On sale $0.99 August 10 – 17

What camp is to kids, a summer writers conference is to a writer. My daughter and I have polished our manuscripts and will meet up in Portland to attend the Oregon Christian Writers Conference.

A writers conference is a mix of relationship building, studying the craft, and learning art of marketing. The experience can motivate you to take your work to the next level, or, despite the best intentions of presenters, it can discourage you.

Like a kid at camp, you may enjoy every minute, from early morning devotions to late Nite Owl sessions. Or you may feel like calling the airlines to see if you can exchange your ticket for an earlier flight home. It depends on how well prepared you are and what expectations you bring with you. These are mine:

•  A short list of precise questions I want to ask and appointments with people who may have the answers
• A practiced pitch and a seat in a seminar that will help me improve my pitch
• An expectation that I will be annoyed (but smiling) when I hear things like, “blog your way to success in 30 days,” or “secrets best selling authors know.” Emotionally this affects me the same way as tabloid headlines like “How to Lose your Belly Fat.” If it were that easy, we would all be cashing big royalty checks and shopping for size 2 clothing.
• A plan for dealing with the downers that includes prayer, focus, and perhaps slipping away for a glass of wine in a lovely courtyard, or a walk by the river.

Conference Special

I will have books to sell at the conference, and for you Kindle readers, I’m dropping the price of  my first book, The Sheep Walker’s Daughter, to  $0.99 for the duration of the conference, beginning Monday, August 10.