Know what that means for all us writers across the blogosphere? The world's best, webbiest, and free-est writing conference is on its way!
You can register for this online amazing-ness right here at WriteOnCon.com. Registration will get you set for participating in the forums, which you will definitely want to do. Feedback from other writers, and lurking agents? Yeah, that's the place for that.
Just like last year, the conference is free (which is incredible and all kinds of happymaking).But you can and totally should donate what you can in the bottom right corner of their website.
If you're thinking of skipping it this year, read this first.
Below you can read about last year's inaugural WriteOnCon conference from the perspective of each organizer-unit-thingy (mostly individuals, except for LiLa).
Okay, words from Elana Johnson about this year's conference:
Trust me when I say you’re going to want to have your best behavior on, your query letter polished, and your schedule from Tuesday, August 16 – Thursday, August 18 cleared.
You heard the woman!
p.s. August 1st will see a Mystery Agent contest atOperation Awesome. Standard rules apply (one-sentence pitch, completed novels only, first fifty to comment make it in). See the official August 1st post for details, but therange of genres is pretty wideand varied, so just polish that pitch and plan on entering if you're feeling ready. Can't wait to see what you've got!!
(I reposted this from my personal blog yesterday. It's that epic!)
And last, but not least, WriteOnCon's charming dynamic duo...
Lisa and Laura Roecker
of
Lisa and Laura Roecker’s debut novel, Liar Society, will be published by Sourcebooks in Spring 2011. An unstoppable duo bent on world—er—publishing domination, you can cyberstalk them on their personal blog, their website, and Twitter. Lisa and Laura are represented by Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management.
Katrina Lantz:WriteOnConwas seriously epic, historic, unprecedented! As one of its organizers, did you expect WriteOnCon to garner as much industry support as it did? To what do you owe this?
Lisa and Laura Roecker: When Elana contacted us and shared Casey's idea, we knew it was a big idea. And yet none of this would have been possible without the expertise of all of the organizers, the contributions of all of the industry professionals, as well as the support of every participant. Honestly though, we weren't surprised. The writing community is one of the most supportive communities we have ever been a part of. Writers and publishing professionals always seem to be "on board" and will do everything in their power to support one another. It's really, really cool.
Katrina: What were your thoughts on opening morning when thousands flocked to the site to participate in the first free online writer's conference?
LiLa: Best feeling in the world. As annoying as Error 403 was, we knew the error occured because of overwhelming participation, which is exactly what we'd hoped for! It's these moments that reinforce how positive and supportive the writing community is. We're proud to be apart of it!
Katrina: What was the hardest part about WriteOnCon's organization?
LiLa: We think the time constraints were a challenge. We planned for the conference in under four months, many juggling jobs, writing, families and life in general. But all of the founders had such incredible ideas that we were able to pull it off. Every member was absolutely essential--smart, smart girls!
Katrina: What was the most important thing you learned this year that will help with future online conferences?
LiLa: Besides paying to host the event, we think we learned a lot about the dynamics of a group chat. We found that the chats featuring more than one professional moved a bit faster just because there were more people to weigh in on questions! The unique viewpoints were also fascinating!
Katrina: What's next for WriteOnCon? The discussion forums remain active. What role do you see WriteOnCon playing between annual conferences?
LiLa: We are really excited to offer monthly chats brought to you by WriteOnCon. That way we can keep learning, connecting and socializing up until next year's conference!
Katrina: Do you know of any success stories (agents and authors who found each other during the conference)?
LiLa: During our feedback chat following the conference, we learned of a few success stories and are encouraging any participants with any successes to email us so we can feature them on the website! This is absolutely the most rewarding part of hosting a conference like this.
Katrina: What makes a writer awesome?
LiLa: We think open-mindedness makes a writer awesome. It's hard to accept feedback and determine how to integrate critiques. The WriteOnCon forums are the perfect example of writers' willingness to do just this. Writers are constantly seeking advice and feedback and support. And because of this open-mindedness, writers are learning and growing. And this makes for better books!
Katrina: I think I speak for the online writing community when I say THANK YOU! And we want to show our appreciation by spreading the word about WriteOnCon, as well as its organizers. You have a book coming out Spring 2011! We love shiny new books! Could you tell us a bit about it?
LiLa: THANK YOU! Our book is called THE LIAR SOCIETY and it is the first in a new mystery series following Kate Lowry. Kate receives an email from her dead best friend Grace on the anniversary of her death. When the emails continue, Kate is forced to play detective and prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident.
(I changed the name order just for you, Laura) :-)
And don't forget, awesome peeps, to drum out 200 words for the All White for Twilight fan fiction contest! Deadline, October 31st (otherwise known as Halloween).
