By Geri Foster
This year I went to the Romantic Times Conference and RomCon
for the sole purpose of meeting and engaging with readers of Romance. I had a
wonderful time and met many delightful people while at these two conferences. I
also had the privilege to meet several of my favorite writers and became a fan
to some I’d never read before.
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| Happy reader |
The whole experience was career changing. I returned home
determined to write more stories, have deeper plots and develop compelling
characters if it killed me. I wanted to be better for those wonderful readers
I’d met, and I wanted to be equal to the outstanding writers I’d came in
contact with.
That’s true inspiration.
As writers we’re often alone in a dark room in the middle of
the night pounding on our computers. We rarely see the end result of our hard
work except when we receive payment for books bought. That’s a very cold way of
doing business. Yet we don’t own shops where customers come in and browse and
we get to know them in the process. With no face to face contact we have no
idea what a reader really wants from a writer. We only have a paycheck and reviews to gauge
our success. With only a few tools to
work with, we write hoping our readers will like what we’ve spent months
writing. If they do, and they let us know, we’re thrilled. If they aren’t happy
with our story, we languish for days on how to get better at our craft.
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| Inspired writer |
I think the way to write the stories readers will love is to
love what you write.
I pour my heart and soul into my stories. I don’t hold
anything back for the next story. The book I’m working on is where all my love,
energy, and brain power goes. I dig deep to find everything there is to know
about my characters. I push to make my stories as exciting and emotional as
possible. When I write the end… it truly is the end for me. I’m exhausted and
thrilled, but I also know I gave that book every ounce of blood I had in my
body.
Do I love it? You bet I do. It’s the reason I get up every
day and come to this computer and work long hours for my readers. I want them
to know when they pick up one of my books they’re in for a memorable experience.
Read On!
Geri Foster always loves to hear from her readers and other
writers. You may contact her at the links below.
Sounds very revitalizing Gerri. You're right, writers spend most of our creative time alone and conferences are a great way to meet kindred spirits and recharge. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWish I'd been there, too. You are an amazing writer anyway, even before you went to conferences. Now you are a ball of fire at the keyboard!
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth. I think it's really important for a writer to meet their audience, and there is no better place than a reader's conference.
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline, Can't wait for next year. I'll be doing Margie Lawson's class in September. I might just get this writing down to a fine art...yeah! What's the odds of that happening. LOL!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I attended RomCon and it was a truly remarkable experience. Interacting with the people who read our books, finding new writer friends, you definitely come back energized and ready to finish more and more books.
ReplyDeleteIf the day job participates with me in scheduling, I'll definitely be going again next year.
Geri, I noticed a difference in you at our first critique meeting after RomCon. Definitely had a positive effect. I hope to go next year when I crawl out of my writers cave. ;-)
ReplyDeleteKathy, it was wonderful. The readers were awesome. I also made many new authors friend while there. A great experience all around.
ReplyDeleteGloria, I think you're right. You can't help but get caught up in the excitement. Before you know, it takes over your writing and you realize you aren't writing to just get books out there, you're writing because you don't want to disappoint your readers. Hope you can make it next year.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's readers who drive me to write. I write because I can't *not* do it. I wrote stories as a kid and I continued through school. I entered writing contests all through school and won a few. My ambition was to become an investigative journalist, a lofty goal for a female of my generation....Then I got bogged down by living and the writing went by the wayside....I started again 16 years ago almost to the day. To pursue my obsession with a clear head, I gave up a business and a different career that was far more lucrative than writing has been. I've worked at meaningless, maddening, menial jobs to support my habit and have the schedule to devote to writing. My social life is non-existent. I just told my husband last night that besides the sacrifices I've made, I now have so much time, effort and energy invested, I couldn't quit it if I wanted to. You'd think that after all of that, I'd be a New York Times Bestseller, wouldn't you?...Anna Jeffrey
ReplyDeleteP.S. I don't regret any of it and I do love readers who contact me and tell me they like my books. They have a place in my heart.
Geri, It was fun meeting you at Romcon! I agree, meeting with readers and sharing their excitement over reading and books is the best feeling.
ReplyDelete