I arrive Wednesday night and get to meet my roommates, one of which is Jeannie Campbell, my critique partner.
Thursday is spent with Donald Maass. At one point during the workshop, he starts asking for volunteers to read bits of their writing out loud to all 300 participants! I admire the three people who volunteer their work and allow it to be critiqued by not only one of the most successful agents in the industry, but all 300 participants as well! Me? I hide under my table.
Thursday night I listen to Debbie Macomber give one of the most inspirational speeches about writing that I’ve ever heard. She says, “Dream big!”, “Be confident!”, “Be passionate!”, “Believe in yourself!” and “Always think positive!”
Afterward, I go to Abingdon’s late night chat. Helpful tip: If you want to submit to Abingdon, wait until the spring. They’re currently all filled up.
Friday morning I have my first ever editor appointment. It goes really well.
The rest of the day is workshops, workshops, workshops, wherein my brain turns to mush. I think Donald Maass filled it all up on Thursday.
Friday evening I get a professional critique from Mary DeMuth. Very helpful and encouraging!
I spend Friday night with Jeannie and Eileen….I won’t go into detail. I’ll just say, I’m glad we are there together!
Then I’m off to the late night chat with Wordserve Literary, where I learn that Greg Johnson and Rachelle Gardner are two very classy agents.
Saturday….uh….I skip all my workshops. But I do volunteer as a time keeper for agent/editor appointments and get to meet some really cool people in the process. Also, God provides an unexpected opportunity to meet with an agent. Totally unplanned. That meeting also goes really well.
Saturday afternoon, I have my second…err, third…editor/agent appointment. Three for three. Only this one has a little caveat…a very helpful little caveat.
I get my books signed by some super talented authors, like Betsy St. Amant, Harry Kraus, Tosca Lee (I just started her book…the woman is an artist), Mary DeMuth. I meet Julie Lessman, Deb Raney, Roxanne Henke, and more.
Saturday night we get all prettied up and go to the banquet, where I sit with a bunch of my blogging friends and laugh my head off. Fun times!
Sunday, my alarm goes off at an insane hour and I travel home. No delays. Just a straight shot home, where I kiss my husband and hug my son for the next five hours (or maybe six).
In a nutshell: I met some of the coolest people in the world. I learned more than I can process. God encouraged, inspired, and affirmed me as a writer. I always said I would use this conference as the spring board for querying. So here I go….I’m jumping off the high dive, putting myself out there, and trusting God to take care of the rest.
Challenge: Write a list of five “impossible” goals. Now go read Ephesians 3:20 and give them to God. Don’t be afraid to dream big!
Question to Ponder: What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself lately?
One day I'd like to know what classey means. I think I like that designation.
I'm still laughing about Sat. night. It was so great to meet you IRL. When I get home, I'd love to talk IRL.
Glad to hear you had such a fabulous time at the Conference. I wish I could get to one this year but I'm saving up for next year.
What have I learned recently? That it does me no good to fret myself into a depression about what I should be doing but can't quite push myself to do. When I relax and let God be in control he helps me get where I need to be in his good time.
I learned that I'm quite the little fish in a big, big pond–literally and figuratively–and for some reason that's right where God intends me to be.
Enjoy your week, Katie! Great to hear about the conference from your perspective. 🙂
Katie,
I am new to your site and really enjoyed your recap of the conference. I had no idea how jam-packed it really was. See, I am learning already. Thanks!
Sounds like a phenomenal conference!!! Thanks for the inspirational post!!
It sounds so lovely! HOPEFULLY I will be there with you girls next year (that's one of my dream big things!)
I'm not sure if I've learned anything new about myself Recently…I'd have to think about that.
Glad the trip went well. I hope you get great news back!
Sounds like it went really well, Katie. I'm so happy for you!
Lindsay
Sherrinda – you're not alone, girl! I seem to have a fear pocket I carry around in my chest. As hard as I try to chuck it, it sticks around. Satan feeds off our fear. I'm confident of that.
Eileen – I think all writers would benefit from sitting in a circle and chanting that phrase over and ovr again. I wonder if maybe it would eventually sink in. 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement, Kristen!
Wendy – your comment really spoke to me. Trusting God is exactly what we're called to do. I'm trying to learn what this means for my life.
Lynnette – I love when everything clicks! I hope your new endeavor as a teacher/writer finds much success!!
Jody – first day back wasn't too bad. I had a killer headache though. 🙁 No fun at all!!
Beth – glad the sun came out to play with you today! I hope it sticks around for awhile. Sounds like you guys could use it!!
Elana – deep and witty. Two great qualities!
Tara – glad you like the challenge. It's the same one Debbie Macomber, the keynote speaker, gave all of us conference attendees. 🙂
Thanks for the recap. It sounds like it was tiring but fun and worthwhile. I love your challenge. Good luck as you start the next step with your writing.
This sounds like such a fun time. I really need to get to a big conference one of these days.
I've learned that I can be deep and witty at the same time.
I'm so glad the conference was so awesome for you, and that you've made the decision to start querying…woo hoo! I'm praying that you will hold on to this new-found strength and inspiration!
One thing I've learned lately? I could never live in Seattle. I NEED sunshine – which we have today for the first time in 4-5 days of rain! 🙂
Hi Katie,
Loved that fast track recap! Brings back many memories! Wishing you much success from this experience! Hope you had a first day back at school!
Sounds like such a great conference. I'm glad you had so much fun.
What have I learned about myself? That a good fit for me would be (while continuing to write fiction) to teach online courses about writing and become a wrting coach/editor. I have a teaching and now writing background, so it was kind of a light bulb moment for me.
Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
I learned that God wants me to trust Him more than He wants my dreams to come true.
So fun to hear about your experience!
~ Wendy
Hey, Katie! I'm glad that conference was so awesome! Thanks so much for sharing about it! I'd hide under the table for that session too!
Good for you for querying! You can do it! Don't let the enemy start speaking lies. You can do this and it sounds like you are ready for it!
Katie, Friday night? Yeah, I'm glad we were together too!! I was just way too tired for more info consumption at that point, but I bet those who didn't do the early bird had lots of energy for it.
What did I learn most? Angie's words "Humbleness isn't self-depracating" keeps replaying in my head. I'm so self-depracating when it comes to my writing especially. I need a therapist's help for this I'm sure. Oh, I really should have booked a session with Jeannie while there. I'm always thinking too late.
Katie, I'm so glad you had such a rewarding time at conference. For your critique, did you have to submit work ahead of time? How much?
Lately I've learned that I still carry fear within. Fear of failure. Fear of the what ifs. Fear of looking stupid. Just plain fear. And it really makes me so mad at myself. But I need to just take one step at a time and continue with dream of my heart. 🙂