A few weeks ago some friends (and writing colleagues) and I presented a panel discussion at the writing conference “Conversations and Connections.” Rather than focusing exclusively on how amazingly fantastic our panel presentation was, I’d like to say a few words about the writing conference in total. It was a fantastic day and a great conference. They hold the conference twice a year – once in Pennsylvania and once in the DC Metro area, in this case, in Arlington, VA. This was my first time attending but I plan to go back. Here’s a little recap of my day at the writing conference.

After check-in, where I received a very fancy folder containing a blank name tag label and a schedule, there was an open session. This was basically to welcome everyone and explain how the day was going to work. My favorite moment was when Dave Hously stepped up to the podium and it started rolling and he went with it and started pretending to be Sean Spicer. Yeah, so, not so much about writing, but it was funny.

The first time slot offered five different sessions. I stayed in the main room to watch a panel discussion about shaking up your writing routine. The panel offered advice on finding a different perspective, changing up writing habits, and using a new approach to writing. I don’t want to give away specifics of what everyone said, because I’m sure, like the rest of us, they can make millions off their ideas, but the take away for me was that if you feel like your writing is stuck in a rut, try doing things you don’t normally do – change your typical sentence structure, take a paragraph and remove words, try writing the prose piece as poetry, change to a different character’s POV. Write differently.

For the next time slot, I don’t know what everyone else was doing because I was sitting on a panel. Our discussion was called “From Writer to Author” and we focused on what you need to do to transition from that very lonely, introspective situation of writing your book to that very public position of being a published author and needing to market yourself and your book. The concept for the panel discussion was the brain child of Meredith Maslich, of Possibilities Publishing, who joined me on the panel. The moderator was writing teacher and published author Joanne Lozar Glenn and my other fellow panelist was Jennifer Crawford of Social Media Rescue. (Bios follow.) The audience was really engaged and we got a ton of questions and basically ran out of time all too soon. The good news is, we’ll be presenting the panel again at George Mason University’s Fall for the Book Festival 2017. So there’s more opportunity to continue the conversation.

After our panel, I went speed dating – don’t tell my husband. Haha. That one killed in Vegas. Yeah, so I took my stories on two different speed dates with two different editors. It was a great experience to have complete strangers, who also happen to be professional editors, read my work and give instant, critical feedback. Much better than the kind of speed dating I did when I was single!

At 2PM, we all reconvened for the featured author’s sessions where we got to hear readings from these fantastic authors: Tara Campbell, Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib, Gheeta Khothari, and Sarah Sweeney.

For the final session, I attended a panel called “From the Slush Pile to the TOC.”

It was basically a group of editors from some great literary magazines giving tips about what not to do if you would like your story or submission to get published. Most confusing takeaway: DO write a cover letter, but DON”T expect them to read it.

And then they served wine. Out of a box. And, as iof that wasn’t enough, it was in a room where they were selling my book!  Look at it there, on a table with all those other great books! Pretty cool, right?

And just a little note about “connections,” in addition to sitting in the audience, sitting on a panel and sitting across from editors, I also did a lot of standing around. Standing in line to get food, standing in line to meet with editors and standing around drinking wine out of a box.  And I got to talk to – connect with, if you will – a lot of really cool people. Well, cool to me, anyway, but I’m a writer, so don’t take my word for it.

I’ll definitely go back next year and, if I am speaking or on a panel, they can sell two of my books now. (Hopefully 3 by then. Fingers crossed) And maybe, by then, I’ll know even more about the world of publishing and writing to bring to the conversation.

Here are the bios of my fellow panelists.
Joanne Lozar Glenn is a freelance writer and editor, teaches writing in adult education programs, and leads destination writing retreats (www.wtwpwn.com). Her books include Memoir Your Way: Tell Your Story Through Writing, Recipes, Quilts, Graphic Novels, and More (co-author, Skyhorse Publishing, 2016); No One Path: Perspectives on Leadership from a Decade of Women in Technology Award Winners(editor-in-chief, Women in Technology, 2009); Applying Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine: A Step-by-Step Guide (coauthor, AACC Press, 2009); 25 + 1: Communication Strategies for Business Education(co-author, National Business Education Association, 2003); and Mentor Me: A Guide to Being Your Own Best Advocate in the Workplace (National Business Education Association, 2003). Her poems and memoir essays have been published in print and online literary journals.

Jennifer Crawford is the owner of Social Media Rescue. Social Media Rescue is a boutique marketing agency that works with small businesses, creatives, and organizations on unique approaches to social media marketing, branding, new media, and business strategy. She specializes in using creativity, humor, and fun to inject unforgettable qualities into your online and offline marketing. In addition to running a business, she is the co-host of The JellyVision Show Podcast, Founder of DC PodFest, and an improviser with The Improv Imps. She lives with her husband and three-legged rescue Pug in Fairfax, Virginia.

Social Media Rescue on Facebook, on Twitter

Meredith Maslich is a book nerd and CEO of the indie publishing house, Possibilities Publishing Company, based in Northern Virginia. Since opening its doors in 2012, the Possibilities Publishing family has grown to include three unique imprints, Eaton Press, Thumbkin Prints, and Sparkle&Snark, while representing more than a dozen authors.

Possibilities on Facebook, on Twitter