ORACon 2014 is behind us now and we're looking ahead to our 2015 conference. Look at all those smiling faces. We were having fun, y'all!
I first attended ORA's conference in 2013 and I thought it was good but I believe this year surpassed last year. Our speakers this year included Leigh Michaels, Liz Pelleteir, Nicole Resciniti, Mia Marlowe, Tish Beaty and Holly Atkinson. Our conference volunteers worked tirelessly for a year to make this happen, never losing sight of the ultimate goal, which was to educate, inform and assist fellow writers.
The workshops were tremendous. Leigh Michaels spoke on fighting the battle to sell to and work with traditional publishers and what the author needs to think about before taking the plunge and going with self-publishing.
Mia Marlowe held a Red Pencil Thursday on Saturday - 500 words to hook an editor. Talk about a challenge!
Angie Fox spoke on the seven key elements of plot. Every burgeoning writer needs to know this.
Agent Nicole Resciniti (the Seymour Agency) spoke on the difference between selling and slushing; in other words, good versus great.
And finally, Liz Pelleteir of Entangled Publishing, spoke on How to Edit a Best Seller.
Plus, we held pitches with editors and agents. Headshots were taken by appointment by Sharon Keeling-Davis. Awards were handed out for the Weta Nichols Contest. And there was lots of food!
Truly an amazing event. We're already looking to next year's conference and how we can make it better than this year.
So, if you're interested in a modestly priced, action-packed one-day conference in the heart of the Ozarks, consider ORACon 2015. We'll be posting details on our webpage: www,ozarks-romance-authors,com. Traditionally, we host the conference the 3rd weekend in September, so put that reminder on your calendar, in your phone, on a sticky note on your refigerator. You will be glad you did.
