Friends:
CONFERENCE UPDATE
I have some more information to add to my last email about this week's (YEAH!) conference in Lancaster:
1. The area meetings will take place on Saturday in the Palm Court right after breakfast, not during Friday's lunch. If there aren't table cards showing which tables are for which area, I'm sure there will be an announcement with instructions on where to go. Or just look for me trying to get all of our frogs into the wheelbarrow...
2. I neglected to include Area 5 luminary Nancy Hughes among the presenters from our area. She will be discussing how to write a successful series during her workshop on Saturday afternoon. Please support Nancy and all of our area's presenters. (If I missed anyone else, please let me know.)
3. Additional conference advice:
- Be positive, upbeat, friendly, and know where all the bathrooms and elevators are.
- The minute you walk out of your hotel room, you are on stage. People may not remember your face, but they sure will remember how you make them feel.
- Be positive, friendly, upbeat, and courteous. This goes for every single encounter you have, from the other attendees to the presenters to the agents and editors to the hotel staff.
- While the panels are informative, the real magic often happens in the spontaneous conversations between sessions, at meals, at the bar, or over coffee, so don't hesitate to introduce yourself to whoever is nearby.
- Manage your social battery because conferences can overload the senses. You may need to skip a session or other event to sit in a quiet corner, hydrate, and process your notes, and that's OK.
- The conference doesn’t end when you leave the hotel. Collect business cards, and within a few days of returning home, send personalized "nice to meet you" follow-up emails or social media requests.
- THANK YOUR CONFERENCE CHAIRS! This would not happen without their hard work for the past several years (plural).
NEW MYSTERY BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
This group is for mystery writers of all levels who want to up their game. We’ll read mysteries recently released by Big Five publishers and examine how authors used goals, motivation, and conflict to keep readers turning pages. We’ll also examine character development, tropes, and twists.
Why the Big Five? The competition to have a mystery published by one of the Big Five is fiercer than ever. By reading books that made it, we can determine why their books stood out and improve our own writing in the process.
Starting in June, meetings will be on the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at Panera Bread, 130 Rohrerstown Rd., Lancaster.
To sign up, contact Jen Ericson at jen@petcarepointers.com or 717-333-5635.
MEMBER NEWS
Laura Carter has been writing occasionally for the Gettysburg Times. The paper has a 250 Project to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country and is publishing stories of historical interest about the Adams County and Gettysburg areas. Laura has written articles on two historic hotels (Dobbin House in Gettysburg; Mansion House 1757 in Fairfield) and a story highlighting historic churches. This fall, she will be writing one on Fantasyland (1950s-1970s), a storybook park in Gettysburg, and may be doing some other articles as well. The publisher intends to produce a book at the end of the year that includes all the articles for the 250 Project.
Please send me your good writing news to be included in upcoming newsletters. I know we have a talented group. Do you have a new book coming out? Have you won a writing award? Let us share your joy!
PW SOCIAL MEDIA
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Facebook: Pennwriters and also Pennwriters Presents
Instagram: penn_writers
Twitter: @Pennwriters
Blue Sky: @pennwriters.bsky.social
Write well. Be well.
Rob Teplitz
Area 5 Representative