Take Advantage Of Writer’s Conferences

I struggled for many years as a writer, getting rejection after rejection it got so bad that I hated walking out to the mailbox. It seemed like all the proverbial cards were stacked up against me.

By chance, I found out about a nearby writer’s conference, and on a whim I filled out the registration form, drove over for the day, and put some hard-earned money down on the table out front. I didn’t expect much, but I thought that I’d at least see what it was all about. The experience literally changed my life.

It was amazing I met other writers that were fighting some of the same battles that I was, I got to shake hands with real acquisitions editors and agents, but most of all, I gained knowledge that would prove invaluable to me. So much information came at me that it was like trying to take a drink from a fire hose.

I would encourage you as a writer to seek out and attend a writer’s conference like I did, just to see what it’s all about. I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised. If you do, I have a few tips eight to be exact to make the experience even better:

1. Do your homework. By that, I mean that you should do as much up-front research as possible. If the conference itinerary is posted online, be sure to look at the break-out sessions to determine which ones you might want to attend.

2. Investigate optional, add-in events. Many conferences have special, pre-conference sessions (or some taking place in the evenings). Since you’ll be there anyway, the small, additional fees for these sessions may be well worth the extra info that you will get.

3. Enter conference contests. If you have material to enter in writing contests associated with the conference, by all means enter it. Prizes usually aren’t that grand, but the expert critiques that you receive can be priceless.

4. Get private consultations if available. Much like the add-in events, some conferences offer private consultations with experts such as editors and agents, usually for a nominal fee. If you have material ready for consideration, these personal critiques can be extremely beneficial.

5. Eat every meal at the hotel or conference center. Sometimes it’s cheaper to duck out to a fast-food place for lunch or dinner, but it’s worth it to take every opportunity to eat meals at the conference. You’ll find yourself dining with other attendees and even the presenters and special guests, and the dinner-time chat can be very enlightening.

6. Network, network, network. There are writers that I met at conferences years ago that I still stay in touch with we keep each other informed about industry trends, current projects, and just generally bounce ideas off each other. The networking that you do at a conference can be your most valuable experience there.

7. Buy the conference tapes. If the conference records the break-out sessions, which many do, buy the tapes that are most relevant to your writing career. If you can only afford a couple, get your top two choices. If you have the bucks for a few more, get the next ones on your list and so on, and so on. They usually aren’t that expensive, and are a great way to re-visit the sessions that you were in, or hear the ones that you missed.

8. Never skip a break-out session. I can’t tell you how many conferences I’ve attended over the years, and invariably I’d find one period where none of the break-out sessions appealed to me. It’s tempting to take a break and just skip that period, but I recommend biting the bullet and going to one, even if it doesn’t look applicable to you. I’ve picked up some jewels of information by sitting in a session that I initially had no interest in.

Well, there are probably a dozen more things about writer’s conferences that I should say, but if you focus on just these eight you’ll have a rewarding experience. Most of all, though, you have to take that initial leap. Save your pennies, find a conference, and go!