Writer's Conference Basics, Part III - Staff & Volunteers

If you didn't see the previous posts in this series, you can find them at the following links:

Part I, Conference Basics
Part II, Attendees

Conferences need a lot of help to be pulled off successfully. There are two general ways you can be part of this: Staff and Onsite Volunteers. Typically, both are volunteers, but staff tends to have work in advance of conference, including planning and/or setup, and onsite volunteers tend to be attendees who have offered to lend a hand at the actual conference, but do not take part in the planning and setup (other than possibly onsite setup.) Staff also generally have job titles and roles they must fulfill. These roles run the gamut from coordinating the ballroom decorations to directing the conference.

Benefits of volunteering/being staff: So why would you want to help? What's in it for you?

One major plus to volunteering is being part of the community. Particularly if you are staff, you'll find that you spend a lot of time together during the planning stages. You get to know each other, and a tight knit bond can be created. I've been staff at PPWC for several years now, and some of my closest friends are people I met through my work there. My critique groups are made up of people I've met through PPWC, as well. Even if you just volunteer onsite, you'll meet people you might not have otherwise met.

Another benefit is getting to see behind the scenes. It takes a big chunk of the nerves out of the process of going to a conference. You get to know the people who run things, to become more comfortable with them. You learn a lot about how conferences are put on. I know that, for me, it helped me a ton going forward, and took a lot of the mystery out of everything, giving me a much better understanding of conference and what I might get out of it.

You know how I mentioned above that you meet a lot of people? Well, some of those people might end up being agents, editors, and bigwig authors. As a staff member, I've had the opportunity to sit down and talk in a friendly one-on-one manner with all of the above. I've sat in the green room and chatted with people who fell into these categories. As a non-conference volunteer, I've exchanged emails with all kinds of writers, editors, and agents. It has made it so I'm no longer nervous talking to them. I don't go gaga anymore. Not that I've ever been one to fangirl openly, but in my head, well, that might have been a different story.

Finally, there's the possibility of a comp/discount for the conference. I mention this one last intentionally. If you're volunteering only in the hopes of getting a discount, chances are they'll realize that. The people who continue to be asked to help are those that bust their butts working. If someone comes along and does a half-assed job, we notice, and we don't invite them back. We certainly don't offer them higher jobs or jobs with bigger comps. Plus, if you're doing it just for the comp, you're going to be sorely disappointed when you miss out on things because you're working. There may be perks that aren't money-related, too, such as preference for appointments, being the first in a door, mixers for staff and faculty, etc.

Drawbacks: The time investment might be a lot. You might miss workshops. You might take on a job that requires an unpleasant task (though this would usually be a higher up position). You may find you don't like the job you volunteered for.

My advice is to volunteer if you want to be a part of things, not for any perks it might offer. The perks are a happy extra, and are by no means guaranteed. But if it's a conference or organization you care about, why not give some time?

How to volunteer: Most cons will have some sort of volunteer tab/link or a way to volunteer on the registration form. Some will have advance information meetings you can attend to find out about job openings. You might also look up staff on their website to see if a volunteer coordinator or similar position is mentioned. If so, you can shoot them an email. Otherwise, you can contact the director or another higher up position and ask if there are any volunteer positions open.

This is specific to Pikes Peak Writers, but a good way to get picked up for a volunteer conference job is to be a presence at the non-conference events and to volunteer at them. Non-conference, in our case, is small, so there aren't a ton of volunteer positions, but a lot of us got our start by just offering to do simple stuff like clean up after an event, stack chairs, hold the clipboard and have people sign in on it, give out door prize tickets, etc. Look for openings and offer to help. You can do this at the conference, too, but most of the volunteer positions there are filled in advance, so it would be a case of an immediate need of help.

Either way, making yourself known, being friendly and helpful, these are ways to get asked to volunteer. But do look for other means if you aren't able to do that.

Questions to ask first: If you're considering volunteering your time, there are questions you should ask first in order to not bury yourself in a miserable position or one that takes more time than you can afford to give.

What is my time investment? You'll want to know how much time you'll have to give, both in advance and at the actual event. Find out if there are particular times/hours you'll be needed. Will you be needed at meetings. If so, when will those be? Will these hours be daytime, night time, weekends, or a combination of all these? If you have time limitations, you'll want to make sure they work with your volunteer job. You'll also want to know how flexible things will be for you, in terms of when you can complete your work. I get a ton of advance work done in the middle of the night, but I couldn't do that if it involved phone calls, for instance.

How much of the conference will I miss? This goes hand in hand with the time investment, but is specific to whether you'll be required during workshops. Some jobs may require you miss one or two workshops. Others may require more. While still others will be between workshops, so you won't miss anything at all.

Will there be costs associated, and will I be reimbursed? Ask in advance if there will be situations that will cost you money. If you take on a signs job, will you have to pay to have signs printed? If so, will you be reimbursed? When and how? How fast will you be reimbursed? Is there a process to get reimbursed?

What is my job? Ask in advance what the job is. What is the description? Ask for some specifics. What duties will you be required to perform? Will you need to interact with people? Will driving be involved? Is there a write-up of the job you can be sent in advance? You can ask for a time line of your work to see what your time as a volunteer will look like. Find out what expectations they have of you.

Who do I report to? It's good to know if you'll have a direct supervisor, and who that might be. Will they guide you, or is this something you'll have to step up and take care of on your own? How often do you need to report in, and in what ways? It's also a good idea to know who's above your supervisor, so you know where to go if there's an issue.

This is just a sampling of things you should ask. Be sure to consider other information you might need, and to ask questions accordingly. Don't be afraid to approach someone who used to do the job you're being asked to do. Ask them questions, too. Find out why they quit, and if they have any advice. Ask them if the time investment and job description are accurate. They might not have been the ones to write it up.

Final thoughts: If you volunteer in any capacity, whether as a staff member or as an onsite volunteer, don't come to it with the mentality that you're going to leech something out of it without doing the work. Approach with an open mind, ideas of your own, and as a self starter. All volunteer events, like Pikes Peak Writers Conference, run only as well as the volunteers running it. Be prepared for hard, but rewarding, work. Be prepared to work as a team, sometimes with people you don't necessarily get along with. This is true for any job, really.

What attendees want staff to know: Please bear in mind that, while this conference might be a place of comfort to you, to me it's quite possibly overwhelming. It's new. I might not know anyone at all, whereas you probably now have a group of friends that you've been working with leading up to the event, meaning you have a safety net I lack.

If I ask questions you think are silly, remember that you have inside information I don't have. Just because you know how all of this works, does not mean I do. And therefore it's not a stupid question.

Please be patient with me. Guide me. Reach out to me if you see I'm struggling. If I have a puzzled look on my face, ask if you can help. Chat with me. Introduce me to someone else who's new.

Anything you can do that won't make me feel like I'm drowning will be much appreciated, and I'll remember you forever for the help you gave me. I'll remember you greeted me with a smile, that you asked if I needed help, and that you answered my questions and made it seem like you were happy to do so. The opposite is true, as well. I will never forget you if you're rude to me or make me feel foolish for asking a question or being confused.

What faculty wants staff to know: Your conference is new to me, even if I've been to others, so please guide me to where I need to go. Let me know where I'm supposed to check in. If there's a green room, or a place faculty can rest, please tell me about that. Make sure I have a schedule, and that I know how your schedule works. Let me know how specific types of workshops work. If there is something particular to your event, tell me about it so I'm not caught unawares. And please give me as much information in advance as possible, including my schedule, book/consignment information, expectations, etc.

If I'm cornered or have someone in the audience who's a problem, please step in. The speakers aren't supposed to have to be the bad guys.

Now for some links. Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing along information I've come across. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

The Literary Hatchet is seeking dark fiction, poetry, and prose. They also take artwork, photography, and more. 1000-6000 words. Pays $1-$10, depending upon submission type. Current deadline July 1.

Thema's next submission theme is Second Thoughts. Short stories, poetry, art, and photography. Pays $10-$25, depending upon submission type. Deadline for this theme is July 1.

Manawaker Studio is seeking retellings of legends, myths, and fairy tales in science fiction and punk settings for Starward Tales. Short stories, poetry, and art. Pays $2-$30, depending upon submission type. Deadline July 1.

Sanguine Press is seeking science fiction, fantasy, and horror with the theme I Regret Nothing for their anthology Transitions & Awakenings. They pay on varying scales for length. Up to 10,000 words. Deadline June 30.

Flash Fiction Online is always open to stories between 500 and 1000 words. Pays $60 per story.

The Gettysburg Review seeks poetry, fiction, essays, reviews, and visual art. Pays $2 per line for poetry and $20 per printed page for prose.

Of Interest:

IndieListers allows people to post the marketing methods they've used, and their success (or lack of it). Credit goes out to Marla Newbrough Bell, from whom I got this link.

Do you have anything you'd want volunteers/staff to know? Have you been staff and have other pointers? Is there a question you always ask that I missed? Have you considered volunteering, but have held back? Is there anything you'd like to know that might help you volunteer?

May you find your Muse.

IMAGES
*Meeting, by OCAL, clker.com
*Clock, by OCAL, clker.com
*Volunteer Form, by clipartfan, clker.com
*Blackheadhead, by OCAL, clker.com
*Plastic Chain, by OCAL, clker.com

Start Proposing!

No, not to people.

By OCAL, clker.com

I've posted about various conferences, events, and conventions I've attended, and a lot of the comments indicate folks want to go, but are unable. Though not being able to go can be based on several issues, I thought I'd address the issue of cost.

If you can't afford to go to a conference, convention, or other writing event there are three major ways to address this: 1) Apply for a scholarship, 2) Volunteer, and 3) Propose a workshop of your own/apply to be a speaker. I'm going to focus on being a speaker, but will quickly speak about the first two options, as well.

1) Apply for a scholarship. Many large events have the option of winning a scholarship to attend. People donate to these funds to give you that opportunity. To find these opportunities, look around the event websites for information on scholarships or grants. Be sure to fill in all the information requested. Also, be prepared to have to do something, likely volunteer work, to "pay" for your scholarship. That is another way scholarships can be justified.

2) Volunteer to be staff. Any large event will be in need of volunteers, from folks who act as meal door guards to people who run a department. Obviously, the positions involving a supervisor or larger duty will likely be reserved for people who are knowns, who have volunteered in the past. But there are a ton of other positions available in these types of events that need to be filled. A note on this, if it's a situation where the event belongs to a group that also does other types of related, but perhaps smaller, events, volunteer at those events, offer to lend a hand when you see something that needs to be done, introduce yourself. The more the staff get to know you, the more likely they'll offer a recommendation should you ask for greater responsibility.

Just a note: staff will not necessarily get a full ride (and this is true of all these options.) It may be a percentage discount, a single free day, or another variation. You should find out when you get a volunteer position what your "payment" will be.

By OCAL, clker.com

3) Offer to be a speaker. To give you an idea of how this works, when a conference or writing event are being put together they will often put out a call for speakers. If it's the type of event that has keynotes, those folks will be contacted directly and issued an invitation. However, that still leaves a bunch of workshop times to fill. For Pikes Peak Writers Conference, we try to find a selection of types of workshops. For instance, we want some workshops on business of writing, some on the writer's life, some on the dynamics of writing, etc. Genre is also a consideration, and something folks want a mix of, but the wider the topic, the safer a bet it will be (unless you're attending a conference/event that is genre specific, such as a romance conference, though I imagine those still aim to make workshops applicable to different types of writing, in addition to romance.)

How do you make a topic applicable to a wider array of people? Take romance. Pretty much every genre can have romance wrapped into the story. There are romances in mysteries, thrillers, westerns, sci-fi stories, even horror. So anything on breaking down romance, creating it, building the pieces of it, anything along those lines can be made interesting to other genres. If you can work it into the verbiage, even better.

Speaking of verbiage, be prepared with a workshop description on the topic you wish to speak about. They'll want a title and workshop description. They may tweak it or ask you to make changes, and yes, they will sometimes be willing to put it together for you, especially if you've been asked to do a requested topic, rather than one you specifically put in to do. But if that isn't the case, it's considerably easier on those staffers dealing with this if you propose with a workshop title and description from the very beginning, not just a general pitch.

By OCAL, clker.com

A note: It will likely not be free for you to attend unless you're giving a bunch of workshops, so don't give one pitch, give several. If you don't get completely free attendance for presenting, you might get just the day you're speaking, or you may be given a percentage discount. Even a discount could make the event/conference doable for you. This will vary per event, and each one has its own basis for deciding how to "pay" speakers, whether that's with cash, free attendance, a free hotel room, or transportation. Know, though, that this is highly dependent upon cost of the event, your qualifications, and a bunch more. Figuring out ample good speakers for an event is a lot of work, and is harder than you might think.

If you pitch a workshop to a writing event and don't get a request to do the workshop, know that this doesn't necessarily mean they don't like your pitch. It may just be that they had too many of a certain type, that multiple people proposed the same sort of thing, or a variety of other reasons. Continue pitching the workshop each year (or each time the event occurs), pitch it to different groups/events, or tweak it before pitching again, if you think it maybe really was your pitch or workshop that was faulty. If there's anything writers know about, it's rejection and re-writing.

In a related option, if your workshop doesn't get picked up for a big event, consider looking for ways to pitch for individual events. For instance, I run the Non-Conference Events for Pikes Peak Writers. We put on a free 2-hour workshop each month, plus a smattering of paid workshops as they come up. While I actively pursue new speakers, I also appreciate pitches sent to me. And speaking at an individual event can be a way to get noticed for conference, though understand that there are far fewer openings for these types of events than an event that has multiple workshops going at the same time over a period of anywhere from a day to a week. Therefore, they (we) have to be really careful about spreading out topics and types of topics, and not repeating speakers until a certain amount of time has passed.

If the issue is not about affordability, but getting your book seen and your name known, your best chance is to go as a speaker, not as a volunteer. Your willingness to pay for the event is going to increase your chances of getting you in as a speaker (and, therefore, someone who possibly gets to sell and autograph books at the conference/event). You pay to go to the event, but give a workshop, and you will get a certain amount of exposure.

Hopefully, there are some ideas in here that might help you get into an event you couldn't previously afford.

Have you presented a workshop at any type of writing event? If so, what types of "payment" did you get, and was it worth it? Have you volunteered? Were you paid to volunteer, or given any other incentive? Were you glad you did so? Have you ever received a scholarship? Were there any requirements to fulfill in order to get it? If you haven't done any of these things, would you ever consider doing so?

May you find your Muse.

Conference Recap, Part Deux

Holy cow, it's Monday!

I should have written the recap while it was still fresh in my mind. I think I'm blocking it out for my own protection. ;)

Okay, so we move on to Saturday, where I started the day with even less sleep than the night before, because none of my technology would work to play me some music (and I need "white noise" to sleep). After several frustrating hours, I got my little iPod out, which was sitting in red for battery, and it had just enough juice to help me fall asleep for a few hours.

I moderated two sessions Saturday, one on blogging for writers and one on facing the excuses that keep us from writing, both by excellent speakers (Aaron Michael Ritchey and Jenny Lovett).

I helped setup for lunch then sat with Pete Klismet (one of our CSI speakers, retired FBI profiler). And I screwed up on my last post. Bonnie gave the stirring tribute speech about members lost this year on Saturday, directly preceding Jim C. Hines. Unfortunately, I had to set up for the book signing, so missed his speech. I heard after the fact that he had addressed diversity in writing.

My job at the book signing, once we had it all set up, was to mug people going in and out of the door. Okay, no mugging required, but I had to make sure no one left with a book they hadn't paid for yet, and anyone coming in with already purchased books got a sticker so I wouldn't have to mug them when they tried to leave. The book sale went well, and I didn't have to tackle anyone, so it was good.

I had left myself a space of time to rest up a bit before dinner, so I had some snackage in the green room, hung out with some folks for a bit, then actually went and had a shower. A SHOWER! Boy, I needed that shower. By the time I was done, it was time to rush down to the ballroom to set up for dinner. It was banquet night, so people dress anywhere between jeans and formal gowns. I wore a semi-formal gown. I don't really have pics of it, so here's the one I have from BarCon later on. (Shortly after this photo, I clipped my hair up and traded heels for slipper socks. Ahhhh, better.)

The dinner speaker was Hank Phillippi Ryan, who was inspirational, to say the least. I sat with Chuck Wendig and a bunch of friends, which was nice (typically, you pick your faculty member and sit with a bunch of strangers unless you have a friend who wants to sit with the same person). We had fun and joked around, and I got to relax because there was no terrifying costume contest. Yay!

After dinner was BarCon, with much ensuing goofiness. (And somewhere in there I ran around and did signs). Then sleeeeeeeep. Well, much hilarity, then sleep. Though still not much, I did get some more sleep than the night before. Thank goodness.

Sunday, the final day! Survival of the fittest! I went ahead and got up early enough to eat breakfast with everyone else (until this point, I had Carnation Instant Breakfast in the room each morning). Sat with some of my fellow staff, Terese Ramin, and Jim C. Hines, both of whom were nice.

Then I was off! I signed up to moderate every single session this day (there were three--it's a half day). First session was Jumpstart Your Rewrite with Trai Cartwright. Everyone groaned when we ran out of time, so it was a powerful presentation. She covered the steps of your story and what to look for in the plot itself when editing.

By Mohamed Ibrahim

Next, Bookstore 101 with Kris Neri. She gave great info on how authors should deal with bookstores (well, if you want them to want to carry your books for you...). There was quite a bit I hadn't thought of before, and quite a bit that surprised me. She had horror stories about rude authors, including one who convinced them to carry her book, then came in and hand sold her own copy (NOT the store's inventory) to someone right there in the store!! She also discussed the rules some publishers put on books that make them unappealing to carry for small bookstores, such as the only reasonable price being for those who buy over a certain number. Small, privately run bookstores can't afford to purchase 100 of a book to get a discount, and they can't afford to purchase books at full price. They have to make some sort of profit to keep the store open. She said to not try to fib that you shop at a store just to get the to sell their books--a small bookstore will know if you shop there. Tell the truth from the beginning, and it's not an automatic no. Also, since bookstores are area-dependent, not all bookstores can move your book, depending on the dynamics of the area. If the shop owner is nice enough to tell you why they can't carry it, just take it, don't keep fighting them. If you leave a bad impression now, maybe a book that would have worked in the future won't be accepted, either, because you've made a nuisance of yourself.

My final session was Marketing Children's Books, with Evangeline Denmark. She discussed those extra ways of marketing, like doing fun activities at a signing, school visits, etc. At the end, she had a couple people come up and tell us what their children's story consisted of, then got suggestions from the audience for how to market it (for a book about a baby gorilla, people suggested contacting zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, and other ideas like that.). Also, bringing treats is always good. To prove it, she even brought in cookies, both regular and unleaded (gluten-free).

Finally, it was lunch time. I sat with Jaxine Daniels, a friend and romance author, and Chuck Wendig gave the final speech at conference. He was hysterical, and ended it nicely. Quit making excuses and write, people!

After lunch, I had been volunteered to coordinate getting all our stuff back to the storage rooms. So several hours later, I went home and promptly passed out on the sofa, where the hubster snuck a photo of me.

And that's all, fo...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Do you have experience with speaking to bookstores to get them to carry your books? Any pointers for the rest of us?

May you find your Muse.

Conference Recap

Now that I am sufficiently recovered from the Pikes Peak Writers Conference (well, that's a lie, but close enough), I figured I'd do a quick recap.

Courtesy of OCAL, clker.com

Work for conference started months before the actual event, but we really buckled down in the month leading up to it. April was supercrazyfrantic month. We had a precursor to the conference in the form of one of our monthly free events, Write Brains, where the higher ups of conference gave tips and information, then took questions. We had a ton of first-time attendees, and we had pitch practice afterward, which seemed to have gone well. My job was to put it together, get the pitch volunteers, get the word out, introduce our speakers, time and moderate, and then run around making sure everyone was alright and had water during the practice pitching.

That was a little over a week before conference. At the same time, I was prepping signs for conference (session signs outside doors, directional signs, name plates for various places, etc., etc., etc.) Not a hard job, but one that consumes quite a bit of time. I was also searching for a new blog editor for the PPW blog and compiling information for her. Finally, my job as Non-Conference Events Director was ongoing, as I searched out future speakers, put together upcoming events, etc.

So I was busy!

Conference officially started for me on Wednesday. At least, that was the first day I was in the venue (The Colorado Springs Marriott), working. We stuffed registration packets, moved stuff over from our storage room (office supplies, microphones, a sound system, goods for the green room, books and registers for the bookstore, and lots, lots more). Those of us on the Board of Directors were pulled for an hour for a special meeting with Marriott staff (it involved peanut butter chocolate cake, so I was happy to attend, let me tell you!) After all that, I ran around putting up the signs we'd need when we opened the next morning.

Thursday morning dawned, and I raced to the Marriott a little later than I'd intended since I chose to take a shower rather than skip it. Blurg, mornings! I ran into the hotel holding my shoes, managed to lose the hair clips I was holding (never found them), and shot around the lobby doing stuff I needed to do before I needed to start moderating the CSI session.

Courtesy of dnt designs, clker.com

The CSI session was awesome. In the morning, we had experts, including EMTs, a coroner, a homicide detective, and an entomologist/forensic specialist. We staged a fake crime scene, and they walked through how they would handle it in real life. After the break, we focused more on the mind of the criminal, with an FBI agent, a sociologist, a psychologist, and one of the first FBI profilers. Different from the first half, but still interesting.

When that was done, I went home to get my stuff packed up since I was staying at the hotel over the weekend. I had dinner with friends then went to the airport to pick up Sarah Peed and Terri Bischoff, both editors. Happily, I found them both (I'm always worried I've missed them until that moment I finally locate them). After grabbing their luggage, we headed out to the car and got settled. We have to give a spiel when we pick folks up, letting them know about high altitude effects and the fact that they need to drink a ton of water, so I gave them each a bottled water. On the drive back, we merged onto a highway after an ambulance went by and were driving along, the ambulance flying on ahead of us, when I came upon a set of tail lights that seemed to be getting closer and closer. At the last minute, I realized this car was stopped in the middle of the lane (it was night time, so vision was limited). I yelled "Holy shit!" and slammed the brakes on. (Whoops) The car had stopped in the middle of the right hand lane because the ambulance was passing it, but it was still stopped after the ambulance had passed, did not have brake lights, and didn't use a blinker and/or move over to the side of the road. In short, there was a giant moron in front of me that almost got us all killed.

So that was fun.

They were both super nice about it, and said they hadn't been able to see it was stopped either, due to the lack of tail lights. I delivered them safely to the hotel, got them signed in at the front desk, then with PPW, and ran out to go put up the next day's signs and take down the Thursday signs.

Friday, I "slept in" until about 9 (though I woke up before that...choosing to keep my eyes shut and just doze until the alarm went off). My first job of the day was being the reader in something called R&C 123. This is a Read & Critique where a panel consisting of an editor, an agent, and an author read the first page of 10 people's manuscripts and critique it. The panel that session were Hank Phillipi Ryan, Gordon Warnock, and Terese Ramin. I read the first pages aloud so everyone in the audience could hear them (and so the panel members had some time to go over them before commenting), then listened as the panel did their critiques. It was a great session, one I like to attend at least one of each year (so volunteering to help in that session is a no brainer).

I then got a lunch break and went straight from there to moderate "Get it Edited," presented by Tiffany Yates Martin. She has a company (Fox Editing, I believe) that provides editing services, and she went over what to look for in editors you're hiring. She had great tips, such as what to look for and what to ask. As moderator, I didn't get to take notes, really (I briefly tried), but since I was working I needed to pay attention to other things. However, I absorbed some good info. For instance, you should always be very clear on all terms in advance, and always opt to have an agreement in writing. Specify your terms in that agreement. What type of editing do you need (line edits, copy edits, or developmental/substantive)? How long will they take to get it back to you? What will it cost/how do they charge? She pointed out that they should be telling you WHAT needs work or needs to be changed, but not necessarily telling you HOW to change it. She recommended the book "How to Grow a Novel," by Sol Stein (or something along those lines).

After that, I moderated an R&C Author, which is a Read & Critique session with an author. This one is more private than the 123, and you get 2 pages critiqued instead of just the first. You read it yourself then the author gives feedback. I was basically there to keep it flowing between critiques and to be the timer. Kris Neri was the author in this case, and she gave fantastic feedback in a very supportive manner. I always enjoy these sessions, as well. Every critique in any critique session teaches me something about my own writing.

My final session before dinner was another R&C 123, but this time I had submitted a piece and I wasn't working, just listening from the audience. Unfortunately, mine was the third to last one to be critiqued, so I was in there for awhile (I'd been hoping to be earlier in the stack so I could run up and get dressed early enough to get to the ballroom on time to help set up for dinner). The panel this time consisted of Gail Carriger, Kristen Nelson, and Sarah Peed (who, if you'll recall, was one of the women I nearly killed after picking them up from the airport).

I got overall positive comments, which was great! This is anonymous, so they had no idea who the story belonged to. The first thing Sarah Peed said was, "I love it. I love that it starts with action and keeps the pace going." I will keep that in my pocket. The story I submitted was the one I'm still working on writing, but I figured I'd see if it stood a chance. Apparently, it does. Gail and Kristen had a couple comments, but not much, and then it moved onto the next person.

Once finished, I rushed upstairs to get dressed. Dinner that night had a steampunk costume theme, so I had a lot to do to get ready. I did end up a bit late for setup, but I was able to help for a bit, and settled in at Hank Phillipi Ryan's table (I sat with Mark Lefebvre, of Kobo, at lunch). You see, at PPWC the various faculty host tables (not uncommon at writer's conferences that provide meals). So you can sit with authors, agents, and editors of your choice. Mark was nice, also funny, and we discussed self-publishing short stories after they'd been published elsewhere and the rights for the other entity had expired. It was an interesting discussion, and one I've thought about before.

Hank Phillipi Ryan was also incredibly nice. She convinced me to go up for the costume contest. In fact, her final words before I went up were, "Take those dishwasher hoses up there and make your husband proud!" My hubby had created some goodies and decorated my costume. If I'd done all the work, I wouldn't have gone up at all. I'm not a fan of being up in front of people unless I'm working. I did go up, though, and I was a semi-finalist, though I did not win. Here are a couple pics, if you want to check out my costume (each of these folks blogs, too, and I've noted their blog in the captions)

With Evangeline Denmark, who blogs at http://evangelinedenmark.com/

:

With Stacy S. Jensen, who blogs at http://www.stacysjensen.com/

You can't see it because of my flash, but the tubes going up over my shoulders are lit up in blue, and there are blinking lights on the console in the front.

I posted a bunch more pictures on my Facebook. I don't have it on here, but you can always find me at www.facebook.com/shannondkl (I do have The Warrior Muse's Facebook page on here in the right hand column, though.)

Gail Carriger spoke that evening as the keynote. She talked about how she was going to school to be an archaeologist when her big break in writing came, and how she was forced to choose between the two. She hit it big pretty fast, and has been going forward at blinding speed ever since. The lunch speech was our conference director saying hellos and opening everything up. We also had a lovely speech from Bonnie, past conference director, to honor some PPW members we lost this year. Among them was a friend, whose funeral I attended this past Saturday. PPW meant so much to her that her family held the service until the weekend after conference so that her writing friends could attend. Her packed bag was there to represent PPW, which was hard to see, but I'm glad it was a place of happiness for her.

This has run incredibly long (SORRY!), so I will continue onto Saturday and Sunday next week. Friday night simply consisted of what we refer to as BarCon, which is where all the writers retire to the bar and hang out. Much fun was had, though I ran up and changed my costume before coming back down to hang out. And I also took a break from BarCon to go put up the next day's signs. I may or may not have stayed up way too late with a couple friends, well after BarCon shut down for the night. Whoops.

Are you familiar with steampunk? Have you ever dressed up for a steampunk event? What costume would you go with? 

May you find your Muse.