A couple of days ago my daughter and I attended an amazing writer’s conference!
Books…
Authors…
Editors…
Discussions about writing…
Books signings…
And a Silent Auction!!!
(all precedes to buy books for children who have none)
I love silent auctions. I go into hunting mode. Discover and research all my options. Identify the prey goal. Wait till just the right moment. And move in for the kill win. =)
A few months back one of my great writer friends, Olivia, won an auction to have her manuscript critiqued by an agent. She let me in on the critique she got back and I decided this was about the most useful thing ever. (and can I just say– Olivia’s book is amazing and when it comes out you should all read it.) I vowed that, if given the chance, I would bid in such an auction myself. And voila! The chance was presented! Oh happy day!
My plan was to wait until 4:25- five minutes before the auction closed- and outbid everyone else. I think I drove my daughter nuts asking what time it was. (My phone was turned off.) My palms were sweating and my heart was about to bang out of my chest. I won’t go into nitty gritty details, but I will say, I managed to single handedly make the largest donation to charity of the day. And win the critique!!!
Because really, who needs to buy groceries when their future career could be on the line? (Not really. Please don’t panic. I didn’t really spend the family grocery money. Authors are not a wealthy lot, so we are conservative bidders.)
Besides a full manuscript critique from an editor, we got to attend many wonderful classes! Famous authors sharing their tricks of the trade, with a yummy berry salad for lunch thrown in– what could be better?
At the end of the day, Brodi Ashton, the author who critiqued part of my YA novel at the conference, asked me to let her know when the book comes out because she wants to read it! My response? I cried. Very dignified, I know. But could anything have made me happier?
Well… a publishing contract, of course. But hopefully that will come along in good time.
Yes. Yes. Life is good.
What are you happy about today?
How fun! And exciting :-)What was the gist of her critique? Did she give you pointers on how to improve it?
She had very few things to change. In fact- none at first. We discussed the plot and she suggested I drop a hint in the first couple of pages about something coming later. I've added a hint or two, and she was right. It's an improvement. The editor who will be doing a full critique asked me not to tell her anything about it so she can go in cold. =)
Am I excited? Yes! =D
Fun! I'd like to read it to!
Valerie- It is my sincere hope that you will find it in your local bookstore someday in the not-to-distant future! =D