I spent my weekend at the Redwood Writers Writers\u2019 Conference and what a nice event this was. It was held in Santa Rosa, California. There were somewhere around 100 writers in attendance. And the conference organizer, Marlene Cullen, did a spectacular job planning and running the event. I want to thank Marlene and her enthusiastic committee for all they did to make this a success. A special thanks goes to Tom Marianis who volunteered to shuttle me from and to the airport.<\/p>\n
I flew into Santa Rosa from Southern, California around mid-morning\u2014arriving in time to check in, freshen up and attend a luncheon with novelist, Sheldon Siegel as the keynote speaker. Inspiring and interesting.<\/p>\n
I gave my presentation at 3:15 that afternoon. I had a lovely, attentive audience of around twenty-five people. <\/p>\n
At conferences such as this, there are usually two to four sessions occurring at the same time. So there is something for everyone. After a conference, organizers generally ask the participants to fill out an evaluation form.<\/p>\n
One author came up to me at the networking gathering after the sessions and said, \u201cI wrote on my evaluation sheet that you made the conference for me. You said exactly what I needed to hear and I believe you.\u201d Nice!<\/p>\n
I have had a couple of instances recently illustrating how important exposure is or how exposure can work in your favor. One occurred at the conference. A woman who attended my session came up to me and asked if I was the same Patricia Fry who spoke at the San Diego State University Conference a few years ago. I said that I was. She said, \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to attend that conference, but I purchased your tape afterward and I listen to it a lot.\u201d When I told her I did five sessions that year, she excitedly told me that she was going back and ordering all of my tapes. Don\u2019t you love it when you experience the results of the exposure?<\/p>\n
Also at the conference, an author came up to me and said, \u201cYour name is so familiar, but I can\u2019t place where I\u2019ve heard it.\u201d He may someday figure out that it is because I write regularly for a newsletter he reads, that he has one of my books, that he has seen me mentioned in another book he has on his shelf, that he attended another conference where I spoke, that I was recommended as an editor or that he simply came across my websites or blog while doing some research. <\/p>\n
The day before I left for the conference, I did a telephone consultation with a ghostwriter. He said he may want to hire me to edit the book he\u2019s working on. He said that he chose me to contact because he met me at a book festival during the summer and was impressed by what I had to offer. He said that, upon further investigation\u2014exploring my website and so forth\u2014he was convinced and he contacted me. Fortunately, the questions he needed answered are exactly within my area of expertise and he was very happy with our consultation.<\/p>\n
It is not unusual for someone to come to me for assistance long after meeting me at a conference or a book festival. One of my clients looked me up three years after we met at a conference in Wisconsin. We worked together on her project for about a year after that.<\/p>\n
I am eager to see how my exposure at this conference pays off. The gifts that come from giving are sweet, indeed. I love hearing how one of my presentations pointed an author in the right direction with his or her book project. I enjoy welcoming a new SPAWN member who first heard of us when I spoke at a conference. I especially like receiving news of the success of an author who attended my session or read one of my books. I\u2019ll keep you posted as to the serendipity that comes from this enjoyable weekend.<\/p>\n
You may have noticed that I kept up my blog obligation despite the fact that I was gone over the weekend. How did I manage that? I wrote Saturday\u2019s and Sunday\u2019s blogs last week. Saturday, when I got up to get ready to drive to the airport (at 2:45 a.m.), I posted the Saturday blog. When I returned yesterday afternoon, I posted the Sunday blog. I hope you noticed.<\/p>\n
What did I talk about at the conference? The two keys to publishing success. If you want to know more about this, let me know. I can refer you to past posts and articles on this topic.<\/p>\n
Visit my websites: http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> I spent my weekend at the Redwood Writers Writers\u2019 Conference and what a nice event this was. It was held in Santa Rosa, California. There were somewhere around 100 writers in attendance. And the conference organizer, Marlene Cullen, did a spectacular job planning and running the event. I want to thank Marlene and her enthusiastic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,15],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"