Anyone ever go to a Romance Writing Conference

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Hopefully WLCT

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Has anyone ever attended one of the Romance Writers of America workshops? There's one coming up not too far from me and I'm thinking of attending. Any advice or review?
 

DeleyanLee

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Is it a National or a chapter's conference?

I've never been to one of the National's, but I've been to several of GDRWA (Greater Detroit chapter) and a few others, many moons ago. Whether or not you'll get anything out of it depends on what you're looking for and who's presenting the information--and what topic you're looking for.

But, that's true for any conference, regardless of who's hosting it, IMO.
 

Cathy C

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Absolutely! I've gone to any number of them. It depends on the chapter as to the level of workshop, but most chapters have some well published members. There's also the RWA annual conference (in San Antonio this year! Yay! So I'll be there). What chapter is giving the con?
 

elinor

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The last RWA conference was here in Atlanta and only a few blocks away. I wanted to at least volunteer there but you still had to buy a ticket... which was about $700 if I remember correctly. Far far too outside my budget.
 

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I keep missing the RWA event in AZ, Desert Dreams. It ran this last Friday, Saturday, and today. Lots of great speakers and a lovely venue - I just couldn't afford the $240 membership, and I had other scheduling conflicts.

But organized writing events can be wonderful experiences. If you get a chance to attend one, go for it.
 

GinJones

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I'll be at RWA National in San Antonio this year too, doing a workshop on estate planning for authors.

The national conference can be overwhelming for a first experience, especially for anyone who's introvert (which the majority of writers tend to be). I'd recommend starting with a chapter conference, to get your feet wet first. THe first RWA National conference I attended was so overwhelming (despite everyone being so encouraging) that I actually stopped writing fiction for a year, blocked by the awareness of how much I didn't know about storytelling.

I've been to the New England Chapter conference (and will be doing a workshop there this year; it's May 2-3), the New Jersey conference, and a couple events in Connecticut. The ones I've attended have all had top names in the genre, and a wide range of topics. Individual workshops vary in quality a bit, but there's always something to be learned, and there are so many workshops offered that you're bound to find some good ones for whatever stage you are in your career.

The chapter conferences tend to have registration fees in the $100 to $200 range, for a long weekend, often including meals. The RWA National fee this year is $460, I think, for non-members. Not a bad price for a very full four days of events (but only one meal, I think). Both types of conferences become more expensive if you have travel and hotel expenses. I'm a penny-pincher, and I still budget about $1500 for RWA National (which includes $600 for plane tickets).
 

Hopefully WLCT

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Absolutely! I've gone to any number of them. It depends on the chapter as to the level of workshop, but most chapters have some well published members. There's also the RWA annual conference (in San Antonio this year! Yay! So I'll be there). What chapter is giving the con?

The New England Chapter and its in Massachusetts
 

GinJones

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NEC is a GREAT local conference, and not just because they invited me to speak! Large enough to get good speakers, small enough to mingle easily, and lots of fun in addition to the educational aspects.

Featured speakers this year: Bella Andre, Angela James, Cara McKenna and Madeline Hunter.

More info here: http://necrwa.org/blog1/conference/
 

MandyHarbin

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I'll be at RWA Nationals this year, too! It's very expensive, so I don't think I'll do it every year (hotel alone is around $1600, but I'm staying the week, so there are extra days added to my stay). I view it more for networking and learning. Some of the smaller cons have good workshops, too, but you want to research what they're offering to see if it'll be beneficial. I.e. One RWA chapter conference I attended was cheap and the drive was only a couple of hours. But most of the seminars were geared toward inspirational romance. Most of the time I attended the lesser of the two evils and once I just went to the bar, rather than sit through something that was of absolutely no interest to me. But one on business was well worth attending just by itself.
 
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