Hi guys!
I spent all weekend, including Friday, at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's conference. There were panels and master classes and workshops, as well as the opportunity to pitch to agents and get critiques of the first parts of stories. I learned a lot of interesting things, including how to prepare a manuscript and turn it into an epub and mobi document, which means I'll be able to produce my own ebooks. This is important because I also made contacts who work as freelance editors, including one lady who is an erotica editor for Changeling Press. Now I have people to go to to get quality editing so that when I finally do put out my own ebooks, you the reader will get something professional, and not something that looks homemade.
When I say finally I actually mean pretty damn soon, hopefully before the holidays, because I want to get my older stuff revised and rolling. I'm going to start with The Captain and see how that goes. Right now I don't have plans to get rid of the free versions on Literotica, so there won't be any yelling and screaming and gnashing of teeth. The new version will be professionally edited, will bring all three parts together, will have cover art and be very reasonably priced, but there should still be options for people who just can't bring themselves to pay for me or who have no other way of accessing my work. I want to be a professional writer, but I also get that this habit can get expensive.
I also learned about Chinese ghost lore (so awesome), fantasy fundamentals (thanks Carol Berg, now I have so much more work to do), rewriting and revising (thanks for the same reason, Cindi Meyers), I got to sit in on panels with Rob Thurman (urban fantasy) and Ron Malfi (thriller/horror) and Margaret George (historical fiction) and I met a ton of fantastic people in addition to all the other stuff I can't remember but have written down. I attended this conference last year for the first time and loved it, and this year was different but still very good. When it comes to improving the craft of writing, making connections and scaring the fuck out of yourself by pitching your story to an agent who couldn't be bothered to stop texting for the first few minutes of your meeting with her, I highly recommend a conference like this.
Bit by bit, I'm getting there. Anyway, there should be Love Letters on Tuesday and a beginning to my Cody story later in the week, as long as no more natural disasters befall us. Have a lovely Sunday, darlins.
PS--Rob Thurman (of Cal and Niko Leandros fame, check it out here) critiqued my mainstream UF novel and gave me such a nice response! Of course, this is the novel I'm shelving for now, but still...huzzah for being told I write at a professional level! How lovely, considering I'm trying to actually be a professional.
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