I am leaving today for Madison, WI to attend my first writers’ conference.  Even though I have only completed seven chapters of the novel I am currently writing, and I am not yet ready to sign up for one of the agent pitch sessions offered, I couldn’t resist the invitation from my writer friend Amy, when she asked me to join her at the conference.

Amy does happen to have a finished manuscript — and a good one, at that!  She will be networking with agents and editors at the conference, and I suppose I will be tagging along for the moral support, as well as attending the workshops in an effort to learn more about the whole business end of publishing fiction.  To date, I have published my fair share of nonfiction and journalism, but my true passion is fiction.  I have recently vowed to make it a higher priority because, quite frankly, it makes me happy.

Amy and I met through the Algonquin Area Writers’ Group in which we both participate.  One of my early posts was about the importance of a good writers’ group.

I’ll follow up later with a post about the conference itself, and for you fellow writers, I’ll be sure to include any enlightening facts that I might learn.