's conference is in LA, that might make it doable.
Then in a couple of months, the big one happens... RWA Nationals. This year is in Nashville. This is definitely a conference geared for writers and not for readers. It's all workshops and networking. I really long to hit this one someday.
And then come October, the one I'm most familiar with.. Emerald City Writer's Conference. This is the one put on by my local RWA chapter. We're the largest romance writer's conference on the west coast. Because we're a smaller conference (max out at about 250 attendees), you have a better chance of chatting with the agents and editors that attend. Last year at lunch, my fellow Melt-Ink Potter Colleen, and I randomly picked a table. Guess who joined our table... the fabulous bestselling author, Cherry Adair. We got to chat with her and the editor who wanted to come sit by Cherry. You can't get that kind of face time at some of the bigger conferences.
But these aren't the only ones out there. A good number of the RWA chapters put on regional conferences throughout the year. And even if you're not writing romance, they tend to have some great speakers who can give you great insight into the craft of writing and publishing.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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2 comments:
You WILL go to RWA Nationals some day. Maybe even sooner than you think!
The only conference I've been to was an X-Files con back in the late 90s (I KNOW. But I got the meet one of the Lone Gunmen and AD Skinner!), so I a little nervous thinking about a writing con when I am nowhere near being ready to pitch a novel.
However, the New England chapter of Mystery Writers of America holds an annual Crime Bake (love it!) and this year, some of my favorites like Dennis Lehane will be involved. I'm thinking I need to get over my nervousness and go, right? The more I look at the schedule, the more fun I think it will be. I will know NO ONE, but hey, what an opportunity to meet people. Hmmmm...
Conferences are a great way to meet people and so what if you don't have anything to pitch. I've never pitched at any conference I've gone to.
Crime Bake sounds like a blast!
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