On Saturday, Nov 12th, Bayou Writers’ Group of Lake Charles hosted their 8th annual writing conference, ‘A Bridge to Publication’. My guess is about 60 people attended, although I haven’t seen the official numbers yet. Guest speakers included D.B. Grady, a Baton Rouge author and contributor to The Atlantic; Anita Mumm, first reader at the Literary Nelson Agency in Colorado; and Columnist, AND New York Times best-selling author, Mark Harris.
At the beginning of the program, emcee Curt Iles, encouraged attendees to be “writing sponges.” I took his advice, and absorbed information all day! So much so, by the end of the day I felt mentally whipped. Seriously! It was as if my mind could hold no more input. For added fun, we had door prizes and our “On the Wall Contest” where the premise was to entice your reader from the very first page. I was excited when my uncle, Rick Bailey, won with his entry titled, “The 19th Kentucky Regiment.” He is working on an historical fiction novel about the Civil War and I anxiously await its completion! He is a wonderful writer.
Each presenter shared valuable insight. For example, D.B. Grady explained why it’s better to have an agent than a publisher, and why being published badly is worse than not being published at all. Additionally, Anita Mumm presented key points on the importance of query letters. Finally, Mark Harris posed four questions to the audience.
1) Who are you, and how are you conveying who you are to readers?
2) Whom are you writing for?
3) How much feedback do you want from readers?
4) Why are you choosing to write about the things you want to write about?
As Forrest Gump© says, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Well, you never know who you will meet at our conferences. Case in point, Mark Harris’ husband is none other than the Tony©, Emmy©, and Pulitzer Prize winning writer, and Golden Globe©, AND Academy Award© nominee, Tony Kushner! (Who was in the audience! I swear! I have pictures to prove it! Oh my God, I really tried not to stalk them, but couldn’t help myself!)
On a more serious note, if you are a writer, I invite you to become a member of Bayou Writers’ Group. We meet to educate, encourage, and inspire each other as we continually strive to be better writers. Being around other writers is uplifting. If you are looking for a writing group, we “get it” at BWG. Check out our website at www.bayouwritersgroup.com. As president, I look forward to meeting you!
Our membership did a fantastic job of preparing and decorating for this event. It took months of planning to pull this off, and saying “thank you” in no way conveys my gratitude. BWG is the best!
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