Well. This writer’s life just got a whole lot more interesting.
It has been almost two weeks since the California Dreamin’ Writers Conference in Brea, CA. I have been trying to summarise the experience in more than generalized excitement and one word terms such as “amazing” or “exhilarating”. Yes it was that, but it was so much more!
Those of you who have been following my Sunday Snippets have heard (read) me talking about this conference for the past couple of months. And for good reason. I can’t begin to say enough good things about this conference. The committee did a wonderful job to make sure everything ran smoothly, and even the hotel took extra steps to ensure we were well taken care of, including handing out a long-stem red rose upon check-in.
Back in 2013, California Dreamin’ was the first writers conference I attended. At that time I hadn’t joined RWA, much less any of my local chapters. I didn’t even know there were local chapters. However, a non-writer friend who knew of my desire to write sent me the link to the conference and, on a whim, I registered (actually accomplishing this on the last day possible). I went not knowing a single person. I didn’t even have the barest inkling of a story idea.
This time around, I knew what to expect and was much more sure of myself. I worked hard over the past two years polishing my craft and actually had a manuscript that was ready to pitch. I volunteered with the Conference Committee, signed up for pitch appointments. Since I knew I would not be attending the RWA National Conference in New York this year, I decided to take advantage of every opportunity Cal Dreamin’ provided, so I splurged on the additional opportunities that were available.
The first opportunity was the Book In A Week (BIAW) Book Camp with April Kihlstrom. This four-hour workshop is all about finding motivation and applying the tips and tricks that work best for you in order to finish a manuscript in a week. So much good and useful information, but the most important lesson I took from it are how preparation, discipline and positive thinking can help you produce the results you want. This is one of the best workshops I’ve taken – and trust me, I’ve taken quite a few in the past couple of years. If you see this workshop offered anywhere near you, take it! It is well worth the money to attend.
-
- Long-stem red rose given to attendees upon check-in.
-
- My view of the courtyard from the hotel room.
-
- The Embassy Suites came up with a signature cocktail for us: the California Dreamin’. It’s like a tropical vacation in a glass.
-
- Crowds gathering to meet authors at Sunday’s book signing.
The other additional feature of the conference was the editor critique. This was a unique experience that I have not seen offered at any other conference. How often does the opportunity come around to have your manuscript read and critiqued by an industry professional? If nothing else, the feedback alone would prove to be invaluable.
I went into this meeting with an open mind, not expecting anything but feedback. Hey, I’m still a newbie. My manuscript is still in the revision stage. It hasn’t even been edited or beta read yet. While I was not expecting to be totally laughed out of there, I was expecting hear “it needs a lot of work” at the very least.
I was not, however, expecting to hear “I want it”.
Yes, there were some issues with my submission, but I already knew about them. As soon as I hit “send” on the submission email, I knew what needed to be changed, and to no surprise, those were the exact same areas that received the “needs work” comments. Yet, even with those areas, I was told to fix them, make them universal throughout the entire manuscript and send it in.
Yes, the entire manuscript.
I got a request for a full at a critique session!
I’m pretty sure I succeeded in maintaining a professional look on my face for the duration of the meeting, but let me tell you, in my mind I was jumping around doing the Happy Dance. I came out of that session and someone told me I was nearly buzzing with excitement.
Oh, who am I kidding, it’s nearly two weeks later and I’m still buzzing!
Overall this conference was an amazing an experience. The only problem I came across was that there were so many wonderful workshops, I wasn’t able to attend them all! However, the outcome of the critique far outweighs any missed workshops. If you ever get the chance to attend a conference, GO! Jump on the chance and opportunities that you may not get anywhere else. Who knows what may happen. :)
*Lets be honest here, I’m a writer, I know it will never be perfect to my mind’s eye. :)
One comment
Comments are closed.