Saturday, November 15, 2014

Bouchercon-An Amazing Conference; but am I ready for it?

Forgive me for being late with my blog entry, but I've been attending Bouchercon 2014, in Long Beach, California.  Wow!  This is as big and intimidating as RT, which I attended five years ago...in Chicago.  BIG writers here, with all of their fans: CJ Fox, Jefferey Deaver, Michael Connolly...you name it...he or she is here!  I have learned so much, especially about what it takes to sell thousands of books.  Point is, I'm not well known enough to benefit (costwise) from being here.  I wasn't the right author to show up at RT, either.  We authors need to have a fan base larger than mine before we should spend all the money to go to RT or Bouchercon.  Why did I spend the money?  Because I have figured out that Romance isn't the only category for my novels.  This crime/mystery genre fits my last novel more readily than Romance/Suspense.  Are you finding your novels have 'emerged' to a genre quite different from your original genre?  Based on what the big-selling authors at this event say, we have a right and a joy in changing up our genres and experimenting with our writing.  My take-away from this conference...write what feels good!  Yippee!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've love attending Bourchecon and I have a very limited fan base, but I love meeting wonderful writers and being a fan girl myself. Hope you have fun.

Anonymous said...

it takes guts, Rolynn--I'll give you that. you know me--chicken about conferences so I keep to ones I know.

Sandra Dailey said...

My last book was a romantic/suspense, but I've heard several readers refer to it as a thriller. It makes me feel like the story turned out to be more than I'd expected - and I'm thrilled.
Own your place there, Rolynn, and have fun.

Ashantay said...

I agree that as we continue writing, our voices may change and our work evolves. So glad to hear your comments on Bouchercon. I had planned to attend next year in Raleigh because I can driver there. Now, I'm not sure...huge conferences are not my favorite event!

Rolynn Anderson said...

Thanks, everyone. My novels are changing...more suspense and less romance, for instance. Let's hope my readers stick with me on this journey. One other resounding piece of advice from best-sellers...don't read reviews. Period. Wow!