The Ragged Edge Conference in Nashville

Today I’m in Nashville for a unique kind of writers conference–the Ragged Edge Writers Conference. The Ragged Edge is being branded as a revelatory, straight-from-the-heart event where top authors will expose their secrets to success and bear their souls. The whole shebang is being run by Ted Dekker and his army of a marketing team. With big-name authors like Ted, Robert Liparulo, Steven James, Tosca Lee, and Eric Wilson as faculty, you can be sure this is going to be a heck of a ride.

Some of the lectures (though I doubt they would like my word choice) have titles like” Why some writers suck” and “How to seduce a publisher.” Already you can see why this isn’t your typical conference (but it sounds really intense, doesn’t it?). There will also be extensive discussion and q&a time with the presenters and Ted’s stellar marketing team, which for me is going to be one of the best parts.

I connected with Robert Liparulo and Tosca Lee back at the ACFW Conference in 2009, and I’ve maintained connections with them both to the extent that they have agreed to endorse my first novel when it comes out. It will be really good to reconnect with them in person again.

In addition, my good friend Frank Redman (who I also met at ACFW 2009) will be attending. He’s the reason I ever checked out Tosca and Robert in the first place, and I ended up loving their books. Frank is a killer writer too, and he’s a smooth criminal. What I mean by that is that he’s managed to schmooze his way into the hearts of many big-name authors from all around the country. Honestly, I think it’s just a matter of time until Frank gets published.

While I’m here, I’m staying with my good friend from college, Stephen Buchanan. He got married after he left school and now lives near Nashville–at least near enough that it’s worth staying with him to save a few bucks on lodging expenses. Plus I haven’t seen him since ’06 or ’07. It will be nice to catch up and to meet his lovely wife.

But here’s the really juicy part: I have a meeting with a big (and I’m talking a national leader) Christian Publisher on Monday morning. Can’t tell you who just yet, but suffice it to say that we’ve been communicating off and on for about a year now and hopefully we’re both ready to do some business.

This could be huge, guys. This could literally be the meeting that pushes my writing career over the edge, sending me into the exhilarating free fall that is the world of publishing.

So that’s what’s up on Monday morning. All in all, this weekend is going to be jam-packed with writing, reunions, and fun. Say a prayer for me on Monday morning.

-Ben

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