My enthusiasm was still running high by Saturday. I was meeting and running in to friends all over the place. That was one of the more fun aspects of the conference. Meeting others and hearing they have the same problems, hopes and fears as I do.

The first seminar was called, “The Dark Side of Publishing.”  This one started with lots of good material, tons of information, but something changed in the atmosphere of the crowd. Boyd Matthews spoke about how he started in eBooks and is now a successfully published author. He said many things to prove that eBooks does not automatically equal success but after he talked, the questions and tone of the audience changed. One person made speeches about how frustrating the whole pitching process was and how it really would just be better to skip all that and self publish. Several people clapped and made noises in agreement. The speakers on the panel, including Boyd tried to argue for things like quality control, promotion, ability to market and produce a large quantity of books. They asked the questions: Do you want to be a writer, or do you want to be a publisher?

A fight almost broke out after one woman said the process, though arcane, and probably on the road to change, was around for a reason. Her tone didn’t seem offensive to me, but then a woman in front of me turned around and said that the speakers were saying that self publishing was necessary if you want to see your book in print. She was whipping her hands around and shaking her head, then blowing air from her mouth while she talked and continued to do this while the other woman tried to finish what she was saying. The nice lady next to me gave me a nervous glance. We were in the line of fire if the lady in front decided to jump chairs and strangle the other woman.

There is definitely an undercurrent of frustration at these conferences. Many of us are hopeful, but afraid that we aren’t good enough. Then there are others who know they are the best thing the world has ever seen and by God they are going to let the rest of us know about it. That’s exaggerating a bit I suppose. Either way, we all get frustrated by the process but some more than others. I can only hope the really great writers, the ones who get six figure deals right out of the gate, without any help from an editor, will all go self publish their books. This might give me a better chance at landing an agent since I won’t have to compete with them anymore.

The best seminar of the conference for pure content was “Jump Start a Short Story,” with Bharti Kirchner. Her delivery wasn’t as funny or flamboyant as some of the other speakers I have seen, but she outlined clearly the things we often do wrong with them, ways to begin, and the pieces that need to be included. Finally someone explained the process in a way that demystified it. I have always liked writing short stories. My head is full of stories in general and I like the idea of being able to give them life without spending the next two years on a specific one. I submitted a few, was rejected, worked with a mentor, and gave up for a while, as I didn’t see any way to fix them, or write better ones. 

So once more, I left a class filled with hope and a new commitment to work on this aspect of my career. I also want to track her down and see if she works with authors one on one, or if she will be giving any other classes.

The next seminar after lunch was “Career Plan Bootcamp”. This was the first time I had heard anyone explain what a platform for fiction looks like and how to build it. I have been working this out on my own, and watching other people who seem to be able to do it, but I haven’t heard anyone address it formally until now. Ann Charles was one of the most fun people to watch and listen to. She embodies the enthusiasm for the writing life and the juggling act that comes with trying to balance it and have kids at the same time. If she gives another presentation I highly recommend taking it.

Next I attended, “How to Grab an Agent’s Attention.” This was hosted by Penny Warner and Amberly Finarelli. Amberly was one of the agents that put off positive energy and her enthusiasm and patience was evident in the way she handled questions. Penny kept things focused and added a good dose of humor to the seminar.

C.C. Humphreys gave the speech before the awards ceremony. He is also a trained actor so he did everything right. He made jokes, he posed, he even made his way through what appeared to be a pint of Guinness . He gave the speech from Henry the Fifth that made me fall in love with Kenneth Branaugh.  I was inspired as I think were the rest of us.

The awards ceremony got underway after a few technical difficulties. I always keep my eye on who wins the poetry category. I do not read a lot of poetry for it is a little like eating my vegetables. When the broccoli is cooked just right, the texture is both firm and crisp in equal measure, it is wonderful, but most of the time I just do it because it is good for me. My very first love as a reader was Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Annabel Lee were both poems that stirred something in me. When I read a poem like that it is a rare thing. I read poetry to find that meaning and feeling, as well as to learn how to put words together in the same way.

It so happened that the woman who won in the poetry category was sitting right across from me through dinner. Afterwards I got to talk to her. I blathered on about my thoughts on poetry and how great it was that she could do it well.  I got her email address and plan to keep in touch.

I went up and spent several hours with my coworkers and others, talking about books, writing, and anything else that came up.  I had one of the best nights ever, feeling like things were finally coming together, I was slowly moving in to a world I had always wanted to be a part of but never thought possible. I feel so grateful for the people I know and everything I am learning.

There’s that term: Curb Your Enthusiasm. At Writers conferences I always leave feeling like I have talked too much, been too excited, scared people by running around too much. I am like a puppy in the midst of too many eager hands. I try to focus and listen but sometimes I just can’t help myself.

Saturday night I stayed up until 5:30 in the morning. I could have gone on all night but when I saw that the sun was up, something in me crashed and I remembered Elizabeth Lyon was speaking at 10. She was one of the people I was looking  forward to seeing the most. I have her book, “Manuscript Makeover” and have highlighted, underlined, and stuck post it flags throughout the whole book.

By 6 am I was finally falling asleep.