Author: Betsy Horvath

Yes, yes. I know everyone is tired of hearing about RWA 2011. But this was kind of a big deal for me, so I thought I could get away with writing one more post about it.   I don’t get out much.

I wanted to share some of my personal takeaways from the conference. These are things I felt were most important for myself as a writer and, indeed, as a human being. So here they are, in no particular order.

• I need to drink more water than I think I need to drink.
• Romance might not kill, but Spanx sure can.
• If there is such a thing as a romance geek, it is I. (I am she?) I just about fainted when Malle Vallick actually looked at my blog and pronounced it “not bad.” And when I met the rest of the Harlequin digital team, I wanted to ask for their autographs (I didn’t, but I wanted to). Don’t even get me started on how excited I was about meeting authors at the book signings. I met Jenny Crusie! And Anne Stuart! Ahhh!
• I am a nerd. I loved the workshops. I enjoyed the parties, especially the smaller ones. I am uncomfortable wearing a dress. That’s just who I am.  And you have to be yourself, even when you’re at a conference with a bunch of strangers.
• Speaking of wearing dresses, it is not a good idea to slide across the seat of a cab, exiting with both feet sticking out the door, in the center of Times Square, while one is wearing a dress. Just saying. Grace and a show.
• With just a few exceptions, everyone is shorter than you think they’re going to be.
• Pretty much everyone else is nervous too.
• It is both delightful and nervewracking to meet people in person whom you’ve only met over the Internet. Now I have to obsess over whether or not they still like me. It’s so much easier to be liked when you’ve never really met.
• You can’t let the fact that you are afraid – no TERRIFIED – stop you from doing things you really want to do. You have to do them anyway because those things will be the most worthwhile.
• Romance authors with some degree of fame can be the most generous people in the world.  They can also be cool or bitchy. In other words, they’re human. And they tend to look for a convenient escape route when you go all “fan girl” on them.  How do I know? Um..no reason..
• The romance genre is vital and viable.  Readers love it.  Writers love it.  People are devoted to it.  I’m not alone in my love for it.
• I am an author. I write romance novels. And being an author who loves and writes romance novels is a pretty great thing.

And I promise – that’s my last post about RWA 2011.  For now.

The 2011 RWA National Conference is over and I’m back at home, disoriented.

The last day of the conference was all about workshops for me. I stuffed my head so full with knowledge that it still hurts. Other, braver, authors were making pitches to agents and editors. Since attending the conference, I now understand better what a pitch actually is. I thought I’d better not pitch until I knew how to do it. Smart.

Friday night was the Rita and Golden Heart award ceremony and everyone was dressed to the nine’s. Here is Bookseller Ann a/k/a Bookaholic Ann all glammed up to attend.

The Rita and Golden Heart awards ceremony was alternately moving and funny. Meg Cabot did a terrific job as Mistress of Ceremonies and a good time was had by all.

And now here I am, back at home, trying adjusting to normal, mortal life. So I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on the experience.

First, I was unprepared for the impact of being with so many women. By and large, all of the attendees, organizers, and presenters were women. There were women of every size, race, and ability. There were women of every personality type, and of every level of experience.

Most of the attendees and presenters were gracious, supportive and kind. There were a few who were rude and bitchy, but they were definitely the exceptions (and with over 2000 women attending, that’s saying something).

Most of the people at the conference loved the romance genre as much as I do. They understood how important it is. They “get” the influence the genre can have in everyday lives. Nobody mocked the romance genre, because we are the ones creating the genre. Nobody tried to put it down or denigrate it. Nobody suggested that writing romance was not “really writing”. The people at this conference respect the romance genre. Being with them was validating and empowering.

I also felt validated and empowered by the many workshops I was able to attend. In some cases the presenter’s points confirmed decisions I had made at various times regarding my career or my craft. In some cases a new perspective was brought forth. At all times I was treated with respect and camaraderie, even though I am at the beginning of my journey.

So the verdict? The RWA National conference was well worth the effort, money, and panic sweat. I got to meet so many lovely people. I got to actually greet friends I had only known from the Internet. I had the opportunity to talk about nothing but romance for four days in a row.

Priceless. Galvanizing.

Guess it’s time to get back to work. 😀

Bye, bye, NYC!  Annaheim in 2012!  Woohoo!

Thursday was the day of Glam for Betsy at the RWA Conference. It started out innocently enough with a workshop on sex (*wink, wink, nudge, nudge*), then a workshop on romantic suspense.

The luncheon today was the awards luncheon. One of the awards recipients was Amy Atwell, a fellow Carina Press author, so, as I cheered very loudly for her, I thought I would take pictures.

Hmmm…well, it was a good idea.  You just trust me. She’s there.

Sherrilyn Kenyon gave the luncheon speech, and she was awesome.  Plus, we got more free books!  Woohoo! 

More workshops and then it was time to get ready for the Carina Press party.  How sad am I that I don’t have a picture handy of me in my glamorous black dress. Ah, well.  By the way, while I was glamming myself up for the parties, Bookseller Ann, a/k/a Bookaholic Ann attended some publisher booksignings where the publishers gave away books for free. She now has quite a few books to lug home with her.  I’m glad I wasn’t there.  I have no control.

The Carina party was great, and I got to meet a lot of the authors I email.  Then we headed over to the Waldorf Astoria for the big Harlequin Black and White Ball. 

I shared a cab with two fellow Carina authors, Maureen Miller and Adrienne Giordano.

They look so elegant.  The Harlequin party was at the Starlight Roof Ballroom.  It was beautiful.

 The Harlequin authors just kept arriving until the place was packed with people dressed in black and white, or black, or white.

The dancing soon started, and omigosh it was crazy!  It was like a romance mosh pit! 

Then, eventually, it was back to Times Square and home at the hotel.

Good night, Times Square. Good night. Friday is the last day of the conference. Oh what wonders will await?

Wednesday dawned on NYC bright and fair. Wednesday dawned on Betsy with sickness and…well, we won’t go there. So unfortunately I missed the opening session with Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritson, and Steve Berry. But I hear it was wonderful. Fortunately I felt better a little later and so was able to enjoy the rest of my busy day.

After the annual general meeting (I didn’t bother to take pictures there), was the keynote luncheon with Madeline Hunter.  The room was, of course, packed (hey, it was free food).

 Favorite takeaway quote from Ms. Hunter – “We find our voice when we embrace our exposure.”

When I embrace my exposure, the voice I hear is usually saying “Hey, don’t do that here, lady!”, but I don’t think that’s what she was talking about. 😀

Next up, the Pitch Witch workshop, then off to the Spotlight on Carina Press, the press nearest and dearest to my heart.

I think…is that Angela James up there (in the blue)? She does exist!

Next, on out to Times Square because, hey, I came all this way so I might as well see some of the city, right?

Wow…um…BIG!

REALLY big!

The hotel from outside:

More to come in Day 3!  In fact, it might be coming shortly in the next post!

So, you may or may not know that I am attending the RWA National Conference.  This event has been preceeded by much anxiety, but today I left with Bookseller Ann to the BIG city – New York City!

We decided to take a limo because we don’t live far enough away to fly and the bus didn’t appeal. And no WAY am I driving in New York. 

Thank you, limo driver, for getting us there safely! 

Oh, look!  We’re getting near the city!  Woohoo!

Oh, no!  Will we get there?  Will we get through?  Will we stuck in the tunnel? 

Never fear!  After a few tense moments, the limo driver weaves through traffic (scary – I kept my eyes closed) and delivered us safely to the hotel! 

The hotel is quite massive and looks just a little bit like a scene from a Star Wars movie.

 The room is very, very high up.  It doesn’t have a view of Times Square, but it’s close enough!

Hey, look at all of the little people down there.

After settling in a little bit, I met wonderful people from Harlequin’s digital team who led me on the path to digital righteousness, and taught me a lot of stuff.  Then it was time for the Literary Booksigning.  500 authors. Open to the public.  Mass hysteria. Dogs and cats sleeping together.  Think I’m lying?  Look…

But it was awesome because I got to meet Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Nalini Singh and many other wonderful authors.  I had some complete fan girl moments, spent way too much money (for a good cause), and go many autographed books.

And now here I am back in the hotel room, blogging, Facebooking, tweeting, and looking forward to Day 2.

More to come….