With the writer’s conference a horrifying two months away, I’ve been focused on my hard copy edit. The high level edit? Done. Now I’m ripping through my hard copy pages, scratching out blatant abuse of the word “certainly” and replacing incorrectly used semicolons with my second favorite punctuation mark: the comma.
I got my “conference edition” newsletter from my writers group yesterday. One of the articles was on a subject I’ve been toying with, on and off, for months. Business cards.
The article, in a nutshell, said: you need business cards for conference. You want to network, don’t you? You want to make an impression, don’t you? Then, slap your name and email address on a piece of cardstock and get to it!
And my brain said, “Look, it’s a sign from God in article form!”
So, I ordered my cards. Coincidentally, I had the draft saved. And done. And literally just waiting for PayPal information.
But wait! Look at these discounts on personalized pens! And post it notes! And letterhead and magnets and tshirts and engraved business card holders! Why be just a little awesome when you could be totally awesome?
I’m cheap, though, so I stuck with the business cards. This time.
Here’s what I got out of the article and applied to my business card designing:
1. Your name should be large and noticeable. And preferably spelled correctly. I checked this multiple times because…obviously, sometimes I have issues.
2. No distracting clip art and no out of control patterns. I like out of control as much as the next person and, seriously, there is always a time and a place for plaid. But maybe not business cards. I did a simple “elegant” design in beige and pale pink: pink because it’s my favorite color and beige because nothing says old timey like beige.
3. Preferred contact information noticeable and not your home address. I put my email address right underneath my name. Big font for my name. Eye naturally travels down to my email address.
4. Social media. I put my blog and my Facebook fan page since I am on them the most. And when I say the most, what I mean is every spare moment of my life. It’s on ongoing problem.
As soon as they come in the mail (estimated delivery date is March 27), I’ll post a celebratory picture.
So, that much closer to conference. Got my business cards ordered. Got work started on my second of three planned edits. Got my registration paid. Now just to do, you know, everything else. Like get ready for the two pitch sessions. And write a query. And a synopsis.
Yikes.
And on an unrelated note, I also need to lose four pounds. Lets just say I made this for The Toddler’s third birthday:

Yeah, it’s a peanut butter sheet cake. With peanut butter frosting. And I lost all restraint because it was that good.
My computer at work evidently realizes I have an extra four pounds that, unfortunately did not settle in my boobs like I’d hoped. Today it helpfully generated a random password:
plump1
Which I rejected. But thanks computer. Thanks for that.