Where was I Thursday morning, my usual blogging time? In Atlanta with luminaries of the romance writing community. Approximately 2000 other romance writers from household names to newbies, editors, agents and other industry professionals attended Romance Writers of America’s 33rd National Conference. The wealth of educational and networking opportunities made it a challenge to decide how to spend my time. Should I attend one of the 10+ workshops an hour, free publishers’ book signings or publisher spotlights? Not if they conflicted with agent and editor appointments. There were also assorted get-togethers and parties, and a lot of catching up with friends and making new ones.
I participated in a panel workshop, “There’s no ‘I’ in Bestseller: Why Hitting the List is a Team Effort” with NYT bestseller Simone Elkeles, her editor Emily Easton, her agent Kristin Nelson, her virtual assistant and her other critique partner. I also met with three editors, an agent and many friends, and had a lovely talk with Library Journal’s Bette-Lee Fox, who won RWA’s national industry award, and Daisy Marles, executive editor of Publisher’s Weekly.
I came home with 40 free print books and 9 e-books without even trying very hard, a lot of information about craft and changes in the industry including trends and the growth of self-and e-publishing, and many compliments about my writing.
Back to the keyboard. To get my submissions out, not blog….
