Monday, September 21, 2009

And So It Ends Begins...

For those who have already gone through the blog circuit discussing the ACFW conference, you will notice a few similarities we have in common:

1) sleep deprivation
2) being overwhelmed
3) gratefulness to attend and learn
4) excitement re: pitching sessions with agents/editors
5) meeting the blogging community = WONDERFUL (it was like having built-in friendships amidst a throng of people we didn't know or only knew of b/c we had read their book!)

I'm still recovering from #1. I must have suffered some sort of altitude sickness of some sort...and I'm still not 100%. Thankfully, I had gotten all my pitches out of the way the day before I really felt bad!

SO....on to the big news:

I had TWO PARTIAL REQUESTS! This is the beginning. I'm nervous about it, of course, because I feel like this is some sort of invisible line I'm stepping over. Before I email off these partials, I'm really just a girl who likes to write. But as soon as I hit Send, I'll be a girl who is actively seeking representation and eventually publication. Scary, exciting. I'll be going over some last-minute edits, of course....and most of that will be cuts. So please be in prayer for me about that!

Now...I had a camera at the conference on my phone, but took very few pictures. So I'll have to steal a few off fellow blogger websites in order to round out the picture (no pun intended) of who all I got to meet (and of course, this isn't everyone)!

Here I am with my fab critique partner, Katie Ganshert, before the Saturday banquet. Not all of us had the benefit of lovely spray tans.

This is a big group of us fellow bloggers, all of whom met online in the months preceding the conference. People at our tables always knew we had some other connection besides ACFW. :)
Back: Jody Hedlund, Katie Ganshert, Jessica Nelson, myself
Front: Ralene Burke, Eileen Watson, Krista Phillips, Cathy Bryant

Erica Vetsch and me at the banquet. If I look like I'm about to hurl, it's because most of that night, I really was about to. Erica and my other dining companion (Jessica) were very nice about it. They just said to aim away from the table toward the wall. :)

Here I am with Eileen again at the My Book Therapy pizza party/presentation. I guess we both got accused of having accents at this shindig.

So that's the low down. I also met fellow blogger Jaime Wright Sundsmo, writers Mary Connealy, Julie Lessman, Mary DeMuth, Deborah Raney, Debbie MacComber, Christina Berry, Deborah Vogts, Janet Dean, Michelle Sutton, Camy Tang, Karen Young, Jenny B. Jones, Denise Hunter, Susan May Warren, Rachel Hauck, and so many others, I can't even begin to try to put all of those names down!

I also met agents Donald Maass, Tamela Hancock Murray, Greg Johnson, Rachelle Gardner, Chip MacGregor, and Natasha Kern...which was all very exciting!!

Well, I gotta get to work!

Wordle: signature

23 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

What a great weekend! And I love the pictures you've shared.

Best with your partials! You're doing it. :)

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

WOOOHHHOOOO!!! Congrats on the requests, Jeannie!!! Glad you had a great time. I hope you feel better soon!

Katie Ganshert said...

Hey girl, don't knock the spray tan. $20 with no risk for skin-cancer, and I look like I was laying out on a beach...albeit a slightly orange beach!

However, now that it is wearing off...my stomach looks all blotchy. And don't even get me started on my toes. Dirty feet! It looks like I have very dirty feet! An unfortunate side-effect of vanity.

Did you get some lovin' from Maddie? I think I hugged Brogan for an hour straight.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

These pictures have been so fun to look at! Glad you had a great time and got two partial requests!
~ Wendy

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Congratulations! TWO partials!

I'm so jealous (in a good way) that you got to meet so many blogger/author friends. Maybe next year ACFW will have their conference on the East Coast.

I've heard of quite a few people not feeling well in Denver. Fortunately, when my late husband and I were out there, we were okay.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Unknown said...

I'm loving all the pictures! Sorry you didn't feel well but super congrats on the Partials!!!!

Cindy R. Wilson said...

I'm so happy to hear the conference went well! Congratulations on the partial request--soooo happy for you :D

Danyelle L. said...

Looks like a lot of fun. Congrats on the requests--and good luck!

Jody Hedlund said...

Hope you're feeling better soon! Oh, those pictures bring back some great memories! And you're totally right--it felt like I was stepping into the conference with already a big happy family to be apart of! It was awesome!

Jessica Nelson said...

LOL! I didn't know Katie's tan was spray. I thought it was real!
Also, I really appreciate your willingness to aim your nausea far from me. LOL Really, I'm glad you're feeling better. The altitude messed me up too, I think, because this morning my headache miraculously disappeared.

I loved meeting you and the others! It was so exciting and so special. :-)

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Wow!!! Two partials! Girl, that is awesome! Congratulations. Stepping over that line is courageous and begins a new and great journey. I can't wait to hear everything!

Gutsy Living said...

I am so happy for you. I am attending the La Jolla Writers Conference in CA, this November and hope to get some interest. Good luck to you.

Lynnette Labelle said...

How exciting! You'll have to keep us informed.

Thanks for sharing the pics. It's nice to see fellow bloggers enjoying themselves at a conference.

Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com

Krista Phillips said...

GREAT meeting you girl!

And can I just note... in the group picture poor Cathy and I are bending down at the knees and are not odd shaped as it makes us look. LOL.

Candee Fick said...

Congrats on the requests for partials. I'll have you know that while I was watching over your Pepsi, I was also praying for you during that meeting. It must have worked. LOL.

So glad to have met you.

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

thanks to everyone for the encouragement! i'm definitely going to need it during these revisions! :)

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Hi, Jeannie:

I'm so enjoying reading all these blogs now that I know you guys a little better. I love it!

Hope you're feeling better now (it's Tuesday, so maybe you are). You're in my prayers for revisions, submissions, and work. I'm so very glad I got to meet you, Jeannie! Okay, heading over to find out what therapy Tuesday holds today.

Susanne Dietze said...

Awesome, Jeannie! Thanks for sharing and congrats on the two requests! I am so happy for you. Hope you get a nap in there somewhere.

Jamie D. said...

Many, many congrats on the requests! How wonderful and exciting - sounds like a great time was had by all. :-)

Tara McClendon said...

So fun! Congrats on the partials. I will pray they convert to fulls. Try not to let the jitters bug you too much. I think we all get them. :]

Debra E. Marvin said...

Yes it was a blast but I'm exhausted. I never went to sleep Sat. night 'cause I was too excited and wound up. Oh well.
It was so nice to meet you Jeannie. Everyone will agree, you are so beautiful that you were hard to miss. Seriously.

I hope everyone can take all we learned and all the inspiration we received and make it all come together. What a blessing.

I have to say, I also went there never having met anyone outside of the blogs and loops and it was so wonderful to meet them in person.
I can't imagine not going back every year, just to get 'refilled and refueled'!

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

debra - thanks so much for the sweet compliments! it was a pleasure to meet you, as well. the conference was definitely a multi-faceted blessing. :)

Terri Tiffany said...

I was wanting to read about your time there:) All of you sound like you had a great time! Glad you did and YAYYYYYYY on the requests! Now we have to pray they LOVVVVVVEEE them!

I know what you mean about being sick there. I ended up in the ER the time I went to CBA there. Fainted in the morning worship service from altitude sickness and missed two days of it!