This coming week the Romance Writers of America organization is hosting their annual national conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Better known as the Walt Disney World Resort. To me there is no greater mix than the positive energy of Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, and the power of love and romance.
One of the reasons I love to read and write stories with a romantic theme is the offer of hope they provide. Hope is what truly keeps us going as we navigate the bumpy, turbulent world of real life. All fiction offers us an escape into a different world from our own, and I love to read a variety of books, but nothing can compare to the emotionally satisfying prose of romance.
The theme may be romance but there are so many genres -- and sub-genres -- of romance it can be exhausting trying to understand them all. Historical, Suspense, Thriller, Paranormal, Inspirational, Contemporary, Young Adult, Erotica, to name a few. It's even tricky to sub-categorize my own stories and I write contemporary. But to be competitive while working to find an agent and editor interested in taking a chance on my manuscripts, I need to comprehend what market to pursue for my books. :)
With dozens of workshops offered in publishing, marketing and craft, and numerous publisher spotlights, as well as four fabulous keynote speakers -- Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Sabrina Jeffries -- the opportunities will be endless.
Also offered at the conference is the chance for writers to pitch their stories to agents and editors. This is a tremendous occasion for editors from nearly all the publishing houses, big and small, to discover new authors; as well as dozens of literary agents seeking new clients to possibly represent.
As an unpublished novelist working toward becoming a better writer, with the hopes of finding an agent and a publisher, this is a priceless opportunity.
The one event offered at the conference open to the general public is the "Readers For Life" Literacy Autographing session. It will be held at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort on Wednesday July 28th from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM. If you're in the Orlando area this coming week this is a wonderful time to meet your favorite authors and buy their books for them to sign.
Remember it's for a very important cause.
Along with the four authors already mentioned, also signing: Linda Howard, Suzanne Brockmann, Kresley Cole, Meg Cabot, Julia Quinn, Robyn Carr, Karen Rose, Ally Carter, Stephanie Laurens, and....over 300 other published authors as well! Wow.
And many of the amazing authors mentioned, and countless others, will be presenting workshops during the three day conference.
I became a member of RWA six years ago and this will be my first national conference. I look forward to seeing many of my fellow writer friends, making new friends, and learning as much as possible about the world of romance writing and publishing.
I hope to have lots of fun adventures to report and pictures to post when I return home.
Hope to see you at the conference!
FYI: Nora Roberts is aka J.D. Robb.
Jayne Ann Krentz is aka Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle.
They will be at the conference too. ;)
