One Thing Leads To Another

In the olden days, writing was a solitary, lonely process. When I started out writing, there was no ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) to find other writers to commune with; there wasn’t even ACRW (American Christian Romance Writers). You counted yourself lucky to happen upon another writer in your town. You sent your proposals off to an editor by snail-mail with a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). And dinosaurs roamed the earth. (But I won’t get into dinosaurs in this post.)

I had taken a correspondence course and then found out that there was another lady in our church who was a writer too. We became friends. She knew someone who knew someone who knew a lady who was part of a critique group. My friend told me to call and I did. We both joined the group. It was so great to have other writers to understand and support me. (Because let’s face it, we writers are a different breed.)

Then I moved and lost my support group. I was alone again, writing by myself in my closet. I was desperate to find other writers, so I searched and found one. It wasn’t like my old group, but I was around writers again. :-D

The leader of that group told me about a writers conference where I met a woman who told me about another conference that I also went to. Through circumstances beyond my control, my writing sample that was supposed to go to one of my favorite authors went to an editor to be read. I was terrified. But meeting with that editor led to my first book contract and publication.

So what? You’re probably thinking.

So because I met the other writer lady at church, I joined a critique group which led to another writing group which got me to my first conference which led to my second conference which eventually led to my first contract.

If you are one of the people who don’t think you are ready to go to a conference or that you shouldn’t go because you don’t think you should spend the money, you should go. Ready or not, conferences prepare you in your writing growth. I was not ready for my first conference, but it prepared me for the next one and my first sale.

It is all a building process. You don’t know what God has planned or who He has for you to meet, so . . .

One Thing Can Lead To Another. If you don’t go, you could miss the one thing that leads to all the others.

ACFW has an awesome conference September 17th - 20th. If you are thinking of going, GO! And see what God is going to start.