2011 Maryland Writers Conference

Today, I attended the 2011 Maryland Writers Conference at the University of Baltimore's Thumel Business Center with two members from my writers' critique group. We arrived very early and grabbed some coffee before registration started at 8 am. Within 30 minutes, the entire venue was beginning to fill up. We were eager and ready to be engaged by the speakers of the day and to network with fellow writers.

The Conference touted a very good line up of seminars but I had my eye on two specific ones: 1)"The Business of Self-Publishing: Developing a Business Plan for Your Book," with guest speaker, K.L. Brady, author of Bum Magnet. It was nice to catch with Karla whom I met last year when she came and did a presentation on self-publishing at the Howard County Chapter of the Maryland Writers' Association. I walked away with great tips that I'll start using right away.; and 2)"What Does it Take to Make a Living as a Best Selling Author," with guest speaker, L.A. Banks, author of several best-selling novels. Ms. Banks gave us the "real" breakdown of the business of writing including the fact that writers need to assess their financial situation before making the leap to being a writer full time. She also stated that as writers, we should polish our craft, write everyday, and make our work the best we can before releasing it to the world.

Overall, the Conference was very informative and I look forward to next year's line up of speakers. In the meantime, I'll continue to network with fellow writers and others whom I met at the Conference.

I've attached some pictures from the Conference...enjoy!!

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