“An ordinary man can... surround himself with two thousand books... and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be happy.” ~ Augustine Birrell
I am back from conference in New York City and wow – what a whirlwind. I’m still exhausted. Conference was, as usual, a fascinating and awesome experience. The keynote speeches were inspiring, the Literacy for Life Book signing jam-packed (What does that mean, anyway – jam-packed? Who packs jam in things?), the workshops endlessly helpful, and my editor and agent appointments successful.
But here’s the thing about conference – there are books everywhere! There are books to buy at the Literacy for Life signing, free books in the goody bag you get at registration, books given away at the keynote speech luncheons, books to buy at the Book Fair, books given at the publishing housing book signings, and there are often free books at the Publishing Spotlights. At least there was at Sourcebooks which was the only one I made it to and was very glad I did.
Now to any writer and avid reader, the idea of all these books is enough to send you into a blithering state of euphoria. The only problem with this is, I only brought one suitcase and one carry-on and neither had a whole lot of room to spare, and shipping the books home was too expensive an option. So I told myself, “Self, you will not go hog-wild. You will take home only the books you truly, truly want.”
Wise advice. The only problem with this is, I often truly, truly want every book I see, because each book holds the potential of an awesome story I have not yet read and what if I leave one behind that the one I leave behind is THE one that could ultimately move me, change me, alter the entire course of my life?! I mean, my God! The ramifications!
You see my dilemma. Needless to say, I ended up wearing several layers of clothing for the trip home in order to fit my books into my suitcases. And even then, I managed to control myself somewhat. I bought 3 craft books: one on characterization, writing a first draft in 30 days (after my editor/agent appts this will be essential), and revisions (where most of my writing time is spent). I picked up a couple of books at the Sourcebook spotlight. I kept the books from one keynote speech and bargained with my roommate to borrow the other ones from her. I went to only two publisher book signings and picked up only 3 books (one being Jennifer Crusie’s new book which I feel was more than justified!). I purchased 4 at the Literacy for Life signing (hey – it’s for a good cause!).
So now my TBR pile has grown yet again. Which is a bit of a problem because my reading time has shrunk somewhat to give more time to my writing because after said editor/agent appointments I have much to prepare. Plus I need to do revisions for Harlequin and I need to get the second book that follows The Outlaw Bride off to Carina.
Ack! I need to find more hours in the day and more days in the week!
But here’s the thing about conference – there are books everywhere! There are books to buy at the Literacy for Life signing, free books in the goody bag you get at registration, books given away at the keynote speech luncheons, books to buy at the Book Fair, books given at the publishing housing book signings, and there are often free books at the Publishing Spotlights. At least there was at Sourcebooks which was the only one I made it to and was very glad I did.
Now to any writer and avid reader, the idea of all these books is enough to send you into a blithering state of euphoria. The only problem with this is, I only brought one suitcase and one carry-on and neither had a whole lot of room to spare, and shipping the books home was too expensive an option. So I told myself, “Self, you will not go hog-wild. You will take home only the books you truly, truly want.”
Wise advice. The only problem with this is, I often truly, truly want every book I see, because each book holds the potential of an awesome story I have not yet read and what if I leave one behind that the one I leave behind is THE one that could ultimately move me, change me, alter the entire course of my life?! I mean, my God! The ramifications!
You see my dilemma. Needless to say, I ended up wearing several layers of clothing for the trip home in order to fit my books into my suitcases. And even then, I managed to control myself somewhat. I bought 3 craft books: one on characterization, writing a first draft in 30 days (after my editor/agent appts this will be essential), and revisions (where most of my writing time is spent). I picked up a couple of books at the Sourcebook spotlight. I kept the books from one keynote speech and bargained with my roommate to borrow the other ones from her. I went to only two publisher book signings and picked up only 3 books (one being Jennifer Crusie’s new book which I feel was more than justified!). I purchased 4 at the Literacy for Life signing (hey – it’s for a good cause!).
So now my TBR pile has grown yet again. Which is a bit of a problem because my reading time has shrunk somewhat to give more time to my writing because after said editor/agent appointments I have much to prepare. Plus I need to do revisions for Harlequin and I need to get the second book that follows The Outlaw Bride off to Carina.
Ack! I need to find more hours in the day and more days in the week!
