ACFW Conference Blog

I’ve been attending the ACFW conference for the past few years. This will be my third!

So why go?

Here are my TOP 10 Reasons (okay, they are the first ones that come to mind and well worth it.)
1. Education
2. Networking
3. Promotion of your work
4. To find an editor/publishing house/agent
5. To receive your award (Remember the Genesis Contest is for unpublished authors and announced at the conference:-D)
6. To rub elbows and learn from successful authors
7. To meet up with friends from all over the world that you only see once a year
8. To connect with your blog partners
9. Intense Early Bird class (you will grow in leaps and bounds from this one thing alone!!!!!!!!!!)
10. To find out the newest publishing world information

I’ve found a writing partner. 5 blog partners that started the FAITH GIRLS with me after the first conference we attended together, an agent, and tons of friends.

I think one of the most important things for me is connecting with other writers. We may write different genres, live in other places, but I totally love it when they “get” how my mind works! The brainstorming that happens fills me up for the whole year, lol, I can’t get writing fast enough.

After this last year of so much stressful change, I really look forward to filling my well with the worship and companionship.

If you aren’t already signed up for this phenomenal experience in Minneapolis this year, head on over to www.ACFW.com and check out the conference info.

You can also check out American Christian Fiction Writers conference blog for even more information.

Angie Breidenbach

http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com/

ACFW conference–why go

This is a picture of Linda Goodnight (on the right) and me with our Book of the Year plaque for last year’s contest.

This is the first year I am going to teach a class (How to Write an Inspirational Romance) at the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference in September (18th-21st) in Minneapolis. In the past I have been a member of a panel, but this year I have the floor all to myself. I am really looking forward to imparting my MANY years of knowledge (HA!). I think the thing I’ve learned the most over the years is that you need always to be sharpening your skills, that you never stop learning.

This is a picture of the panel I was on last year–Lenora Worth, Irene Brand, me (seated on the left) and Debra Clopton.

I am so looking forward to this conference–each year it has gotten better (It’s gonna be hard to top last year). Here are ten reasons you should consider going to the ACFW conference if you write Christian fiction.
10. To hear Angela Hunt speak–the keynote speaker
9. To meet with an agent
8. To meet with an editor
7. To sing songs and share worship with others (this is one of my favorite activities–so moving)
6. To see people who have become friends (often getting to know them online through the ACFW loop)
5. To go to the Mall of America for the huge booksigning on Saturday (stop by and say hi to me–I’ll be signing)
4. To eat your meals while you get to pick an industry person’s brain (try to ignore the fact that I had the words meals and brain in the same phrase–during the meals it is a great time to converse with an author, agent or editor who is hosting a table)
3. To see Randy Ingermanson blush while he tells you how a man thinks (very interesting presentation)
2. To attend the gala Saturday night for the Genesis contest and the Book of the Year Contest (I am a finalist for Heart of the Family in the Short Contemporary and Vanished in the Short Contemporary Suspense.) and cheer all your favorite authors

Now a drum roll for the number one reason:
1. For the fellowship with people who go through what you do to write their stories glorifying the Lord

Some more pictures from last year:

I’m still very much looking forward to the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference this September in Minneapolis.

ACFW has maintained a relaxed, celebratory atmosphere where the editors can be real and enjoy getting to know authors. It is a blessing for me to be at a conference where everyone is speaking the same language — FICTION. I’ve made a wealth of friendships and cemented contacts at ACFW conferences. So it is the one event each year that I don’t want to miss, both professionally and personally.

I don’t know how any serious fiction writer would want to miss this conference.

Rebecca Germany, Editor with Barbour

I grew up in a home that, because of my father’s alcoholism and all the baggage that comes with it, I became what I called a self-contained unit. I had very little expectation of support, encouragement or advice free of judgment; I learned to accomplish things and make decisions in isolation. It never occurred to me how much more I could accomplish if I had a cheering section in my life.

Today, I am preparing to teach a writing workshop at an ACFW conference that will be held September 18-21. Along with my husband, ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) has been the “cheering section” for my writing. If it hadn’t been for ACFW, I may not have continued to try to get my first book, Romance Rustlers, published. At one point, my first book almost sold; all the lights were green and it looked like the publisher would pick it up. Then after much waiting, they decided not to. I was devastated and I wanted to quit.

I went through all the usual stuff we Christians go through when faced with failure. Wondering if I was in God’s plan. Had I heard his voice clearly? I questioned why he would give me a talent and then not open doors for me to use it?

I am not one that shares failure and pain easily. I posted what had happened to the ACFW email loop thinking it was mostly an exercise in me taking a risk and learning to share my feelings and my failure. The response I got was overwhelming. I had people pray for me and offer encouragement. The thing that helped the most was that other writers who were now published shared their stories of the first books that almost sold. What is that old saying, that Satan’s greatest weapon is to make us feel like we are alone in our pain?

It might not be a writer’s group for you. It might be a support group for addiction or a weight loss group or a quilting group that is about way more than quilting, but all of us need places where we can take our masks off and share our deepest pain. And all of us need a “cheering section” in the stands. I encourage you to seek that out in your life.

I’m excited about teaching a workshop at the conference in Minneapolis because it is my chance to give back. If you think writing might be your thing, there is more info about the conference at www.acfw.com. Even if you can’t attend the conference, there is info about joining ACFW.

Sharon Dunn’s fifth mystery Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear was released in January 2008. It is book two in the Bargain Hunters mysteries. You can read more about Sharonand her humorous who-dun-its at www.sharondunnbooks.com.

Just recently, we hosted VBS at our church. At the end of the week, one of the girls told her grandmother, “We had so much fun and there was no sin involved.” We all got a kick out of her comment, but then realized how true (and wonderful!) her observation is!

Isn’t it great that Christians can gather together and have a ton of fun without sinning? Well, here’s an opportunity for Christian novelists looking to have some good, clean fun!

The ACFW conference is the premier conference for published and unpublished authors of Christian fiction. Where else can you find that many CBA agents, editors, and authors all under one roof? Not to mention the books available at the book signing. Wow! The fact that the signing is going to be at the Mall of America this year is just icing on the cake.

Where can you find so many like-minded friends who love to talk about books for four days straight? Can you imagine some of our friends who aren’t quite as into books having to endure four days of book-talk? lol But for those of us who love to read and write Christian fiction, the conference is a dream come true.

Chat until the wee hours of the morning with your friends. Meet up with old friends or form new friendships if this is your first time to attend. There is a First Time Attendee orientation on Thursday. This is an awesome opportunity to meet others who might not have forged long-term friendships. Latch onto a couple of buddies. Who knows? They’re liable to become some of your closest friends in the publishing industry. I’ve got about 1600 friends (and counting) in ACFW, but some are a little closer than others. My very best friends are the Seekers, women who are really and truly like sisters to me. I don’t know what I would do without each and every one of them.

So, for the time of your life, sign up for the ACFW conference. Tons of fun and no sin involved. What more could you ask for?

Pam Hillman, ACFW Treasurer