Pensacola Beach, part of the "Emerald Coast". (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Waxing Moon in Gemini in the spring: time to channel that nervous energy and communicate.
A writers’ conference can empty your wallet in a flash, what with the hotel bill, registration fee, food, and today’s garish gas prices. So why go? Why not just hunker down and write? After all, you are a writer. Here are some valid reasons to part with your hard earned cash and go for the gold at a writers’ conference.
1. You need to cultivate people who “get” you. No one “gets” writers like other writers. These people become your colleagues and friends. They become your network. No matter how supportive your family and non-writing friends are, others in the writing business provide a safety and education zone that you just can’t find anyplace else. You can experience this by being part of a professional writing organization. Magnify that several degrees and you begin to see the advantage of like minds at a conference.
2. You need to recharge your batteries. Sometimes this involves bugging out to a totally different location. Many writers’ conferences are held at scenic beach side hotels, and nothing refreshes our creative ions like sea water.
3. You need to be serious about your profession. Joining a professional organization and attending a conference show you are not just fooling around in hobby mode.
4. You need to know stuff. Most writers love learning. Writers’ conferences offer workshops about all sorts of topics. The one I attended recently, the Silken Sands Conference in Pensacola Beach, even offered a workshop by a Wiccan ghost hunter. Attendees had hands on experience with EMF ghost detectors, ritual wands, and voodoo dolls. That’s not something you can replicate by internet research.
5. You need to practice selling yourself. Many conferences feature the opportunity to pitch your book to editors, agents, and publishers. This bypasses the traditional query letter and allows you to talk up your book. With marketing such a huge aspect of the writing business, promoting yourself is mandatory. If you are a published author, a conference will also likely afford you the chance to sell and sign your books. With a book signing, you know you have “arrived,” thank you.
6. You need to connect with readers. But at a writers’ conference? Yes! Writers are readers. Author Loretta Rogers brought this home to me.
7. You need to know the current state of affairs in the writing world. No one can tell you better than publishers, editors, agents, and other writers. At a writers’ conference you have access to the latest, greatest, most up-to-date information about your chosen field. Is paranormal on its way out? Is such and such publisher looking for war-time romances set in a small town? Will self-publishing kill you dead? You will find out at a conference.
Save your pennies and stash your mad money for the next writers’ conference of your choice. You’ll be glad you did.
