Wednesday, August 8, 2018

I'm Going on a Cruise...

Last month I was lamenting to my husband that we always get depressed in the winter. I live in Idaho, so winters seem to last forever. You just get tired of the cold and snow. So, I suggested that we should try to take a trip in January or February every year to somewhere warm to beat the winter blues.

I remembered there was a writers' conference I'd considered attending in Las Vegas, but couldn't remember the dates. After some research, I, instead, stumbled across a website that tracked all different writers' conference by month. I scrolled to January and February of 2019 and found my event!

The Seymour Agency Writers' Winter Escape Cruise 2019!



Why did this catch my eye?

1) The timeframe - mid-February

2) The location - the caribbean

3) The event - this conference is specifically geared toward romance authors

And then the cost was just unbeatable. I somehow happened to find this cruise ONE day before the early booking rate was going to end. I got a steal for a 4-night, 5-day cruise. Plus, this would be a business trip, so it would be something out of my business account, rather than my personal account. NICE!

Also, the list of attendees is impressive:

Stacey Donovan with Hallmark Publishing and Movies as the Keynote Speaker! 

Deb Werksman, Editorial Director for Sourcebooks

Liz Pelletier, Publisher with Entangled Publishing. 

Rick Bleiweiss, Head of Business Development with Blackstone Publishing

Stacy Boyd, Harlequin

I've never been to any writers' conference before, but had considered going for years. I'm so glad that I took a risk and signed up. There's still space if you're interested, so click on the link to find out more.

My goal is to finish my Alaska romance that I started last summer and have that as my 'pitch' item. I've never done an in-person book pitch before, so that will be new as well. But what the heck!? I am not really believing I will get any deal out of this conference at all. I really just wanted to be with my own 'people' (as we writers are weirdoes) and learn some more about how to improve my writing and make a big sale someday.

Six months to go before the big event. My book should be done in October with plenty of time for editing and perfecting before I pitch.