Conference is so much fun. It's hard too. The thing is, it takes days to get over that east coast to west coast, west coast to east coast thing. What gets me too is that when you're at conference, there's all this energy to keep you going, even when you SHOULD be asleep so you can be sharp the next day! Ha! Then, you come home.The house is a mess, the dog hasn't been walked since you left, and the laundry...shudder...don't even get me started on the laundry. (Actually, DO get me started so it doesn't take over the world!)
What I need to be doing, however is capitalizing on the meet-n-greets, the agent appointments and the editor meetings I had in San Francisco. I'm a business woman. Follow up is key to success. Why is it then that its Thursday and I haven't sent an email or letter out? Because I'm still recovering from plane and jet lag induced head cold. Bleeeech. I didn't want to write something or send something when I wasn't on top of my game. I think I've slept more in weird times - napping, ugh! - this week than I have since I was pregnant with my youngest.
So, if you went to SF, were you weary or wickedly energized when you got home? What about when you go to a professional conference in your "other life"?Were you Johnny-on-the-spot with the requests or did you wait, plan, or procrastinate?
Do you have a request pending, perhaps from another conference? What can we do to help you get it out the door?
47 comments:
no way!
Hahahaha...who'd a thunk I'd get him at noon?! Off to read the blog.
I was jetlagged and exhausted when I got home. Still recovering. Lucky for me, kiddo is with her dad for the summer so I didn't have to come home to a crazy house. Just the laundry I created at the conference.
I'd never done the coast-to-coast and back thing. I had no idea I'd be so bad at it!
I didn't pitch so nothing pending. It was wonderful that within 24 hours I had thank email from two pubbed authors I met. If we could bottle that conference experience - leaving out the side-effects - we could make a fortune!
So true, Terrio, so true. I've got a bottle if you can figure out the distilling process...
Congrats on the GR! This post got lost in cyberworld. I set it to post and went to bed. :> Famous last thoughts, so to speak...
I have requests. I admit that I'm not fully recovered as yet. And I haven't mailed. One request doesn't need to be there until Sunday (agent is out of town this week). So I have two more days. Doing the last minute poking at the manuscript even as we speak.
Terrio, the side effects do knock you on your butt don't they?
I've noticed that most conferences include a degree of down time--time to sightsee, golf, relax by the pool, etc.
Not this one. It's the most jam-packed confernce I've ever SEEN. Not just attended--but including the ones I've coordinated. No time wasted AT ALL.
Wow, Jeanne, you're so right about the affects of conference. I came in Sunday evening and was plesantly surprised to find my home in almost the exact neatness I'd left it! Whooohooo and major thanks to son and daughter-in-law who stayed here and cared for Rocky-the-wonder-dog!!
Unlike previous years, I didn't go straight to bed. I did veg, though...had some dinner and visited with son when he got off work. I finally got in bed about 11 pm.........and then I slept.....nearly 14 hours in fact. A fact that amazed me as 6-7 is my norm. :)
So long about Wednesday I was almost back to normal, and then work hit.
I was definitely weary when I came home. I'm not a good traveler so it usually takes me a day or two to recover *g*
This year I flew in on Tuesday morning, slept on and off most of Tuesday, slept in on Weds and finally felt normal again yesterday afternoon. Thank goodness I'd planned some down time into my writing schedule or I'd be seriously behind :-)
Luckily for me, the kids kept the house clean and I'm already caught up on laundry. Now it's time for me to get back to writing *g*
Congrats Terrio!
Now that we've lured you to the Left Coast, I hope you'll come back again very soon. I'm a native Californian and lived in this area for 30+ years and I have NEVER seen so many clear, sunny days in San Francisco in summer before! Those who were here were extra lucky!
Best of luck to Jeanne, Cassondra and MANY OTHER Banditas who received requests for full and partial manuscripts. Get those submissions OUT THERE! Do not make Aunty bring out the crop (and you know I will as evidenced at the Bandit Bash)!
AC
Oh, my! I jet-lagged just from
hearing and reading about all your experiences! I think I just might
curl up for a nap!! See you later!
Pat Cochran
Boy, was I jet lagged! Worse then I ever get when going to Ireland. I don't know if it's the going backward rather than forward in time zones or not.
But you're right Jeanne...the energy ALONE pulsating through that hotel kept you on your feet. This is by far the best conference ever thanks to my Bandita Buds. Man, you ladies rock.
As to acting on requests. I, um, have already sent mine out {sheepish grin}. They both told me they'd be out of the office this week, but I figured it would just be there when they are ready.
The agent wanted hers email attachment and I got the editor's request out today...on that lucky 08-08-08 date :-). Hey, there could be something to that....Yesterday my palm kept itching and then I received a call that THE PATRICIAN'S FORTUNE is a Maggie finalist!
Then got a double yolk when I cracked open an egg...today's the uber Chinese good luck numbers...
Yup, I'm going to buy a lottery ticket :-)
Good luck to everyone submitting!
Congrats, Joanie! Does that mean you'll be at M&M in October? Because I'm going for the first time so I'll be there to cheer you on.
I'm glad it wasn't just me that was so bad off after this conference. My boss just informed me (as I'm having a terrible time staying awake STILL) that from now on I can only fly east. LOL!
GR is going pretty well at this spreadsheet thing. Good thing he can do the work while I nap. Move over, Pat.
Hey, Terrio!
Yes, I'm going to M&M. I had signed up three days before I found out about the final (the call of the Banditas attending, don't you know).
It's my first time attending but I've heard for YEARS how wonderful it is.
And how cool that you're coming too! We didn't get to talk often in SF so maybe we can rectify that in Atlanta.
Now, off to {cringe} buy gas...
Consider it a date, Joanie! And I'll buy your first victory drink. ;)
Joan, congrats on finaling for the Maggie! Terri isn't the only Bandita Buddy who will be in Atlanta for the M&M Conference. I'll be there too and so will Gannon, AndreaW and Buffie. You'll have your own cheering section!
Fantastic, PJ! It'll be great to meet more of our wonderful BB's.
Congratulations, Joan! I love hearing about all the awards that the
Ladies of the Lair are qualifying for
and WINNING!
Pat Cochran
Terrio, congratulations! I hate the coast-to-coast thing. I'm always tired, no matter which direction I'm going.
Jeanne, I have requests and am shooting to have them out by the first of the week. I like to do a final read-through before mailing, and I managed to catch a cold right after coming home. I can breathe today, though, so I plan to blitz things out this weekend.
Cassondra, the only way to get down time was to skip something--except for the people who sensibly came early. You're right; it was jammed.
On the plus side, the books I shipped home came today.
Suz, my study was also in the same level of neatness I'd left. Unfortunately, this was somewhere between "bomb debris" and "disaster relief needed." *sigh*
Beth, glad you had a smooth journey. I hope you're back to writing.
AC, after that gorgeous West Coast weather, 99 degrees and high humidity were like a sock in the teeth. The weather out there was just fabulous! And I'm working on the subs. Honest.
Pat Cochran, thanks for stopping by! I hope your nap pays off. I'm a big fan of naps when I can squeeze one in. Thanks also for your good wishes to all of us.
JT, you win the "first off the mark" trophy. Congrats on getting those babies out--AND on the Maggie final! Way to go! Romans rock!
Terrio and PJ, there will be a number of banditas at M&M. We'll look forward to seeing all of our buddies. We're also donating a boffo basket to the literacy signing, so keep your eyes peeled for it.
I also came home to good news. My single title suspense, The Deathbrew Affair, finaled in the Maggies, too. So did Donna's The Education of Mrs. Brimley. So congratulations to her, too, and SQUEEE! for all of us.
Hi guys! Oh, man, Jeanne, I so hear you on the after-conference blues. I'm so tired and jetlagged, I don't know if I'm Arthur or Martha. And while I didn't adjust to the time in SF, somewhere between there and here, I DID adjust, so now I'm awake bright as a button every morning at 12:30am! Which means things get pretty ugly later in the day. I'm hoping I settle. Beth, I'm not a good traveller either. I love to travel, I just don't like to TRAVEL! Still, it was a brilliant conference and I'm so glad I went. Wonderful to meet so many Bandita Buddies (waving to Miss Terri and her golden rooster!). Washington should be an absolute hoot. Congratulations to all our award winners and finalists. The lair is bristling with good news right now, isn't it?
Hooray, Nancy! And Donna!
Bandita power...can't beat it.
Oh, Anna, I don't know how you and Christine and all the other Aussie gals did it! I tacked on another hour of fatigue in commesiration for all you.
At least you have Crunchie Bars to soothe you :-)
Terri--w00t!
No jet lag here since I was short hop away in the same time zone.
My heart's heartened by all the talk of inking, scratching, and tattoes in the last post. (My Design)
Conference was amazing. Meeting friends and like-minded people tops up my well. I couldn't survive without it.
And how the heck can I survive without another Tim Tam?!?! It was better when I didn't know what they smelt like, felt like, looked like, and omg-in-heaven tasted like. And now comes the long dry drought until I figure out how to import them (and/or buy stock in the company).
One of these days, you're going to see a hero named Timothy and a heroine name Tamara. Jus' sayin'...
Well done Terrio have fun with him
Great post Jeanne I have never travelled that far so that I have to adjust to different times and get back to normal times after, but I can imagine that it would not be fun.
Conferences would really hipe you up and everyone normally comes away so postive and that is such a great feeling to have.
Congrats to Joanie and Nancy in the Maggie contest I really hope to be reading your books soon.
But life gets back to normal after such fun times and the normal everyday stuff has to be done good luck to everyone when you send your requests in by the end of the year we will have more sold stories more great books for us readers.
Have Fun
Helen
Keira, I can't wait to read Tamara and Timothy's story! I can already see the chocolate marketing campaign that will accompany it! Aren't they the greatest?
Hey everybody, the gremlins are after Jeanne today. Blogger didn't post the scheduled blog this morning, and now construction in her neighborhood has cut her internet cable.
*twitch, twitch* (this is me thinking about no internet)*twitch, shiver*
She's driving about, searching for wifi. (grin)
Three HUGE cheers for all the Bandita winners!!
WOOOOOT to Joanie T and Nancy on the Maggie finals, and to Donna in the pubbed Maggies.
Dang I wish I could be there. That's a GREAT conference.
Keira and all the TimTam addicts:
I have three words for you.
Aer.O.Bubbles.
Actually it's one word.
and actually they're the most addictive things I've ever put into my mouth except that $25 truffle I once bought from Harrod's London.
For those, you must hit up Anna Sugden. Aussies, do they have Aerobubbles down there?
Yummmm.
This is good. Vrai for Aerobubble, Fo for Tim Tams, and both for Cadbury's. Can I be any more shameless than that? Well, of course. Any one want to volunteer for Nutella? Speaking of which, the crepes stuffed with Nutella and crunchy toasted nuts sold in the uber-cool market in SF's Pier 1was da bomb. I think I moaned out loud while ingesting it.
Those Tim Tams, dearest Fo are HEAVEN.
WTG Terrio *g* Congrats on that sleepy rooster.
Conference rocked. I loved every blessed, super-charged second of it. I was lucky not to have to fly this year (I hate to fly -the stress of airports and the crowds and the ever-changing-rules and the *&$%^@ messups tend to add days to my exhaustion). Its a good thing, too. Even though I hit full-on exhaustion Tuesday, napping between unpacking and cleaning, I still have a deadline looming so have to write through the fog.
I have no idea how our Aussie gals do it, I was dead worn out just flying to Atlanta a couple years ago. I bow to you ladies - you're much stronger than I am :-)
Good grief, Keira! I'm moaning just reading about it! :)
Cassondra
Yes we have Aero chocolates here as well and they are yummy
Keira I hope you can find someway to get hold of Tim Tams they are devine.
Congrats again to Joanie Nancy and Donna WTG Ladies
Have Fun
Helen
Congrats on nabbing the GR, Terri!
Huge congrats to Nancy, Joanie and Donna! That rocks!
Do we know yet how many Banditas will be going to Moonlight & Magnolias? I'll be driving...and accompanied by goodies. :)
OMG! PJ's bringing goodies!!
Says Joanie T with her shorts unbuttoned!
Aero bubbles are all well and good, Cassondra but the real nirvana comes from Crunchies! I CAN get them at a local Irish store...but did I mentioned the unbuttoned shorts?
Joannie T, I'm so proud of you for already getting those submissions out! Most of us are still trying to remember our names LOL.
Go you! And congrats again to you and Nancy and Donna for the awesome contest news!
Thanks Tawny,
I was fortunate enough to have 4 days off after conference so I could concentrate.
Here' hoping they love my Romans as much as I do!
Congrats to everyone now the funs over it's back to slogging it out. I'm going to a workshop today with two editors from UQPublishing, learning how to edit properly, and hopefully they can help with this novel, perhaps they'll help me pitch? That'd be nice. Tim Tam slams with dark cadbury chocolate used to be a favourite of mine, before the migraines... now i just look and long.
Congrats to Nancy and Donna as well! Y'all, Nancy was so sweet at the conference. I actually lost my phone Friday morning and when I was frantically looking for it, Nancy showed up out of nowhere and let me call it from her phone. No one answered and it took until the next day to get it back, but now I have Nancy's number if I ever want to wirelessly stalk her. LOL!
My Tim Tams actually made it until yesterday when I ate the last one. It was a bittersweet moment.
Love the tat, Keira!
Way, Terrio!! Congrats. The poor chook worked his butt off yesterday bringing ice for Aunty Cindy's swollen foot (well, probably for her drinks too, but I'm not sayin').
Jeanne's blog went all wonky and didn't post like it was supposed to. I supposed someone's already said that. Must go back and read the comments.
Yikes, Jeanne, I am ALWAYS exhausted after a conference, whether a writing one or a school-related one. My adrenaline kicks into high gear and I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to, which I don't for fear of missing something. I nearly always get sick when I return home, either from the airplane germs or the low body resistance.
But I love it anyway. Always have. Give me a chance and I'd go to a conference at the drop of a hat.
Wow, Joan, you certainly are on a roll; you'd definitely better buy a lottery ticket. I didn't even realize that today is 8-8-8. Wow, that's gotta be good for some karma of the positive kind.
Sadly, I haven't gotten my manuscript requests out yet. I have to send the fulls and haven't had time to print them out and mail them. Better hurry or AC will beat me with her crop!
Ah, Kiera, I love that tat! Is that on your arm? Beautiful.
Good luck at the workshop, Natalie. Hope it's a great one!
The M&M Conference sounds super-licious what with all the Bandita and Bandita Buddies congregating for drinks. Waaaaa, I wanna go.
I wanna go too.
Sounds like there will be plenty of Banditas at the M&M Conf in Atlanta. I can't wait to meet all you ladies and cheer those of you in the running for Maggie!
Nancy said: Suz, my study was also in the same level of neatness I'd left. Unfortunately, this was somewhere between "bomb debris" and "disaster relief needed." *sigh*
Ah, but Nancy, I was off four days before flying to SF to get out of night shift mode and into normal people mode. I spent quite a bit of those days hauling trash out, cleaning and dusting...so I got home and could relax.
Way to go, Terrio! The GR can be a bit of trouble. Keep your eye on him!
I know exactly what you mean, Jeanne. There was not a spare minute to relax or just sit and veg from the time I landed in San Francisco until the time we landed in Birmingham. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was a truly great experience. Any future conference has A LOT to live up to!
To top it off, I landed in Birmingham at midnight Monday AM. Got home @ 2 AM. Got to bed @ 3 AM and had to be at work at 9:30 to work until 7 PM!!! YUCK!!! I was off Tuesday and did manage to get a little rest. Very little.
My CP makes Aunty Cindy look like a benign dictator!! I have got quite a few requests to get out, BUT my target date is no later than Sunday at midnight so it will be on their desks Monday AM. And she is STILL cracking the whip!! Do you think it has something to do with the fact that I have two requests for fulls of a book that isn't finished?
Joan, Nancy and Donna!!!! I am SO EXCITED for you all! That is just fantabulous news!!! YAY!!
My house would be condemned if anyone stopped by to visit. I am still living out of my suitcases. And they are in the living room!
I am still so thrilled to have met so many Banditas and Buddies!!! I can't wait for DC!!
Terri, you were the inspiration for getting a tattoo. You remember my numerous questions to you about it right after you got yours? That was the first time, I actually thought it might be cool.
Listen up, those of you going to Atlanta. You ABSOLUTELY CANNOT miss meeting PJ and her ambrosia, aka, handcrafted slices of heaven, aka chocolates. Here at home, we have a doll named in her honor and numerous cards addressed "to your friend, PJ" from the wee one.
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