Thursday, April 21, 2011

"R" is for RWA

RWA, for those of you who don't know, is the Romance Writers of America.  It's a professional organization which can be found at http://www.rwa.org/ and boasts over 10,000 members, including myself.  The RWA has local chapters in major cities where groups of writers meet, and there are even specialized chapters like Passionate Ink (I've mentioned them before...they're the chapter for erotic romance writers), Gothic Romance Writers, Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal, and Hearts through History, just to name a few.

Their mission is to help the professional interests of romance writers by assisting with networking and advocacy.  As with any profession, I think it's beneficial to have a professional organization to help you with whatever you're doing.

What I'm super excited about is going to their conference in New York City at the end of June and early July.  I'll be meeting the lovely Shelley, my critique partner, there, and we'll be exploring all that the writing world has to offer.  We've had a great time going over the massive list of workshops, which include classes about anything and everything relating to writing.  Whether it has to do with research, the craft and process of writing itself, how to get published, or a writer's life, they have it.

Some of the workshop titles include:
Hips Don't Lie: Body Language between the Sexes
My Agent Can't Give that Away!  
But Can I Still Feed My Kids: or, When Can I Quit the Day Job? 
The Dynamic Duo: How to Create a Winning Author/Agent Partnership 
and 
Rejection: Making “No” Work for You.


This will be my first conference and experience in the "real" writing world, and I am looking forward to meeting some awesome people.  


If you're interested in going, I know that you have to be an RWA member first, but check out their website for more information.  I have a feeling this will be the best thing that's happened to my writing career so far!  
Me, in my fantasy, with the earnings from my first book. Don't judge.


Now, if I can only meet someone famous in an elevator, pitch the amazing book I've been slaving over, and walk away with a multi-million dollar contract.  


Hey, I can dream, though, right?  


I know I will have more posts relating to the conference as the clock ticks down.  Are any of you going?  Have you been to a writer's conference before?  Thoughts?   


xoxo Sarah

4 comments:

  1. Oh, funny! I posted about the UK equivalent of the RWA today!

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  2. Awesome! I'll bet most countries have some version. It's great to have an organization to help writers out. :-D

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  3. LOL! That was great! I've not been to an RWA conference but I try to hit a couple of them a year. Conferences are great for learning and networking.
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  4. @Raquel: I'm glad you liked it, and I'm happy to hear that you've had good experiences with conferences in the past. I'm really hoping this is worth the trip, and I'm looking forward to it.

    @BornStoryteller: LOL! I loved Duck Tales, and I still want a vault I can dive into to swim around in my millions. :-P

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