RWA conference

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Elizabeth: Conference Time

Although if look closely enough I can probably find a stray Xmas decoration or two hiden around the house, we’re actually half-way through the year already.  That means, among other things, that the annual RWA Conference is a mere three weeks away.

Ack!

The conference registration, plane tickets, and hotel are all booked and ready for arrival, but I don’t yet have a clear idea of what I’ll be doing once I’m there.

One of my primary reasons for attending the annual conferences is to network and spend time with people I don’t often get a chance to see in person.  My very first conference – which coincidentally was in New York just as this year’s conference is – involved meeting not just Jenny Crusie (*swoon*) but also meeting up with a group of friends and authors I had only known through the distance of the internet.

Top of the list for this year’s conference is getting to spend some quality time with the other 8Ladies who will be in attendance, and to cheer Jilly on during the Golden Heart awards ceremony.  We’ve already been busily trying to coordinate schedules to find some time when we’ll all be free. Continue reading →

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Justine: Conference Fun

calidreaminI’m currently attending the Orange County RWA’s California Dreamin’ conference and am having a great time, learning a lot, and connecting with other great writers. I’ll have more to report in the coming weeks about such things as ACX/Audible, great ways to advertise your books for free, and other marketing and selling ideas. For now, though, my best takeaway is this, from Caitlyn O’Leary:

Consider your book a brick-and-mortar store

  • Your cover is the storefront
  • The blurb is looking in the window
  • The sneak peek is going into the store to make a buying decision
  • The ads get the reader to your store. (yes, the ads come last, because if your store is a mess, there’s nothing to get your reader in the door)

I’ll have more on this soon.

What are some of the best conferences you’ve attended?

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Elizabeth: The Perfect Writer’s Conference

We’re about three months away from this year’s Romance Writers of America annual conference and, just before the end of the early-bird registration deadline I finally bit the bullet and clicked “register.”

This was supposed to be a non-travel year for me (excluding work travel, of course).  My travel budget has been earmarked for a long overdue kitchen renovation and, since my writing continues to move only slightly faster than the speed of erosion, the RWA conference wasn’t even on the radar.  Then of course, Eight Lady Jeanne finalled in the Golden Heart contest – again – and I found out Justine would be attending as well.  One thing led to another and next thing I knew the registration button was clicked and the plans made.

The detailed workshop schedule for the conference itself is still being finalized, but the basics are in place.  Like last year it looks like the conference will start out with a set of 3-hour “immersive” sessions.  Based on the discussions we’ve been having on the blog in recent months, I’m thinking Erica Ridley’s Newsletter Master Class will be an excellent option to begin with. Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Writer Conferences

This summer, Romance Writers of America (RWA) will be holding their national conference in Orlando, Florida.  I had initially intended to skip this conference, planning instead to be in studying in Oxford at that time.  Regrettably however, the class I enrolled in was cancelled (gasp!) and my second choice – “Lovers and Libertines, Spinsters and Spendthrifts, Radicals and Reformers:  The Treatment of Love and Money in Selected 19th Century Novels” – was full.  Who’d have thought it?

Oxford’s loss was Orlando’s gain and I was able to register for the RWA conference and, amazingly, book a room at the conference hotel.  This week the preliminary list of conference workshops was released, so I’ve been going through them, deciding which ones I want to attend so I can make the most of my conference investment. Continue reading →

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Justine: No More Excuses

6490798 - classic glossy black chair, isolated on a white background

Last year at this time, I attended RWA Nationals in NYC, including the awards ceremony on Saturday night. This year, I watched the ceremony via live stream from the comfort of my living room. No high heels. No tight dress. No edgy excitement. Just my rainbow cozy pants and a tall glass of milk.

I debated whether to attend Nationals this year and ultimately decided not to for one important reason: Continue reading →

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Justine: Setting Goals for National Writing Conferences, Part 3

justine covington, eight ladies writing, romance writingTwo weeks ago, I talked about my goals for my writing before Nationals, and last week I blogged about SMART goals (which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented/Relevant, and Time-bound).

This week I’m looking at the work I have to accomplish to see if I can indeed get my book done by the end of May, prior to RWA Nationals in July.

First, lets look at what I have left to do: Continue reading →

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Justine: Setting Goals for National Writing Conferences, Part 2

goals for writing conferences, justine covington, eight ladies writing, setting goals, SMART goals, S.M.A.R.T.In last week’s blog post, I outlined the major goals I want to achieve before July’s RWA Nationals in New York City. This week, I’m going to introduce a way to plan for and achieve that goal. (I know…last week, I said I’d have a detailed plan, but I thought it more important to show you how I was going to develop the plan…next week, I’ll show you the result.)

I thought it pretty timely that a few weeks ago, I learned about goal-setting at my most recent local chapter meeting, Desert Rose RWA. Deena Remiel, a teacher and workshop presenter, introduced us to S.M.A.R.T. goals, which are Continue reading →

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Justine: Setting Goals for National Writing Conferences

rwa, national conference, writer's conference, eight ladies writing, justine covington

I’m already thinking about what to do before RWA® Nationals.

So today, many of us romance writers will be registering for the 2015 RWA® Nationals conference being held in July in New York City. Even though it’s only February, it’s a good time to begin thinking about what I want to achieve before then and what steps I need to line up to make it happen.

The “steps” part of my plan will come next week, but first, I need to identify what I want to do.

The biggest goal I have is Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: C is for Character

© 2014 Scholastic Inc

© 2014 Scholastic Inc

This year’s RWA conference included a workshop on writing great characters by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.  I attended her workshop at last year’s conference and really enjoyed it, especially the hands-on exercises.  This year’s workshop featured two exercises that were aimed at helping us delineate character with description, rather than just telling the reader about the character. They were fun so I thought I’d share them here. Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: What’s it Like to Meet With an Agent?

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“Cain venant de tuer son frére Abel” by Henri Vidal, (1896) in the Tuileries Garden, Paris

Today I’m wrapping up a series of posts on agents. You can read the previous post s about how to decide if you need an agent here and how to find an agent here.

Last week I had a pitch appointment with an agent at the RWA National conference in San Antonio.   I had never pitched before, so I was looking forward to it with equal parts anticipation and anxiety. Continue reading →