Happy Friday! July was an exciting month for me with my daughter’s first birthday and attending my third RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference in Atlanta. What an amazing conference!

Several things made the event special

CONNECTED WITH CRIMSON ROMANCE AUTHORS

These were ladies that I’d chatted with online and was honored to finally meet them in person. They were all as wonderful in person. What a great time!

 

FIRST BOOK SIGNING IN THE US

When I attended my first RWA conference back in 2010, I was in awe at all the authors, famous and new all in one place. It helped me to see that becoming a published author was possible and that I could be them, signing my books. What a thrill to do it for the first time with so many wonderful authors.

I had the honor of sitting next to two wonderful ladies. Suzanne Ferrell who writes romantic suspense and Huntley Fitzpatrick whose debut YA book was a Rita Finalist.

MADE NEW FRIENDS

Along with Crimson authors, I was fortunate enough to meet other fabulous people including a famous author or two. 🙂

Now some of you may be thinking you can’t afford a conference or wonder if it’s worth it. IT IS! If you want to be a published author and make a career of it, make the investment in you. You’re worth it! If you were pursuing an accounting degree wouldn’t you invest in your education and learning? Being a writer is no different.

There are a lot of great conferences out there waiting for you to find them. Conferences tend to plan their locations years in advance, so keep an eye out for those near you, start saving now, or combine it with a vacation. Good luck!

RWA is a great conference for connecting with other authors, attending workshops to improve your craft, learn about the publishing industry, pitch to an editor or agent, and a slew of other fabulous things!

However, with all the great information gained at conferences comes great responsibility (yes, I’m a movie buff), so here are two must do things I recommend doing within a week of returning from a conference.

1. CONNECT WITH THE PEOPLE YOU MET

This is vital not only on keeping those great relationships you made active, but remember all that great advice you got at the conference, the camaraderie, and jokes? Make sure to connect with them on their:

Website – Follow their blog to see what they’re up to, to keep in touch, and gain useful information. If you really hit it off at the conference invite them to guest blog or ask if you could be a guest, especially if you’re promoting your book.

Twitter Page – Be nice and send a personal message to remind them who you are.

Facebook Page – Like and/or friend them. Again send a message to remind them who you are. Took pictures? Show them some love by tagging them and posting something like. “I met _____ at RWA13, they write historical romance, etc.”

Add their email address to your contacts and don’t forget about using those lists so you can find them again. Click here for list tips.

Follow them on all other social medias you both use. You won’t regret it!

2. CONFERENCE CONTENT

Don’t let those notes go to waste or let that zip drive collect dust in a drawer somewhere! Go through both and:

Identify the things you want to implement and add them to your to-do list.

Carefully file away your notes so you can find them later

Combine the information from the zip drive with prior conferences information (if relevant). Make sure to use the same file names as your physical files. Sound a little anal? Maybe, but won’t it be nice to find that information on self-publishing when you need it. 🙂

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES Which writing conferences do you attend? What’s on your must do list when you return?