OK, it’s official. B.J.’s lost her mind. What three things could The North Pole and The Writers’ Conference possibly have in common?
1. The Elves
There are A LOT of busy little elves at the writers’ conference. Hundreds of them, in fact. Many of these elves have worked just as hard as you to pull together ideas, pitches, and projects. And they’re working just as hard to get the attention of editors and agents.
But before you stand on your head and jiggle your bell-clad toes, pause. Remember – not all attention is good attention. (Do you REALLY want to be remembered for all time as the elf who wrote his own name in lights on the floor of Santa’s workshop?)
Like your big elf ears, your writing will stand out on its own. Get out there. Share your work. People will notice it for its own merit.
2. The Frivolity
What do you get when you put 300 extroverted elves together?
300 karaoke rounds of Santa Got Run Over by a Reindeer.
Do yourself a favor: enjoy the frivolity. Hang out with people. Don’t refer to it as “networking”. Build relationships because you WANT to, not because you secretly hope to add everyone to your mailing list. And definitely not because you’re hoping the elf with the pointy toes will jab them into the editor at his publishing house and the editor will notice you and publish your brilliant piece of writing that you created while you sat in that boring session about run-on sentences.
3. The Sleigh Ride
Folks, anyone who tells you a writers’ conference isn’t a crazy ride is selling something.
Your emotions will swing from exuberant to exhausted in the span of about three hours. You will be so tired of people that you will want to move to the South Pole just to get away from it all.
Do yourself a favor. Take a break. Skip a meal. Walk through the woods. Ask yourself why you are doing this. Get back to why you started on this crazy ride.
Because when it comes down to it, we aren’t really working for Santa. When we figure it out, we realize it’s about something much, much bigger.
We all just want to be the best little elves we can be.
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B.J. Hamrick is a journalist, humorist, and Real Teen Faith Editorest.
From one pointy eared follower to another, thanks BJ! lol Cute post. Love it. And great advice! This past conference I played hooky from a session to walk across the street with my friend and find diet coke. A must in our pepsi-only hotel. It was just the break we needed! Fresh air, cool weather, caffeine...
ReplyDeleteA Pepsi-only hotel?! To a girl who has a Coca-Cola addiction, that is cruel and unusual punishment. Thanks for your kind words, Betsy. Great post yourself yesterday!
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