A Peek at Pike's Peak Writer's Conference...

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  So....how's it going?  Editing away?  Are the written words flowing?  Any querying successes to report?  (I hope so!!)  For those of you who saw my "I'm a Special Request" post...ah, well.  Weronika and I are not a match, I'm afraid.  Apparently, I have more novel and query letter fine tuning to do.  And that's ok!  Because it justifies the expense of going to a writing conference this year - obviously I need all the help I can get!  And what better way to do that than to spend a weekend with editors, published authors, agents and fellow aspiring writers attending a myriad of workshops aimed at honing my writing skills?

So, I've picked one!!

This year, I've decided to attend the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference in Colorado Springs, CO.  It's happening the weekend of Apr. 29th through May 1st.  There's also a bonus all-day workshop on Thursday, the 28th.  And registration opens up in just a few days, on the 15th. 

Now, the official brochure for this year's conference isn't out just yet.  So, why am I committed to going already?  Well...I've heard this one's a good one.  :)  But, seriously - I want to say that I remember one of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale, saying that she attended one year...hmm.  Anyhow!!  If you check out their past conference info - you'll see that they seem to ALWAYS have a great line up of agents, publishers, editors, and authors on hand.

Last year, their keynote speaker was Donald Maass!!  I think we've all heard of him, right?  The editor and chief of Del Rey did a workshop on "What I look for in a manuscript".  Awesome.  They also had a read & critique session for aspiring and published authors alike and agent pitch sessions with agents such as Sara Megibow and Kristen Nelson of the Nelson Literary agency, Caryn Wiseman of the Andrea Brown Lit. agency, Sarah Warner of Warner Lit., Scott Hoffmann of Folio Lit. and many more.  Hey - Nathan Bransford even attended one year!  PLUS - their (past) workshop line-ups are jam-packed.  Seriously.  Their Saturday line-up last year started at 7:30am and ended at 11:00pm. 

Plus - this particular conference is one that I can drive to in a day (I think...).  So - that's my plan!  Do you have one of your own?  Happy Writing/Editing/Querying, all!

Short Stories and a Writer's Platform...

Happy Sunday, fellow bloggers and lovely friends!  Hope all is well in your respective necks of the woods?  Yes?  Good.  :)

So, I got a subscription offer for The New Yorker the other day. 

Now, I'll be honest (don't cringe too much) and say that the most I know about the The New Yorker is that it's a magazine (ha!), it's been around for a while (1925-ish, right?), and that it's kind of a boon to any writer's career to get their fiction published in it (ummm - you meant "jackpot!" right?). 

So, I'm submitting my latest short story to them today and expect you'll all see me in print in a month or two..........HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Yeah, well...my point is - while I'm quite a ways away from EVER having my work published in this landmark magazine (idk, it could happen eventually, right?), I think we've all heard that getting short stories published in reputable magazines, e-zines, anthologies, etc. is an extra bonus to add to a query letter and get you noticed by an agent.  It's part of your "writing platform" - the more you have here, the better.  Of course, as bloggers, we're already in the game here.  More and more - "on-line" presence is topping the list of things to have in this "writing platform".  But, publishing short stories could possibly be a good stepping stone to getting your novel noticed and ultimately published, too.  It can only help, of course, to also READ the stories that make it in to The New Yorker and into other writery type mags.

So, my questions to you today - HAVE YOU PUBLISHED A SHORT STORY?  WHERE? DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO ANY GREAT WRITING MAGS?  ANY SUGGESTIONS OF GOOD ONES TO SUBMIT TO?

I'll admit again that I haven't too much experience looking into this area of publishing, but one or two mags out there that have helped me out or that I've considered submitting to are:

1. Writer's Digest.  I know you've all heard of this one.  Jam-packed with advice, writing and publishing interviews, contests, etc.  *AND CHECK THIS OUT - they're hosting a webinar with agent Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency AND participants will get to submit their first 3 pages for Sara to read AND comment on!!  How cool is that?  Click "here" to find the registration page - this Thursday, 1/13 @ 1pm EST.

2. Glimmer Train.  This is another fiction magazine that focuses on short stories.  They have contests specifically for debut authors, but you're welcome to submit to them anytime.

Ummm...yeah.  There's only two suggestions from me (sorry).  But, please share some magazine/short story collection ideas of your own!  And I think I might just get that subscription to The New Yorker after all ($29.95 for a year and I get a free bag!!!).  Happy Writing ~ :)