This is the Samovar Tea Room where some of us Loose Id authors met for high tea. Actually, we ended up having a meal here, and it was terrific! Thanks again to the Loose Id staff for the treat.
I had a blast at RWA, mostly due to the people I met. Yeah, there were workshops, but I got more out of talking to people and placing faces to names than any class I attended. I also came home with a TON of books. Holy crap! The new Christine Feehan, the one I'd been waiting for forever to come out, Turbulent Seas, was there for free. I even got her to sign it to me! What a thrill!
I met a bunch of Loose Id authors and management, experienced the west coast in a way I never had before, and spent time with two crazy roommates I'd bonded with at RT a year ago. All in all, I'd term RWA a success.
People often ask what the benefit is to attending an RWA National event. It's more professional than RT, less reader friendly and more author oriented, obviously. You network and meet tons of people. If you're like my roommate, a professed book-whore (her word, not mine), you get a ton of free books. Heck, I mailed home 3 boxes of them. They more than make up for the huge conference fee.
And that's the major drawback that I can see. The cost. The conference itself was nearly $500. Then there was transportation (in my case, air fare) and the hotel fee split three ways, only because I had roommates. Add in dining in San Francisco and you have another huge fee. It's not an inexpensive venture, but it satisfied my need to check out Nationals and San Francisco. Not sure if I'll go next year or not, but I'm glad I went in 2008.
Marie
www.marieharte.com
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