DFWcon 2013 is coming up!

I’m gearing up for DFWcon in Dallas next week. As I mentioned before, this is the 3^rd time that I will be attending and I can’t wait! I’m looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making a ton of new ones!

If you are going, be sure to follow their Twitter page (@DFWCON) or #DFWcon. There is always a LOT of info there during the conference and it is a great way to meet others who are going.

For those of you who are going for the first time, check out the blog post I wrote last year, “5 Things I learned at DFWcon”. LOL learn from my mistakes involving trying new face products during a conference! ;)  http://sarah-okc.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-things-i-learned-at-dfwcon.html

Also, if you are staying at the hotels sponsored by the conference, hang out in the lobby. There is usually some kind of meet-n-greet going on with fellow attendees, like last year there was a Tweet-n-Greet. It’s a really good way to meet other people before the conference starts.

And, last, but not least… if anyone is going to be in Dallas on Thursday or Friday night, there will be a girl’s night to LaBare Dallas, ha-ha. This is a great place to visit if you write romance of any kind. Trust me- these guys are definitely inspiring!! Hit me up on my twitter page @Sarah_OKC if you are interested! ;)

5 Things I Learned at DFWcon

I am gearing up for DFWcon, which is a writer’s conference in the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area. This will be the second time I have attended and I am very excited. Last year I was a little scared and intimidated to be around so many great writers, but at the end I was pleasantly shocked to find I had made many friends and I hadn’t made a fool of myself.

This year I am going into the conference with a smile on my face. Through Twitter (#DFWcon) I have met several people that are going and we are all meeting up. I am also participating in the Gong Show as well as a Pitch Session. (These are both things that I didn’t do last year due to fear)

I started thinking about the Writers out there who are going to the conference for the first time. Wow. They might be feeling like I did last year. So I came up with this:

The Top 5 Things I Learned Last Year

5. Bring cash- A lot of the vendors only accepted cash, plus it was great to have at the hotel bar ;)

4. Bring Plenty of Business Cards -Yeah, I was totally the girl last year who didn’t bring enough and had to resort to handing out little cards I made using the hotel’s computer and printer. Not exactly how I wanted to be remembered lol.

3. Bring a Notebook and Pen - You wouldn’t believe how many people I saw that didn’t have these two very important items. Pen and Paper go a long way ;)

2. A conference is not the appropriate time to test a new skin product. Sadly, I can say I found this out the hard way. I used a new face wash and had an allergic reaction to it. My face was red and splotchy… and it itched like crazy. Luckily, I was able to take the hotel shuttle and get some medicine. But… Lesson learned lol.

1. Don’t be afraid to Network - Everyone there is in the same boat as you. They are a little nervous or shy or even scared. But the most important thing is they are all Writers. And once you start talking to them, it is like opening a floodgate and you find there are people who truly “GET” writing.

　

I hope this list helps and I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones at DFWcon 2012!