Answering the Knock

It's time!

Yes folks after months of preparation and paperwork, this week is the week of my very first writer's conference!

I will be attending a Christian Writer's conference here in Pennsylvania from Wednesday to Saturday. Lucky for me I'm close enough to commute! The conference will be chock full of personal interviews, workshops and all kinds of schmoozing opportunities to help get my foot in the door of the publishing industry.

Part of me is more excited than a tween at a Justin Bieber concert, but the other part of me is scared to death!

Here are some of the things that are going through my mind at the moment:

What if they don't like my work? 
What if they think I'm so bad that I am dubbed 'That Moose Drool Writer' and am blacklisted from ever publishing anything for forever? 

And worse yet, what if they do like my work? What if they like me so much, I'll be swamped by people wanting me to publish with them? And what would happen if they all hired me, each for a different project, and all the deadlines were at the same time?

Okay, so that last one I would learn to deal with, but still....

I fear both failure and fame- that's the funny part. I just hope I don't babble or stutter when I talk to all those people!

Just a few days ago I found out that a door might be closing in my life. Might be. And part of me wonders if this is one of God's 'perfect timing' moments- why would I get this information right before a writer's conference? Was it to let me know that I'm free to accept any writing opportunities in my very near future? And if this door does close, does that mean this conference is my window to success as a writer?

That realization alone has put me in a more determined mind set- this conference isn't just for me to learn, but to also gain confidence and show these people that my writing has merit, and that I am worthy of being published. This is what I love, and this is my job- so I'd better start acting like it!

I'm going to answer that knock. It's doesn't matter if that knock makes me an author or not. What does matter is that whatever happens, I come away from this conference having learned something- not only about the publishing industry, but more importantly about myself.

And that, my dear friends, is the best opportunity of all!


Please pray for me as I attend this conference. I'm still a bit nervous!