I'm at the #GenreCon2019 keynote address, ready to hear @KateForsyth be fabulous as always. Mute if you want, I'll only judge you a bit.

Kate is talking about her life, and how she always wanted to be a writer. She loved reading; books were an enchanted circle for her. Not just an escape, but one which changes you and makes you stronger when you return to real life. #GenreCon2019

She's been writing novels since she was 7, and kept a diary from age 11, which she's currently regaling us from. Spoilers: high drama. #GenreCon2019

She submitted her first novel at age 16 and was devastated to be rejected, but the rejection was encouraging and she kept going. #GenreCon2019

She kept submitting poems and eventually published them, while studying literature and journalism and then working as a journalist. #GenreCon2019

Eventually her boyfriend offered to support her while she gave writing fiction a real try (I'm sorry but I can't capture her theatrics). She started a masters in creative writing to learn her craft. #GenreCon2019

She was supposed to be reading post-modern fiction but was reading fantasy instead; her boyfriend asked why she wasn't writing# that kind of thing? She wrote some chapters and sent it to an agent. #GenreCon2019

She immediately replied wanting the rest; Kate was working part time as a journalist, had her masters thesis to write, and was getting married, but somehow finished the book. #GenreCon2019

The book sold in a bidding war and still earns her royalties. (And yes, it was that boyfriend who supported her who she married.) #GenreCon2019

She was shortlisted for an Aurealis award and went to the ceremony, knowing no one. There, she met her people - who saw her she was writing as worthwhile and real #GenreCon2019

She then wrote nine sequels and a couple of children's series; her poorest-selling book (realist fiction; her poetry collection sold more copies!); then began writing fairytale-infused historical fiction #GenreCon2019

"I'm the world expert in Rapunzel; so useless but so charming." She earned a doctorate on the fairytale, which spoke to her since her lengthy childhood illness #GenreCon2019

"My publication journey is unique and peculiar, but so is everyone's." It's about how you build your own life around your life. #GenreCon2019

Kate's writing tips:
1. Write with joy.
2. Keep writing.
3. Be professional (with others and with your own work).
4. Learn your craft (keep learning until you die; be respectful of the craft).
5. Write what you love to read.
#GenreCon2019

6. Find your people.
7. Be brave.
8. Be versatile (writing is like food; sometimes you want a 10-course degustation menu and sometimes you want choc-chip ice cream).
9. Have an indomitable spirit.
10. Be true to yourself.
#GenreCon2019

Audience questions: her university studies taught her the language of literary analysis and deconstruction, which she still applies after reading a book she loves. #GenreCon2019

Her Australian publisher were happy for her to hop to historical fiction but she lost her US publisher in the process. #GenreCon2019

She's changed agents three times, only when she's had to. The industry has changed a lot: contracts are longer, women fantasy writers were scarcer; no social media; no electronic submissions -- mostly changes for the better #GenreCon2019