Thursday, September 15, 2016

Hanging Out At Writers Conferences

by Linda Thorne

Last month I wrote what I hope was a "simple" interpretation on steps to take to become an author. One of my suggestions included hanging out at writers' conferences. If you're an aspiring author, what you'll get out of a conference (and you'll get a lot) is a whole other post.

Today, Thursday September 15th, is my first day at the 2016 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, Blood on the Bayou. I'm here now in New Orleans attending as one of the many published authors; so, although my purpose at this convention still includes learning as much as I can, promotion and networking has taken on a much bigger role.


I'm assigned to a non-traditional panel today from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. It's an interactive author panel/workshop called the Continuous Bouchercon Conversation and also referred to as the Magna cum Murder. There will be many different authors participating in this panel all day today, tomorrow, and Saturday, each coming in at their designated time and leaving an hour later.

Here are some pics from my two panels at the recently concluded 2016 Killer Nashville Writers Conference:

Session 5 Friday August 19, 2016 Building Your Network at Killer Nashville 2016. 


Left to right in the picture of all of us: Linda Sands,
me, Tom Wood, Bryan Robinson, and Kay Kendall.

The next panel I was tagged as moderator for How To Write Effective Plot Twists. Below from left to right is me, Tom Wood, Sharon Potts, Ray Wenck, and Kris Calvin.

 
Killer Nashville was a fun time. I started going in 2009 when I did not have a book published. I do now and this is the second year I've been included on authors' panels. Always a great time.

4 comments:

Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredith said...

I've loved all the Bouchercons I attended--and tried to make friends with readers (and I did) more than writers (made friends with lots of those too) and eventually attending became like going to a huge reunion. Over the years though, attending has become to expensive for me. Do have a wonderful time in a really fun place.

authorlindathorne said...

Thank you, Marilyn. There's people everywhere. This is supposed to be the largest Bouchercon since 1998.

Morgan Mandel said...

I was at one Bouchercon a long time ago when it was held in Chicago, and I really enjoyed the experience. There's nothing like a conference to get an author motivated!

authorlindathorne said...

Yes Morgan, the conferences get me motivated, but then I find myself trying to find the writing time. This is my first Bouchercon. Right now it's day two and it's so busy here & fun.