...of She Speaks Conference part 4

“Please just give me my ramblings, (referring to the article), back. No need to critique it. I know that I’ve got work to do.”

Okay, so I didn’t really say that aloud, but I wanted to. As I read the well-written and thought out articles of my peers I felt that Larie had no place in the Writer’s Track at ‘She Speaks.’ This wannabe writer is just that, a wannabe!

On the contrary, the two ladies I paired up with seemed to think otherwise. The comments they had for me were surprising. VALIDATED! Once again, Larie felt validated. They both agreed that the concept was a good example, however, the article needed a clear transitioning connection, and guess what, they even advised me on how to achieve that! We exchanged contact information for future assistance in our writing careers and caught glimpses of one another over the remaining weekend.

Saturday, the 1st of August, at 8:30 a.m. Wendy Pope told us “What to do in the W.A.I.T.” Her advice to us came from the account of David just before he was chosen as King and a little after. Then it was time for breakout sessions. Susanne Scheppmann led our group, which consisted of many writers, toward “The Pathway to Publication.” She shared her rejection stories with humor and encouragement. We were also advised to attend as many writing conferences that we could and to establish a speaking platform if we want to publish nonfiction. Ms. Scheppmann kindly autographed her page in the book titled, “for the Write Reason,” by Marybeth Whalen, for me!

Next, I “sat at the feet” of Glynnis Whitwer while she assisted us through, “Magazine Writing 101: Honing Your Writing Skills.” The advice she gave was very simple, not overwhelming at all. It was straight to the point with great application points. And guess what, she too was oh so kind by signing her page in “for the Write Reason!” After this session, lunch was served and then, I had another meeting…

…this time I met with a representative of “DaySpring.” How embarrassed I was, after pitching my proposal, when “DaySpring’s rep informed me that they do not publish books! I almost threw up! How unprepared that made me seem! Fortunately, she assured me that it, (mistaking them for publishers), happens quite often because they do advertise books and the Editorial Director herself had just published the book, “Rain On Me,” it just wasn’t published by “DaySpring!”

Instead of throwing up, I grabbed a rebound and said, “That’s okay because I came prepared with something else that I also wanted to pitch!” She expressed an interest in it and asked me to expound a bit more then send it to her electronically! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! We, (Acts 4:32-36), did it y’all, we did it! Congratulations!

Lysa Terkeurst stepped up at her appointed time to reveal, “How to Write a Book.” Again, this woman’s message was powerful! She opened up with a visual aid using a pineapple! I bet you wish you were there for that, HA! What I liked most about Lysa’s presentation was that she told us that our book should reflect our personality. This is exactly why I choose to write nonfiction; it’s me, it’s real. And yes, Ms. Terkeurst also graciously signed her page in “for the Write Reason!”

Well, it looks as if I will have to grant ‘She Speaks’ an extension because I have much more to say about it. Therefore, look forward to hearing more about this highly recommended conference tomorrow and through some of next week.

smooches!