Left Coast Crime
On Wednesday, I’ll fly seven-plus hours to attend Left Coast Crime in Seattle. As a total introvert, I’m nervous, worried, and excited. (All of the above.) Fortunately, I booked a solo room, a hidey-hole, where I can recalibrate.
When to Start Going to Writers’ Conferences
Even before I was published as a fiction author, I began attending writers’ conferences. These aren’t cheap, and they carve out a big chunk of my time. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering, “Why would you spend the money? Especially when there are a lot of conferences online these days?”
High Tech/High Touch
The late author and futurist John Naisbitt coined the phrase “high tech/high touch.” According to an article in Forbes by Joe McKendrick (12/19/21), Naisbitt meant “that the success of any technology depends on how deeply it shapes the human experience.”
I interpret his words differently. The more people spend their time online, the more they crave human interaction. What’s more, we find belly-to-belly contact memorable and impactful.
Prove It, Joanna
My most fervent readers are people I’ve met in person. They are my most loyal fans.
My closest author friends are people I’ve met in person. They are the ones most likely to share good advice or help me in a pinch. In fact, I can trace nearly everything good that’s happened to my career from interaction with my author pals, and my pals are folks I met at conferences. Not that the sessions I attended were incredibly life-altering. Not that I heard any speakers who made a huge difference. No, it boiled down to the small, person-to-person interactions shaping my path forward. That’s not to say I never walked away with a good/useful idea. It’s simply this truth: Meeting peoplein the flesh has a tremendous benefit, even if it’s uncomfortable for me.
Tell Me…Are You an Introvert?
If so, have any tips on dealing with a crowd of people?
it helps to remember this is how I met a wonderful person like you!
I adore you and Howard so that’s easy, but I really need my alone time. See you at Malice? Shall we eat together?