Happy Bastille Day! 24 Hours Paris was just named a hot July read by Girls' Guide to Paris, so I'm having my own little celebration! If you're on Twitter, tweet me any time before 9 pm GMT today to be entered in a draw to win a copy of 24 Hours Paris.
As you know from my previous post, I've just returned from the wonderful Romantic Novelists' Association Conference. It was my first writing conference and I thought I'd share a few tips for survival!
1. Don't wear high heels. Seriously. I attempted to do so on the first day and I paid the price, big time. It was the hottest day of the year, my feet were swollen, and several lovely little blisters quickly sprouted. Just... don't.
2. Take Nurofen, just in case. The first day of the conference (and the second, but that was due to, ahem, too much champagne) I had a brutal headache. Honestly, if I didn't have my trusty Nurofen, I'm sure my head would have exploded.
3. When there's food, eat it! Due to nerves and the heat, I wasn't really that hungry during the day which meant by around 4 pm, I was almost ready to fall over! While eating usually isn't a problem for me, I would have been able to concentrate better if I'd chowed down when I could.
4. Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to people. I'm usually the sort who slips off into the corners when faced with a large group of people I don't know -- particularly if that involves big-name authors, editors and agents. But if you're friendly and don't interrupt them mid-conversation then they're usually very open and friendly themselves!
5. Take business cards/ promotional postcards, etc. I had some postcards done up for The Hating Game just in time for the conference, and I'm glad I did. It was great to be able to hand people something so hopefully they'll remember me when the book comes out.
All in all, it was a fantastic conference and I'm so glad I went. Next time: no high heels, lots of chowing down, and boatloads of Nurofen!
4 comments:
I was much better about asking for and taking business cards at my last conference. I also got better about introducing myself. Now wonder you didn't eat - it's stressful!
As usual, good advice.
Congratulations on 24 Hours Paris being a hot July read. But I already knew it was!
Sounds brilliant, well done.
Hi Marsha, just wanted to congratulate you on 'The hating Game' I will watch out for that one. I always intend to go to these conferences and somehow they slip by before I am organised. Some great tips though - especially about talking to people - Oh and I never have trouble with the eating thing - I am always in the front of the queue
Hi. I found our blog whilst blog-hopping. I'm following it now and I've also put a link of it on my blogpage. Thanks so much for the tips. I am for 'no-high-heels' even when shopping so I totally agree to comfort especially when attending a conference.
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