I'm ready to be a Romance Writer...

I know we've all talked about the conference that's happening next week a lot, but I have to say I am so ready. I have a very stressful day job that has gotten even more stressful since my assistant went on maternity leave. I don't save lives or keep government secrets or protect American security. What I do is very pedantic. But in my neck of the world what I do is essential. And right now the pressure of it is killing me a little.

So I'm ready to be a Romance Writer. I'm ready to hear about how publishing is changing in radical ways, sales are shrinking across the board and contracts for new authors are unheard of. I'm ready to listen to how I'm killing my career by writing in strange historical time periods and be told that unless you're doing some form of social networking (I'm not) then you're dooming your chances of a successful career forever more.

Now you might think - isn't that even MORE stress? How can a person who has developed an irrational fear of tornadoes (I live in New Jersey for pete's sake) - which is really my subconscious telling me I'm stressed to the max - handle more stress?

But it's different stress. It's writer stress. I'm not the same person I am as a romance writer as I am at my day job.

I'm creative. I'm struggling. I'm a novice instead of an expert.

For whatever reason it does me good. For those of you out there coming to the conference and to my fellow DWT ladies who are coming… Come find me. Because I want to get drunk and talk about writing. I want to go to class and learn something new. I want that horrible feeling that says… you need to work harder or you will never get anywhere to settle in. I need to pretend to think I'm actually going to tweet as soon as I get home.

I'm ready to be a Romance Writer.