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For Three Days, I was a Romance Author. Period. #RWA13

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RWA 2013 has come and gone and for three days, I was a Romance Author. Period.

For three days, I wore pretty dresses, jewelry with extra bling and a bright pink flower tucked into my name tag. I attended workshops conducted by the best of the best in romance. I placed faces to names I see on NYT/USA Bestseller lists, on the front table of my Barnes & Noble, and in my supermarket across from the milk case. I met and secretly “fangirled” over authors I admire and who inspire me every time I sit down to write.

For three days, I talked to new authors just starting out asking me, me, how I got my foot in the door.  For three days, I learned the struggle and sacrifice of incredible women such as Kristan Higgins who used to clean houses for extra money and of brand new authors who took loans to attend conference.

For three days, I walked empowered and confident, armed with tools to make me a better writer. At the same time, twinges of inadequacy and self doubt about my writing and the ability to succeed churned within. It was exciting. It was scary. It was amazing.

For three days, I was Sandra Bunino, Romance Author. This is in sharp contrast with the three hundred and sixty-two other days of the year when I’m a romance author, wife, mother, corporate slave, food shopper, errand runner, dog walker, bed maker, laundress, cook, housekeeper (I use those last two titles loosely), and everything else that falls under the responsibility of a working mother with a passion to do something more. Something special. Something spectacular, if even just for me.

The RWA 2013 experience makes me strive to be better. To make better use of my time and be more disciplined with self imposed deadlines. It makes me focus on my writing, to put everything I have into my book and to tell the best possible story I can. The readers who invest their time and money into my work deserve it, and I deserve it too.

One thing I love about attending this conference is being able to benchmark achievements over the year and make new goals to work fight toward for next summer. Some of my goals are personal, others I can share:

  • I will have a MS ready to pitch to the big players next year.
  • I will write everyday and be faithful to my word count goals.
  • I will limit my social media time (also known as the black hole of time sucking) and make better use of my time.
  • I will finish writing the story I started. The one that scares me personally, the one that’s been niggling at me over the past few months. The one I hope to be pitch ready by next year.
  • I will read many of these wonderful books received at conference and try very hard not to feed my Amazon 1-click addiction by buying even more books.
  • I will blog more often and give my readers great stuff to check out each week.
  • I will help support my fellow authors. Whether through promotion, beta reads, advice, and/or collaboration. Support, critique and encouragement are paramount in this industry and I will do my part.

There they are, my lucky seven. Notice becoming a better cook and housekeeper are not on my list. Oh well, maybe next year. *snort*

xoxo

~S


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