Do Your Shoes Fit?

Posted on June 1, 2012 by

Admittedly, this is an odd topic for Deep-Fried Friday. However, I have narrow feet and struggle to find shoes that fit. I have wondered how the narrow shoe market has nearly disappeared from stores, which for me means that I purchase the majority of my shoes online. Being a people watcher by nature, I began noticing feet of others around me. And what did I discover? Many of you are wearing the wrong size shoe.

Your toes hang over the edge. Your feet are nearly swallowed by the width of your shoe. The arch of your feet is not aligned with the shoe’s arch. And on and on. At least that’s what I’ve seen.

Too Big

Too Small.

However, I am not expert, so let’s consult someone who is. Jenny Sanders, a podiatrist in San Francisco, started her Dr. Shoe blog because “At some point early in my career, I started to realize that many of the foot problems I encountered were directly related to improperly fitting or excessively worn shoes.” Dr. Sanders says that 95% of patients presenting with foot problems “have not had their feet measured within the past 3 years and/or are wearing the wrong size.”

In this case, size matters. Poor-fitting shoes can cause foot pain and fatigue. Moreover, “Improperly-fitting shoes can cause bunions, corns, calluses, and other foot problems that can lead to bigger ailments down the road” (Healing Feet blog). Far more disconcerting is a 2007 study of diabetic patients which showed that 63 percent were wearing the wrong size shoes, “putting them at higher risk of developing foot ulcers, which can lead to amputations” (ABC News). It’s a reasonable presumption is that the larger population has a similar percentage of ill-fitted shoe issues, and there are consequences for wearing the wrong size shoe.

So how do you know if your shoes are a good fit for your feet? Here are a few tips, gleaned from the experts.

Don’t get stuck on a particular size. Manufacturers all use different molds, meaning that the sizes are not exactly standard. You may wear an 7 1/2 in one brand and an 8 in another. Moreoever, certain shoe materials stretch more, so that the shoe may not fit as well after a couple of years of wear.

Get sized. I remember as a child sticking my foot in that cold metal device at the Thom McAn shoe store while the sales associate checked my size. It’s been years since I’ve done that. However, our feet can change size even as adults. The contraption is called a Brannock Device, and it measures not only length by arch and width as well. All three measurements are needed to guarantee a good fit. Dr. Sanders gives a primer on making sure you get your shoe size correct by paying attention to both the heel-to-toe and heel-to-ball measurements of your feet. You’ll need to go with whichever one is longer. And don’t forget width. Believe me, if you have narrow feet, a narrow shoe will feel much better than a regular width.

Try ‘em on the right way. You need to try on shoes to see if they fit. But make sure you do it right:

  • Shop toward the end of the day when your feet have swelled a bit from use.
  • If applicable, wear the right thickness of socks/tights/hose when you try them on.
  • Try on both shoes, since our feet are not exactly the same size and you need to make sure they feel okay for both your left and your right foot.
  • Stand up and walk around in the shoes. Take your time and see how they feel. Are they not only pretty in that little mirror on the floor, but do they feel reasonably comfortable on your feeet?
  • Check the alignment of your arch with the arch of the shoe. The length may be okay, but if your arch is in a different place, the shoes will not be comfortable long-term.

Once your know your size, don’t be persuaded otherwise. I have a narrow foot, period. You would be surprised, though, how many times I walk into a store and ask for a narrow shoe only to have a salesperson attempt to convince me that I can pull off a regular width. I’ve also had suggestions that I go down a half-size with that regular width to somehow make up for it. It doesn’t work that way!

I also admit to being tempted to buy a wrong-sized shoe that is awesome! I slip on a strappy heel that is 60% off and looks like it came off the set of Sex in the City. I want it . . . so bad. But it is not exactly my size. What to do? *sigh* Walk away. I know from experience that a beautiful shoe with a limp is not the look I’m going for.

If you want more tips, the podiatrists at Healing Feet blog do a good job of breaking it down. Take care of your feet and get a shoe that fits. Then you’ll feel like this:

So what do you think? Do your shoes fit? Have you been sized in the last three years? Do you have a hard time finding shoes that fit?

Posted in Deep-Fried Friday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Oy! Adding a Little Yiddish to Your English

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

I am proudly one-sixteenth Jewish. For most of my life, I didn’t even know that. I think I learned of my Jewish heritage in my teens or 20s. However, I realized the other day how many Yiddish words I naturally use! Perhaps Jewish genes are just that strong. Whatever the reason, on this Amaze-ing Words Wednesday I invite you all to add a little Yiddish to your English.

Below are some of my favorite Yiddish words that we English-speakers have incorporated, along with their definitions from Dictionary.com and examples of usage.

bupkes. absolutely nothing; something worthless. Stupid muse. I stared at my screen for hours and wrote bupkes last night.

chutzpah. unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall; audacity; nerve. You’ve got a lot of chutzpah to ask me out after I divorced your brother!

glitch. a defect or malfunction in a machine or plan. There is a glitch in SPECTRE’s plan to take over the world.

klutz. a clumsy, awkward person. I am such a klutz that I fell off the stage right after accepting my Oscar.

maven. an expert or connoisseur. I would love to be a maven of words and their origins.

mensch. a decent responsible person with admirable characteristics. My little brother paid for our lunch with his first paycheck; he’s such a mensch.

putz. fool; jerk. (In Yiddish, literally penis.) Get your hand off my knee, you putz!

schmaltz. exaggerated sentimentalism, as in music or soap operas. (In Yiddish, it’s literally chicken fat.) My guy won’t watch chick flicks with me because he says they’re all schmaltz.

schlep. to carry; lug. I schlepped my grocery sacks up the stairs to my apartment.

schmooze. to chat idly; gossip. At every work party, I have to schmooze with the higher-ups for at least an hour.

schmuck. obnoxious or contemptible person. (In Yiddish, literally penis.) My friend’s ex-husband better watch out because I have no patience for that schmuck.

schmutz. dirt; filth; garbage. Hey, you have a little schmutz on your cheek. Want me to wipe it off?

schpiel. (In Yiddish, to play a game.) a usually high-flown talk or speech, especially for the purpose of luring people to a movie, a sale, etc.; pitch. The politician gave me the whole schpiel on why I should vote for him.

tuchas. the buttocks. After sitting in this chair for hours, I can barely feel my tuchas.

It might help to practice making your h have a little k sound in it as well. That will help with words like “chutzpah” and “tuchas.” Also, you should note that spellings of these words in English vary. For instance, you might see hutzpah, chutzpah, or khutzpah. Take your pick.

When you get comfortable with Yiddish words, you can start talking in Yinglish (Yiddish/English). For instance, “Rosie schlepped through the mall with her packages, while I got bupkes. Some putz had stolen my card, and the credit company kept saying it was a glitch. I had to schmooze my way up to a manager who had the chutzpah to give me his schpiel about upgrading to a gold card. Oy, what a schmuck. It’s just as well, I suppose. I can’t find any pants these days to fit my big tuchas.”

If you still need some help, perhaps this video will help: Yiddish with Dick and Jane (based on a book of the same name by Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman).

Do you have any favorite Yiddish words? Do you find yourself using any of the ones above? What Yiddish words would you add to my list?

Sources: The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know – Daily Writing Tips; Yiddish Phrases – Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara; Some Yiddish Words – HebrewforChristians.com; Dictionary.com

Posted in Amazing Words Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

What I Learned in DFW and #ROW80

Posted on May 27, 2012 by

NYT Bestseller James Rollins & Me

If you did not attend the DFW Writers’ Conference, you may be tired of hearing those of us who did talking about how AWESOME it was. Rather than go on and on about how everything is bigger and better in Texas, even writers’ conferences ;) , how about some general take-aways?

  • As long as you aren’t stalking or incredibly annoying, you can strike up conversations with agents because they are real people, at a conference to meet writers, and like talking about what they do (see Top 10 Things to Do at a Writers’ Conference). At the 2011 conference, I spoke to one agent — the one I had a pitch appointment with. This time, I walked away with six different agent names to send my work to after personal contact at the pitch session and agent/writer reception. So chat it up! What have you got to lose?
  • When you attend a conference, you are paying for it. Don’t feel obligated to attend a workshop you don’t need or to stay in one that wasn’t at all what you expected. I attended a class that was titled one thing and ended up being something else. (That was not common, by the way.) Ten minutes in, I gathered my stuff and left the room as quietly as possible. The teacher has no idea why someone leaves early — a pitch? a phone call from home? sickness? I wasn’t dissing her; the class simply wasn’t a topic I needed after all. I walked into a class next door and was SOOOO glad I did.
  • You can learn as much from chatting with other writers as you can get from the conference classes. I gleaned so much knowledge from conversations with Jenny Hansen, Donna Newton, Kristen Lamb, Tiffany A. White, Nigel Blackwell, David N. Walker, Jess Witkins, Kait Nolan, Jillian Dodd, Piper Bayard, and others that my brain was tingling with electricity by Saturday night. Asking others about their writing process, publishing plans, and life in general enlightened me in ways that made my trip to Big D well-worth all those hours and money.
  • No matter who you are, you can always learn more. It was marvelous to step into a workshop and see several published authors in the class as well. Taking notes. Learning more. Improving their craft.

What workshops did I attend? In case you’re interested, here’s a quick rundown: How to Pitch to an Agent (Rosemary Clement-Moore); The Changing Face of Publishing (an expert panel); Writing Love Scenes (Roni Loren – incredible); Anatomy of a Book Launch (Laurie McLean-agent, Kristen Lamb, Kait Nolan); Fast Draft (Candace Havens); Inside Publishing (Jill Marsal-agent); Revision Hell (Candace Havens); Writing Emotion (Lori Wilde); Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (Laurie McLean-agent).

Bayard/Lamb 2012: Foxie with (literal) Moxie

Links to some FABULOUS posts about the conference from fellow speakers/attendees:

Social Media Jedi Kristen Lamb encourages writers to push themselves in The Comfort Zone is for Pets, Not Professionals.

Romance author Roni Loren summarizes what agents like and don’t like in queries and first pages with What Will Make an Agent Gong Your Pages.

Writer (and my awesome conference roommate!) Jess Witkins discusses lessons learned in Celebrating My Writing Slump.

Jenny Hansen reports progress on her conference goals and teases us about Fast Draft (thanks, Candace Havens) with Bestselling Authors, DFWcon, and the Flu…Oh My!

Donna Newton makes me kick myself in How to Hook an Agent…The ‘SOO’ Publishing Way. How has this Brit managed to shoot so much stuff when I (a born-and-bred Texan) have yet to meet my goal of firing a real gun?!!

Jess Witkins, Me & Donna Newton

I also posted on Friday about What’s Next? The Hybrid Author, which was partially culled from my conference experience.

(I guarantee I forgot someone else’s wonderful post; I may update this later.)

One last pic: Me & Tiffany White

Enough already. Here are my ROW80 goals and progress report!

  • Log 5,000 words per week on young adult novel, SHARING HUNTER. This should result in a completed first draft. DONE.
  • If first draft is finished, edit once through SHARING HUNTER. I started revising, using the notes from my class with editor Tiffany Lawson Inman and tips from Candace Havens’s Revision Hell workshop.
  • Work on pitch and synopsis for DFW Writers’ Conference (taking place May 19-20). Did it! Pitched. Need to send my queries.
  • If I get all of that done, edit through THE YEAR OF FIRSTS, my middle grade novel which is in second draft form and has been gathering dust for a few months. Waiting on 3 tasks above.
  • Read one writing craft book. My choice this round is Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Took a break from this goal until after the DFW Writers’ Conference.
  • Read through March/April issue of The Writer’s Digest. I can’t find the March/April issue, so I started working through the issue that just arrived in the mail.
  • Take course from Tiffany Inman Lawson on 77 Secrets to Writing YA Fiction that Sells from the Margie Lawson Writers Academy. Slowly catching up!
  • Read 10 books keeping to my At-Least-3 Reading Challenge for 2012. On track. I have read six books so far: The Killer Inside Me; Getting Rid of Bradley; Graceling; The Man Who Was Thursday; The Heart-Shaped Box; One of Our Thursdays is Missing. Reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
  • Post ROW80 updates on Sundays. Keeping up.
  • Exercise three times a week — length of time to be determined. Skipped Zumba. May I count the four hours of helping with our church youth’s group car wash on Saturday? I know I burned some calories there.

So how’s your ROW80 week? Be sure to cheer on fellow writers HERE.

And if you are interested in attending the DFW Writers’ Conference in 2013, they are offering a super early-bird registration price of $225 (early-bird is $295) until June 1. The conference will be held May 4-5, 2013 at the Hurst Conference Center. I will be there!

Posted in ROW80 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

What’s Next? The Hybrid Author

Posted on May 25, 2012 by

Three years ago, I wrote a book. I didn’t tell anyone outside my family about it until the novel was completed, and then I sat on it for a while yet. I needed to figure out how to get the darn thing published — which in my mind involved a traditional publishing deal. However, in those three years, the publishing world has experienced more changes than Franz Kafka’s main character in Metamorphosis. For some, the result has been just as intimidating.

It doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to end up as a cockroach.

For today’s Deep-Fried Friday, I grabbed my Magic Eight Ball and asked it a question: Will the publishing world continue to change at a rapid pace?

Well, there you go. Authors, agents, editors, publishers, and readers are still in a state of flux as we settle into new realities with the consolidation of companies, the rise of smaller presses, the development of the e-reader and tablets, the opportunities for self-publishing, the importance of social media, and much more.

So what does the future hold?

After doing quite a bit of research, reading numerous blog posts on the subject, attending workshops and having conversations on this topic at the recent DFW Writers’ Conference, as well as applying my own thoughts, I think there is a growing opportunity for the Hybrid Author. An author need no longer choose a single route to publication. While an agent may represent a whole author, publishers shop a single title at a time. Even with a two, three, or four-book deal, they can stick with a single novel and cancel the remaining contract if they wish. An author has no guarantee that his next work will be picked up for publication going the traditional route.

So what can an author do with that work that she loves but can’t sell through the “usual” route? Why not find an indie press, an e-publisher, or self-publish that title? The only caveat is that more than one agent at the recent conference stated that low sales numbers in self-publishing can make a traditional trade publisher wonder if you’re bankable. However, if the book is high quality and you do a good job of promoting it, doing your own thing with other titles is not a count against you.

Suppose that you write in two genres (which is currently my situation). In one genre, there is a good chance of a publisher picking up your novels. However, in the other genre, it is unlikely. I see no reason why you can’t pursue a traditional deal in the first case and go your own way in the second. For instance, you write book-club-type women’s fiction (a hot commodity right now apparently) and vampire romances (which publishers keep swearing are not hot anymore). You might rather get your women’s fiction into bookstores through the traditional route, and then throw your vampire novels up onto Amazon yourself and start collecting the royalties from them right away.

Indeed, self-publishing successfully is not a count against you if you do it well. Just ask Kait Nolan, whose agent sought Kait out after seeing how successfully she was writing and self-publishing. Others have signed traditional deals after using smaller presses or self-publishing. Authors are in a better position than ever before to negotiate contract details. Several successful authors have been able to retain rights in this fluctuating book world that they wouldn’t have been able to get before.

Indeed, this hybrid model might also work sequentially. Perhaps for a season an author self-publishes and them finds himself with an excellent offer from a traditional publisher. Or a traditionally published author chooses to self-publish works that are out of print or even move entirely into self-publishing. We might see movement back and forth over the course of a writing career, as the publishing climate changes.

Regarding of how exactly it happens, I believe that the way of the future for many writers is the Hybrid Author. Our grandmothers told us not to put all of our eggs in one basket, and our financial advisors encouraged us to diversify. Why not do that with writing as well?

For myself, this probably means that I will look into small press or self-publishing options for my mysteries and shop the middle-grade and young adult fiction through traditional channels. Tweens and teens still do not read most of their novels on e-readers, although I’m sure that will turn around with the kids who are in elementary or preschool now.

So what do you think is coming down the pike for authors? What options do writers have? What route have you chosen, or what routes have you considered?

Posted in Deep-Fried Friday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Nonsense Syllable Songs

Posted on May 23, 2012 by

Previously, I wrote about the poignancy of song lyrics and how they can express something that touches you way down in the nether regions of your soul. Then there are lyrics that are simply fun.

Some of the most fun lyrics make no sense at all! As much as I love language, I also have a fondness for songs with nonsense syllables that are merely enjoyable to sing. This is different from scat – which is using syllables to mimic the sounds of instruments (Sammy Davis Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald were masters of scat).

What I’m talking about here is the world of shoo-bop and sha-na-na. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was often called doo-wop music. I looked for examples of particularly enjoyable ones and decided to share these more light-hearted lyrics for this Amaze-ing Words Wednesday. Enjoy the music, but see if you like the way the lyricists used nonsense words as well.

Sh-Boom by the Chords. The second verse is a perfect example in this song.

Witch Doctor by David Seville. With this 1958 song, Seville’s speeded-up voice in the chorus of “oo-ee, oo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla, bing-bang” created the Chipmunks.

Blue Moon by the Marcels. The opening and background vocals of the Marcels’ version of “Blue Moon” are fabulous. Their nonsense lyrics really give this song zip!

Do Da Ron Ron by the Crystals. Okay, this is the version I included because it’s the original. But I grew up hearing the Shawn Cassidy’s rendition. (By the way, is it my imagination or did Shawn have Justin Bieber’s hair first?)

We Go Together by the cast of Grease. Who doesn’t love the Grease soundtrack? And this final song in the movie put together a great combination of nonsense syllables that will always go together – like Danny Zucko and Sandra Dee.

Rubber Biscuit by the Blues Brothers. The Blues Brothers were never meant to be taken seriously, and this song proves it. But Dan Akroyd’s syllabic stylings are brilliant!

De do do do, De dad a da by the Police. Sting writes profound lyrics for many of his songs, but this time he admitted that he got tongue-tied in love and hoped the do’s and da’s would convey what he felt.

Bad Romance by On the Rocks. Yes, I know that Lady Gaga’s version is the definitive one, but if you haven’t seen the version by On the Rocks, the University of Oregon’s men’s acapella chorus, check it out. The opening lyrics of “ro-ma, ro-ma-ma” mean nothing to me, but they are a nice nonsense addition to the song.

Sometimes we don’t need actual words to communicate our feelings of longing or merely a sense of fun. These songs make me smile.

What are some of your favorite nonsense syllable songs? Do you enjoy music like this?

Posted in Amazing Words Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Howdy from Big D and #ROW80

Posted on May 20, 2012 by

Inspired by Kristen Lamb and Jenny Hansen, I’m vlogging from Dallas today, where I am attending the DFW Writers’ Conference. I have been blessed to meet some of the fabulous fellow writers who have been my cyberpals and encouragers for over a year now. Here’s a quick hello:

And now for the weekly ROW80 update:

  • Log 5,000 words per week on young adult novel, SHARING HUNTER. This should result in a completed first draft. I wrote 6,555 words on Monday and Tuesday and completed the first draft of SHARING HUNTER!
  • If first draft is finished, edit once through SHARING HUNTER. I’m waiting until I return from the DFW Writers’ Conference this weekend. While it’s tempting to try to get through an edit, I’d rather hold off that pressure and use my time to prepare for the conference.
  • Work on pitch and synopsis for DFW Writers’ Conference (taking place May 19-20). I pitched this weekend. I give this experience a thumbs-up.
  • If I get all of that done, edit through THE YEAR OF FIRSTS, my middle grade novel which is in second draft form and has been gathering dust for a few months. Waiting on 3 tasks above.
  • Read one writing craft book. My choice this round is Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Took a break from this goal until after the DFW Writers’ Conference.
  • Read through March/April issue of The Writer’s Digest. Now I can’t even find the magazine. *facepalm*
  • Take course from Tiffany Inman Lawson on 77 Secrets to Writing YA Fiction that Sells from the Margie Lawson Writers Academy. Working on the second assignment and plan to hit this hard next week, as it will help with edits for SHARING HUNTER.
  • Read 10 books keeping to my At-Least-3 Reading Challenge for 2012. On track. I have read five books so far: The Killer Inside Me; Getting Rid of Bradley; Graceling; The Man Who Was Thursday; and The Heart-Shaped Box.
  • Post ROW80 updates on Sundays. Here I am!
  • Exercise three times a week — length of time to be determined. I went to Zumba twice this week, but one of those sessions was 1 1/2 hours instead of the usual 1 hour, so I feel pretty good about this.

I will check back with my fellow ROW80ers next week once the conference high dies down a bit. Y’all have a great week!

Posted in ROW80 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Top 10 Things to Do at a Writers’ Conference

Posted on May 18, 2012 by

Within a couple of hours of this post going up, I’ll be driving up to Dallas to attend the DFW Writers’ Conference. Talk about a Deep-Fried Friday for me. I expect this weekend to be better than a plate of beer-battered shrimp!

I attended last year and got my feet nice and wet at that conference. However, being the introvert I am, I approached the event as an information-gatherer and only talked to a few people. When I returned, I sent in my synopsis and chapters to the agent who requested them and received a lovely rejection letter.

But then I started this blog, began reading craft books, and connected with some fabulous writers. So this go-around, I am approaching the conference a little differently. Here are my Top 10 Things to Do at a Writers’ Conference (in no particular order):

1. Turn cyberfriends into real-life friends. You know that person you’ve traded tweets and blog comments and even emails with — dishing about the writer’s life and life in general? You might actually get to meet them! Thus far, you’ve imagined your friend as the 1×2-inch profile photo on their Twitter account. But your friend is not Flat Stanley: She is three-dimensional with a real-live voice! I for one am eager to finally meet in person great writer friends like Jenny Hansen, Tiffany A. White, Roni Loren, and many, many more.

2. Hang out with agents. Note that I didn’t say, “Convince an agent to rep my book.” Since my rookie experience, I have discovered that agents are real people. Of course I knew that before, but I care less this year whether they want my book. I simply want to get to know them. They are an interesting bunch of people who get to read for living, have their fingers on the pulse of book sales, and come to conferences to hang out with us writers. Why not make a few friends of agents? If we get along great and they like my book idea, oh yeah, I’ll send them a manuscript, pronto. But if they don’t, we can still have a drink and chat.

3. Hand out business cards. You’ve got 250 cards in that box, and there are only so many restaurants with that fish bowl where you leave your business card and they draw for a free lunch. You have to hand them out somewhere! What better place than a writers’ conference, where people might look at your card later and connect with you?

4. Be an author groupie. Last year, Sandra Brown was the keynote speaker at the DFW Writers’ Conference. This year, it’s James Rollins. Um, hello! These authors have a string of bestsellers and a truckload of wisdom about writing. Instead of spending their Saturday working on their next brilliant novel, bestselling authors often come to conferences to tell us what they’ve learned, sign books, pose for pictures, and converse with us future bestsellers. While we must remember not to stalk them, it’s okay to be a groupie of a great author. Squeee a bit when you see them, get your book autographed, and have your friend snap a picture of you leaning in close like you and James are best friends.

5. Trade pitches. Of course, you may be pitching your book to agents, and that’s wonderful. However, this is also an opportunity to bounce story ideas off people who love to hear them — other writers. Ask “What’s your book about?” and then listen. You’ll hear some amazing tales and get excited about what’s being written out there. You can also gauge interest in your own novel or in the way you’re pitching it based on others’ reactions, which can help you hone your story or presentation of it.

6. Get book recommendations. What to know what to read next? Ask writers what they loved. Peruse the book tables. Check out the titles from the authors who teach a class. After last year’s conference, I concluded that the much-touted Save the Cat by Blake Snyder had to be on my reading list, began reading Rosemary Clement-Moore’s Maggie Quinn, Girl vs. Evil series, and downloaded Kristen Lamb’s We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media.

7. Show off your fashion sense. One of the most-often asked questions of conference planners is “What do I wear?” The answer is essentially “Whatever you want.” From my limited experience, it seems that writers run the gamut regarding personal presentation. You’ll find the business man in a suit; the pierced, tattooed biker girl with blue hair; and everything in between. Whatever brand is you, comb your closet and put together something that shows off your fashion sense. Then again, you might simply grab whatever’s comfortable and go with that.

8. Shop the tables. There will likely be product booths at the conference. See what goodies you can find. It might be a book, a t-shirt, a writing resource, or a trinket, but you might discover a treasure. Last year, I entered a contest to get a slogan put on a t-shirt. I was one of three winners, and my t-shirt idea was sold at the Penguin Promo table. That was kind of cool.

9. Make new friends. I started to write “make new connections,” but if you approach the conference as an opportunity to make friends, you will have more fun and be more fun. Of course, your friends are connections, so if you focus on engaging with people personally, they are likely to want to help you professionally. That said, even if they never recommend you to their publisher or agent, this is a chance to make friends. Much of our writing lives are spent alone with our notebooks or laptops, and conference time is an opportunity to hob-nob with people who “get” us.

10. Fill in your knowledge gaps. Wherever you are in your writing career, there is more to know. Last year, I focused on querying and synopsis writing, since I knew how to write and just wanted some help landing my book deal. (Stop giggling.) This year, I have a broader focus because I know where my knowledge gaps truly are and plan to fill them by taking workshops that address those areas. You are at this conference to learn something! Go forth and learn it.

So are you planning to attend any writing conferences this year? What are your reasons for going? What goals do you have in mind as you attend?

And will you be at DFW Con? Be sure to look for me there! I look exactly like my 1×2-inch profile photo. ;)

Posted in Deep-Fried Friday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments