You Are Not Insignificant!

It happens every ACFW conference. The excitement and utter terror of stepping into the hotel,  perusing the lobby while people huddle in groups exchanging hugs and greetings, and trying to figure out where they fit in. Others like me, feeling out of place. Thankfully, this year when I arrived at ACFW I had a scheduled [...]

ACFW: My Conferene Journey in a Word or Two

I don’t know when I began the tradition of summing up my ACFW conference experience in a word, but looking back over the years God seemed to be speaking one or two words specifically for me concerning each conference. Maybe with all the excitement and conference overload one or two simple words was all I [...]

Conference Debriefing: Easing Back into the Real World

Conference is over. You met with like-minded people, heard amazing speakers, and spoke with an editor or to, but you’re back home and easing into the real world. Normal life must continue despite all the emotions and excitement you’ve just experience, so how do you handle it all? Rest You’re body and mind has just [...]

Taking Care of Family While You’re at Conference

So you have your One Sheets, perfected your pitch, you know who you’re pitching to, and you even splurged for a mani/pedi, but what about those you will be leaving behind? As I get ready to drive to the ACFW conference tomorrow, I’m trying to make sure my family is taken care of. Here’s a [...]

Conference Prep: Final Touches on You!

Okay ladies. If you haven’t already scheduled your mani/pedis, haircuts/color and facial waxing, it’s time!! Yes, it’s important to look your best at these writer conferences. A well groomed author says you’re a serious author and for all the money you’re dropping at the conference, you better be serious! And while you’re beautifying yourself, don’t [...]

Making a Conference Notebook

There’s nothing worse than waiting in line for your editor or agent appoint wondering about the unknown…nothing worse EXCEPT walking into that meeting unprepared when the editor or agent asks to see your One Sheet OR your first chapter, and you fumble through your papers to find it OR don’t have anything to offer. That’s [...]

Know Your Editors

Nothing shouts “NEWBIE…UNPROFESSIONAL” like pitching an editor or agent a suspense story when in their bio it says they don’t represent suspense. So before you pull out your romance one sheet make sure the editor is looking for romance. The more you know about your editor or agent, the more prepared you’ll be for your [...]

What Goes on a One Sheet?

One of the big facets of preparation for a writing conference is the One-Sheet/Pitch Sheet/Sell Sheet. This piece of paper goes by a lot of names, and it causes a lot of consternation and fear in unpublished authors, but basically it’s a sheet of paper that tells what you’ve written and why you think it [...]

What’s a One Sheet?

So you’ve worked on your pitch, gotten it down to a 30 second sound bite that will knock the socks of an editor. Now what if he/she wants to know more? That’s when I pull out my One Sheet. I rarely have to do a lot of talking in my 15 minute interviews. I just [...]

Perfecting Your Pitch

So you’ve finished your novel and your ready to set your baby loose. But if you were asked to describe your novel in a few sentences, would you be able to do it? Some people call it an elevator pitch. The little sound bite that will catch an editor’s attention, if you were in…well an [...]

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