My husband at the Iwo Jima memorial
A beautiful view of our nation's capital.
At the National Cathedral.
Washington, D.C. RWA Day by Day: My RWA National Conference Diary
Jenna Petersen
Just like last year, I have to start this year's diary with a bit of an explanation. This year my sweet, wonderful husband came with me to the event and so we came to DC a few days early. So day 1 for the conference was not day 1 of me being in DC. Here are a couple of pictures from our earlier adventures:
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My husband at the Iwo Jima memorial |
A beautiful view of our nation's capital. |
At the National Cathedral. |
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 -- Day 1
By the time the first official day of conference started, I was already in
DC for a couple of days, no longer had any travel weirdness and was super
relaxed from vacationing. So when I roamed over to get my registration packet at
8am, I was pretty chill. I ended up seeing a few friends (hi PJ!!) and then
texted Kathryn Smith to meet up. This is the first time in a couple of years
that we haven't roomed together. We ended up having a quick bite (well, they
bit, I drank a diet Coke) with her roomie and reader friend Susan. Then Margo
Maguire joined us right at the end and it was lovely.
When I returned to the hotel (I was in the Omni, a wonderful place and the conference was in the Marriott), I met up with my sweetie and we went to breakfast and then grabbed a cab up to the National Cathedral. We aren't religious, but it's one of the most beautiful places in DC and a little off the beaten path, so very quiet. I would highly recommend it as a stop if you're there. We grabbed some lunch and then headed back to the hotel because Wednesday night is always the booksigning! This time my husband got to see the madness, including the part where we get ready and then the doors open to the hundreds lined up outside and then the deafening noise of readers meeting writers!
As you all know, this is always one of the top highlights for me and this year was no different. Thanks to every single person who came to my table whether to say hi or to pick up a book. I loved meeting and re-meeting you! And for my friends, my editor and my agent who stopped by, too, XOXO to you all.
 My eyes are closed, but this gives a good view of my table set up. |
 Before the doors opened, the long rows of tables stretch out. |
 Before the signing we bumped into Anne Mallory. |
After we were all done, I made my way to the bar where I met up with my dear friend Megan Frampton (who I never got a picture with... what up with that Megan?) and we had a lovely chat. Seriously, that one talk almost set the tone for the entire conference and totally flipped my entire attitude about a lot of other things right upside down in the best way possible. You've got to love that. So thanks, Megan! Then my husband met up with me and we took a nice walk back to the Omni for bed. Whew!
Thursday, July 16, 2009 -- Day 2
On
Thursday morning, I got up and headed to the Marriott for breakfast with
Michelle Buonfiglio's Bellas from her
Romance Buy the Book
blog. It was such fun meeting new people and seeing old friends. I stole
this pic with the caption from Michelle's site, so be sure to head over and read
her thoughts on the events!
Right after that I headed to the bar (10am is never too early, people) and met my friend Kimberly Dean. We were in Secrets, Volume 11 together back in the day and have been friends ever since. We had a great time catching up. After that it was off to lunch with May Chen, my Avon editor and a group of her authors, along with her assistant Amanda (who I love, she's such a sweetie). We had great fun, as always, this time at a place called Lebanese Taverna, right across the street from the conference hotel.
By the time we got back, it was already almost time for the Avon Open House signing. If you've never attended an RWA National Conference, these Open Houses are the time when the publishers give away free books to paid attendees. This was the first year that Avon was all together instead of signing in shifts AND that we were right after the literacy signing the night before. So I had NO voice by the time it was done, but it was awesome. Also, I was so slammed packed busy the entire time that I didn't get any pictures!
When I left the signing, exhausted, my husband and I immediately made our way to Tabard Inn, a cute boutique hotel in Dupont Circle where the Irene Goodman Literary Agency was holding its gathering for agency authors. Irene gave a wonderful speech about the family atmosphere of our agency and the excitement of launching books together. The wine was excellent as was the company. Mike (my husband) and I headed to dinner afterward and then took the Metro back to the hotel when it was all over. I was so tired, I crashed immediately.
Friday, July 17, 2009 -- Day 3
Friday was a really fun day for me, but busy! It started at 11am with my
presentation on a panel on the topic Promotion Buy the Book. Michelle Buonfiglio
put the panel together and I presented with Lori Foster and Danielle Jackson
from Sourcebooks. I talked about social networking and the power of blogging
around a release. The audience seemed to enjoy it (I got quite a few comments
afterward) and had some great questions! Plus, I felt like I learned something
from listening to all the other speakers.
Right afterward, I headed in very briefly to the Awards Luncheon where my dear friend Deborah Schneider from the King County Library System won Librarian of the Year! I ran out right after and ended up meeting up with Anne Mallory. We finally got to catch up, which was awesome. From there I went to the bar and met the winner of my Mentor Lottery, Maureen Betita. We talked about what kind of mentoring relationship is best for her and I'm really looking forward to the next year of working toward her goals.
Maureen and I after our meeting.
The moment we said goodbye, I said hi to Deborah Schneider. Debbie and our friend Sheryl Hoyt were my first critique partners and writing friends back when I started this crazy journey. A lot has happened to all of us since then, but I am so happy to be reconnecting with Debbie, who is a talented writer with a book coming from The Wild Rose Press soon! She writes great western-set historicals, among other things.
After that, I headed back to the Omni and very quickly got ready for the publisher parties that night. Now I'm a good girl, a "rule" follower, but when my agent called and asked if I wanted to crash some parties with her and some other clients, I jumped at the chance! We headed to Bantam, where I got to talk with the wonderful Rosemary Potter, the Bookseller of the Year winner and an email friend for a long time, Suz Brockman (who is so fab!), Allison Brennan and Diana Petrafreud. From there, gathering people as we went, we headed to the Avon party (my one invitation LOL). This year was my favorite! I loved it just being a cocktail party, the Mai Tais were great and I loved talking to my friends and my editor and other publishing professionals from our house.
From there we headed to St. Martin's, which was winding down but I got to meet editors Rose Hilliard and Monique Patterson, who was one of my "dream" editors from the first moment I saw her speak in 2002 and say she was looking for dark heroes and historicals in a time when NO ONE was saying that. Once the bar kicked us out (yes, we closed a bar), we headed to the Harlequin party.
Yes, after seven years and I think six conferences (someone can count the day-by-days and correct me), I finally crashed the Harlequin party and it was AWESOME! It's everything everyone says and more. Here are my pictures, which speak for themselves:
 Jackie Kessler reclines elegantly across me and our agent Miriam Kriss during the cab ride to the St. Martin's party. Jenna Black is just off frame and Rosemary Potter took the photo. |
 The crowd on the dance floor at Harlequin's party. |
 Kate Smith and Gayle Callen are the hot topic at the Harlequin party. Because they rock. |
 More of the crowd. |
 Me with Kathryn Smith. You can tell it's serious now. My sweater is gone (tied to my purse). |
 Everyone texts or boogies down. |
It was a great night, lots of fun! I took off around 11:30 maybe and headed back to the hotel where I washed my face (dancing is sweaty work) and crashed, voiceless and happy.
Saturday, July 18, 2009 -- Day 4
When I got up Saturday, I wished I had that voice I lost the night before
singing and dancing because I started out by speaking! My Great Agent Search was
at 9:45am and I was surprised by the big turnout! So thanks to all who came, I
hope it was helpful to you. Feel free to
email me with your feedback! When I was done there, I came out to find my
husband waiting for me to see how it went, which was so sweet. We hung out for a
while and then parted ways when I went to lunch with Miriam. It was so laid back
because we talk regularly and also met in March in NYC, but I still sort of got
some plans in order and am very excited about the next year or two to come. This
is great because normally by this time in the conference I'm so tired and
overwhelmed I am not excited about anything except sleeping in for a week.
After Miriam went on her way, I went back to the Marriott to await the librarian tea put on by the wonderful John Charles every year. We went to the Renaissance Mayflower hotel and had a great time. I love going to this event and find it ends up being on of the highlights. My husband met up with me again on the way back and we had some dinner (though I hardly ate since I was basically eating all day), then we got ready for the final event of the conference, the RITA/GH Awards! It was awesome! Here are a few pictures:
 A view of the stage from our seats |
 My husband and I (taken by Barbara Vey of Publisher's Weekly |
 I'm properly awed by the program for the event |
As always, the speeches were moving, the winners were great and the venue after was too small. We tried to say goodbye to people, but finally surrendered and went to Open City, a cafe nearby where I ate an egg sandwich and pecan pie and they rocked my world.
Final Thought:
The last couple of years I've had a great time at RWA, but left exhausted, burned out and not at all wanting to write as a result. I think being a little away from the event (at the overflow hotel) and having someone from my "real life" as my roommate helped. I left the conference feeling refreshed, happy and relaxed and I wrote seven pages on Monday morning. So maybe going full tilt all the time wasn't best for me. If I learned that lesson this year, it was well worth the price of admission.
Until 2010, happy writing!