A writing conference can give you a good kick in the you-know-what

A writing conference does several things:

It yanks you out of your inner sanctum and surrounds you with fellow writers.

It sends you back to your inner sanctum loaded with ideas.

I am at step two now. My first step is reviewing my notes and looking over the business cards and bookmarks I collected over the weekend at the Florida Writers Association conference in Orlando. 

First thoughts: I need to rework my business card. And I need bookmarks. Odd thing is, most of my reading is on my Kindle. Kindle has virtual bookmarks but I rarely use them. As I designed my business card before the conference, I came across several design-your-own-bookmark sites. Who needs bookmarks when I have tiny slips of paper, old medical bills, and even business cards to mark my pages? I do, as it turns out. A physical bookmark can contain a world of information on a tidy keepsake.

I have an example. Heidi McIntyre is a book marketing coach, it says it right at the top of the colorful bookmark: “Empowering Authors to Succeed.” Her contact info is below as is a QR code. On the flip side, she features the covers of her books in the Hidden Gems Series: “Sea Magic” and “Dark River Magic.” Below that, is her web site, Facebook and Instagram addresses.

Great info. I am going to order one of her books. I don’t usually read in her categories. “Sea Magic” seems part romance, part fantasy, and part historical novel. The otherworldly romance is based on the legend of the pirate Black Sam Bellamy.

That got my attention.

In a 2008 Forbes article about “Top-Earning Pirates,” Bellamy got the top spot:

The highest-earning pirate ever was Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, an Englishman who made his bones patrolling the New England coast in the 18th century. By our calculations, "Black Sam" plundered an estimated $120 million over the course of his career. His greatest windfall occurred in February of 1717, when he captured a slave ship called the Whydah, which reportedly held more than four and a half tons of gold and silver. Bellamy, known for his relative generosity, took the Whydah as his new flagship and gave one of his old vessels to the defeated crew.

Black Sam never got a chance to spend his newfound wealth. He, his ship, and its booty were lost in a gale off the U.S. coast. 

This takes me back to McIntyre’s novel. I bought it and will read it because the history captured me. It’s not too jaded to assume that the romance also won’t capture me.

To conclude, I met a writer at a writing conference. Her info took me to her web site and to several hours reading about pirates. I did attend several book-marketing sessions conducted by the author and they were very informative, but it was the pirate that hooked me.

It took me ten years to write a novel and get it published. It came out in May and I sold a few but after that, crickets. I have been remiss in marketing. One writing conference didn’t give me all the answers but it blazed a path for me. Now my sails are set.

Wish me fair winds and following seas.