NYC here we come! AGAIN

The countdown to Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 2011 Winter Conference is on!!!

 Sera and I at our first SCBWI Winter Conference

This is my fourth time going.  I'll never forget how overwhelming my first experience felt to me.  Not only am I a small town girl, but five years ago, I wouldn't even call myself a writer.  I've come a long way since then.  I'm still a hillbilly, for sure.  I mean, the sight of skyscrapers still make me gasp and I giggle on the subway or in a taxi.  But now, at least, I can call myself a novelist.

But am I new?
Aspiring?
Unpublished?
Hopeful?

How do I legitimately label myself?

Does it even matter?

I am going with two friends: Sera and Nicole.  Maybe I should start there...what do I call them?  Writers, of course!  And they are BOTH novelists because they have completed novels.  BUT SO HAVE I!  (I've even submitted it, which, by the way, was a very rewarding experience.)

Why can't I be so kind to myself?

Sera and I even attended a publishing launch party last year!  

All of these questions are directly related to one thing: MY OWN FEAR.

Yeah, I know....for those of you who know me.....it doesn't fit into the picture of me.  But it's true!  I'm scared-OUT OF MY SKULL.

Shameless photo from my disaster relief trip to Haiti. NOTE: I was at the local  cemetery learning about Haitian burial rituals

But on the other hand, maybe it fits me better than I'm ready to admit.  Fear is healthy, normal.  It's what you do, or DON'T do, with it that counts.  So, fear and all, I'll take myself to the Big Apple, sandwiched by writer friends.

This year is going to be different, I can already tell.  A lot has changed in the past year. Some of it has been fate, but most of it has been personal effort.

I am a Young Adult Novelist because that is what I've made myself and no other adjective needs to be added.