Yes, I’ve been very lax on my writing and marketing the last year or so. I humbly confess. It was a busy time, granted. But you’d have thought I would have bloomed more on the keyboard during the pandemic as so many of my author friends did. I did have a near daily snail mail correspondence going on with my middle grandson, and it was his encouragement that finally shoved me back on the old saddle of writing and editing.

I have a 92,000 word manuscript, working title “Twinkies and Tranquilizers,” that I believe is ready for query letters to agents. Time to crack my knuckles and get researching for who is looking for women’s fiction set in the sizzling Seventies.

So when I saw a post on Facebook by the Southwest Washington Writers Conference about a master class on Friday, September 10^th titled How to Make Yourself Unforgettable to Agents, Editors, and Readers—Master class with James L. Rubart – I didn’t hesitate to sign up. How serendipity is that? And within an hour’s drive from home. Perfect.

Before heading out that morning, I followed my routine of checking my email, seeing what’s happening on Facebook and reading the online edition of our local paper, mainly the funnies and horoscope. Well, Sagittarius read: “Take things in hand instead of waiting for events to make a decision for you. If you want to change your professional orientation, this will be the moment to take up a career change or retraining course.” The planets have aligned and all systems are go.

Now I had no idea who Mr. Rubart was before the class started. The brief bio stated a Christy Hall of Fame author and marketing expert. By the end of the day, I was hooked, had signed up for his newsletters and purchased two of his books. What an energetic and enthusiastic gentleman. I won’t go into detail of the class, but I encourage you to check out his websites (plural) and find out for yourself the wealth of tips and encouragement this man has. Not only is he a prolific author, but he has a separate company, Rubart Writing Academy, offering courses to unlock your success. He understands ways to stand out in the literary world. He understands people, writers, all of us.

Oh, the brainstorming that went on during those five hours. I’ve created a new blog, Crowded vs Empty where I can explore the variances of suddenly living as an empty nester after two decades of being the queen of the crowded nest. My laptop is getting daily use (finally) in my latest work in progress, a young adult novel. And, wait, there’s more, exciting, new ways to tweak my query letters to agents giving them, hopefully, a chance to hook their attention.

Stay tuned to see what happens.