My brain is all over the place right now. I leave for Vegas tomorrow evening for the RNConvention, and I’m nervous, excited, and other emotions that are all over the place. I haven’t even posted in about four days because there’s been so much to do. I also haven’t had time to comment on other people’s posts, so I hope I’m forgiven. 🙂
Anyway, there’s a buzz all over Facebook about this convention, and there are so many excited people posting on the event page about all kinds of things. But I’m seeing a trend that’s bothering me just a bit. Yes, I KNOW it’s Vegas. And Vegas is about fun. But this is a convention with lots of classes that Jimmy set up for us to learn. He worked hard on getting the speakers lined up. But I’m not seeing ANYONE saying how excited they are to be attending these classes. It’s all about drinking and dancing. I’m not criticizing this at all, because I know most of these people have never been to Vegas, and many of them have never been to any writing conferences. It’s okay to have fun. (I’ve even posted about how I’m worried about what clothes to bring.) But I think some people have missed the whole point of the convention. As writers, we need to learn all we can about this business because it’s not as easy as it used to be. When I first started publishing, there was very little competition. Now there’s LOTS of competition, so it’s hard for readers to find us unless we stand out. Yes, we need to write a good book. But then readers have to FIND that book. It’s getting harder. I’m hoping to learn some marketing strategies as well as how to write a better book.
So what I want to bring back from Vegas is lots of knowledge that will help me in my business. Well, that and something for my husband from the Pawn Stars shop. 🙂