Aptly named - writing conference

Going to a writers' conference is a great idea. I did have my doubts as the reality of it hit me last week. Before going to a writing conference, you send in some of your work. With tomorrow's deadline approaching, I had to work hard to submit the required writing samples.

It was a bit of a scramble. So excited about the conference that will bring some friends to Miami and breathe some fresh air into my writing, I forgot about the writing samples.

It's not a conference you would pick for me. I'm not a novelist, short story writer or poet. Yet I've found creative writing classes spark my writing like no copy writing course could do. True I have only taken two copy writing classes, but they involved what can only be described as formulas - the demon of any writing style.

Formulas make writing predictable, the last thing I need after years of business writing, brochure writing, marketing updates. I learned quite well how to conform to an AT&T standard that would get the job done. Good yes, but what toll it takes on the writing. I remember my mom calling one night to ask if I was mad at her. She read a recent letter back to me; the words weren't the issue but the business tone that dominated the note was. I signed up for a creative writing class within a week.

Creative conference - good idea. Assuming I could just open up an old document to send was a bad idea. The novel written over five years ago wasn't a quick 'send as an attachment.'

It was more like a demolition with new construction. But I was still doing good time wise. The synopsis took more time than I wanted. Time was still good that is until the question of editing came up.

I thought I knew the answer. I wanted feedback from my classmates and instructors about my writing not an editor's version of my writing. So the unedited but carefully groomed ten page manuscript was sent for classmates and instructors. Then I started the debate about what to do with the manuscript that would be read by a book agent.

You read right, book agent. By signing up for the full conference, you got a free manuscript review by your choice of a book agent or book publisher. I would've declined but what feedback carries more weight than whether or not your book is publishable?

Suddenly my well groomed manuscript looked a bit scruffy. Even in the notes of the conference they tell you to submit 'edited' manuscripts.

I have used an editor before, the year I was selected by human resources at AT&T to write a journal about my exciting marketing career at the firm (I still squirm to think that some college recruit signed up because of my prose). Some of you met Ursiline, the gal who had a tough mourning period when her pet rat died (I believe accidentally extinguished by the Orkin guy). Who says HR doesn't know how to pick'em. But then again they picked me. Oh yeah, then again they picked me.

Not knowing if Ursiline was her first or last name was one of several reasons I didn't try to find her for this assignment. I'd look elsewhere. My Ft. Lauderdale writing group has editors eager to come talk to us. But they come prepared with PowerPoint presentations with bullet-pointed lists on how to get published. Maybe it does all come down to formulas and I just don't know it.

So I went to my proofreader - a web site aptly named proofreadnow.com for I've never heard of anyone that wanted something proofread tomorrow. Sure enough, one of the proofreaders edits. She would've sent me samples but there was no time.

Her edits came back Friday. I finished the manuscript and synopsis about an hour ago. Before any sort of self-congratulation sets in, I remembered that tomorrow will be the day that I'll get all my classmates' manuscripts to read and comment on before the conference.