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Monday, July 30, 2007

PNWA Conference News!

Ah, yes. The maiden blog post. This is my first blog, and I intend to add to it regularly. But I gotta tell you, I went to a blogging workshop at the writers conference I just attended in Seattle and man, she gave me second thoughts about doing this. If I can't post to my blog on a regular basis, she said I shouldn't do it at all. Oh, the pressure! But I'm going for it. Really. Please bear with me. And though I tend to be long-winded, I'll post even if it's just a paragraph. I can't imagine myself running out of things to say.

I attended the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference in Seattle this past weekend and it was awesome! Though it's not as good as Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold conference, it runs a close second.

Why was this conference special? For one thing, it was my first PNWAC, and it was in Seattle, Washington. Never been there before (and I live in Oregon). I've attended RMFW's Colorado Gold for fourteen years in a row and it's the hands-down best, but the PNWAC was an extra special (albeit pricey) birthday present to myself. I couldn't have made a better choice. Put this one on your list of conferences to attend in the future. Really.

There were 19 -- count them, 19! -- literary agents there, and 9 publishers represented by acquiring editors. Since I'm at a point (or I was at a point) of seeking out a new agent (I've had 2 in the past, but that's a whole nuther post I'll save for later), I was doubly excited to find my first-choice agent there. I had an appointment with her and she's just as fabulous as I knew she would be. She's brilliant. During our 15 minutes she was able to pinpoint a plot problem for me while still being interested enough to want sample pages to read right then, as we talked! Of course I didn't have them with me -- conference etiquette strictly forbids bringing manuscript pages to hand out at a conference -- but that's okay. I've already rewritten the synopsis and, as requested, will send her new pages this week.

The workshop sessions were 90 minutes instead of the traditional 50, so that was cool, and there were 6 tracks to choose from. Lots of variety. The downside was that they didn't tape the workshops, so if you missed one you wanted to attend you were SOL. The people were friendly (for the most part), and I made several fabulous new friends that I'm very excited about getting to know better. Hi, Shelly, Danielle and Nathan! 8^) You guys rock!!!

The buzz word for the weekend was URBAN FANTASY!!! All I can say is: What the hell took everyone so long? I've been loving it for years, long before it was tagged with a subgenre. So it's thrilling to see that it's being embraced like this by the publishing community. Yo, my writer friends, they want it. Bad. If you write it, this is one hot commodity. Polish your prose and get it out there. And make sure it's set in the city. No kidding.

I have lots more to report, but maybe tomorrow. Or the next day. Stay tuned...!

14 comments:

Elisabeth Naughton said...

So glad you enjoyed your conference, and congrats on all the fabulous requests. Keep us posted!

Lynda Hilburn said...

Sounds like a great conference, Karen. Richelle Mead blogged about attending that conference, too. Makes me wish I'd win the lottery so I could go to all the conferences I want! But I look forward to seeing you at Colorado Gold in Sept. My book falls into the urban fantasy category, so I hope the trend lasts for a while.

Anonymous said...

Great Post, Karen. Thanks for sharing. All the best on your dive into blogging.

Blessings,
Nicola

Karen Duvall said...

Thanks, Eli, Lynda and Nic. It's all an adventure, don't ya know? 8^)

Lynda, I know what you mean about attending the conferences. They're darned expensive! But this one, for me, was special. If I go again next year, I'm going to drive to Seattle. The whole airport, late flight, hurry-up-and-wait fiasco did me in. I'd rather sit behind the wheel for 6 or 7 hours than go through that again. I'm actually thinking about Writers Weekend in Seattle in June. Hmm... So many conferences, so little money...

Scarlett Sanderson said...

Welcome to blogging, Karen!

It sounds you picked up some great tips from the conference. I'm with Lynda, I'd love to be able to attend some of the conferences. Urban Fantasy? Oohhh, I have one of those :) Good luck with your agent, too.

Marianne Arkins said...

Congrats on entering the blogosphere! Blogging regularly can be tough, but fun (I've been doing it daily for a couple years now!).

It sounds like you had a fantastic time at the conference -- good luck with your agent!

K.M. Saint James said...

Welcome to the world of blogging, Karen. Can't wait to read more.

The conference sounds great, and it's good to know Urban Fantasy is really on the up-swing. I have a CP who writes this and the RWA conference only offered mix reviews for the UF's lines.

Thanks for the news.

Anonymous said...

I"m glad you enjoyed the conference. I just booked my flight to Denver for RMFW. I'm pretty excited. Urban fantasy... just my luck. I wonder when they'll be ready for the cows...

Catie said...

Hooray for a blog! And hooray for a great conference! Yay!

-Catie

Clover Autrey said...

What a pretty blog you have. Congratulations.

chanceofbooks said...

Congrats on your blog and on the successful conference!

I'd love to see a definition of "urban fantasy" ---maybe you could tackle the topic either here or on the MWVRWA blog at some point????

Barbara said...

Your blog has a very attractive look, Karen. Great news on the Seattle conference. Sounds like you're on your way with an enthusiastic new agent. Next time you go to Seattle you may want to think about driving to Salem and taking the train from here to Seattle. It's much less hassle and more comfortable than flying and less tiring than driving. I think it cost about $73 roundtrip the last time I went. Good luck on your rewrites.

MJFredrick said...

Hi, Karen! So glad you got so much out of your conference! I hope good things happen for you soon!

(Elf Mary from eHQ)

Danielle said...

Hi Karen, Awesome blog. Good for you, and good review. There's more in a personal email to you, but I wanted to "log" an entry!
Danielle