Ah, RWA Nationals, right around the corner, eh? When several thousand authors, editors, agents, publishers and other people in the industry descend on a hotel to talk about the thing we all love the most…money books.
I’ve attended a rather obscene number of conferences in the past few years, but I do have a special fondness for Nationals. Not because I gain 5 lbs from the ridiculous number of meals I eat, but because of the sheer number of people to talk to, the frenetic energy, the parties, the conversations and, yeah, admit it, the gossip.
But there’s one thing that happens to me every year…someone stops to talk to me and carries on the conversation as though we’ve met before. The truth is, we probably have, maybe even more than once, but I may not remember. I mentioned in the previous paragraph that I attend a lot of conferences and it follows that I meet a LOT of people. Many of whom are lovely enough to remember me. Unfortunately, though my memory isn’t too bad, it’s pretty impossible for me to similarly remember each of you/them. Those meetings are important to me, and I enjoy them, but I simply meet too many people to remember the specifics of each meeting or each person’s name, what they write, etc.
So as you’re enjoying RWA Nationals this year (or any conference in the future) take a moment to reintroduce yourself when you stop someone for a conversation. Not just me, and not just editors and agents, but your fellow authors as well. It’s a good opportunity for you to remind them of not just your pen name (and who knows, this time it might stick!) but of what you write, where you met, etc. It’s a valuable part of building your brand and helping others get the most out of your presence at the conference!
This is a great reminder for anyone in any social situation. My husband and I have an understanding that if we don’t introduce each other to someone it’s because we don’t remember the person’s name. Sometimes we get lucky and that person will introduce themselves to the one of us he or she doesn’t know. Then we apologize to each other for having seemed rude. If it’s one on one, I’ll just apologize and say “I’m sorry what’s your name again?” Several times when they’ve given me their name THEY remind me of how I met them. I tend to be on the shy side so I don’t usually approach people I don’t know with a few rare exceptions. Still, I often find myself at a loss when it comes to my daughter’s school events. Why does everyone think they know me? I then found out my daughter keeps a picture of me in her purse and shows my picture to every other adult she meets and introduces me to every adult she meets too! “This is my mom, her name is Michele. She doesn’t get out much because she has MS and Syringomelia but if you ever see her, now you’ll know who she is.” I was mortified especially because I never miss a school event even though I don’t chaperon field trips. In the hallway waiting for her awards ceremony at the end of year, about seven different women came up and introduced themselves to me and asked me “How are you feeling?” and I looked at my husband and said “who are these people?” Finally, my husband flat out asked the last women “I’m sorry but how do you know her?” And she explained she was Emily’s chaperon on her field trip to the Aquarium and Emily had showed her the picture and told her all about me. Let’s just say I took that picture back and ended that discussion!
I work at a university and have become very adept at saying I am sorry, but I am not putting a name with your face, even though I probably would recognize your name. It took me a while to get to the point of just asking.