Conferences and Retreats

By AC

Oct

So, it’s the time of year when I get all excited about conferences and retreats and generally large groupings of authors, writers, agents, publishers, and general book professionals.

Here’s what I’m into, here’s what I’m not into:

SCBWI New York: Takes place in January, in New York, run by the SCBWI (obviously). I’ve never been, and this year I gave it a seriously look-over, but I decided against it: it’s a start of roughly $1000 (once you add up hotel, travel, and conference tuition), which makes it a little rich for my blood, and unless I read the pamphlet wrong, there are no one on one critiques, which I think triple the value of any conference and are essential networking building blocks. That being said, the program sounded really interesting this year and if I have more cash next year, I’m so there. SCBWI has great events.

SCBWI New England: Held in New Hampshire in March/April, I LOVE this conference. They offer tons of feedback and critique options and are very responsive to feedback from year to year, and the keynotes in the past have been tremendous. Plus I love the program, I always find really specific presentations that appeal to me.

SCBWI Whispering Pines Retreat: If there’s one thing I do this year, I desperately want to go to this. I’ve never been, and I’ve heard it’s tremendous. It’s going to be in the very beginning of March this year, and by hell or high water, I swear I’m getting in this year! It fills up insanely fast.

Vermont College of Fine Arts Writer’s Retreat: This one also fills up very fast; I’ve been before and it was awesome. Vermont College is set in drop-dead gorgeous Montpelier, and when I went the program was set for either writing or critique intensives. It’s small so it’s super friendly, and two years later I could probably tell you everyone’s name. Loved it!

Anyone have other conferences or retreats to add to the list?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The State of Publishing

By AC

Oct

There seems to be a theme this week of the difficulty of midlist authors in the publishing business, or, rather, just the difficulty of publishing in general. Check out what’s being said:

Mitali Perkins charts a Twitter convo (I like this model of Twitter-reporting, btw).

Kristin Nelson talks about the elusiveness of the “breakout” novel and also counters with an argument for the midlist author.

Elana Roth at Caren Johnson Agency talks about making a good match between agent/author and editor/author.

And despite the fact that these have nothing to do with “the state of publishing”, I liked these posts as well:

Authors who over share.

Writing vs English papers.

And I just recently appreciated all the awesome interviews with authors on Enchanted Inkpot, like this awesome interview that actually made me want to read Evermore and this interview with my new favorite author Janice Hardy.

Check it out; I don’t feel like blogging about anything important today.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Score One for Positivity!

By AC

Oct

Well, unless all of my references totally caved on me, I’ll be starting training tomorrow night for a retail job. Woot! Which means, by the way, that I got the job I was talking about in this post. And I’ll tell you how:

1. In 4 inch Nine West heels that I previously would have told you I don’t “do”, because I’m not a heels girl.

2. In a sweater that didn’t fit me last year.

3. In a necklace I made for myself instead of standard pearls.

4. Wrapped in total positivity.

So yes, it’s not exactly a fortune five hundred job, but it’s a job that I went out for, interviewed for, and rocked that interview–like best interview I’ve ever had kind of rocked it. She hired me on the spot!

So what does this mean? Maybe I should be rocking some extra positivity–not because I think that positivity naturally begets positive results (it might, though) but because I am positive. That’s who I am, that’s what I do. And frankly, I think the best way to get what you want (and not get hopelessly confused in the process) is to be your damn self.

I’ll let you know how adventures in retail go. I’m starting part time, so I’ll still be freelancing for a while (if not forever, let’s be honest). What I’m really excited about, however, is with a little extra cash, I’m going to start concentrating my freelancing efforts on the things I really, really want to do–like write for magazines!

Which, in a funny way, kind of feels like a birthday present to myself. What a better way to turn 25 than to really concentrate on achieving exactly what I want to achieve?

Also This Week:

Check out my new post “Taking Off My Makeup” on MyBigLife.com

And the new Vlog for Adventures of a Lap Bandit

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Jobs, Luck, and Positivity

By AC

Oct

You know, it’s like Pretty Woman says: “The bad stuff is easier to believe”. But here’s what I want to know: who EVER told you life was going to be easy? And if there’s one thing that’s worth fighting for, it’s your divine right to see the world as happier, shinier, and generally more positive than it really is. It’s why we smile at strangers and why we sometimes just have to laugh (even if it is to keep from crying). Yeah, a recession isn’t the easiest time to be positive, but it’s also the most necessary time to be positive.

So, tomorrow I have an interview. If you don’t know me, I do lots of interviews (well, not lots, but I apply for an obscene amount of jobs/positions), I like to throw lots of pasta against the wall to see what sticks. I’m pretty excited about this one tomorrow; it’s a direction I could definitely go in (going back into full time retail) and it’s right by my house. I realize that retail probably isn’t what everyone reading this blog thinks that I want to be doing with my time (heyyy…isn’t this blog about writing…) but actually, I’m fed up with freelance writing to the point that I don’t want to do it full time. I want a regular job! I want to see people everyday! I want PAID VACATION! And I can’t say how long I’ll want that for, but right now, this is what I want. And that’s ok!

But of course, absolutely none of that means that I’ll get it! That’s the part that comes down to luck. So here I go, ready to be positive, and crossing my fingers. Wish me luck!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Where Have I Gone?

By AC

Oct

Sorry I haven’t been blogging, like, at all. Also, sorry to use “like” so flagrantly in the opening sentence. I’ve been healing, seeing some friends, sleeping excessively and thinking. Thinking a lot.

Right now, I’m not in the best place in a lot of ways. I’m desperate for a change, I feel stuck, and I feel frustrated in every direction. I think I need a new job, I desperately want a proper (writing) vacation, and of course, I want some serious luck with the publishing industry. With my 25th birthday closing in on me (November 7th!), I honestly just want to feel some serious progress in one way or another in my life.

But you know what, the past few days have made me realize a few things:

1. Everything really will be ok.

2. When things aren’t really working, there’s always an opportunity or silver lining. Life is in the living of it, not in the waiting for things to happen.

3. A positive attitude is unbelievably essential.

#3 is especially important to me. I’ve just been getting so disheartened by everything, and negative talk is constantly spiraling through my head. I realize that at almost every juncture in my life I seem tempted to change absolutely everything, but right now I’m trying to make some pretty significant changes in my life and keeping positive is insanely important.

So bring on the rainbows and fluffy bunnies, I’m going on a negativity strike.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Janice Hardy’s THE SHIFTER

By AC

Oct

Ok, so I haven’t been sleeping much due to no longer taking heavy duty pain meds, and last night I finally read the book that I pre-ordered two weeks ago and then didn’t really feel well enough to read in the hospital (or after).

Oh, my, god. First off, I loved it. I found out about it through Kristin Nelson’s blog (her agent, as it were), and was really interested by the promise of a fairly unique fantasy and I fell helplessly in love with the story. Nya is my kind of narrator, with a gentle introspection and lightly self-deprecating humor while still being powerful, loving, and a little flawed.

Taken from Janice Hardy’s site:

Fifteen-year-old Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person and storing it inside her own body. But unlike her sister Tali and the other Takers who become Healer’s League apprentices, Nya’s skill is flawed: she can’t push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store person to person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she’d be used as a human weapon against her own people.

Rumors of another war make Nya’s life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purpose. At first, Nya refuses, but faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say,
principles are a bargain at any price, but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?

Seriously, this book just rocked. The world was believable and real, and Hardy struck this great cord between “fantasy speak” and contemporary speak that always kept me a little off kilter and totally engaged.

And OMG, the romantic interest is hootttt. Loved him. But don’t believe me; read an excerpt here.

I can’t wait for the sequel. Congratulations on a stunning, terrific debut, Janice!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’m Back (and tired)

By AC

Oct

Hello world! Today marks several milestones post-surgery (everything went well; there will be posts up soon on http://mybiglife.com/adventures-of-a-lap-band-it/ that go into more detail). I’m going out on my own for the first time, driving a car for the first time, and (wah wahhh) going back to work. A little bit. Just easing myself into it, but still.

And since going off heavy duty painkillers seems to mean I can’t sleep the night through, I’m also exhausted, and my mental processes have run their course.

**Update: New post is up: Five Days Post-Op | Adventures of a Lap Band-It http://bit.ly/11UbBt

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Hiatus

By AC

Oct

Well, I don’t know how long I can stick to a hiatus, but by the time this post goes up, I’ll probably be out of surgery. I’m writing this the night before, but there should be a new article up some time on MyBigLife, so check here for more details.

Also, there are two new videos up on YouTube, so if you’re not a member of MyBigLife yet (if you are you can see my videos on my profile) you can check the YouTube feed here.

Which, just for the record, I look heinous in all of these videos, but whateverrrrr.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

If It’s Thrilling, it can’t be Wrong

By AC

Oct

This is what I’m talking about! I went to bed at three am last night, and despite that I woke up this morning and ran downstairs to look at what I wrote yesterday. My stomach is literally in butterflies thinking about it–I started the first chapter of the Robin Hood story! And I CANT WAIT to write more. Literally. It’s throwing a wrench in my weekend, but my little capricious monkey of creativity just grabbed me.

THIS is what Loose was missing, this feeling, this thrill. You can read that in the writing. I don’t pretend to know why Loose didn’t have it just yet–maybe because Robin Hood was there first–but even though Loose made me pretty intellectually excited, there were no sparks when I started to write.

Robin Hood definitely has sparks. I LOVE thieves!!

Okay, off to write….

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!