Learning - It Never Gets Old

Prolific Author Leigh Michaels at ORA Con

Photo: Jill Slack

I'm still digesting everything I learned at ORA Con yesterday, and just so thrilled I attended. The organizers did a fantastic job of arranging the conference, and I felt welcomed by their members and attendees. The professionals were friendly and encouraging, and I enjoyed basking in their expertise and advice.

My pitch went well - I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, and agent Cori Deyoe was very gracious and seemed enthusiastic about "Relative Truth." I'm hopeful that she will read the first three chapters, as she requested. She was truly lovely, and professional.  I am beginning to edit the book, and the tips that we learned yesterday are really helping with that process. Again, I am going into this with no expectations, and I'm just grateful to get my work in front of an agent.  I wasn't even expecting to get that far!

One of my favorite speakers was Jennifer Brown, the author of YA novels "Hate List" and "Bitter End." She is a flawless writer, represented by Ms. Deyoe, and I appreciated her subject matter on writing with emotion. Writing your characters' emotions can be a hazard, and it is easy to get caught up in adjectives and unrealistic descriptions. People do not "sigh" words!  I especially appreciated her advice on creating character profiles - much like an FBI agent profiles a criminal. She also asked us to consider physiology when writing passages containing lots of dramatic narrative. She told us to "experience what your character is feeling" by physically reacting in the same way as you are writing them. If your character takes three deep breaths, do that and see what happens! She got dizzy. So should your character.

Steven Law was very knowledgeable about publishing and publicity. I enjoyed his straightforward delivery, and his information on blogging and promoting online through social media. You must be your own cheerleader in the publishing industry. Marketing takes confidence and being able to step out of your comfort zone. He told us about his book tour for "Yuma Gold" and how he traveled across the Midwest to Hyvee stores doing book signings. He said it was exhausting, but the connections he made were so vital to author recognition. It can be difficult for writers, many of whom are natural introverts, to self-promote. Your agent and publisher do some of this, but they are busy people. You must advocate and brand yourself if you want to be truly successful. Writing a great novel is just a third of the equation!

We had so much fun talking about our projects, registering in contests, participating in fun exercises like "Plotting Without a Net," and just enjoying being in a roomful of word people. We writers can be a quirky and strange lot, and there is safety in numbers! I cannot wait until next year to see some of the writers I met again, and learn even more.  Thank you ORA for the opportunity.

Getting Serious About the Voices in my Head

This weekend, I will attend my first writers' conference. I am looking forward to learning more about the craft of writing, networking with other authors, and learning how to market my writing. The conference is the Ozarks Romance Authors' Conference, or ORA Con. The group meets on the first Saturday of each month at the Library Center.  The conference is in its 25th year, and at the encouragement of my friend Jill, I am attending. It is open to writers of all genres, and is a great way to meet and hobnob with both aspiring writers and industry professionals.

I am also very nervous.

For the first time, I will be pitching my work to a literary agent, in the flesh.  I have sent a few query letters and plenty of short-story and poetry submissions in the past. (I'm a terrible poet, by the way, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.) All of this motivation occurred during my youth, when my prose was horridly purple and self-important. I am hoping that I have lived enough, and learned enough that my voice has matured. At the very least, I hope that it won't shake.

I am looking at this as an opportunity to learn - nothing more. It may take me many, many years to get published, and I have no illusions. I appreciate the encouragement of my family and my friends, but I hope they also realize that this is a complicated process, and something which isn't as black and white as the letters on a page. It's a business, and I have a product to sell. There has to be a market for said product, and that is what it's all about, folks.

Writers can get very attached to their creations, just like any artist. It's your baby, and sometimes you've just gotta know when to let it go and look at it objectively. I love Elisabeth Turner, my protagonist in "Relative Truth." She has kept me up many nights, and she is pretty much writing herself at this point. Not everyone is going to love Elisabeth Turner. I have to be OK with that.

So, I bought myself a new green dress(my lucky color), and I'm talking to myself in the mirror to get the words right and not look like a dork.  If I'm going to do this writing thing, I might as well REALLY do it, right? At the very least, I'll meet some new friends, realize that agents and publishers aren't scary minotaurs in a maze, and have some fun with creative writing exercises. For a word nerd like me, this should feel like recess after a day of long division and multiplication tables - my personal purgatory.