Kansas City Writers Workshop

It's been a whirlwind weekend for me.

On Thursday, my wife discovered an all-day workshop being held on Saturday. She told me I needed to check it out and go. I'm not one for last-minute changes, and, to be honest, I wasn't all that excited. I trust her recommendations, so I checked it out online. A quick email to the coordinator confirmed that they still had an open spot, and my wife and I changed our weekend plans. That's how I found myself driving up to KC on Saturday morning for the Kansas City Writers Workshop.

The format was really interesting. They had one large room where Marissa Corvisiero taught most of the time. She talked about publishing options, querying, pitching, building a platform, and general author advice. The topics were basic, but she was willing to field any and all questions. After teaching 150 people for over 4 hours she was spent, but did a great job.

The main attraction for me were the seven agents taking pitches in the other room. I couldn't believe that so many of them were accepting Middle Grade. Normally, conferences have just one or maybe two people who represent MG, but this time there were four. They ran pitches every 10 minutes, and people constantly flowed in and out of the main session.

Because I signed up so late, I was only able to get an official pitch session with one agent at the very end of the day, but I was able to approach and talk to the other three. They were all interested in my work, so now I get to prepare a bunch of packages to send out this week.

There is no rest for the weary.

Many of you know that, up to now, I've been primarily a hobby writer. I have demanding, full-time job, and I wanted to be there for my kids. As they've gotten older they still need my support, but they need less of my time. I wasn't planning on making the transition from hobby to career until my youngest was in middle school, but this conference was too good of an opportunity to pass up. So, I'm starting my transition now. Wish me luck!