Getting ready for Nationals

Are you going to the RWA National convention in Orlando?

Its prep time. This past month I've been a little slow at adding new words to my manuscript-in-progress because I'm distracted by lots of other RWA-related activities.

Ordering new business cards. I'm only half-convinced at the necessity of these. I printed my own last year, and wasted hours doing it. I fought with Word for hours and ended up with a stack of cards where no two were exactly the same. No clue why. This time, I spent a few more $ (not much considering card stock and ink) and bought them through Kinkos. The upside: took about 20 minutes start to finish. The downside: hubby and I both agree that the on-screen graphic was a bit nicer than the finished product (more saturated colors, clearer text). But, they're done. Want one? Want 50? :)

Updating my website. Yep, I have one. I had one last year, with a whopping single-page. This year I tried a couple of things and ended up installing Wordpress. I have more updating to do, so be kind if you visit today and think it looks a little scarce :) And don't be shocked if the template changes color more than once. My website-building budget is limited in both $ (I'm not up to paying for a theme yet) and time (because while I have the technical know-how to do it myself, I have a job with a looming deadline and a family who still speaks to me).

Sending out query letters. What better time to get yourself rejected than a few weeks before you have the perfect opportunity to pitch your masterpiece in person? It's a bit masochistic of me, but I keep doing it anyway.

Polishing two manuscripts. my contemporary (which might finally be getting a better name...maybe more on that later), and my sci-fi romance (with which I currently have a very twisted love/hate relationship). But should I at least get the "pity partial request", I'm ready.

Polishing a pitch. Our RWA chapter did a couple of awesome sessions to help hone our pitches. By the end of it, I not only had something written down that I could read outloud, but had some good feedback on it and I think it will actually work pretty well. Assuming I remember my name and native language when I sit down in front of the editor, let alone the particulars of my book. (not a joke, I have been known to forget my own name when in a stressful situation where I had to speak outloud).

Polishing my nails. Once again, the week of RWA will be the only week of the year where I have colored toenails (fingers TBA). Its also the only week of the year where I can 1) wear sandals and 2) am in an environment where it is normal to have colored digits. My day job is working with (primarily male) engineers in a chilly basement. They don't show me their toes, and I don't need to freeze mine. 'Course, hotel conference rooms aren't particularly warm either...