Even though I am a member of Ooligan Press, I chose not to volunteer at Write to Publish 2014—and therefore attend the panels for free—but chose to buy a ticket and attend as a guest. My reasoning was simple: I didn’t want to take any time or focus away from the panels and workshop I was interested in. We all wear many hats, and aside from my role as a student and my interest in working in the publishing industry, I also write a webcomic called Little Witch, and that was the hat I wanted to wear to the conference. I had a great time, made contacts with people in the comic book industry, and came away inspired with ideas of how to market my webcomic.

Turns out, I wasn’t just inspired to market my webcomic. Almost every other night, when I went to bed, I had trouble sleeping because my head was filled with thoughts of the conference. I thought about the things I liked and wanted to see more of; things I’d change; ways I could leave my stamp on the conference. There are a lot of conferences about writing, but not many about how to succeed at publishing. I’ve always been concerned with improving the world somehow with my existence, and I kept thinking about how Write to Publish would be a great way to do that. I thought, growing up, I knew about the publishing industry because I liked to read. Now, being a part of Ooligan Press, I realize how much I didn’t know. I could leave a mark on the world passing on information to others about how much potential and diversity there is in the publishing industry, and tips and tricks to smooth the way to finding careers (something every student my age is concerned about).

So, when the opportunity came to apply for management positions in Ooligan, I applied to manage Write to Publish (even though I had spent most of my time before this working with the acquisition department and, up until this point, had planned to apply for Acquisitions Manager).  To my joy, I was accepted, along with Melanie Figueroa, to put together Write to Publish 2015. To my surprise, that meant starting right away. Even though the event is so far away, I already feel like it will be here in no time. Whelp! Hold my breath and into the deep end I go. Currently, Melanie and I are tackling the big questions, of when, where, and what exactly, researching other conferences in the area to make sure Write to Publish doesn’t conflict with another event and to get ideas for what we want to incorporate.  Expect some changes, but also expect the same intimate and informative experience with local authors, agents, artists and publishers.

Into the deep end I go, and I can’t wait to swim.