I’m going to Dallas this weekend.
No, there will not be any oil men, horses or cattle involved. Not even longhorns.
But there will be writers. Authors, editors, agents, even a cover model or two.
I’m going to Dreaming in Dallas, the annual conference put on by DARA, the Dallas Area Romance Authors. And from what I hear, it’s going to be a great time!
So here are my Thursday Thirteen reasons every writer should attend at least one writers’ conference every year.
1. Meeting and making friends with people you only know on Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Goodreads. Or…you name it.
2. Face time with agents and editors. They’re real people, too!
3. Workshops, workshops and more workshops. Where else can you learn so much in such a short time?
4. A new location. There are conferences all over the country. Take your pick.
5. An exotic location. Some are held overseas, and I don’t just mean Hawaii.
6. Covermodels. Jimmy Thomas will be at Dreaming in Dallas. He’s on the cover of my debut book. Can you guess how much I’m looking forward to meeting him?
7. More covermodels. Some conferences have several. Even many. No, there can never be too many.
8. Raffle prizes. Need a giant basket full of your favorite author’s books? How about a three-chapter-and-synopsis critique by a published author, agent or editor? You can win them.
9. Pitch sessions. A few minutes sitting across a table from a real, live agent or editor. It’s good to spend a minute or two on small talk, then you can tell them about your latest project and answer their questions. They may even ask for a partial or a full!
10. Conference food. Okay, this may be the least exciting part of the weekend, but it’s usually plentiful and between meals and snacks, more than you need, especially since you’re spending most of your time sitting on your a..ah, posterior…in those fantastic workshops.
11. Swag bags. Books, bookmarks, trading cards, pens, keychains, postcards, enough to take your suitcase over the airline’s weight limit. There’s always UPS or Fedex or good old USPS. Good thing I’m driving to Dallas.
12. Trading tables. Bring books that didn’t quite make it onto your keeper shelf and pick up a few more that might.
13. Booksignings. Meet your readers, sign books and have a great time. Part of the proceeds at Dreaming in Dallas go to charity. What could be better?
What conference are you going to next? I’d love to hear all about it. You might convince me to go!
And now for a bit of shameless self-promotion:
Highland Healer is now available in both print and ebook formats from Amazon, The Wild Rose Press, Barnes and Noble and other retailers.
Highland Seer will be out later this year from The Wild Rose Press, Amazon and others.
Leave a Reply