NC Writers' Events

For my fellow writers, events and links (in 2011):

ncwriters.org -> There is a conference in Greensboro, Saturday, April 30.  Details on the site.  Anybody want to carpool?  It's a one-day event, leave Raleigh by 6:30am to make it to registration.  We can crash at my place Friday night if you're interested.

Saturday, April 2, 6:30pm: Workshop (Writing2Publish) at bookstore by Whole Foods on Wade Ave.  Take beltline exit 4 towards Cameron Village; it's just off the ramp to the left.

There's also a very large conference in the fall, late Oct or early Nov.  Dates haven't been announced yet for this year, but it appears to be a huge event.

NCwriters also has links to several other NC writing associations of various kinds.

Romance Writers:

www.rwa.org/: Romance Writers of America.  For people looking to make a living off writing romance, or at least seriously considering publishing a romance book.  Must-join to join the next link:

www.heartofcarolina.org: Romance writers of North Carolina.  Next meeting: March 12, 1-3pm, Cameron Village Library.  Jenna Black, Lisa Shearin, and Virginia Kantra are all members, FYI.  ;)  Meets 1/month.

There's a major Romance convention in NY June 28-July 1.  Will juggle finances to see if I can go.

That's my latest information on the happenings for 2011.  Since I present well in public, personally attending conferences and events will be beneficial to getting published.  Although joining professional associations is expensive, as is attending conferences, for me it's a networking investment.  I don't know personally anyone who has professionally published MY subgenre of writing (paranormal romance!), so it's up to me to make connections and get myself out there.

Fees I'll have to look at:

Romance Writers of America: $125
Heart of Carolina Writers: $25
NCwriters: $75

NCwriters April Conference: $99 (members), $150 (nonmembers)
Romance Conference: (unsure: must be a member to register.  But will also have to pay for room for stay (4-day conference!) and purchase food.
NCwriters Fall Conference: Probably more than April, since it's more than one day! 0.0

Since my budget is already strained, it's going to be interesting to see what I can do.  But I'll try!

Also, I found through these resources the following couple of articles:
 http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/zindex.cfm?fuseaction=author&pageID=11
http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/zindex.cfm?fuseaction=author&pageID=13

A couple of useful links.  I'm now considering marketing my second novel as a Sci-fi to scifi publishers.  Why? Because if my series pans out well, I still won't be able to publish more than 2-3 books a year in from a single publisher.  So, it makes sense to switch between two genres.  Since my second book lends itself more to scifi (with a little romance) than to romance (with a little scifi), I think this is actually a good thing.