Big Easy- little sleep

I just got home from the NINC conference in New Orleans. I'll talk about that more over the next week or two, but for now I just wanted to say a few things:

1-The conference itself was really good but having my Creative Partner there with me made it great. If you have long-distance writing friends that you rarely see or even have never met, I can't recommend enough going to a writer's conference together. Taking the workshops together and the time we spent together talking and brainstorming were priceless.

2-I'm saying it right here and now, though I'm sure some may be offended: NINC is now my conference of choice because at the multi-published level it has so much more to offer than RWA. As a pre-pubbed and as a newbie, we too often think that after getting published, it's all smooth sailing. But as Eileen Dreyer so rightly said in one of the night sessions, "As your career gets bigger so do your issues."

One of the good things about this conference was not feeling like I had to be 'on' all the time, not having to impress anyone or to be impressed. The best thing was the relaxed atmosphere. For some reason now editors and only three agents came. That ended up being really wonderful for the majority of attendees because we could let go and be forthright without worrying about being overheard or offending anyone when the talk turned to industry matters.

The best workshop of all was Eric Maisel's. Run don't walk to your bookstore and get any one of his books that speaks to you. He was great and just so 'got' the writers life and issues. Next year the NINC conference will be in San Diego and Mr. Maisel will be giving an all-day workshop instead of just two hours. I am so there!

3- Don't believe everything you hear about New Orleans in the news. Or at least try to be objective. Yes, there have been screwups, and no things are not back to anything except a 'new normal'. But if you've ever wanted to visit the city, believe it or not now is the time. The French Quarter was beautiful, the people could not possibly be more gracious and they really need your money. (The good lord and my credit cards know I gave them plenty of mine).

Many were angry that restoration was concentrated in tourism areas and that Mardi Gras went on as if Nero was fiddling. THAT'S NOT IT. The city was smart enough to know that if you clean up the tourism areas the tourists will come back. One of the waiters in the hotel said it best when he thanked us for coming because it meant he and the others would get paid this week. Contributing on a personal level is so much more satisfying for both parties than sending an anonymous charity check.

Anyway, enough for now, I need some sleep. But don't forget to come and join my Life List discussion on eHarlequin all this week!