Conference Coming Soon

I am now moving past the "Get the Boys Ready for School" phase to the "Let's Panic Because I am Going to an IMPORTANT Writer's Conference in a Few Weeks" phase.

Saturday I had a meeting with our local writer's group OCFW, which is a local chapter of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). ACFW annual conference will be in Minneapolis this year, and I am desperately trying to get my manuscript finished before I go. I signed up for an appointment with an editor and an agent who are looking for COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS. See the problem?

So at our local meeting, the topic was "Getting Ready for Conference". A wonderful lady named Myra Johnson (who happens to be a friend of my mother-in-law, who happened to catch a ride with her from Tulsa to the meeting) gave a very informative talk about things you can do to prepare for the conference.

And there was a LOT of stuff. Some of her tips I knew. Some of her tips were new to me. All of her tips were excellent. I even joked to my mom about how organized this woman is, right on par with her level of organization.

But mostly I'm just freaking out (so what's new about that?). The advice I hear about most conferences is, "Try to relax. Don't be nervous. Editors and agents are people, too"

And I agree. They are people. People who have the power to accept or reject your work. People who have the power to make a life-long dream come true. People who have the power to make or break a potential writing career. So yeah, they are people, but people with a lot of influence over a writer's life.

So I want to be prepared for these people. I need to hide the crazy as best as I can. I need to be as professional as possible (says the girl in a ponytail in her cut-off sweats, flip-flops, and a t-shirt). I need to get organized and have all my ducks in a row before I leave.

And now I have to go, and get started on all this organization. See ya Wednesday.