A little over a week ago, I was in Columbus, Ohio, catching up with readers, drinking, eating, doing a whole lot of gossiping with the Dames, checking out (or speaking on) panels, and doing cool workshops. Conventions like Romantic Times are always a blast, and they always seem to refresh and re-energize the writer in me.
But this week, the convention buzz has faded like it had never even existed (maybe it was the long plane trip home. lol) and all that preparation, anticipation, and floating through the days in a haze of enjoyment has evaporated. This week, it’s nose to the grindstone, trying to get edits done, due books finished, and the house cleaned up after leaving the teenager and the dogs alone for two weeks.
I’m back to reality, in other words. And I have to say, coming back to real life is a bit of a letdown. Whoever said life should be a party had it right!
Of course, I’ve been a full-time writer for a few years now, and I’m more than used to coping with the post-conference blues. But if you’re just new to the writing game, and this is your first experience with the blues, here’s some tips to help get you through:
1 – Keep in contact with the people you met at the conference.
If you’ve connected with people in real time, don’t wait until conference time next year to talk to them again. Keep in contact, talk about writing, set goals and encourage each other. Writing friends will keep you sane when the writing gets tough, simply because writing friends will understand what you’re going through—non-writing friends and family simply can’t. And of course, when you meet again at the next conference, it makes it all that more fun 
2 – Don’t be fool
If you managed to get a editor or agent appointment at the conference, and subsequently got a request, don’t be an idiot and waste the opportunity. Getting a request at a convention or conference is one of the only ways an unpublished / unrepresented author can get a direct line to an editor / agent, and it sure as hell beats sitting in a slush pile for months—or even years! So, rewrite and polish your manuscript as much as you can, then ship her off. Don’t be afraid, and don’t doubt. You had the courage to face that editor / agent in person, so sending off a manuscript has to be a whole lot easier. After all, what’s the worse that can happen? They can only say no, and really, that’s a start, not an ending.
3 –Plan and set goals.
Okay, the conference is over, so what’s next? Now is a great time to set yourself some targets, so that you’ve actually achieved something by the time the conference rolls around next year. I always found it helps to set a big target—say finishing a book within a set period of time—then breaking it down into lots of little targets, so that it seems more achievable. So things like writing so many pages a day, finishing a chapter a month, entering certain contests, stuff like that. And remember those friends you made? Maybe share your goals with them, and keep each other accountable.
4 – Write, write, write.
We’re writers. Writing is what we do. You can plan and set goals as much as you like, but if you don’t actually sit down and write, then you’re missing the whole point of the exercise. Yes, conferences are great, but in the end, all that matters is you, that screen and the words on the page. Writers write, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re published, agented, almost there, or just started, in the end it’s all about bum on seat, words on page.
Which is what I’d better go do now!
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Thank You. I have never seen this type of thing addressed before. Of all the perks, problems and just particularly odd miscellany that is attached to the writing world, emotional highs and lows, especially those generated from an artifical atmosphere such as a convention, can be a substantial brick wall. While I don’t wish this on you, it’s good to know a seasoned author can experience it as well.
This came at the perfect time. I just got back from the (uber-fantastic) Pennwriters Conference. I’ve spent the day networking, trying to get in touch with everyone I met at the conference. It’s hard to remember why I was there–the writing!
I got some great advice and critiques, so I need to get to work applying it.