Victoria Noe

Award-winning Author, Speaker, Activist

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Karl Sprague

Finding Community at a Writer's Conference

Finding Community at a Writer's Conference
Jul 06, 2016 by Victoria Noe
The 2011 WDC Pitch Slam. Every bit as terrifying as it looks.

Not long ago I blogged about my experience at Book Expo America. Now I’m preparing for next month’s Writer's Digest Conference in New York.

It’s my 6th one (7 if you count LA a few years ago). The one I attended in 2011 was my first writing conference and I was terrified. I had no blog (that started a few weeks later). I had no Facebook author page (that took longer). I started tweeting on my way to New York. I had barely started writing. I learned a lot that weekend, in spite of myself.

As always I have a plan: what I want to accomplish...

What I Learned at #WDC15

What I Learned at #WDC15
Aug 04, 2015 by Victoria Noe
Writer Unboxed panel

I don’t attend a lot of writing conferences. When I do, I have very specific goals. Maybe there’s a keynote speaker I want to hear. Often the workshop topics are ones that I need to learn more about. Always it’s because I believe there’s something valuable to learn. Rarely have I been disappointed.

I’m just back from the 2015 Writers Digest Conference in NYC. It’s my sixth one: five in NYC, one in LA. The first one I attended, in 2011, changed my life.

It was the first writers’ conference I dared to attend. I knew next to nothing about writing or the business; in fact, I started tweeting for the first time on my...

Competing Over Grief

Competing Over Grief
May 01, 2012 by Victoria Noe
Karl SpraguePlease welcome my friend, Karl Sprague, who has an important perspective on grieving a friend:It wasn’t the first time I’d canceled a meeting. I knew he was having some business challenges, but several other people needed my help that day. So I canceled. I sent an email apology, along with some available dates on my calendar for us to reschedule. I didn’t hear back right away, but figured we’d get back in touch soon. It happens all the time.Six days later I got a phone call from Anthony’s wife. He was dead. The circumstances were cloudy, and she gave little detail in our short conversation. Subsequent reports suggested it was a suicide. Anthony was my age, with two kids...