In August, I attended Romance Writers of Australia’s annual conference, held in Sydney’s Olympic Park. This year, I went in my capacity of editor with Decadent Publishing, which was a great experience. Previously, I’ve attended as an author, so it was really cool to see the differences in the two capacities. There was a lot more industry talk, for instance, and I was fortunate to meet some wonderful publishers, editors and agents. But on with the conference debrief!
This year, I attended the Personal Development Day on the Thursday before the core conference. This day was for published authors and focussed on topics to engender our development. This year, there was a lot of discussion surrounding self-publishing, which was extremely interesting. We had sessions by Jim Azevedo from Smashwords and Marie Force, a hugely successful self-published author. I also attended a fabulous workshop on how to handle the media in interviews, especially if the interview is a bit of a tricky one. To cap off the PD Day, we enjoyed a Literacy High Tea, sponsored by Decadent Publishing, with a wonderful and hilarious speech by conference key note speaker, Cherry Adair.
Friday was an all day workshop with James Scott Bell, but I decided not to attend. Instead, I made my way into Sydney and bought a ton of caramelised pickled onions. These things are the Best. Ever. and only available in Sydney. What? It’s completely normal I’m obsessed by pickled onions.
Friday night we enjoyed the Leather & Lace Cocktail Party. My very well-thought-out, totes-put-a-lot-of-effort-in fancy dress contribution was a lacy cocktail dress I wear to lots of events and a leather jacket. Some people went all out, though, with Maleficent, Cher, Village People and a host of others. Lots of fun was had, indeed!
And that was the conference! Next year, the conference moves to Melbourne. Should be super fun times for all!
Cassandra
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