I am a Sponge

I'm so overwhelmed at the thought of actually attending the Writer's Digest (WD) conference this weekend that I have no idea where to start in order to prepare.  I'm printing business cards as I picture my wardrobe.  I nearly missed the dry cleaner today and the kids refuse to do the sleep thing.  None of these words are coming out of my head as I planned them and my darling husband is quite under the weather.

Cleaning and packing is one thing, but the mental preparation is what really has me scared.  Back in November, I reviewed the list of agents that would be at the conference and narrowed down the list so as to target those who would be most likely to show interest in my book.  I need to revisit that and get myself ready for Saturday.  I get 90 seconds to talk and then 90 to listen.  Must be prepared so I don't waste any of those precious moments.

The other night I snatched up my newest issue of WD and gave it a look-see.  As usual, a small pearl jumped out, and serving as my muse, I was inspired to write my pitch for my book.  Once I understood the point of the article, about 90 seconds of "Why you should represent my book" jumped out of my mind and onto three tiny notepad pages.  Now, if only I could find the little notepad.  The prudent conference attendee might spend some time reviewing and revising the almighty pitch.

I briefly read through the different sessions and mentally picked out the ones that interested me.  I should, however, write them down so I don't have a mental stutter and end up in a poetry workshop.  While poetry is a worthy endeavor, I'm not paying to gain insight into my poetic asides.

Reservations for dinner tomorrow night are made and confirmed - check that off the list.  Saturday night was intentionally left open just in case the opportunity for a networking dinner presented itself.  If not, we're off to the fancy Apple store that is underground with the entrance on the street level.  We'll fit dinner in somewhere.

My mind is still churning with ideas from yesterday's conference about Getting Published for Nurses.

It's a writing kind of week, and all I can hope is that I get enough out of it all to see me through the completion of my manuscript and publication of my article.