The Thrill Ride To Publication Part Two

Last week I published part one of this post at Just The Write Charisma. You can read it here. It's an interesting experience comparing different aspects of thrill rides like these to our journeys toward publication, and if you think about it, it's truer than we might like to acknowledge.

Yesterday, registration opened for the American Christian Fiction Writer's Conference. This is a very exciting and worthwhile conference for writers. I've attended more times than I can remember. But I know it can feel like a thrill ride called, The Flight of Fear when newbies attend conference for the first time or when any of us meet challenges at conference. The Flight of Fear is described as: "The first linear induction motor LIM-launched roller coaster in the world catapults riders from 0 to 54 miles per hour in just four seconds on a heart-pounding adventure in total darkness through four inversions."

Just imagine that you are at conference and this is your first appointment with an editor. You sit down to pitch your story and your mind encounters total darkness, you've gone blank, your stomach rolls and you think about doing the unthinkable, but then you remember. Whew! You pitch your story, instead of your breakfast, to the best of your ability. The editor asks you to send a proposal. You leave the room and jump up and down hugging your closest friend who has been waiting for you and then you speed down the hall, catch an escalator to another level taking two steps at a time because the thing is just too slow, and then you sit down to talk with your with your dream agent.

Your dream agent asks why you want an agent and again your mind enters total darkness and you feel lost in a deep, dark wood. You thought the editor was going to ask you to pitch your project. Instead you hem and haw your way through the question and then he/she asks what you are writing. The light bulb burns bright and you remember your pitch. She tells you it sounds interesting and encourages you to send a proposal. You are thrilled and leave the room walking on air.

Everyone experiences a different journey. Have an experiences (good, bad, or ugly) you want to share? They might be about a conference experience or something else along your writing journey. Help each other out so your journey is awesome. So before you get to conference remember to come prepared, be yourself, have fun, and put your thinking caps on; there is a lot to learn. What helps your jitters at conference?