ACFW in a Word

For the next week I will be summarizing my experience at ACFW in a word a day. This year’s conference had a totally different feel for me than the last two conferences I attended since I began pursuing publication in fiction.

Stories from a Freshman

Both at Glorietta 2004 and ACFW Nashville 2005, I went in with enthusiasm and an agenda. I had story ideas that I wanted to pitch, and I did it with confidence (though I’m not sure where I mustered it up from.) I pitched away and almost everyone I spoke to wanted to something from me. I hadn’t expected it the first year. I didn’t have a manuscript finished. So I scrambled to write my suspense, sending in what now would be considered my first or second draft and guess what? I got rejection after rejection. But did I learn my lesson from Glorietta? Not really.

I pitched again at ACFW Nashville with a not so good synopsis (I found out later after it was critiqued). Though both editors requested my work, one took home that not so good proposal to only send me a rejection a month later. (I was planning on sending said editor my revised stuff) And I still have yet to send my completed manuscript to the second editor.

So this year’s conference I went in with no expectations about pitching or selling. After all my entire writing was up in the air. My only goals were to build relationships with online writing buddies, to learn, and hopefully get some feedback on my current WIPs. And I did it all and still got a request for a finished manuscript as well.

This week God spoke to me more about my writing journey than about my actual writing. I will be sharing my experience at ACFW in a series of words…

Why?
Pride
Humility
Patience

Trust me. You won’t want to miss what God had to say to my heart at this conference.

For my conference photos go here. But be warned, my tired mug shows up in almost every photo!