So you want to be a writer?

• First, write.
• Second, write well.
• Third, write often.
• Forth, get feedback.
• Fifth, revise, revise, revise.
• Sixth, submit, submit, submit.
• Seventh, grow a thick skin.
• Eight, mediate on patience.
• Ninth, continue until your find success (or you die...whichever comes first).

Congratulations. You are now a writer.

Colorado Gold writer's conference

This weekend I attended the Colorado Gold writer’s conference put on by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Yes, practicing what I preach. Here are my thoughts on conferences:

• Attend at least one professional conference each year. The experience and contacts are well worth the time and expense. (check)
• Attend at least one fan convention each year--learn what your market is reading, talking about, tired of. (planned for October)

Colorado Gold was a great experience. Met a ton of interesting people, recharged the writing batteries, learned new tricks, picked up new books, added several new authors to the ‘must read’ list, and had the opportunity to pitch Zombie Proof Fence face-to-face.

The pitching fascinated me. There was both a formal pitch appointment, and informal pitching. In the appointment, I had ten minutes to catch the interest of an agent. There were editors on hand as well, but each attendee was permitted only one appointment and I chose an agent. The pitch went fine, far more low-key and conversational than I expected, and the agent asked to see more (wahoo).

The informal pitching involved talking to other attendees about the book. This gave me a rare opportunity to talk about the book, the characters, the world, why I chose the subject, and how I tackled the project. In my day-to-day life this almost never happens. This part surprised me because so many people were not only interested, but positively bubbling with enthusiasm.

My biggest surprise of the conference came when people I had not talked to started to approach me, asking about the book by name. A stranger knows the name of my book? And cares? Wow. The first time, I thought it was a fluke. But it happened again, and again. Buzz? Whoa. I hope (fingers crossed) that the buzz reached some of the industry people who were there.

Status - September 6th

Writing a lot, but most of my work has been on side projects. Mixed feelings about this. While it is fun, lets me try some new things, and builds up some marketing collateral for ZPF, it is slowing down production on Forbidden.

• Finished one ZPF spin off: Soma
• Worked on ZPF book 2 outline.
• Worked on ZPF spin off told from the dog’s POV.
• Reading up on graphic novel writing, illustration, etc.
• Submitted short stories that were collecting dust on the shelf.

This puts me about 2 weeks behind plan for Forbidden, but I am feeling productive.