I will be attending my first in-person convention over the next few days, the Nebulas, in nearby Pasadena. One of the people on the programming committee is in my writing group, and I know at least two authors whose books I have read will be there (one of whom was nominated for best novel in one category!). I am a little nervous to attend, but you have to start somewhere. I have two “office hours” scheduled; in one we will discuss my latest short story and in the other we will discuss either a query letter of 5 pages of my novel. I haven’t quite decided yet, but when I get the email I guess I will have to make up my mind.
I can’t help but remember this post, which I have saved in my email since I first read it in 2017. It is from the storyfix blog which used to be my go to craft. I feel like with this conference I am officially moving from the “orphan” category, to the “wanderer.” I have long thought about my professional journey in fiction writing and compared it to my related journey in my real life job as a chemist. When I first started doing research, I didn’t know what I was doing, how to submit a grant proposal, how to publish a paper, but with time, effort, and work, it came. My progress in fiction writing is slower (I’m not getting paid nearly as much to write fiction as I do in my day job!) but I feel like I am making progress, steadily forward.
I will write a report about what I learned next week when I recover.