Surrey International Writers' Conference

As of today, I have my hotel, flight and registration all paid for/lined up to attend the SIWC this October. I'm excited!! I went to Get Published's conference "the Edge" this spring and really enjoyed it. I made a couple of contacts, but not as many as I would have liked. As with everything in my writing career, I went in only half-prepared. I had a publisher for my first novel, and they had accepted my second, so I didn't sign up for any pitch sessions. Not bright. I still want an agent to help me with foreign rights and possibly break me into bigger circles.

I'm not making the same mistake this time. I have booked a pitch session with Kaylan Adair. I'm hoping she can point me in the right direction with The Girl Who Haunts Me. I'm also taking ten pages of that same manuscript to the blue pencil session with Robert Dugoni. Which ten pages will be determined after my first workshop session with Fictionista Workshop. Probably the first ten, but we'll see.

Finally, on Thursday they have the Master Classes. I'll get to meet Kathleen Oritz and Donald Maass! (not one-on-one, obviously, but I'm still excited!) I'm also taking the Beginners Intensive with KC Dyer, which I hope will leave me less confused and better armed going forward.

And that's just the beginning! The schedule looks amazing. I know I should leave some time for schmoozing, but I don't know how/where I'll manage that. I'm going to be the wallflower/wallpaper I'm sure. However, I'm usually pretty good at spotting other quiet folks like myself. At the last con, I found a couple and we tended to go together to things. That's where I got the few contacts I did. I might not meet an agent or editor that way, but I can find another critique partner or another person who can point me when I get lost (and vice versa). As Kristen Lamb reminds us, We Are Not Alone!

So, if you're going to Surrey, leave me a comment. Let's see if we're planning on hitting any of the same sessions. If you aren't, tell me about a con you went to and experiences good or bad. Help me get ready for this so I don't completely fall on face, okay? Thanks!