And the conference was...

... a blast.

I learned a lot and met a lot of people pursuing publication just like me. I guess the most important thing I learned at the conference was how much I didn't know. Being an author is not just about writing - its about marketing and audience and knowing the publishing business.

The most fun workshop was by mystery writer Jennifer (J.B.) Stanley (who also writes as (Ellery Adams). She explained a lot about "Plotting the Mystery". She was a middle school teacher and had prizes and games for us to play. School was not that fun when I went to middle school.

Another fun and highly informative workshop was led by author Judi McCoy, who has written both romances and mysteries. Her workshop was interrupted by a fire alarm, but we got through most of the material she had for us in "Getting Down to Basics." I had no idea that the new rule was only one space after periods! She gave us all the little nit-noid stuff that editors and agents pay attention to - like manuscript format - that can turn them off your story before they even get to read it.

The winner of the funniest workshop presenter would go to Jill McCorkle, who spoke to us about "Finding a Story", and was the keynote speaker on Friday. The woman is a southern belle with a sense of humor the size of Alaska. She showed us how to make a story real by including the sidebars, because often that is where the real story is.

Anyway, I am still digesting all the information I got in those two days, and how I can apply what I have learned to my manuscript.

Any ideas?