RWA 2017

I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National Convention in Orlando Florida along with Jenna Jaxon, Kristine Overbrook, Carolyn Spear, Allie Marie, plus as-yet-unpublished author-friends from the Chesapeake Romance Writers. I learned so much, my head is still spinning, plus I enjoyed the chance to network with so many talented and creative people.

Other highlights were:

• Keynote addresses from bestselling authors Sherrilyn Kenyon and Susan Wiggs, who gave us free copies of their books
• Pitch sessions with an editor and an agent.
• Winning breakfast with bestselling author Angi Morgan, who helped me tweak my pitches  and gave me some great advice for the "cute meet" in my story, which needs slight revision.
• Winning a seat at the Pan & Pro lunch with Pintip Dunn, a bestselling YA author.
• Finding authors willing to help me with Scrivener.
• Getting ideas from a variety of workshops. I especially liked those by Damon Suede. He's brilliant even if he talks a million miles a minute.
• Getting a professional author portrait done.
• Handouts with writing tips and recommendations in case I need more.
• Amazing food. Disney hires great chefs. Enough said.

I learned I have been writing my novels in a length more suited to digital publishing or self publishing. I need to double them in word-count if I want most agents or traditional publishers to take them seriously. Sigh. Still, the agent said she would read a submission of my novels if I lengthened them considerably. The editor was more promising. She wants a partial submission of Dancing Under the Stars if I revise it to suit the line she acquires. I plan to read a couple of titles from this publisher before I start revising.

If this all sounds like a lot of work, it is. But I left the conference more motivated than ever and with lots of great memories. I've also decided to make writing a daily goal in the morning for at least an hour, no matter how hectic the rest of my day. And if you are a writer, especially of Romance, RWA is a great organization to be a part of.

Breakfast with Angi Morgan