I had every intention of updating daily.
Really, I did.
But then, you know…stuff happened. And things.
There were lots of amazing people to meet and a ton of information was poured into my brain. Networking was done and contacts were made. Best of all, I got a wee bit of interest in my work. Which, needless to say, surprised the hell out of me. =)
The week was filled with workshops, publisher spotlights, author signings and general immersion into the world of romance fiction. I was a freshwater fish in a saltwater ocean, but I adapted quickly; exchanging business cards and shaking hands like the best of them. By “them” I mean the veterans in this industry. It was all so new to me and yet somehow familiar.
Many of you know that my other job is in music. The writing/publishing industry shares some commonalities with the music business. Fortunately, it is also quite a different animal. I can’t think of a single music conference that I’ve ever attended where newbies are welcomed with such grace and warm generosity. Of course there were exceptions, but they were few and far between. Frankly, they could just have been having a bad day. I didn’t take it personally.
“How do you pronounce your name?” That was the start of many introductions, which I expected lol. Quite a few of my fellow authors seemed taken with my name, asking if they could steal it for a character.
Fair warning: at least a dozen people asked me that question, so if you were one of them, you should get on that right away. 😉
Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a professional organization. The conference ran smoothly. The schedule, though packed, was well thought out. There were often two things happening simultaneously that I wanted to do, but they had us covered. Most of the workshops, etc, were recorded and available for purchase. For me, it was a worthwhile investment. There was just no way that my brain could retain all of the knowledge that I received in such a short amount of time, note-taking aside.
I felt like I was learning to swim out in the open sea, but I was part of a freshman class and there were plenty of people around us with life-jackets handy. My only regret is that I didn’t take more photos. Next year, we’ll be in San Antonio. I’ll be sure to get a little more snap-happy then.
In the meantime, I have a lot of writing and revising to do. I didn’t anticipate being asked for samples of my work, but I plan to take full advantage of the opportunity. This journey is just getting started. Off we go!
~X