Attendee to Presenter: Nikki Poppen-Eagan's Write in the Harbor Journey
Can attending a conference like Write in the Harbor help launch your writing career? For Nikki Poppen-Eagan, also known as historical romance novelist Bronwyn Scott, the answer is “definitely yes.”
When Poppen-Eagan attended her first writer’s conference at TCC’s Tacoma campus in 2003, she had a manuscript. But she didn’t have an agent, and she didn’t know how the publishing industry works.
“I knew absolutely nothing,” Poppen-Eagan stressed.
She attended a morning session with “The Women” author Kristen Hannah, who was presenting at the conference as a historical romance novelist. Over lunch, Hannah helped Poppen-Eagan map out her next steps: join Romance Writers of America (RWA) and attend their national conference in New York.
Poppen-Eagan volunteered at the RWA conference and ended up moderating discussion sessions.
“It was total fan girl time,” Poppen-Eagan recalled. “These were all women that I read, and I got to moderate their panels!”
She made great connections at the New York conference, and soon launched her own writing career. Some writers believe they’ll be picked out of the editorial room slush pile and published, Poppen-Eagan says, but that doesn’t happen often.
“That was my big boost from the TCC conference – meeting someone who said, ‘This is your next step,’ instead of writing a book and throwing it into the ether. There are so many myths about writing a book, and I don’t think those stories are representative of the kind of work you need to do to make a go of it.”
A Publishing Powerhouse
Since attending her first writer’s conference in 2003, Poppen-Eagan has published 70 historical romance novels under the pen name Bronwyn Scott; when Write in the Harbor starts on Nov. 1, that number will be up to 73. The New York Times named Scott’s “Liaison with the Champagne Count” one of its “Four Steamy Reads” for Summer 2024. NYT Reviewer Olivia Waite declared it "An elemental little masterpiece, where earth and fire and water become terroir and passion and tears."
While maintaining a second career as a Pierce College English professor, Poppen-Eagan has managed to keep up the ambitious writing schedule she set for herself: one novel every ten weeks.
Two of those weeks are dedicated to the research process; as a historical romance novelist, Poppen-Eagan bases her books on actual people and events. They’re all set in her favorite period – 1818 – 1838, which she considers her “sweet spot” and knows inside and out. Each novel is 288 pages, 70,000 – 75,000 words. To build and retain an audience among today’s easily distracted readers, she says, it’s important to publish as often as you can.
“The hardest thing about publishing right now is just being discovered. You can’t get discovered if you’re putting out one book every two years.”
A Writer’s Journey: From Attendee to Presenter
Since her first conference, Poppen-Eagan has attended three Write in the Harbor conferences, twice as a presenter and once, in 2021, as the keynote speaker.
For Write in the Harbor’s 10th Anniversary Conference in 2024, she’s planning a pair of sessions: “The Hero’s Journey” and the “Heroine’s Journey.”
“In the past, there’s been the assumption that the heroine is just another hero, but there’s been some fun, new literary work that says her journey is significantly different – a maze, as opposed to a lineal progression. I hope people will invest their afternoon and come to both.”
A Conference for All Writers
Regardless of the publication level you want to achieve, if you consider yourself a writer, Write in the Harbor is for you.
“It’s a writer’s conference for every writer, whether you’re writing a family story for yourself, or taking steps towards commercial work. It’s self-care for people who say, I cannot help myself, I must put words on paper.”
Possibly the conference’s main draw, Poppen-Eagan says, is that it allows attendees to make high-quality contacts.
“Local writers love this conference. I think there’s something for everybody, and it’s just a great way to take care of your writer’s soul.”