Taking a chance!

I found information about the writers digest conference.

http://www.writersdigestconference.com/

The conference did sound great, I could learn a lot but the most enticing thing was a pitch slam!  I could pitch my book face to face with agents; no waiting, the response would be immediate.  The conference is in New York and it’s not cheap.  I don’t have a job and would never think of taking anything away from my kids for a possibility.  So I turned to my parents and my grandparents.  I told them about what I had been up to and what I wanted to do.  I was extremely nervous and I had convinced my self that they would tell me no, I was asking for money right before Christmas. 

My family all responded with a YES!  Ok then I got scared; did I really want to put myself out there?  I decided yes I did; I remembered I wanted to come out of the closet not stay in!  I booked my flight that night, non refundable, non stop flight to NYC, no turning back!

I booked the conference and my hotel room, a friend of mine even said she would go with me just to keep the cost down!  Plus she said, she didn’t want me to chicken out and she was going to give me support!  I am lucky I have such a great family and wonderful friends!

A little intro....

I am what you might call a soccer mom.  I am actively involved with my daughters school and her other activities.  Monday night we have soccer practice then Tuesday and Wednesday dancing.  I attend school functions numerous times through out the month.  I have a one year old that I am running after also.  I try to have dinner made nightly and the house cleaned enough so my husband doesn’t go mad. 

Also, I am what I call a "closet writer."  I write fiction and I have for almost 9 years, but very few have heard my ideas let alone read anything I have written.  I was always jotting down different story ideas, then I would do lots of research on my characters, then I would start the story.  Then I would stop and start on another one.  Nine years of this and not one complete story. This doesn’t make you very credible with your family when you go to them and tell them you want to write a book. 

As I walked out of the library with the kids one day this past summer I saw a flyer for a writer’s workshop.  I went home and couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I wasn’t a writer but I wanted to be.  I made a decision that this would be a start.  I wanted to go see what it was about and maybe meet some people that shared my same passion. 

I loved every second of the workshop.  I met people that were like me and learned a lot.  There was an editor there and I took her card.  I came home and told my husband that I was tired I talking about writing a book and that I was ready to actually do it.  I met with the editor we made a timeline and came to an agreement.  I was hoping to be done the story in a year.

Well I couldn’t stop and I finished in less than 5 months.  We are now in the final revision process.  I am doing my research for agents and publishers.  This is the part that is overwhelming, especially while my main responsibility is and always will be on my family. 

This blog will chronicle my journey on how I plan on achieving my dream of getting my books published while trying to maintain my family’s life as we know it.  It is time for me to own this dream and make it a reality.  My name is Jessica Berry and I am a writer!!