RWA Conference Day 2

Oh my, what a day...

First off, I promised to show you all my 'swag' so here it is...

What we have here is :

Conference Tote Bag

Badge an Badge holder

Conference Planner

Themed Mint Tin

Collapsible Water Bottle

City Map

Flash Drive

Fan

Pen

and eight (yes eight) Books

These books I got today and one of the book signings. There are to book signings a day, and each signing showcases two publishers. This particular signing was Sorcebooks and St. Martin's Griffin. I didn't go to yesterdays signings because I didn't realize what they were. Basically, you line up, go into the big room where there are dozens of authors from the designated publishers, choose which books you want to read, and get a signed copy--for free. Yes folks, all those books were free, and they don't even represent half of what I could have gotten! The rest however were things that didn't so much interest me so I passed. (Plus, I have to be able to get all these home...) There are two more signings tomorrow and I will be going so my book tally will most likely double.

This is the wall in my hotel room right now. Crazy, right!?

So, as far as what I learned today, I realized it is going to be easier to wait until the end of the conference to talk about that, as there is so much that overlaps, I don't want to be redundant. However, I did get one little piece of info that is a little disheartening--especially if you write YA.

Ever wonder, "Hey, I wonder, if I got a book deal when my book would actually come out."? Well, as of today, I can give you an idea. During the conference, one of the biggest things going on is the pitches, as in you can pitch your book to a pannel of editors and agents with the hopes of being signed. Three of the editors from the panel--one from Sorcebooks, one from Dell, and one from Harliquin--gave us this info: If you write traditional romance, women's fiction, or any other mainstream genre, and you get a publishing contract in the next month or so, you could still possibly land a spot on the 2012 publishing card with a release date in the fall or winter of that year, however, most will see pub. dates of spring/summer 2013, or even into that fall. The ones pitching YA(by 'the ones' she meant the writers who pitched yesterday and today at the conference) unfortunately, are vying for spots on the 2014 and 2015 publishing card. YA is just that full, making it a hard sell.

That's right YA writers, if you were to get a book deal this month, the earliest you book would be on shelves is summer/fall 2014. Now they did say that there are always exceptions to those numbers, but not many. They also said that while they could only technically speak for their own houses, they did say that this scenario is cross the board in the industry.

Yeah, kinda sucks...

Anyway, that's all for today. I go into more detail tomorrow, but for now, going to go eat my dessert from Junior's! Yay!

Oh, and highlight of the day... I actually met Nora Roberts! Like shook her hand and everything! I'm not really what you would call a 'fan' of her's, as I kind of think all her books are the same, but come on, it's Nora freaking Roberts! Fan or no, that was cool! :)

RWA Conference Day 1

Well I'm here in the Big Apple, and trust me, that was no easy feat...

I missed the only seminar that I wanted to go to today due to an extremely delayed flight, a 2 hour shuttle ride from the airport to the hotel, and the hotel's strict no-check-in-before-3:00 policy. That, plus too much walking in bad shoes, dehydration, and motion sickness all made for a pretty horrible day. The only conference thing I was able to do was register, get my 'swag bag' and check out the 'goodie room' which was basically a long room FILLED with business cards and bookmarks advertising for upcoming books by conference attending authors.

The awesome news is that my conference bag had TONS of free books in it, and a lot of them were things I had actually wanted to read! I post a picture of everything I got tomorrow. I will also post anything I learn at my numerous seminars tomorrow that is of general interest to writers so that all my blogging buddies can get something out of this experience too! Just so you know, I will only post things I hear actually come out of the mouths of editors and agents--not the plethora of rumors and speculation that circulate like crazy at things like this. So anything I tell you, you can take to the bank. :)

As for now however, I am exhausted and going to hit the sack!

Good night all, and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Publishing Glossary

o
Two days ago we finally found renters for our townhouse, so we are moving! Yay! However, the bad news is, with the RWA Conference next week, I basically have the rest of this week to pack our entire place. Beh.
Thus, I will not have time for much in the way of blogging this week, but when I read this I had to share...

My agent tweeted a link to this blog post today, http://johnmcusick.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/a-publishing-industry-glossary/ , and if you have a free minute and need a laugh, you have to check it out.

Talk to you soon!

Be a Quitter

-
A few days ago, I wrote a post about giving up on books you don't like, and something about that post has been humming in the back of my mind ever since. I don't usually mull over my own rambling, but this time I might have hit on a deeper subject without realizing it. The subject being: quitting.

Now, before it get into anything here, let me preface by saying that you should always give everything you try a chance. You should not give up right away because it isn't fun, or is too hard, etc. If you don't give things a chance, you will miss out on a lot of great opportunities to expand as a person and enjoy life.

However, that being said, sometimes quitting can be good. This country has an obsession with never quitting anything, and I don't believe it's healthy. And I'm not just talking about the things you hate, I'm also talking about the things you love, but may never be successful at. For me, it was music.

Now, don't get me wrong, I haven't lost music from my life entirely, but I no-longer consider myself a musician. I had a very short lived attempt at a life as a singer, and it just didn't pan out. I was talented, but just not talented enough. I was trained too, so don't think I was one of those American Idol wannabes, I actually have a music degree in vocal performance. I did--and do--know what I am doing, but sadly, singing is just like writing; of the thousands out there trying to 'make it', only a teeny tiny percentage actually will. Sure, when you come out of a failed audition all you fellows say things like, "Don't worry, this just wasn't the job for you!" and "You'll get'um next time!" and "Someone will just love your voice!", the same way that writers say that sort of thing to each other when queries and submissions get rejected. It's she same for actors, dancers, musicians; all of us. We all have more rejection than acceptance, and we all have cheer leaders in each other. Are the cheerleaders right? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But in the end they don't really matter--what matters is you. Do you see yourself making it? Honestly now, don't give yourself any of that, "Rah! Rah! Never say die" crap and soul search for a minute. Is this what you were really meant to do? That's what I did with regards to my music career... and the answer was no. I realized that if I was going to 'make it' that I would have. I will always sing and play my instruments, and I will die if at least one of my kids doesn't want to join the band in school, but as far as who I truly am, the answer isn't meant to be 'singer'.

But this is all fine, because if I hadn't quit the music industry, I may never have found the calling to write, and I can truly tell you that I am a writer. I see myself writing for the rest of my life. I loved--and still love-- music, but the way I feel about my writing is just... well, different. I can't describe it, but I know that it's right. That is what I believe happens when you find what you are meant for. But I never would have gotten here without quitting first.

Please don't take this all the wrong way. I am not telling you to quit writing if you haven't yet succeeded, or to quit the job you hate (unless you can afford to do so, in which case more power to you), nor am I saying 'it will never happen for you, so just give up'--not at all. What I am saying, is don't get so stuck on one thing, that you miss out on all the other things that may be better suited for you. Being focused and driven is great, as long as you don't have blinders on. This idea of learning to quit can encompass anything, from (just an example here) quitting writing all together, to simply quitting on a book, only to move on to your next one. Quitting something that you have tried your best at is not failure; it's growth. A person who has failed more than you is a person who has tried more things than you. Don't be the person who misses out on hundreds of wonderful experiences in pursuit of one. When I was researching this idea I came across a quote from author Julianna Baggott who words it perfectly:

"Sometimes you shouldn’t stick it out. You should give up. You should say die – so some other part of you can come alive."

Things writers say that I just don't understand...

I'll be back later with a normal, less-ranty post, but I had to get this one off my chest...

I am getting so tired of the over-dramatic, hyper-romanticized 'If I couldn't write I would die', 'Writing is like breathing for me', 'I don't write because I want to, I write because I have to', and the like. They are all over the online writing community, and I mean, come on... melodramatic much?

Don't get me wrong, I am very passionate about my writing. You have to be, or odds are, what you write won't be any good. I love what I do, and am truly blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love.

But come on... you'd die? 

...really?