I’m leaving in two weeks to attend the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Annual Conference, which is meeting in San Antonio, Texas this year. This will be my fifth in-person conference, my third RWA National, and my thirteenth workshop presentation.
*pauses* Really? I’ve run twelve workshops in the past two years? Wow, no wonder I feel so busy all of the time.
Anyway, despite all of that experience, I’m still doing my usual I’m-an-introvert, pre-conference freak-out. If I did a post for that to-do list, it would look something like…
- Stay in denial that I’m going to have to crawl out of my shell until the last possible minute.
- Mentally berate myself with buyer’s remorse (What was I thinking? Why do I put myself through this?).
- Bemoan the fact that Polyjuice Potion doesn’t exist so I can send someone in my place.
- Curl up into a ball and have a panic attack, convinced that I can’t do this.
- Accept that I can’t get out of it, and then stress about getting everything ready in time.
Hmm, does anyone else think those to-do items look suspiciously like the “five stages of grief“? Maybe I’m grieving for the loss of my introverted life for the next couple of weeks. *grin*
Going to RWA14? Let Me Know!
If you’re going to the RWA conference, let me know so we can meet up. Putting faces to names is one of the best things about in-person conferences.
And if you’re interested in my Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!) workshop, I’ll be presenting it on Saturday, July 26th, at 3:15pm in Salon M at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. Here’s the blurb:
Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!) (TRAINING)
Speaker: Jami Gold
Need a website (or blog) but don’t know where to start? Never fear, all you need is one hour to learn everything about creating a website using WordPress and other free Internet resources.
I am looking forward to seeing my roomies again, and I do enjoy presenting workshops and meeting people, but the peel-off-my-introvert-shell stress? Ugh. It’s a good thing I have my handy-dandy ultimate packing list from the last time I went to RWA National. *smile*
The Ultimate RWA Conference Packing List
- Conference outfits (clothes and jewelry—casual business most of the time, dressier business for pitches or editor/agent meetings, dressy for Awards Ceremony)
- Comfortable shoes & gel inserts
- Snacks for between workshops when you can’t stop for lunch
- Medications (no hangovers allowed) & prescriptions
- Your schedule
- Laptop/cellphone/camera (& chargers/power cords)
- Paper/pen/highlighter
- Business cards
- Small toiletry case for purse or bag
- Some way to ship back or carry your goodies
- Some way to personalize your RWA tote bag to make it easier to find among the 2000 identical bags
- Small sewing kit for wardrobe malfunctions
- Bandaids for blisters
- Mints/candies to suck on for energy and fresh breath
- Swimsuit/coverup/workout clothes (for all of that *ahem* unscheduled time you don’t have)
- Cardigan for chilly conference rooms
- Dress purse for Awards Ceremony
- Earplugs, white noise app on phone
- Umbrella
- Cash for tips, Literacy Booksigning, dining with friends, vending machines
- Extension cord for hotel room (2-4 women, 1 sink—do the math)
- Extra hangers for hanging all your nice clothes in the closet
- Pins for lanyard (PRO, chapter, etc.)
- Sharpie marker and tape for labeling shipping boxes
- Hand sanitizer, wet wipes, stain stick or wipes, moisturizer
Other things to prepare and do:
- Print out of hotel reservation, and email all important documents to yourself to ensure you have copies
- Attach business card to phone/camera in case it gets misplaced
- Make sure you drink plenty of water
*whew* All right, what am I forgetting? *smile*
Do you have anything else to add to this list? Are you going to the RWA conference? (Let me know if you want to meet up!) How do you prepare for big trips (are you as much of a over-achieving perfectionist as I am, or do you go with the flow)? Are you an introvert who struggles with in-person events? How do you handle those situations?
P.S. If you live in the San Antonio area, the Literacy Autographing event is open to the public:
The 2014 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing will be on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in the 3rd floor ballroom. This year, proceeds from the Literacy Autographing will benefit ProLiteracy Worldwide, Literacy Texas, Restore Education, and Each One Teach One San Antonio.
P.P.S. Last call for any entries to my Blogiversary Contest.
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