Sure, I coulda gone to bed earlier each night. Then, I woulda been less tired this week. Or, I shoulda just stayed in California! Haha!
It’s taken me all week to recover from the Southern California Writers Conference that I attended last weekend in San Diego. I’ve been a conference groupie for five, maybe six years now and I never tire of the event.
I made new friends in Bethany Lopez, Lynne Martin, and Dot Caffrey as well as catching up with good friends Laura Taylor, Marla Sink Druzgal, Jeremy Lee James, and Andrew Peterson.
This year my goal was to network and learn more about social media.I chose two workshops toward that endeavor. First, Indy Quillen’s SOCIAL MEDIA + GAME PLAN = LESS TIME SUCK. Indy did an amazing job creating a packet of guides to Social Media sites and good examples of blogs and websites. My favorite of all, though, was her Questionnaire and Social Media Routine calendar which can be found at www.mediafastlanes.com/scwc. We were so fortunate to have Indy’s expertise and advice on making social media manageable.
Plus, I simply love this girl!!!!
Next, I attended Jeremy Lee James workshop. Jeremy is an inspiring speaker, never willing to separate the writer from his heart. His talk focused on creating value through networking and considering that as writers we can continue to give the gift of our art through our blogs and websites. I know that I don’t want someone to constantly pitch their work to me. It’s annoying. And I sure don’t want to annoy anyone or even think about “SELLING” my book to them. Although I understand that promotion and marketing has to be addressed, Jeremy authors with a way to think sensibly about sales, always being mindful of why we write what we do, and how to share the news of our writing with our readers. Much more palatable for me as an artist than badgering my readership! Jeremy’s site for authors can be found at www.writeclickhosting.com. Check it out for affordable website and maintenance.
Guess what Jeremy used to be?
Laura Taylor, my personal editor, conducted amazing read and critiques. Her assessments of manuscripts was spot on and my friends and I were wowed by her expertise! Laura has recently re-released five of her backlist. I suggest her free download of Intimate Strangers. Trust me, you’ll be hooked on her spicy romances before you know it!
T. Jefferson Parker and Paul Fedorko were there, too!
It was an amazing time! Closing the bar was beyond my capabilities this time around but my friends Gayle Carline, Michael Steven Gregory and Wes Albers were up to the task!
Seeing my book artfully placed next to T. Jefferson Parker’s at the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore didn’t hurt my feelings either. Thanks to all the staff for their hard work and for the encouragement they have so generously bestowed on me over the past few years. Thanks, too, to Karen Syed and Echelon Press for publishing The Wrong Guy. I met Karen at SCWC several years ago. If not for this conference, I may not be a published author! It’s been a blast so far! Can’t wait for the next step in this exciting journey:))
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