NCTE, a very special book event plus more

I have attended lots of book fests, retreats and conferences in the last two years to see which ones make most sense for me. I promised to report on some for you. Last month I attended NCTE - National Conference of Teachers of English. Hundreds of teachers and librarians attend this conference to figure out which books to use for their classrooms in the year to come. The location shifts from city to city. Last year it was in Atlanta, Georgia. This year it was in Saint Louis, Missouri. Next year it will be in Houston, Texas.

This conference is excellent for any author who wants to get their books read and taught in schools of any level--elementary, middle or high school. I shared a booth with fellow author, Gail Strickland, who writes fantasy using mythology, while I am focused on spreading word of my Fireseed series, which teaches about climate change, future farming and transgenic crops.

Gail and Catherine sharing a booth at NCTE

For me, there is nothing better than getting a chance to speak directly to teachers, who are passionate about reading and educating students.

I've found that even if you never plan to go to conferences, it is a good move to create a question list for book clubs or classrooms that can be accessed in the back of your book or directly downloaded from your website.

Next year I will pare down the amount of book cons I attend. They do cost money and take up time. One must weigh the costs and benefits. Here's a list of ones I've been to and what I found were the best aspects:
Roanoke Author Invasion: Great for selling books!
Squaw Valley Writers' Retreat: Good for receiving in-depth writing critiques, community, finding editors and agents. One must send a writing sample for entry.
Writers' Digest Con: Great for pitching to agents and editors.
Chapter Con UK: Wonderful for meeting UK authors and book lovers. The next one in 2019 will focus on writing sessions and writers' issues.
Penned Con (St. Louis): Excellent one for selling books.
RT Booklovers Con: HUGE event! Great for bookselling, and for high level panels. Can pitch one-on-one to editors and agents. Location switches from year to year.
Mendocino Writers' Con: Lovely little conference, which is good for small breakout groups on various writing topics. Can pitch to a small group of agents. Affordable.
RWA National Conference: A great con for anyone writing any type of romance. Location switches.
BEA - Book Expo: HUGE event. Many great breakout groups! Can buy half-priced books. Can get in at a discount if you belong to a group such as SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). You can also sign your books with an org. such as this, but you must give the books away. I found my Evernight Teen editor this way.
Brooklyn Book Fest: A surprisingly homey event, with lots of live readings and lectures. A family event, so not good for romance but great for YA. Share a booth. It's expensive otherwise.

I will attend Once Upon a Book con in Michigan next summer, which I've heard great things about. But I cannot vouch for it yet. There are MANY events all over the USA. Google book fests in your area to see what's around.

Have you gone to any retreats or book fests you've enjoyed or found helpful for your author life?

A Writing Retreat - Report from this time around

I head to Cape Cod every summer for a long-standing writing retreat. I always look forward to it long before summer, and I depend on it to power my writing long after it's over. I just returned from this year's, and I'm withdrawal, though I'm also quite inspired. How do we organize it? We share the cost of VRBO or Airbnb. Then the person who communicates with the rental folks gets taken out for dinner one night. This time it was me and I chose a restaurant in Woods Hole, where all the scientists and oceanographers hang out.

The usual suspects

The perks:
Uninterrupted writing time and meditation/flow to craft story-plot-character.
Hearing my fellow authors typing away with occasional snorts of hilarity, followed by equally hilarious explanations. Laughter is always welcome.
Brainstorm sessions with the authors during morning coffee, at dinner and at beach.
After-dinner readings and helpful critiques.
Tarot Card readings and parlor games involving writing skills.
Shared "war stories", biz tips and giggles.
We take turns making dinner so we get lots of variety, and only have to cook one night.

My morning station

My afternoon station

The downsides:
A week is too short! I've just fully hit my stride when it's already time to pack it in. Having essentially five full days makes me reluctant to take any downtime to visit the local museums or glassblowing studio. I do allow swims at the beach, but little else. As a result, there's a danger of burnout, and a sore back and neck.
A hot room with inadequate or no AC.
Bug bites when eating picnic dinners.
Going around July 4th - too many scary fireworks way too close! Too much traffic.

View from the restaurant in Woods Hole, Ma.

The solutions:
Next year, rent a place for at least two weeks!
Bring along a screened tent or rent a place with a screened in porch.
Take a strong fan.
Go later in July to avoid July 4th issues, but not so late in summer that we can't take advantage of power-boost to summer writing.

What about you? Do you ever do writing retreats? If not, how do you manage to get extended blocks of writing time?

What we needed!

 

What we had

Thinking Ahead to Summer - writing & bookish plans?

I teach college lit and creative writing part time in the fall and spring so I always look forward to summer in order to get lots of writing done. Also, I attend a weeklong writing retreat in Cape Cod then. We write all day (after an hour gabbing over coffee). Often I start a novel at the retreat.

One of my Cape retreat "writing stations"

I'm already mulling over what I should concentrate on. This spring I finally completed a draft of a romantic suspense novel and Maizy of Bellagio, a story for the forthcoming UR Spirits in the Air anthology. So it's not as if I slack off between the days of teaching. LOL.

I am trying to decide between starting a new witch book, which would be a companion novel to Witch of the Cards, or another one in the new suspense series. Which should I pick? How do you decide when you have more than one book in mind?  Do you choose the one you think will sell the best? Or the one you have plotted out most? Or the one that is closest to your heart? Help!

For my summer reading, I'll be delving into the Blue Fairy Book, Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass to name a few, because in the spring of 2018 I will be teaching a brand new college lit course simply called Fantasy. Woo hoo!

On another note, I finally redesigned my website, which has an entire shiny new page devoted to the UR Elements anthologies. Check out my main page, and then click into Anthologies Page to see what you think about the front page and the Elements page!

What are your summer writing and reading plans?

The Value of the Writing Retreat

Writing outside? Citronella is needed!

Every year I go to a summer writing retreat in the Cape, and these days, we also organize a winter one at my place in the Catskills. I have come to depend on these, to both unwind, and get cracking on my WIP.

Because writing is a rather solitary type of work, being connected to various writing communities is a must, or at least a lifeline. I belong to this amazing group, Untethered Realms, where we bat around story synopses, business stuff and other issues. I also belong to SCBWI, WNBA and RWA. But the extended writing retreat can deliver a more comprehensive array of writerly needs.

Ahoy, the writing gang's here

awkward jimmy-rigging of the AC. Hey, writers aren't electricians!

Catherine with Margarita

Catherine with Maggie

Margarita & Shawn on the sailboat

Matey, are we on a pirate ship, or what?!

coffee with Helen on the porch in PJs

We gab over morning coffee, write all morning, have lunch together and then return to our various writing stations until late afternoon when the ocean calls for swimming. In the evening we take turns cooking dinner, and play writing games after the meal. And we save one night for reading excerpts from our WIPs. Occasionally, we even watch some TV but we watch it as writers, analyzing plot issues, characters, and the like. This time the shows in question were The Night Of and The Night Manager. Oh, and China vs Brazil in women's volleyball.

Of course, we have fun, too! This year we took time to go on a sunset sailboat cruise.

Have you done a writing retreat? What was your experience?