Adventures of an RWA conference virgin - Part II

By J. Hali Steele

Hi all, Royal Blush has allowed me to come back with more on the Adventures of an RWA Conference Virgin.

I did promise to bring you up-to-date on what really happened in DC. To my shame, I have no pictures. I am just not the photography type. My walls at home have not a single photograph to adorn them, none on my shelves either – that space is for books. Oh well…

Again, there were murmurs, and what I call hubbub, between RWA and those seeking change within the group. Let me say I sat 4 rows back, damn near center, and when Ms. Pershing asked for the resolution, IMHO, her voice and her words did not come across as harsh or mean – I believe she was genuinely shocked, as was I, that no one had a copy of it. As a member of the RWChange group, my thanks go wholeheartedly to Francesca Hawley who pulled it up on her phone and read it to the room. She was my hero that day. I’m a member of RWA and plan to remain a member. Change happens from within. I belong to ESPAN and Passionate Ink, two very great chapters. Recently, I joined the Liberty States Fiction Writers and I’m sure I’ll learn much from each of these groups. Those who know me know I’ll ask for what I want if I don’t see it.

Remember the two friends I spoke of meeting? Well one of them pitched and came away with an agent. Yay Rhonda, I’m happy for you girl! She so deserved this. At RT this year she took Bobbi Smith’s Advanced Writing class, entered the Creative Writing Challenge and won. This gave her the opportunity to have an agent look at a synopsis and the first 25 pages of a story. Needless to say, all of this worked to her advantage. Now, for RWA.

I met Janet Evanovich and I asked her when she was going to kill off Joe Morelli from the Plum novels and she laughed. Caridad Pineiro was so natural and friendly. Kimberly Kaye Terry is always the bomb. These last two ladies I’ve met at RT a few times and enjoyed their workshops.

Some classes I attended included The Setting as Character with the ever fabulous Jade Lee, who gave me a whole new perspective on where my characters live and what affect this has on them. Annabelle Corrick Beach’s The Process of Writing…10 Steps to Success, added a few that were missing from my repertoire. I decided not to attend the Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Erotica but Were Afraid to Ask simply because I feel these are done so well at RT conferences with lots of audience and reader participation. I found not very much of that happened in any class I attended. I came from each one feeling I’d learned but there wasn’t the camaraderie I’ve come to expect because of RT. Speaking for myself, there wasn’t the feeling of ‘friendliness and acceptance" I’ve gotten at the RT conventions. There is definitely a division between epublished authors, of which I’m one, and those who are published by NY.

I did attend the Pro Retreat and had some great conversations with some members before it started. We were all very excited about being Pros and most of us had our pins. At the start of the Agent section, I left. I am not looking for one right now and there was an Avon book signing I simply couldn’t miss. Did I feel I got something from this retreat? Can’t say yet. By the way, only talked to three others who were currently epublished and most I spoke to were seeking "only" NY. Leaving the retreat wasn’t hard.

Thursday evening I attended the Passionate Ink party and that was one of the highlights of my trip. I met quite a few fellow Ellora’s Cave and Changeling authors. Here I felt at home. I had the chance to talk more with Francesca Hawley, who is the President of PI and the lady is absolutely awesome. Angela James from Samhain spoke about epublishers and the epublishing industry. Barbara Bradford talked about what is currently happening with NY publishers and what they’re looking for. Nothing new there.

Does this sound like I prefer RT conventions to RWA conferences? I sure talked a lot about RT in this post didn’t I? Well, guess I have to answer yes. I’m no longer a virgin as far as RWA conferences go but I’ve discovered I’m much happier with RT and its acceptance of me as an epubbed author.

One thing did strike a chord with me during RWA -- many speakers used the phrase "you can do it" at some point in their address. It’s those words I chose to come away with.

Again, Royal Blush authors, thank you for the opportunity to tell all about my first time at an RWA Conference.

With Love, from Ms. Blush

Hello to you all wonderful, beautiful people!

We're still backstage this week, untangling threads behind the scenes. And as anyone can tell you, tangled threads can get messy! There's publishing, Ny publishing, e-publishing, to consider. Then there's stuff like promotion, workshops, conferences. Life definitely gets hectic for authors out there.

On this backdrop the RBA posse bring you some more about life behind the red curtain.

Find T.J. on Tuesday as she tells us more about what happeens when you hear the magic words "We want to offer you a contract". What can you, and what should you, expect?

On Wednesday, Sandy brings us a post about her experiences as an e-published author.

And on Friday, we welcome the second leg of our guest blogger's posts - Adventures of an RWA conference virgin-Part II is what J. Hali Steele has to tells us now that she's back from the RWA National conference!

Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn) is encountering some Internet issues, and will try her best to post on Thursday.

Don't forget:

This July, we're going backstage into the world of writing and the writer.

This July, we're on the quest:

Searching for what happens behind the scenes...

The best of us for the best of you, that's our promise as we deliver the full flush of romance.

From now till later, enjoy!

With love, from Ms. Blush

With Love, from Ms. Blush

Hello to you all wonderful, beautiful people!

Life gets quite tangled and much of a mess backstage, wouldn't you agree? We deal with a lot of things at the same time, and like many in the publishing/writing business, we also juggle other hats.

So what happens when you also juggle the editor hat which remains right beside your writer's coat on the rack next to your front door?

T.J. and Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn) bring you some answers regarding this.

Catch T.J. on Tuesday as she tells us more about edits and the difference between a harsh edit and a faulty edit. Yes, these two categories do exist, unfortunately, especially where the latter is concerned.

On Thursday, Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn) will ask the question: How anal should your editor be? Going through the roles and duties of the editor, she'll aim to shed some light on this often misunderstood role.

And, don't miss the first leg of our guest blogger's posts - Adventures of an RWA conference virgin starts this Wednesday, where J. Hali Steele gives us a glimpse into her world as she prepares for this mighty event!

Catch all of it this week on the RBA blog!

Don't forget:

This July, we're going backstage into the world of writing and the writer.

This July, we're on the quest:

Searching for what happens behind the scenes...

The best of us for the best of you, that's our promise as we deliver the full flush of romance.

From now till later, enjoy!

With love, from Ms. Blush

With Love, from Ms. Blush

Hello to you all wonderful, beautiful people!

Hmmm, long time no hear... We at Royal Blush hope you all had a wonderful July 4th celebration, and if you live in other parts of the world or are not American, well, we hope you had a nice time over the past week. We know we enjoyed our break, even if we missed making the usual appearance here. Life went on like it usually does at this time of the year. Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn) is begging for some sunlight in her dreary winter while Sandra and Diana are asking for some relief from the humidity and heat of the summer in the northern hemisphere. You'll probably hear another such rant in a few months when the seasons change, but what can you do? That's the basic economic premise, isn't it - limited resources for unlimited wants...

But, no digressing, coz we are back in full force this month, refreshed and ready to take on the world. Backstage, we've been giving in to a lot of the 'twist, spin, flip' technique. No, we weren't making pancakes, though one of us could surely give you a good recipe and technique for this delicious concoction. We've actually been thinking about all that goes on backstage in writing, prompted by our very first guest blogger spot for July!

Confessions of a confie virgin is what our guest blogger, author J. Hali Steele, will be telling us about. About to attend her first writer's conference, J will pen for us 2 posts, one prior to her departure and another after she comes back home with a new experience, that of attending such an event. Don't miss her spots on Wednesday 15 and Friday 24.

As usual, our regular contributors will be chiming in - Sandra Marshall and Diana Castilleja will definitely have something to tell you about the backstages of writing.

T.J Killian and Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn) will also be clocking their weekly contributions. They start this week with questions about the personal line every writer doesn't cross (T.J on Tuesday 8) and authenticity when you take the fast lane (Aasiyah/Nolwynn on Thursday 9).

Don't forget:

This July, we're going backstage into the world of writing and the writer.

This July, we're on the quest:

Searching for what happens behind the scenes...

The best of us for the best of you, that's our promise as we deliver the full flush of romance.

From now till later, enjoy!

With love, from Ms. Blush