Beginner’s luck prevailed and I once again walked away from Chris Kennedy Publishing’s FactoryCon with a trophy. In 2022, I won the award for largest fish caught on this deep sea fishing trip. This year, David Shadoin and I walked away from the cornhole tournament with some nice shiny mementos.
Yet to be determined whether beating your boss at his home convention is a bad business move or not.
For those of you who don’t know, FactoryCon is the CKP home con in Currituck, North Carolina. I rented a cabin on the Currituck Sound for five days of brisk autumn air, bonfires, board games, and endless book talks. The timing couldn’t have been better—after finally moving into my new apartment, I was So. Sick. Of. Boxes. This trip was just what the doctor ordered.
I accidentally ended up helping to run the annual fish fry after the con hit a bit of a speed bump. Everyone at the con came together to show that there’s no limits on what hungry people can accomplish on short notice. Co-running the dinner meant handling the whopping 54 (not a typo) mahi mahi caught by the factory boss and crew. I got to practice cooking fish and holy smokes, guys, we ate well that night.
We had our annual authors meeting with Chris Kennedy, where we talked about publishing strategy and professionalism in our writings.
If you’ve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in an author meeting, some top secret words of wisdom included: “Check your damn email” and “Put the ‘pros’ in prose”.
You’re welcome.
Any author will tell you that writing is a solitary experience. If it sounds trite, that’s for a reason. We stare at our computer screens for hours on end, usually wrestling with imposter syndrome and self-doubt, battling characters who don’t like to listen and plot gremlins who love digging holes. It’s so critically important to connect and network in person (and if you can do it in front of the fire, all the better). I left our meetings of the minds with my enthusiasm and determination recharged and ready to tackle the end of the year. Fresh takes and attitude adjustments were much needed, and I’m so grateful for the chance to look at things from a new angle.
I’ve never been one to journal, but I’ve been trying to take more pictures lately. It’s a sort of visual diary, right? Maybe I’ll catch you next year at FactoryCon (better believe I’ll be practicing cornhole between now and then), but until then, I’ll leave you with some pictures.
