Jennifer Weiner & Jenny Lawson at BEA Bloggers Conference

Blogging conference keynotes are like other keynotes until they aren't. The keynotes at BEA Bloggers Conference were hilarious. 

First up was Jennifer Weiner, who has been pumping out almost a novel a year for the past twelve or so years. She had a lot to say about the New York Times, chick lit (or really, do we have to call it that?) and the ups and downs of her writing career. I found her funny and approachable, especially when she told us to let her know if her bra showed while she was talking. And she was a salty girl, which is always entertaining if the person has a great sense of humor, which Jennifer does.

I didn't see the closing keynoter Jenny Lawson (also known as The Bloggess and oh, that debut author who has been sitting on the New York Times bestseller list for the past six weeks) until right before she took the podium. 

Me: Dude, you should know that Jennifer Weiner dropped six F-bombs and two "blow jobs" in her keynote.

Jenny: Really? Wow.

Me: Yeah. I think that's not the bar, that's the floor.

Jenny: Oh shit.

I wasn't too worried. Jenny, after all, said "lady garden" on CNN.

She ended up telling us the story of her ten-year overnight success and how her "mythical hobbit" showdown with Heather Armstrong (aka Dooce) (also an awesome person and friend with many books you should buy) at BlogHer 2008 ended up getting the attention of her now agent, Neeti Madan, with whom I served on a blogs to books panel at the same fated BlogHer conference -- a panel which apparently drove Jenny to drink. (I'm sorry, Jenny. Eek.) I didn't know Jenny back then but I, too, was fascinated and ended up reading her blog and became a huge fan shortly thereafter. The woman is so funny she can make me cry with one sentence. I'm not kidding. Go buy her book. The story turns out well because Heather and Jenny became friends, but as two extremely well known bloggers who now have to live their lives online, I feel for both of them. I applaud their success online and offline and believe them both to be talented writers who deserve every accolade. Those of us who are not extremely well known have no idea what it's like to have our actions critiqued publicly all the time. Following the evolution of the mythical hobbit reminded me HELLO BLOGGERS ARE PEOPLE and also? Don't analyze people in public. It's rude. I try very hard not to do that anymore. ANYMORE -- because I have done it in the past, and I truly regret it. /moral of the story

It was interesting to see two funny ladies -- one well into her career and one who's just slipped under the velvet rope into the world of Big Six publishing -- tell their versions of the journey to publishing success. Congratulations to both of them. I wish you guys could've been there. Also, Jenny and I spent Tuesday night in the same hotel only I didn't know it until I saw her the next day. Jenny started tweeting about it and managed to trend #WorstHotelEver. I walked in, feared bedbugs, walked around the street and bought a bottle of wine even though it was midnight. It is very easy to miss material, my good friends.