Maisey Goes to the Big Apple (A Guide to RWA Nationals)

*1950s music plays in the background*

Hey there, Maisey! Yes, you! I see you huddling there in the corner, hiding from the Doubt Crow! Get on up! Conference is coming up soon, and it would be keen if you were prepared!

Say, you can’t wear your pajamas to Nationals. There are people there! You need to wear real clothes! The kind that don’t all have elastic waistbands. And that means putting on a pair of hard soled shoes and ditching your Muk Luks!

*Maisey goes to the salon*

And voila! Ready and able to go to conference!

*Maisey reclaims her blog* Okay, that was a decent rundown on conference. But conference is a lot more than fashion. I know there are going to be nine bajillion posts on conference and what to do and what to expect and blah blah. But this is mine, so…nine bajillion and one.

First of all, I was a conference virgin last year, (insert your favorite deflowering joke here. I will take the Italian billionaire, kthxbai) and I went out into the big wide world with wide eyes and two gigantic, conspicuous ribbons on my badge. First Time and First Sale. And oh boy, those ribbons get you attention! First thing I noticed, people are nice!

Well, that’s a lie. My very first experience was me looking around like a lost puppy on the first morning, clutching my four dollar resort coffee in my little claws as I scuttled about the lobby area, totally floored by the names I was seeing all around me.

I sat down on a bench and this woman sat next to me. And popped my coffee straight up in the air. She then gave me the stank eye before wandering back off into the fray. I stared down at my coffee. My one and only friend. It was gone. Dead.

But AFTER THAT I discovered that most people are really nice. And that the resort had a bottomless mug I could get endless coffee refills in.

People were interested in me. They wanted to know what my sale was, how I liked my first conference. And some people (well, two) actually knew who I was! And a lot of my stress was totally for nothing!

So here’s a handy Maisey list to help you get through conference (whether RWA, RWAus, RNA or other).

1. There are no stupid questions. Someone will always help direct you, so don’t be afraid to ask for direction!

2. What you wear isn’t all that important. It’s fun to obsess about, heaven knows *I* do, but honestly, there’s so much going on, and the company is much more important than anything else. Practical advice is: business casual at minimum. 😉

3.There are a lot of amazing things going on. All the time! But don’t let that pressure you. Have fun. This is our chance to talk to other authors, to network with professionals, to just be with people who truly get our own brand of writer crazy.

4. Don’t stalk agents and editors. The poor things are like hunted animals at a conference. Being nice and polite is the order of the day. 😉 No pitching books in the pool.

5. Be nice. To everyone. Like…you know…don’t spill people’s coffee then give them the stank eye. And maybe don’t um…badmouth Harlequin while you’re standing in a line ready to get FREE books from the Harlequin signing. Because you never know…you might be talking to a Harlequin author. (this also happened to me, and I know they had no clue who I was. But oh wow…faux paus.) So just be nice!

So there you have it. My Maisey List!

I hope to see many of you at RWA Nationals this year. And those of you attending other conferences, I hope to hear lots of great stories and see amazing pictures! If you have any questions…feel free to ask in the comments!