It’s nice to be appreciated. As some of you know – mainly those in the D.C. area – I’ve been invited back for an encore plenary speech at the annual conference of Washington Independent Writers (www.washwriter.org) entitled: THE WRITING LIFE: “Where We Are and Where We Are Going,” on June 14th. Great conference, by the way. This is a serious writing organization and they do a nice job. The venue is beautiful, the program sessions solid and meaty and the offline networking excellent. There’s still room, so check it out. Besides, I’ll be there. 😉

As an editorial aside, I work pretty hard at conferences, believing that, heck, “I’m here, I can’t be anywhere else, so you might as well put me to work.” Besides, it’s fun. Never quite “got” the attitude I’ve seen amongst many conference presenters, especially keynoters. They blow in 45 minutes before their talk, sit with the organizers at the head table, don’t talk to any attendees, do their speech – often rambling and obviously unprepared – collect their fee, then blow out. Nice work if you can get it. But I truly digress…

I was recently brainstorming a few talking points for this year’s talk with the conference organizer, and given the prognosticating theme of the conference, we got on the subject of the future of the commercial writing field. I have thoughts about my little corner of the world, most all of them positive, but I’m no oracle, and I’m one guy.

I want to hear from you, my fellow “in-the-trenchers.” I KNOW you guys are a veritable fount of wisdom (no kidding), so I’m counting on some good stuff to use in my speech (which WILL be attributed to you if I use it…). Thanks for playing! 😉

Where do you see our field going in the coming decades?
Any trends you’re spotting?
Do you think a slipping economy will help or hurt us?
What will be the attributes of those who thrive in our field in the future?