Diva Jefferson

Hello, Readers. Sorry about another belated post, but there is so much going on! Between querying agents and working on the final edits for The Earl's Son, I only have time to write one a month, but I hope to offer invaluable advice nonetheless.

Anyways, this time we are talking about conferences. I have never been to one, but sometime in the future (as my writing career hopefully grows) I'll be able to see what all the hubbub is about. :)

From what I've researched online and read through other writers' blogs, here are the pros and cons of conferences:

Pros:
1) Pitch your work directly to agents and publishers.
2) Meet fellow writers and make new friends.
3) Attend workshops and activities to help you grow as a writer.
4) Meals are included in the registration fee.

Cons:
1) Rejection in person can hurt worse than over email or phone.
2) If you don't know anyone there, it might be hard to step forward and introduce yourself to a room full of strangers.
3) Sometimes the workshops are only catered to a specific genre or specialty, so they might not be beneficial to you.
4) Cost could become too high when factoring in travel distance as well as the hotel bill.

Of course, some people will swear by them, while others think it is a waste of time. The choice is really yours. If you have the money to spend, and the right agent or editor is waiting for you there, then by all means have a great time.

I think the biggest mistake people make is going to a writing conference because everyone else is. Some writers (gasp!) thoroughly enjoy socializing with others. I think you should attend as a benefit to your career. Nothing says dedicated like dropping $500 and flying cross-country to see a friend you haven't talked to in a year!

As always, thank you for reading.



Happy writing!

Lately, I've seen a lot of people competing against one another for no reason. As writers, we try to be the best we could when perfecting our skills through reading, writing, critiquing, etc.

"How do you know when you're a successful writer? You can know immediately by answering yes or no to these four questions:

1) Are you earning a solid six-figure income from your writing alone?
2) Are you able to write exclusively from home... wherever in the world that may be?
3) Are you finding checks in your mailbox for writing from years ago?
4) Do people mistake you for being "retired," given how you never go to a 'job'... have lots of spare time ... and you're able to live so freely?

If your answer was "Yes" to all four questions, congratulations! You're either a bestselling novelist ... OR you're one of the small handful of writers who have discovered the secret to living the writer's life AND making a great living at the same time." 
-Excerpt from American Writers & Artists, Inc. (AWAI) newsletter.

If most of your answers are "No" then don't feel bad. Like Mario, we thrive on getting our 1ups to reach success. We all love the idea of success. We live on it, feeding ourselves on contests and queries to publishers until rejection slows us down, and we eventually give up.

A recent theme going around is don't worry about other people's success. Keep doing what you need to do in order to reach your goals.

Your best friend is a bestselling author, and you don't even have a publisher yet. OK? Stop focusing on what you don't have instead of what you could have. Your friend worked hard to get where she is. Maybe she started before you. Not everything is handed to people in successful positions. Life is not a game where we win or lose. Your reward will come when you realize how much your determination has truly paid off.

It's amazing how much jealousy and ego can complicate your self image or worth. Sometimes those negative feelings can hinder your life from progressing further.

In these days and times, you could become an author without previous credentials. You don't need a degree, you don't need to be certified, and you don't need at least five years of experience. The best part of being a writer is anyone could pick up a pen and do it! Would they be great at it? Not without much practice, but life is a journey. We must travel to reach our destination. We must practice to improve our skills along the way.

We try to be better than everyone else when we should work together. Through networking, advertisements on blogs, etc., we could help each other succeed. The writing industry doesn't single anyone out nor does it discriminate.

If you shine you will know only in your heart and it will feel damn good. That is what being successful is all about.


Happy writing!
-Diva J.

The second month is upon us and we don't know what to do with ourselves. In between work and school, including many other endeavors, we don't reflect on how much time really passes us by. There are 744 hours, 44,640 minutes, and 2,628,000 seconds in one month. I bet each one of us spent most of that time working instead of playing. In my class, Learning Strategies, I learned a valuable skill in time management. Plan everything that you do in a week against how many hours you have available and see where all your wasted time is going.

Readers, I would like each of you to create a chart this week. You can be a pro and create a simple spreadsheet in Access or you can be old-fashioned and write it down on a sheet of paper. Listing everything you do in a typical week, including all those times you feed your cat. As long as it's consistent, that is. Next, record how many projected hours you wish to spend on each task. Finally, leave blanks for the actual amount of time you spent doing it each day. At the end of the week, you will finally know how many hours you spent watching TV instead of studying or on Facebook games instead of writing. Believe me, I've changed my ways since. :)


Sigh! Now doesn't that feel better knowing you actually DO have free time?


Updates:
1) I've sent out maybe 5 queries so far and I've received 2 rejections already! No, I'm not proud, but every time I receive a rejection I feel more empowered to try harder! There's just 35 more queries waiting to be sent...and hopefully NOT rejected.
2) A Day in the Park - A Jane Austen Parody- is completed and ready to be edited. There are many mistakes in prose and I surely wouldn't wish anyone to change my hidden meanings, but why not make it sound like a normal short story? I'm sure the editors will love it even more that way!
3) The Midnight Tree - My short story for Writer's Digest- is almost near completion. After discovering it can be up to 4,000 words, I became a little bit too excited and now I wish to make it much longer. 


I hope this month you spend more time with loved ones and that all your resolutions come true! (Don't give up within the first three months. Big mistake.)


Happy Writing!





-Diva J.