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I attended The Writers Digest Conference for 2016 in Manhattan this past weekend, and I had a wonderful time, and I learned a great deal of information about writing and publishing.
First I would like to give my deepest thanks to my extraordinary mother-in-law and father-in-law. They are wonderful people, whom I love, and I am grateful for their hosting me for the weekend. They live on Staten Island, and I made the commute to uptown Manhattan by bus, ferry, and bus. The part of the commute I loved was the ferry ride, which is still free. I love any kind of boat or ship, so I felt as excited as a child to ride the ferry.

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The conference was both fun and educational. I was able to meet many other writers, attend valuable sessions that gave important information on a variety of subjects that writers need to know, and the agent pitch slam went very well. During the pitch slam, each author has 3 minutes to pitch his/her book and take questions from the agent. If the agent is interested, he/she gives you a card and instructs what to send them. I pitched my YA book: The Ameriad: The Monastery of Knowledge to seven agents, and six requested I send them a variety of information. While nothing is ever certain, I still consider that to be successful.

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Finally, I want to mention that author David Baldacci gave the main keynote address, and he was exciting, informative, honest, humble, and amusing. He showed a very human side and was a very warm and gracious person. I have read most of his books, and I think they are among the very best thrillers written. As a person, from the little interaction I had with him, he struck me to be a warm and genuine human being.
This was a very successful experience, and I recommend it highly to any authors who can attend in the future.