I woke the next morning tired, and my daughter came in to talk to me. I gave her a few minutes, then got up to get ready. The guilt sunk in when I left her and she wished me luck. She is five. My one year old was well in to the morning cartoons and didn’t even turn around. I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was leaving so I silently wished her goodbye and closed the door. I hope this is all worth it. Most of the time I think it is.

The day started with the editor panel, followed by the agent panel. Even though all their information was included in the conference information we received, it was nice to have them talk a little bit about what they do and what they’re looking for. You get a real sense of a person when they say with a blank look on their face,” We don’t take anything with sex scenes in it.”  At the other side of the table you have another agent whose face lights up and they start to move around in their seat when talking about what they are looking for. I was just bummed there were no steam powered engines or zombies in my book.

Watching the agents and editors “perform” is a good thing to do. Some who I thought would not be a good fit for me make me think twice when they describe what they want. Maybe they aren’t as imposing as their picture. The opposite is also true. You can also get insight on how to approach them as well.

I chatted with a few participants at lunch, and then ran off to meet with an editor. She was great and gave me several good ideas about how to sharpen and strengthen my platform.  That is something that has been floating around in the back of my head as I blog on seemingly random topics. How do I communicate what me and my books are about, and at the same time draw more readers to my blog? I left her feeling more hopeful than I had in a while.

The next session was called “Sex and Sensuality.” It was moderated by C.C. Humphreys and Megan Chance. This was one of the best sessions of the conference. Both presenters were funny and read from their books. You know those scenes you read and start to really, I mean really, get lost in the book you’re holding, and then you look around to see if anyone else knows what you’re reading? Well imagine looking up from one of those scenes and instead of meeting the eyes of some old woman on the bus, you’re face to face with the person who wrote the scene? That was cool, and unsettling.

The biggest take away I got was common sense really, but still worth hearing and remembering. When you are writing a sex scene, what character emotion and point of view are you trying to present? For example, a rape scene where you want to show how sick the perpetrator is would read very differently than the victim’s point of view. At this point there was discussion about how sometimes less is more, and to be aware of that as well. Depending on the purpose of the scene, you may not need all that many details.

Megan also noted that you can leave a lot up to the reader’s imagination. You can say very little, but suggest something and leave it at that. The adventurous readers will fill in the details, while those who don’t need to go that far, won’t. Think about what effect you want to have on the reader. If it is to excite them and make them read more, then maybe you want to add details that would really get them going, hoping for another one.  CC Humphreys also noted how battle scenes and sex scenes are similar in many ways. There is much to consider in that. In both you have emotion, stakes, logistics, and other elements you need to consider to make it work.

I missed the last half hour because I had to go pitch two agents. That went well, and I have added to my ever growing list of agents to submit to when I am finished revising.

The next session was on how to write humor.  The presenter was Gordon Kirkland. I got some great ideas on how to start it and where to submit it. He also confirmed a few things I have learned from reading humor and reading stuff that leaves me feeling sad, though it is supposed to be funny. Gordon was also very open and helpful both during the session and outside as well.

Lisa Gardner was the speaker that night. She was funny and I got a book and had her autograph it as well.  Megan Chance was also very helpful and gave all sorts of good advice and encouragement. If there isn’t a line at their table, many of the authors were so open and friendly. I also had a great conversation with Samantha Vamos, author of “Before You Were Here, Mi Amor.” I will definitely be dragging as many friends as I can to her next reading or a signing.

I met some coworkers and we hung around and chatted about the conference for a few more hours.

I got home late that night.  Hubby was already snoring when I got in.