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The RWA Experience with Santa O'Byrne
RWA National has an electricity attached to it. I can’t say for sure if it’s because, once a year, writers, agents and editors come together in one place. It could be that the opportunity to connect on a human level with others who share a passion for writing about true heroes, strong heroines and their happily ever after. After all, writing is a solitary journey. It’s nice to stop and get charged up about that journey with others writers.
I had a great time at National this year. As, like every year so far, I’ve met some amazing people. I can’t really pinpoint all the highlights of the conference. First and foremost was raising a tankard to Terri completing her BA!! Terri, J Perry, Kim Castillo and I went out to an amazing sushi tapas restaurant. The waitress was one of the friendliest I’ve ever met and, truth be told, the only friendly one I met while in DC. We even got Terri to try a piece of sushi – brave soul that she is!
I could talk about the amazing workshops I attended and one in particular where friends read over the top scenes like pros. I could talk about the pitching I did and partial request I received. I could talk about the literary signing where over 500 authors signed their latest romance novels. Over 500 authors and their fans (it’s open to the public) in one HUGE space. I could also talk about how amazing it was to be a part of a debut author’s launch and the fun of contributing to her buzz. 2010 will be Tessa Dare’s year!
Instead I think I’ll share two of the best experiences of the conference for me. The first one occurred when I went down to Harry’s Pub for dinner by myself on Friday. While waiting for the waiter to come by and take my order another conference attendee stopped and asked if she could join me for dinner. Here’s where the magic of conference steps in. I had the pleasure of sharing a meal with Pearl Wolf. Pearl is a debut romance author whose book ‘To Hot For A Spy’ is out now. It also turns out she recently joined the NYC chapter of RWA. Without even trying I ran into a chapter mate. We talked craft. We talked the business of publishing. We discussed our children. One of her sons is in the restaurant business which is right up my alley since my books take place in that same industry. My oldest fancies herself another Ace of Cakes. We connected on so many levels just two strangers at a conference sharing a meal.
The second experience and I can’t really call it second best is the brainstorming I did with author Diane Gaston. I have enjoyed Diane’s books from the very first one I picked up when she was writing as Diane Perkins. She is a very talented writer and a very giving writer. We chatted while enjoying a glass of wine with some of the folks over at Risky Regencies. Diane asked about my WIP and I shared with her what my story was all about. I was having a bit of problem with one of the themes of the story and Diane showed me a possible solution. I call this moment my YES moment. Now it all made sense. Now I can get it to flow naturally instead of in a stilted, cliché manner. It was as if the shades were lifted off my eyes. I was stuck and could finally move forward! This is the hallmark of the generosity that published authors share with writers like me. And it all took place in the context of an informal gathering of blogsite followers.
These two experiences are what I think this conference is all about for me. Connecting with people who are on the same wavelength that you are is so fantastic. To be with people who ‘get it’ and understand the passion you feel about your writing.
Books by the Crew
66 comments:
Sounds like two very awesome experiences - connecting with another writer and finding your YES moment are HUGE deals! Congrats!
That is great Santa! And yay for Diane Gaston helping you through a sticky patch.
I agree about having like minded people together. My only conference experience was at the NJ one this past year, but I remember leaving feeling energized. :)
The writer connection is very important. I think that's what the Spring Fling had--but probably on a smaller scale--the whole "everyone in this room gets it" feeling. And it was probably one of the few times I actually enjoy talking to people. *LOL* I love meeting other writers and just gabbing.
The RWA sounds like it was a blast; and I totally second the "Congrats to Terri for getting her BA" again. I'm glad you guys celebrated. I refuse to believe you got her to try sushi. I'd have to see it with my own eyes. Did you guys take a picture or anything?
I did try the sushi and it took everything I had not to spit it back out. They tell me the face I made was priceless. I don't know what I looked like but I know that tasted HORRIBLE!
I didn't come away from this conference with the same euphoria I had last year. Probably because last year I still had the school excuse. Now, there are no more excuses and the pressure is on. But I met some fantastic people this year. Friends that I've been talking to online for years in some cases, and authors who go above and beyond to pay it forward. Say what you want, and I'll admit there were some negatives, but this industry has some of the most generous and sweetest people I've ever come across.
Sushi is an acquired taste. *sly look* Like a lot of things.
But you'd be amazed when you start craving it. I've been wanting to make it, but generally it makes so much, you have to have a crowd to feed them. My niece might come eat with me though; she loves it. Then again, I might just go buy some to go. Right portion, no clean up, no crunchy rice problems.
Sorry, clearly the sushi was not the primary topic--
YES, this industry does have some of the best people to work with (take that, Mary Kay!)--and they definitely pay it forward and beyond to help those around them succeed too.
There is always the petty and insecure in every business, but for the most part, the people are awesome.
Not. Going. There.
One of the best things I heard was in Eloisa James keynote speech (which made us all bawl btw) when she said take the good stuff and leave the bad. So someone (or several someones) questions your story and says things like "that's not enough conflict" or "you should throw in an alien." That stuff you filter.
When they say things like "I know you'll be fabulous!" and "This is Terrio and she's brilliant!" you take that with you. :)
That IS an interesting point she made in her speech. Good advice.
We're going to do it this year, Ter. I mean it. I will hold your hand. I will drag you through fire, but we are going to start writing.
Starting isn't our problem, dear. It's the finishing. LOL! Trust me, I'll finish this. And more. I have all kinds of motivation not the least of which is the basic need for some supplemental income!
You and me, GH entries by December. What do you say?
Looks like Terri's issued a throwdown! I may (may, mind you) take you up on it.
I love seeing everyone I talk to on the phone or online. We have an amazing community here, friends.
And I do have to say that sushi ROCKS! And most of the conference was filled with Terri is brilliant moments, lol!
As to Eloisa's speech - it was ruddy brilliant, as was her workshop but more on that later. The deli calls. It's a siren's song I'd love not to hear!
Catch you guys later.
We've been saying it all along. Me and you- GH entries for December. We're going to do it just to prove to ourselves that we can.
Santa is really the brilliant one. You can imagine that lots of women trapped (for lack of a better word) in a tight space for an extended period of time can get stressful. But not Santa. I thought I was laid back but this woman is calm waters all the time. She's my rock at these things!
Sin - We're doing it and now Santa is doing it with us! (May shmay...)
:)
Yay! You guys are so totally going to rock the GH this year. I can't wait to cheer when you all finish your stories. :)
I'd imagine I'll be done with this one by then but I'm not sure I'm going to enter this year. We'll see. It was expensive to get no feedback but a bunch of numbers.
No sushi. But everything else sounds great! I'm going to take the plunge and meet you in Nashville, Santa. And Terri. And ? While the workshops I read about on blogs and tweets sounded wonderful, for me, it's all about meeting the people I've been playing online with for almost three years. I've checked out the hotel already, and it looks gorgeous. Can't wait!
I'm pretty sure that Hal and Marn will be done with their respective novels by then as well... Maybe the whole crew should join in.
I'm certain Hal and Marn will be done (if Hal doesn't suffocate under all the books she has to read) and they are both full of awesome so they need to enter. (Marn, I'm talking to you here.)
Hellie should be done if we keep pushing each other. It's working so far. We're taking baby steps but a few hundred words are better than none.
Maggie - I cannot wait to meet you. And the fact that when I finally do I'll also be able to have your book (books?!) in hand is AMAZING!!!
Santa, as always, it was a pleasure to see you!!
Hats off once again to Terri for her graduation amidst her very full life. What courage and dedication.
And I truly cannot gush enough about the fabulous Diane Gaston. She truly is a fantastic person.
Hey there, Keira!! Thanks again for the present. Can you guys believe people brought me presents and cards? They weren't supposed to do that! I took the pen Keira got me out last night and it LIGHTS UP! It's the coolest thing. LOL!
1) More congrats to Terri!
2) I wish I could have checked out the sushi tapas place. It sounded SO good.
3) It was *wonderful* to see everyone again and to meet more pirates! You guys rock!
There's nothing quite like the national conference to inspire me. It's incredible to be able to share the passion and excitement for writing with others who understand exactly where you're coming from. I had a great time hanging out in the room and talking shop with everyone. That was one of my favorite memories.
Terri, Hellion, Hal, and Marn-- I know you can do the GH! I'll be rooting for you all the way!
Steph - I totally felt like I was on Top Chef. The plates were those really cool funny shaped ones and I even got to throw around the term amuse bouche (probably spelled that wrong but it's been *&^% years since I took French class.)
And I love how you so smoothly leave yourself out of the GH challenge. LOL! I'll try not to harrass you......much.
I always have the best time with you and Mary and I'm glad y'all changed your mind and came to hang out in the room.
Eloisa's speech was lovely. I found my paranormal panels great, especially as they weren't all about vampires and werewolves. Pati Nagle even mentioned Charles de Lint! (Rum for all!) I crawled out of bed Saturday morning for Christie's panel and was glad I did... Very inspirational. (Didn't recognize her in the shuttle Sunday morning, she wasn't wearing a hat!)
Meeting Terrio and the rest, icing on the cake.
I'm gonna risk a mutinee...I like RT better... I'm thinkin' 'bout a blog regardin' why...
Oh 2nd Chance - you know why RT was better!
Because I was there! LOL -cracking myself up with my own dorkiness!
I had to google the french term. Now that is a fun word. A "mouth amuser"--nice. (Bite sized appetizers.)
Though usually sushi is almost too big to pop into my mouth--and still chew without looking like a chipmunk.
Aye! Sabrina, ya gots me there. I was thinkin' it were the hotties...but it were all 'bout you!
So Sabrina is more exciting than I am. Fine. *huffs*
;)
I should have explained what that meant. It's really one of the only things from French I remember and only because they say it on the food shows all the time.
The sushi wasn't the bite sized stuff. They ordered this sample dish of all this raw seafood. Again I say....ICK.
*wrinkles nose* You know, I'll do raw oysters, but not raw squid or whathaveyou. Cooked squid, sure--that's tasty. And the texture of raw fish undoes me--though I like my steak rare--so that can't be any different. (And there is nothing worse than overcooked fish.) I guess if you sop it in enough wasabi and soy sauce, I could choke it down. *LOL*
I think the raw stuff was tuna and shrimp and salmon and something else. Mahi maybe? They were dipping it in something but Santa (the foodie!) will have to tell you what that was. LOL!
San, it sounds as if Nationals lived up to all your expectations. And the gang seems to have returned energized. I'll start crossing my fingers for GH finalists now.
Terri, I'm with you on sushi and ick.
I'm glad you all had fun, but it's great to have you all back on the blogs and the boards. I missed you.
Janga! What did you think of Harry Potter? Okay, we can take this to email...but I'm curious.
Santa - it was so great to meet you, even if it was only for a few minutes, and yay for YES moments!! I love those!
I've got mixed feelings as well about GH. It's a lot of money for what basically amounts to a crap shoot. But crap shoot or not, it's still the most prestigious award for us who are un-pubbed, so I probably will fork over the cash and then curse the gods when I get 3's and 4's again. :)
I always look like a chipmunk with sushi. But I love it. love, love, love it.
Oh, and I love love love sushi too. Though I'm still a little squicky about the really raw stuff.
Hal, I'm kinda with you. It's so tempting, because if you final, it's sooo prestigious. But then if you don't, it's like a big old fart in the face.
"it's like a big old fart in the face" - exactly!! I mean, at least give a reason!
Yeah, I'm with you. It's hard just getting numbers.
It is prestigious, but there are all those calls stories with GH's where they win but don't get The Call. They get rejected, and it's always a book or two later that lands the deal.
I think I'd rather do smaller contests with better feedback.
Hellion, I thought HP was good, but I have some reservations. I'll email you.
Now I'm curious about Janga's reservations....
To clear up the GH thing, notice I'm not declaring I will final or win this sucker. This is just a tangible way to give myself a hard, unmovable deadline. I know of authors who have finaled in the GH several times and are still in the same unpubbed/unagented boat that we are.
But as we've seen with my school papers, I need that deadline. LOL! And I am going to Marn for my descriptive writing needs from now on. :)
the deadline is excellent - esp since it's only once a year and you can't just say "Oh, well then, I'll do the next contest" (which is my usual reaction when I fly right past a deadline *g*)
This is true, about it only being once a year. I'd hoped to finish two books this year, but I suspect that's wishful thinking at this point. :( I'd like to just get this one over with. Ugh.
Ya know what I likes best about the photo? She put captions so now I can pretend ta remember names... I'm gonna print it out and label it.
Memory problems? Me!?
I'm about done wit' the contest thing, period. Maybe it be a bit of a copout...but judges don't understand me.
;)
Terri, you don't have to worry about reservations: you didn't read the book. Believe me, the movie's fine. It just doesn't follow the book.
I'm really, really happy I didn't re-read this book right before going to the movie. I would have been so pissed.
Hellie, I didn't read it again before the movie either. I'm glad now too. I just enjoyed the movie, which I do think was really well done.
I bet it's impossible to squish down 900 or whatever pages into just 2.5 hours of movie.
I'm glad they're making the last book two movies.
I didn't say I was worried about the reservations, just curious. Same as when I wanted to know the ending of My Sisters Keeper in the book vs. the movie. Didn't read/see either, but curious. LOL!
Is it that they shift things around or leave important stuff out OR that they added or changed stuff they shouldn't have messed with. I'd think the latter would be the greater sin.
Chance - At least I held up my end of the deal and you met lots of people. LOL!
And I'm not sure I'll enter any other contests. Seems to me writing, polishing, making it fab then querying is the way to go. I don't need to pay people to insult my work when I can get the rejection without insult for free.
"I don’t need to pay people to insult my work when I can get the rejection without insult for free."
That be the rub, in a nutshell...
And ya did hold up yer part a' the deal. I met a lot of people! Tho Judi be chastisin' me fer not comin' ta the NAL signing... How'd I miss that?
This is what I just explained to Hellie. I rarely pay attention to know who writes for what publisher. So I miss most of those signings. That and the lines for those start about an hour before and the room is crazy once you get in there. I went to two of them (not NAL) and felt like a sardine.
I know Judi and didn't know for which house she writes. LOL! But I ran into her at least three times. No idea how you never crossed paths.
Ter, Hellion's right. The movie is well worth seeing. You will laugh out loud and shed some tears, and you won't be bothered by differences in book and movie. If you have questions, you have resident experts on the ship.
I probably should not have reread the book the week before I saw the movie,
Janga - Sometimes blissful ignorance has its advantages. :)
And you'll be happy to know I now own three Pam Morisi books and even got the Jitterbug one signed from her during the Literacy Signing. She was very sweet and I can't wait to dig in.
Man you pirates are up and at them before the sun comes up. It's hard to say what the one coolest moment of RWA was for me. Meeting Chance, Terrio, Mary, and Stephanie were way up there. Going to Tessa's debut party was up there too. Meeting Victoria Alexandra was way up there. Listening to Jennifer Cruise and Anne Stuart banter was a riot. Dressing up for the awards ceremony was a down point for me. I really didn't want to go. I'm like a fish out of water in that kind of atmosphere.
Here's to next year. And to all of you who are entering the GH!
It is sorta funny how the dressiest event be the last night...when everyone be draggin' ass and jus' lookin' forward ta gettin' home. I bet more than half a' us sat there...thinkin'... "Wish I'd gone home this morning."
They oughta do it Friday night and let Saturday be mellow gel day. At RT, Saturday be the casual dress party night...
Even when yer havin' a good time, the days get longer. I always look more exhausted climbin' off a cruise ship than when I climd on!
Glad everyone had a great time and made it home safely.
I'm planning on Nashville next year, and my DH and kids might come down after and we'd have a nice getaway vacation.
I considered entering the GH, but I'm not sure.
Di
Renee, darling, I didn't even post this until 9am this morning. LOL! I know it's got to be afternoon there. Did you hop to another continent and not mention it?
It took some major phone tag but I'm glad you found me at that party. And I'm glad I left the room number on the voicemail. LOL!
I took the kids to Harry Potter yesterday, and, well. Hmm. I liked it alot, I just didn't get that scene in the middle. Of course, I had just finished a re-read of it over the weekend.
Di
Di is going to Nashville! Whoohoo! I can't wait for Nashville because it's my favorite place of all the places I've lived. And I'm excited to stay in the hotel as a guest instead of being there as an employee. ;)
Not sure about the GH? You know you wanna. Think of all the fun we'll all have annoying each other between now and then. LOL!
Terri, who knows what time zone I'm on. Lord knows I'm not getting enough sleep and I'm sleeping way too much. And I had to work today, at least I sleep with the boss and can say I'm going home for a nap. ;)
At Nashville (if I get to go) we'll definitely have to have a drink. Oh, I know, maybe we can celebrate a book release, or a GH win.
The book release sounds good. I'll leave that to you as it's necessary to actually have a book written to make that happen. LOL! You're way ahead of me on that one.
Gotta love cooperative bosses who don't want to sleep in the doghouse.
Oy, I think I missed the convo. How did I miss this this morning?
Conference was interesting. I was sad I had to miss EJ's keynote. I love listening to anything she has to say, and I think I'm lucky to have heard her speech at the NJ conference.
I think one of the best things is just to get to know your fellow writers better. I enjoyed meeting so many people I've known for years online.
It goes without saying that meeting Janga will be sooo great! I can't wait to meet Maggie, either. And once I meet her and Ely, my online circle will be complete - except for some folks from the Avon board from way back in the day.
I do have to agree that moving the RITAs to Friday might be the ticket, though that's the night all the publishing houses have their parties for their authors, agents and editors.
And Steph, you are right about hanging out and just talking about craft and writing is one of the better parts of National. I learn so much from those times. Btw, go to Steph, Mary and Kelly's blog www.writechic.com. Steph posted a picture of some lovlies from RITA night.
Be back later for any of you night owls. I'm off to do some writing.
Santa, have we met in the real world??
You're so animated people just feel like they've met you in person. But I'm curious to see how Santa gets out of this one....
I didn't think so. I get it. I'm just not important enough to meet. Fine, fine. *LOL* I'm going to find some wine.
You know I've written on everything but my actual manuscript this evening. Gah.
You wrote earlier today. That counts. I've done nothing but sleep and eat a bowl of ice cream. And now I'm going back to sleep.
Hellie, DARLING! Since I've actually spoken to you on the phone, I feel like I've met you already! I've never spoken to any of the others I mentioned.
Naturally, ACTUALLY meeting you is what will complete my world. Not marrying a real life hero. Not giving birth to my lovlies. Not selling my book. Clearly, I was a fool to think otherwise.
*present pirates included, 'natch! - but don't tell Hellie!* ;)
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