Christina Delay, host of Cruising Writers, with Jaye Wells, USA Today Bestselling Authors and past Cruising Writers writing retreat speaker
The first time I got invited to one of Margie Lawson's 5-day immersions with a bestselling author and multi-award-winning authors (who were workshop attendees, not teachers), I almost peed from nervousness, excitement, and oh-my-gosh-I-can't-believe-this!
When I arrived at the immersion, I played it cool. You know what I mean. That whole, yeah, I'm an unpublished, unknown, untried author who knows NO ONE, but I totally belong here. With the writers who have written more words than I have ever tried, who have seen rejection and beat it back with contract after contract. Writers with extreme talent that has been recognized over and over and over. BY FREAKING FAN GROUPS.
Yeah. I totally belonged there. Me. Fan group-less. Contract-less. Experience-less.
But despite my apprehension, I knew, I had to go and be around these authors and soak in their knowledge. I knew that by knowing them, I'd be catapulted forward in my understanding of the industry, of writing, of the thing that makes a bestseller tick.
What I got from that experience was so much more than I ever expected.
Getting to know a bestselling author on a writing retreat.
This is one of the main reasons our writing retreats exist. We know, firsthand, the intangible power of getting to know writers in the industry who are publishing, who are successful, who have seen both the dirty side of publishing and the exciting side...and are willing to talk to you about it.
What you experience on our writing retreats is so much more than a craft-teaching session (though that's career-changing in itself). It's so much more than hearing from and getting to know a top literary agent or a talented publishing editor of a small press with a track record of publishing award-winning books. What is special about our retreats are the relationships.
Relationships that last longer than the length of our retreats. The relationships you form on these retreats will help you along in your career, will give you background knowledge when you need to make decisions on the types of contracts you will sign (and with whom), will give you advice on agents, book signings, publishers, but most of all... they give you the opportunity to expand your writing tribe.
A few amazing things from going on a writing retreat with successful authors:
- Get a bestselling author's feedback on your manuscript.
- Discuss how best to market your books, what has worked, what hasn't, and how to avoid the social media vortex to meet writing goals and deadlines.
- How to handle an agent relationship, both when it isn't working and when it is.
- Shared coffee and tears and hearts.
- Discover a mentor, a guide, and finally...a new friend.
The power of connection. The power of experience. The power of friendship.
That's what awaits you on one of the Cruising Writers writing retreats.