Friday, August 19, 2011

Bottle The Awesome

If I could bottle the awesome of these ladies…I’d be a millionaire.

Elana Johnson
Shannon Messenger
Lisa and Laura Roecker
Jamie Harrington
Casey McCormick

WriteonCon is an online conference primarily for aspiring authors of young adult and middle grade fiction but some of these same agents and editors who participated in the critiques and live chats also rep adult works so there is something for everyone. It is completely free to all. Donations are appreciated but not mandatory. Even though it is over for this year, you can still go and read through all the archives. It’s worth it and I can guarantee you will learn (and laugh) more than you ever anticipated.

Some of the agents who participated:

Jenny Bent
Suzie Townsend
Katherine Ortiz
Natalie Fischer
Roseanne Wells
Holly Root
The slithery Barbara Poelle

Just to name a few. There were many more, not to mention superstar editors. The enormous amount of work and scheduling that must have went on behind the scenes to pull this off blows my mind.

But what really makes this event so near and dear to me is the reality of my not being able to attend a writer’s conference in person for at least a few more years, unless it’s held next door in my neighbor’s backyard and babysitting services are offered. Oh yeah. I know without a doubt my house would fall into ruin at my absence. I imagine within 24 hours it would look like a scene from Lord of the Flies and my three year old would be leading a band of mud streaked heathens on a wild boar hunt.

And by heathens I mean my husband.

So this is why WriteonCon is perfect and I will forever be indebted to its founders who have never forgotten for a single moment what it feels like to chase the dream. They are paying it forward and someday I hope to do the same.

And for those of you not interested in writing conferences...here is what I have to look forward to at some point this weekend in my search for school supplies.


Papa?

See you at Walmart.

14 comments:

  1. I'm going to go back and read some more of the archives later. Ran out of time yesterday. Really is a great thing they do. Can't imagine how much work it takes.

    Oh, and thanks for posting a picture of Dad on the blog today. He'll think he's a rock star. :)

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  2. AGREE! I love WriteOnCon! I can't afford to go to writer's conferences. Those ladies are so amazing for putting it together for us!

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  3. I'm still embarassed they made me wear that.

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  4. You are amazing. THANK YOU. Also, I have tears in my eyes in regards to the end of your post. You never fail to make me laugh.

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  5. LOL! And I totally agree about WriteOnCon's founders and organizers. They are made of awesome. I don't know how they do it, but I'm very grateful. I wonder how many success stories will come out of this year. I was blown away by the quality of forum queries/pages this year!

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  6. Hahahahahaha... oh man. If that's your dad, I don't know want to see your mom!

    Writer's conferences are really expensive, especially when you factor in travel, accommodations, and food (never mind the conference fee). I didn't get a chance to drop by WriteOnCon, but I think it's such a fabulous event.

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  7. Hey Marsha,
    I also attended the conference and it was amazing!
    I also live in Spring and have a 3 year old...do you have a local critique group?

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  8. So glad you enjoyed, Marsha. It's posts like this that make allllllllll the hard work worth it. ;)

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  9. Your dad's shoes are to die for. ;o)

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  11. Id like to invite you folks to come to Amish Stories for a recipe for "Famous Pennsylvania Dutch Sticky Cinnamon Buns" along with a book signing schedule for Amish fiction writer Wanda Brunstetter for Pennsylvania and Ohio as well as a contest to meet her. I hope everyone so far is having a great weekend. Thanks everyone. Richard from Amish Stories.

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  12. Hi Marsha! I saw your comment on L.G.'s blog and just had to stop by . I come bearing brownies...and brain bleach for the last photo. ;-)

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  13. Wasn't it awesome?? so much excellent info. I did a post on my fave quotes from the three days. I only wish I had this resource a few years ago when I first decided to write seriously. :)

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  14. Natalie Fischer...that's MY agent! I missed this. I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to keep up with what's going on in the real world. Sigh.

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It helps to know I'm not just talking to myself.