I’m still basking in the glow of this past weekend spent in the company of the members of WisRWA (pronounced whiz-rah) at their annual Love Is In The Cards Conference at the Radisson Hotel Conference Center and Oneida Casino in Green Bay.
Keynote speaker Lori Foster shared pointers for avoiding the pitfalls in the publishing industry. A wise writer whose work has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller lists, Foster pointed out that every writer has been in the same place as every other writer at some point in her career.
Foster reminded us that rejection happens before you get published and it happens after you’re published, too. A writer doesn’t have a great deal of control over what happens to her in this business, she said. That’s why attitude is everything.
“It’s so easy for writers to make it harder than it is,” Foster said. “You should have fun with this. It’s just writing!”
Being able to write is a gift, Foster noted. “Celebrate that you have a talent that not many other people have. You’re a story teller.” She further encouraged writers with four other cardinal rules: don’t quit, keep submitting, don’t wait for your muse–just do it! and never ever compare your work with someone else’s.
Another highlight of the conference was the “WisRWA’s Got Talent” session. In an hour and a half, Hillary Sares of Kensington Books and Rose Hilliard of St. Martin’s Press shared their initial reactions to twenty-five first pages of manuscripts submitted anonymously by conference goers.
Listening to the thought processes and comments of these seasoned editors hit home the value of polishing that all-important first page. “Read the opening of your novel the same way a buyer in a bookstore would,” Sares said. She also noted that editors have very short attention spans. Like your target readers, you have to reel them into your story immediately.
Janice Meynard, Susan Kearney, Anna Schmidt and martial artist Morganne MacDonald also presented thought-provoking and informative sessions.
The WisRWA members I met this weekend were warm, welcoming and accomplished. It was an honor to place third in the series contemporary category of their Fab Five contest for the unpublished.
