ACFW 2018 PART 1

Hello and welcome to another Monday blog post!  If you are new, so glad you stopped by!  Hope you make this a Monday habit. 

For those of you who are regular visitors, you know that I just spent the last several days at the ACFW 2018 Conference (American Christian Fiction Writers).  While I was there, I tried to journal my experience as much as possible, to share with you.  I was busy from morning until late at night, everyday, so I didn't get to journal as much as I liked, but I was too busy having an AMAZING time to worry about it too much.

Even though, my time for journalling was so short, I managed to get way more information, than you probably want to read in one blog post.  So, I decided to split this post up into parts.  I'm not sure how  many I will end up with, but I will try to get them down to smaller chunks, because I know I am not the only busy person out there.

9/20/18

Here I sit, on a little patio outside of a Marriott in Fullerton, Alabama.  It’s 7:03am and I just fixed some coffee with milk and lime water.  I’m sitting with my husband enjoying the cool morning.  Back home, it’s probably hot and humid like normal, so I will enjoy this while I can.  About 5:30am I was making corrections to my Pitch and Synopsis, that I hope to present sometime over the next few days at my ACFW Conference.  We hope to make it to Nashville by 11:30am, and I will register.  My first class starts at 2:00pm.  

My schedule is full from morning to night and I can’t even express how excited…and nervous, I am.  The first time doing something is always nerve-racking for me, maybe that’s why I am almost 50, and I am just now starting to go after my dreams.  Better late than never…maybe.  I hope I didn’t wait too long.

I almost didn’t get to come at all.  I got clearance from my doctor the night before yesterday.  A health scare almost put me out of commission, but Praise the Lord, He heard my and many others' prayers. Now, I am on the mend and on my way to a Conference I have been looking forward to for about a year.

So, that's all I got written that first day.  We didn't make it by 11:30am, is was closer to 12:30pm.  

The conference was held at The Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN, and it is HUGE!  By the time we got to our room, I only had a few minutes to freshen up and then I was out the door to register, then join the "First Timers" class.  My husband helped me find where I needed to be, then he worked to get all of our stuff from our car to our room (no easy task).

Here was my Thursday schedule:

I went to the Agent panels during both of the Spotlight time slots.  I am glad I did.  I learned so much about what a Literary Agent is looking for.  I talk about that, in my next journal entry.

9/21/18

It’s 6:37am Friday morning.  I have been up over an hour, my mind has been in a whirl, with all there is to do today and all that I learned yesterday.  One exciting thing is, last night I got to see almost all of my favorite authors.  They were up on stage receiving awards for all the books they have written.  One of my favorite Authors, Debbie Macomber was the Keynote Speaker.  She was hilarious! 

https://debbiemacomber.com/books#/

 I also had the chance to speak with several published Authors, as we sat at the dinner table last night.    It's so interesting hearing about all their WIP's (work in progress).  I spent 2 hours in front of two panels of Literary Agents and I learned SO much!  The most important thing is, I NEED A LITERARY AGENT!  So, I will try to network with as many as possible while I am here.  This morning I have a one on one meeting with an Editor, but I think the next step is the Literary Agent.  

Now, it’s time for me to get ready for the day.  I go until 10:30pm tonight, with only a break for supper with my sweet Husband, who is being so supportive and helpful, while I am here.  Lugging all my stuff to our room, including four heavy manuscripts, was no small task!  I appreciate you, Sweet Hubby!!!!

I am writing this at 9:23pm, while I sit in the Tennessee Ballroom of the Opryland Resort, waiting for the “Worship and Write” section of my schedule for the day.  It has been a pretty amazing day so far.  After breakfast, I got to hear another talk from Debbie Macomber.  She is such an amazing and inspirational Speaker and Author!  I am an even bigger fan now.  After that, I had my meeting with the Editor.  She was very easy to talk to and made the experience so much better, than what I imagined it would be.  She seemed very impressed with my Pitch and Synopsis, to the point that she asked if I would be willing…(TO BE CONTINUED...)

See! I told you this was too long for one post.  I hope you will join me again next Monday to see what happens next.

Taking care of business:  One thing I learned from just about everyone I heard speak, was I need to build my Platform.  I have talked about this in the past, but evidently the rules have changed.  I don't just need to be active on social media, I need to build my fan base.  That means I need you to follow me, on my blog, on social media and I need your email addresses, you can leave that on my blog and hopefully soon, my website.  Why do I need your email address?  1.)  I can notify you when a blog post goes out.  2.)  I can send you my newsletter quarterly. (I plan to start that very soon.)  3.)  When my books release, I can let you know.  4.)  If, I have any special contests or special guests for my blog, I can let you know.

You don't have to worry about me cluttering up your email box.  I don't have time for that.  I just need you to help me show the Literary Agents and Publishers that you care about my writing journey.  God bless you and your family.  Thanks!

In Christ,

Sandy