A new month, nearly a new season, and a moment to reflect on the RWA Conference I attended in July. Despite being a Warp 7 introvert, I generally enjoy going to these, and each of the four conferences I’ve attended has yielded a different experience.

2012: Anaheim–so close it was practically in my back yard, so there was no way I wasn’t going! And that was the start of it all: my first book, Waltz with a Stranger, had been accepted for publication and would be making its debut in December of that year. Going to sessions, getting to meet other writers and the people I would be working with. My sister and occasional collaborator came to the conference as well, so I had someone to talk to and de-stress with–always more fun than being on your own!

2013: Atlanta–the first time in years I’d flown coast-to-coast on business. This time, I was on my own, so I made a point of talking to other attendees and getting to know them. I also had a chance to meet and talk to several authors whose work I admired, including Mary Jo Putney. (And to experience the phenomenon of sideways rain that had me epically drenched after five minutes, en route to the Literacy Autographing!)

2014: San Antonio. The one I almost didn’t go to, thanks to a car accident about two weeks before. Though no lasting injuries were sustained, I arrived in a somewhat unfocused mental state, so it may have been just as well that this conference ended up being almost more social than business-oriented. While I attended some great sessions, I also spent more time than usual just hanging out with people and talking about this and that, which can be every bit as worthwhile.

 

2016: San Diego–By contrast, this summer’s conference was my most business-oriented, as I had two series to promote: the one I was about to wrap up and the one I’d just launched. I went to mostly career-oriented sessions, participated in three signings…and fielded a couple of unexpected curves!

I was never a Girl Scout, but I came to have a deeper appreciation of the motto, “Be Prepared!” during this conference.

As in: Be prepared with extra ibuprofen when your lower back goes into spasms halfway through a two-hour session! That happened on Day One, and I used all the resources I had–including my sister, who attended again this year–to keep the issue from becoming full-blown and turning me into a human pretzel for the rest of the conference. (I was moving fairly normally the next day, though my back would still twinge occasionally to remind me how much trouble it could be, if it chose to be!)

As in: Be prepared with promotional postcards, additional swag, and a smile when your books fail to turn up at a signing! I was relieved by how gracious most of the readers were when I explained the situation, and I collected names and emails so they could receive a free download of one of my titles afterwards!

Despite being pre-scheduled for so many events, I managed to make it to some good sessions. The aforementioned two-hour one presented a helpful overview of current trends in the romance genre. Another suggested ways to increase productivity and write faster without completely burning yourself out. And the speakers–including Beverly Jenkins, Sherry Thomas, and Robyn Carr–were memorable. Carr’s story is particularly inspirational, covering her career trajectory from newbie to mid-list author to unwanted commodity to best-seller. It’s encouraging to be reminded that success does not always happen overnight and that it takes time, hard work, patience, and perseverance to get there. But in the end, the only one who can stop you from writing, dreaming, and doing…is you. I think that’s especially true now, when there are so many options available to a writer.

And let’s not forget the Hamilton sing-along held on the very last afternoon! I wasn’t that familiar with the score then, but I found something infinitely cheering about hanging out with a roomful of people enthusiastically chanting, “I am not throwing away my shot!”

–San Diego Marina

Besides the conference, my sister and I fit in some sight-seeing stuff. Like exploring Seaport Village–right next door to the hotel–and riding their 120-year-old Looff carousel.

And dining in Gastown at The Old Spaghetti Factory, a restaurant that’s a bit of a sentimental favorite. And then there was breakfast at a local pancake restaurant, famous for a towering baked apple pancake that was both impressive and alarming to behold!

All in all, San Diego is a beautiful city that holds some great memories for me, and I was happy to visit it again. We traveled by train, and the journey went smoothly in both directions. And the sea views out the window were often breathtaking. I’m already contemplating the possibility of another trip in the not too distant future…