{"id":748,"date":"2010-08-19T22:52:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-19T12:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/seven-things-i-learned-at-the-rwa-conference\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T17:07:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T07:07:00","slug":"seven-things-i-learned-at-the-rwa-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/2010\/08\/seven-things-i-learned-at-the-rwa-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven things I learned at the RWA Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The feathers on my boa may be limp now, but the dust has settled enough from the weekend conference for me to distill what I learned into a nice little cheat sheet for you on how to write a romance novel.<\/p>\n

I could have done 10 points, or 20 points, or 50 points, but what I learned from writing cover lines on women\u2019s magazines is that your eye barely registers those numbers anymore. Why do you think Oprah has 517 things you need for spring? Because your eye sees \u2018517\u2019 and your mind thinks \u2018are you serious?\u2019.<\/p>\n

So here they are. The seven things I learned at the Romance Writers\u2019 Australia Conference.<\/p>\n

1. Finish the damn book.<\/p>\n

2. Publishing throughout the world is depressed \u2013 except in the romance sector.<\/p>\n

3. You can work for 18 years on manuscript after manuscript before finally cracking a sale. And you\u2019ll still be excited when you get there.<\/p>\n

4. If there are 20 writers in a room and an expert tells them that only one of them will ever achieve their dream of being a published author, every single one of those writers will assume that they\u2019re the \u2018one\u2019.<\/p>\n

5. The only way to be a writer is to write. Blogging, tweeting, networking, attending conferences, going to workshops, etcetera etcetera etcetera are all good things \u2013 but they will not finish a book.<\/p>\n

6. Nobody ever talks about the money. Not really.<\/p>\n

7. Finish the damn book.<\/p>\n

If you get the chance to attend one day \u2013 and you have any interest in writing romance or women\u2019s fiction \u2013 I suggest you drag out your waftiest frock and get there. They\u2019re an incredibly supportive bunch and it\u2019s a huge amount of fun.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t get there, join the association<\/a> \u2013 the newsletters are worth the price of admission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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