Conference Countdown: Monday

Progress Report:

The main thing is I’m not insane yet.

Yet.

Sunday I managed to calm down. It helped that a couple of my friends have offered excellent suggestions for my query letter. It takes a village.

It also helped that I managed to find some quiet time and hammered out a pitch that I think will work for me. In other words: it’s simple enough, even I can remember it.

Today I presented my final two chapters to my face-to-face critique group. I have a couple of minor things to fix, but overall, they liked how I wrapped it all up.

I have my materials packed for the Thursday Intensive.

Still to do: Figure out what I will wear. Pack the selected outfits. Revise the manuscript. (Aw, who am I kidding? I’ll be working on revisions in my hotel room at the conference. Revisions are NEVER done.) Practice the pitch. (Yeah, I’ll be doing that in my hotel room, too.) Load the car.

You know, I might just make it.

Comments

Jemi Fraser said…
The countdown really begins now - you must be so excited! I'm glad you're happy with the query. And revisions are never truly done, so don't get stressed about that! :)
5/10/10, 8:59 PM
Mason Canyon said…
You will make it. Your plan is working and you will nail the revisions (even if it is in the hotel room). Best of luck.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
5/10/10, 9:21 PM
Elizabeth Spann Craig said…
I felt the same kind of crazy right before Malice Domestic. I ended up just making a list of all the little odds and ends I needed to do then knocking them out the first thing one day...made me feel I'd accomplished something really early in the day. :)
5/11/10, 7:43 AM
Joyce Tremel said…
Am I the only one who's calm going into this conference?
5/11/10, 9:11 AM
Annette said…
Joyce, YES.

I just had a 3-hour block of time open up today, though, so the stress level has plummeted.

Elizabeth, I have two lists because I ran out of room on the sheet of paper for the first one.
5/11/10, 9:25 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mom Update

Image
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about my mom. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed a number of posts recently about long nights in the ER with her. I appreciate the kind concerns and prayers from friends and family. But while I know they’re well intended, the “hope she gets well soon” sentiments cut like a finely honed blade. Mom isn’t going to get well. She has good days and bad. More and more of the latter. Today’s “good days” are about the same as the bad ones a couple months ago. She has vascular dementia. In addition to her mental slippage, her legs have grown weak and uncooperative, adding to her pre-existing balance issues. We plead with her to call for assistance to get out of bed. Unfortunately, she can’t remember that she’s had numerable falls lately, so she continues to try to get up and around on her own, resulting in more falls. And in more trips to the ER. She has dislocated her right hip twice now. She’s hit her head more times
Read more

The 2010 Confluence Writers' Retreat and Flood

Image
For days, the weathermen had been forecasting “THE FLOOD.” With melting snow pack combined with heavy rains, they were suggesting everyone pack up the women and children and move to high ground. Of course, our writers’ retreat was scheduled to be held at Paddler’s Lane , on the scenic banks of the Youghiogheny River in Confluence. “Confluence.” As in the point where the Yough (pronounced “Yawk”) is joined by the Casselman River and the Laurel Hills Creek. As in the place I spend a large portion of my summer at our camp. I scoffed at the panic mongers. Flood? Heck, it floods every spring. I ain’t afraid of no stinking flood. So off I went. Loaded up the car Friday morning under sunny skies and headed east, with joy in my heart. A whole weekend with my Sisters in Crime in a gorgeous house with lots of food. And writing. Oh, yeah. Lots of writing and—better yet—workshops with Ramona Long . First stop: Panera Bread in Uniontown where I met Sandy Stephen, Susan “ West of Mars ” Gottfried, a
Read more

A New Face

Image
I've been hearing over and over lately that I need to get new headshots done. People who only know me from my online presence complain when they meet me that I don't look anything like my picture. Hmmm. Is that good or bad? I'm still not sure. However, the fact that I now wear my hair a lot longer than I used to is a fact I can't deny. The problem with new photos is...well, I'm older than I was when I had those last ones done. If I could get away with posting a picture of me when I was 25, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Seriously, inside my head, that's still what I look like. Outside? Not so much. But I caved in this weekend. After shooting over 60 frames, I came up with four that I like. So I'm posting them here and asking for a vote. Which ONE photo should be my new "face" for my online persona? Choice #1 Choice #2 Choice #3 Choice #4 Leave a comment with your favorite. Okay, I get to make the final decision, so this
Read more