District Council

Wow! What an experience! The last time I wrote I was unsure about whether or not my time at the Disctrict Council meeting would be successful or not. I purposefully went in with no expectations. I thought that if there was no interest in my services I would just consider my time spent as a nice vacation to Appleton. LOL. Well, I'm happy to say that my time in Appleton was very fruitful! There was an incredible amount of interest in my booth and I walked away with fifteen (yes, fifteen!) possible clients! I got home on Wednesday and have already been contacted by two of those potential clients and things are going very well! One needs to talk with her leadership in order to make sure that it is acceptable to them that she write her book while she is still working as a missionary. The other client is thinking everything through and getting funding for the project. Of course that is all I can say about them and their projects.

This was the first time that I have purchased a booth at a conference like this and I will absolutely do it again. I highly recommend it to anyone out there that is looking for clients. It may not pay off every time, but it is clearly a fantastic way to spread the word about what you do and plant a seed. There were many people who came to speak to me even though they did not have an idea for a book or writing project. By the time we were done talking I could tell that the wheels were churning and they were considering what they could write about.

The only thing I will handle better next time is the food situation. There were many meetings going on at the Council so there were times where very few people (if any) visited with the exhibitors. In the future, I'll plan this out so that I can make sure that I can eat or sit and rest during these down times. It wasn't a matter of not having time to eat, it was that the options readily available were not exactly healthy. You know the whole "I have 10 minutes...I guess I'll get some pizza at the clubhouse" thing. I think I'll bring along some sandwich making goodies and keep them in the refrigerator in my hotel room in the future. So keep that in mind if you plan on getting a booth at a convention or conference!

I have no doubt that I will do this again. I met so many nice people and just had a blast. So, while word of mouth is still the best way to find clients as a ghostwriter, don't be afraid to step out and invest in a booth at a conference or convention some time. It'll be worth it!