A Daily Dose of Romance

Over the weekend, I completed the review of my ‘galleys’ for IN HIS BED, due out in September. The pages look great and you definitely can’t beat the cover art! Yum!!!

I also finished some critiquing I was behind on and did a bit of thinking on my current story. Today not much will get done, too many errands I didn’t run over the weekend, and Mondays are busy anyway. But I plan to review my story and play out some ideas in my head, see where they take me…that’s always a fun way to get my head back into a story.

I’ve also been thinking about attending another conference. Sadly RWA’s national conference does not work for me this year, the dates interfere with other things. But I do have my eye out for a local or regional conference that will work.

Conferences are a great way to meet agents and editors, fellow writers (writing is a predominately solitary occupation after all) and keep up with trends in the marketplace. And with a new book out, a nice way to promote. But choose your conferences carefully. Be certain that even if you don’t sell that manuscript you’re pitching, or land the agent you want, you are attending a conference that has workshops that interest you.

The most important thing you can do as a result of attending a writer’s conference, is further your skills as a writer. And sometimes that means more than just the act of writing itself. If you never learn new techniques, or where your weaknesses are, you’ll never improve.

So read the fine print, go for the workshops, and let the rest be icing on the cake.