I’m at American Christian Fictions Writers Conference in St. Louis, Missouri this week. The place where writers and authors are gathering to learn craft and pitch their stories. For those that are yet unpublished, the anxiety before pitching can be crushing and the stress intense.
I remember my first time walking into a room of writers waiting to pitch. While most were friendly I couldn’t escape just how anxious many of them were. But then again, that year I didn’t pitch a story.
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by Edie Melson Many of us are heading to Indianapolis this week for the ACFW Annual Conference. No matter whether you’re just going to learn or have projects to pitch, you’ll want to brush up on your social media skills to help you plug in through social networking during and after the conference. During the Conference Even those who’ve taken the time to connect before a conference, sometimes forget the benefit of staying plugged in while you’re there. Plug into social media during the conference can help concrete some of the relationships you began before you arrived, including: The ability to connect with others who are attending the conference. One good way to help others recognize you from online interactions is to add your Twitter Handle to your nametag. For […]
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Are you home from the ACFW conference? Finally unpacked? I hope you came home filled with encouragement and new ideas on how to make your writing breathtaking. I came home to a clean house and smiling sons. Nice! Conferences can be overwhelming, between the requests for proposals or full manuscripts, new story ideas, craft lessons, marketing epiphanies and loads of new friends. Don’t be overwhelmed. Here’s a game plan of what to do after a writers’ conference: Organize your contacts: Sit down a make a list of everyone you met, from editors to fellow authors, to newbies. Reach out: If they are editors or agents who gave you their time, even in an elevator to listen to your proposal, thank them. If they asked you for a submission, thank them and tell them that you’ll be […]
Read the RestSusie’s son Pete had his first football practice yesterday. He’s only been waiting 7 months, working out nearly every day, lifting weights, running, watching football, analyzing plays. If there was ever a kid who had football in his blood, it’s her 13 year old. Next year he’ll be eligible for the High School team and then the fun really begins. Until then, he has big dreams of impressing his coach. “I did well today,” he said when Suz picked him up from school. “I’m not as fast out of the snap as I want to be, but I make up for it with speed.” She could see his wheels turning, trying to figure this out in his mind. “Except, if I go too fast, the coach will put me in […]
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