Conference Hangover
I’m feeling bittersweet this week, now that I’ve made it past conference and coped with illness. I became sick Thursday night before last and still managed to make it to Knoxville for the SMRW Mt. Laurel Conference. I was sick the entire time I was there, and for three days afterwards, but I’m mostly back to normal now. :-)
Conference was good to me–I had multiple requests for my manuscript (completed just before conference, and probably the reason behind the bittersweet feeling plaguing me)–but I find it difficult to be particularly happy about the requests. I’ve heard too many stories where people say, “Oh, they’ll ask for anything at a conference.” Considering how badly I flubbed up one of my pitches (and the fact that, yes, the agent still asked for a partial) I’m of a mind to believe it.
The thing is, I’m nervous around people I don’t know well (very, very well). I can’t do small talk and I tried, and I think that’s where I went wrong. Once I’d lost my grip on my thoughts, I never got it back. However, this particular agent was nice about it, and I came away feeling not-quite-humiliated. ;-)
Anyway, I haven’t pushed myself to get my stuff out. I figure two/three weeks is good. Since the book is so freshly finished, I feel the time to go over things and tweak is well spent. My worst nightmare is to send something out in a rush and ruin my chances with someone because of an easily avoidable oversight.
I’m feeling lazy, and I don’t particularly want to rush this time anyway. I don’t know. Maybe it’s conference hangover. ;-)