Incoming!: RWA 2012

So, my plane for RWA and Anaheim leaves 29 days from today. I am beginning to freak out. You wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal because it's not like I have anything riding on this. I'm not trying to make a sale. My career doesn't rest on making a connection with an agent or an editor. Indeed, aside from attending Librarians' Day on Wednesday, most of my time will be spent at Disneyland.

I think what I'm really worried about is missing something. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was ten and a lot of new things have opened. We are big Disney people so I'm also excited about having the chance to pick up some Disneyland-exclusive merchandise. The summer is the busy season for Disney, of course, so there's a lot of strategy involved to make sure I hit all the important stuff: Cars Land, the Little Mermaid ride, World of Color, the Storybook Canal, etc. My best friend who moved back to CA last October is driving over to join us on Saturday and she's asked me to pick up some things she can't get there (i.e. Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee).

I've been invited to a publisher party and I'm a little apprehensive. What do I say? What do I do? What should I wear? My tentative plan at the moment is to try to hook up with an author I know who's with that house and try to hang out with her. While I don't have a book to sell, I would like to try to network a bit. My future career plans are kinda nebulous, but I definitely want to stay in the book field. Whether that means staying in libraries, jumping to publishing (most likely an editor-type position), or, maybe, thanks to a shiny new internship, trying out agent-hood, I don't know. Therefore, it's important for me to go against type and try to talk to as many people I can. There are going to be a LOT of people in the romance business in a mile and this is a great opportunity. No pressure, right?

Money is also a factor. I'm definitely doing the literacy signing, but the question is how much I can afford to spend. My usual strategy is to go through the author list and figure out which signed book I want the most. I'm also thinking about doing an autograph book. Some bloggers will bring canvas tote bags and have authors sign the bag, then do a giveaway on their blogs. Authors are usually just thrilled that someone knows who they are. It's definitely true that the romance genre is one of the best communities to be a part of.  I can count on one hand the number of people who treated me poorly in one capacity or another. So you wouldn't think I'd be too nervous.

EXCEPT I TOTALLY AM!