Writer's Conference Day 3 Highlights

-I went to two book pitch sessions and I had 10 out of 12 agents/editors request to see more of my work. (Side note for anyone that's curious: no, that does not mean I have an agent, an editor, or a book deal--it just means I have access to these people agreeing to look at my work).
-9 of those were agents; 1 was an editor
-Several asked for 50 pages and 1 even asked for my entire manuscript.
-Now it's on to HEAVY EDITING to get ready to submit to them! 
-And thank you to everyone that's sent me good vibes and love during this journey! :)

Writer's Conference Day Two:

Highlights
-Hearing an editor say the F word
-Making new friends that are in the same boat as me--terrified to pitch, working real jobs, and living normal lives
-Being encouraged to dive deeper into my characters
-Feeling like what I do matters and is not a waste of time
-And, yes, the kids and hubby were still happy!

Day One of the Writer's Conference

Day One of the Writer's Conference:
Highlights--
-Playing "Guess what genre that person writes"
-People watching--lots of INTERESTING characters (and I don't mean book characters)
-Listening to everyone's pitch for their book that I met and feeling brave enough to tell them mine
-Getting excited when people encouraged me to actually pitch to agents--I guess I'm gonna do it!
-Feeling positive about the whole "being a writer" thing--yea it's tough getting published, but it's fun to write and that's what matters
-Knowing my kids are happy and having a good time (Amelia and the boys were happy to talk to me on the phone)
-Feeling lucky to have an uber supportive husband

First Writer's Conference Check-In

All signed into the Writer's Conference! Should be interesting--already met a lady that is trying to be a screenwriter and I've seen lots of interesting people. Should make for good people watching and good conversation. Now relaxing for the moment with some coffee!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Getting Ready

It's been a month since I've blogged, but a lot has been going down in this house.  I've left my writing alone for this entire month and spent time with my family.  We've played a lot (I've gone insane a little) and just had a jolly good time.  I've barely had time to even think about the writer's conference.  Tomorrow, my husband and I take off to journey to Seattle so we can enjoy each other as a couple with no kids and so I can experience the conference.  I'm so lucky to have such a supportive spouse (that's ok with me splurging on something like this) and family that will watch my sweet little kiddos.  I'm having a rough time thinking I'm going to be away from them for 6 whole days--the most I've been away from them is 2 days.  It's a little conflicting--wanting to be with my kids vs. wanting me time and husband time.  I'm sure it will all work out in the long run and I'm sure I'll really appreciate that I took the time to go.  Hopefully I'll have some time to blog about the experience as I'm going through it all...

Literary Contest Results

I finally got my results back regarding the PNWA literary contest.  I did not place in the top 8 so I was not picked as a finalist in the YA category.  However, the feedback I did receive from my two reviewers was not horrible.  In fact, it was encouraging in several aspects and it helped me think about what I need to work on.  I feel good still and know I can make this book even better during my editing.  As one friend quoted to me from Hemingway, "The first draft of anything is shit."  That's why it's a first draft.  Overall, a good score for a first draft, though.

Tumblr

Since I'm bound to taking a break from the book--apparently it will make be edit "more better"--I was convinced by a friend to sign-up for a tumblr account.  Tumblr is this crack-cocaine like micro-blog site where one can pictorially/verbally/etc-ally vomit online.  And, oh yes, I've been spewing like crazy because I am a social media whore.  Thanks to my buddy who fed my addiction--I will beat you later.  In the meantime the rest of you can look for the link on the right side of this blog for my tumblr account site.