Writers' Conference

Depends on what "benefits" you're looking for. Conferences can be fantastic... or they can be a waste of money and time.

If you're planning to go because you'll land your dream agent, nope. Not going to happen. (Yeah, I know there's *someone, somewhere* who signed a contract after bumping into an agent in a conference restroom and handing a square of toilet paper under the stall...)

If you're going to meet some fellow writers and take some classes on topics that interest you/topics you know you need to work on/topics you'd like to know more about, then it's beneficial. If you want to meet some agents/editors and pitch your work and get a *tiny* advantage over a faceless unsolicited email, then sure. Do you want to step a tad out of your comfort zone with people who are probably fairly like-minded? Yep. If you want to get a feel for people in the industry/particularly your area/genre, absolutely. Appointments with agents & editors can be fantastic learning experiences, as long as you temper your expectations.

Do you have the money and time to go? Sure. Will it create a hardship? Skip it.

I think conferences are great. I look at them as continuing education. But they're definitely not a must-do.

I was thinking of attending one,just outside of Boston. I'm not ready to submit anything or even speak to an editor. But I'm thinking it must be worth the money to just pick another authors brain..but the 2 day is not exactly cheap.It has workshops and lectures that are right up my alley. One guest speaker is a very well known romance writer, her lecture is actually an additional cost. So, yes its a very pricey day( or two if you choose to go back the next day) but IMPO, worth every penny.

I've been to...4? 5? conferences over the years. The first one was a purely commercial one that's no longer around. I was lost the whole time, and had no clue what I was doing. Total waste of time, but at least it was local and I wasn't out the hotel.

Then I went to Pennwriters in 2011, and loved it. Got inspired by several of the presenters, and met a bunch of online friends in person for the first time. Well worth it.

I've been an OWFI conference too, and it was well worth the money as well. Networking, learning, and just feeding off the energy all helped tremendously. I'm self-pubbed, so I wasn't looking for an agent, but I did meet several cover artists as well as writers I could talk to about cover artists, so that was cool. Last year I got to meet and listen to Ben Montgomery, a journalist I admire greatly, so that was pretty cool as well. I've also been to 2 local conferences that were free, but with surprisingly good presenters.

Hopefully WLCT said:

I was thinking of attending one,just outside of Boston. I'm not ready to submit anything or even speak to an editor. But I'm thinking it must be worth the money to just pick another authors brain..but the 2 day is not exactly cheap.It has workshops and lectures that are right up my alley. One guest speaker is a very well known romance writer, her lecture is actually an additional cost. So, yes its a very pricey day( or two if you choose to go back the next day) but IMPO, worth every penny.

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The NEC-RWA Conference in April in Burlington?

If you're in Connecticut, you might look into ctrwa.org--they have some interesting programs coming up for the year including a one-day workshop with Donald Maass in Norwalk (I'm thinking of going to that one), and their conference in September is supposed to be a good one.

I've been to many good conferences, but as others have mentioned, it really depends on what you hope to get out of them. Some are huge and have several "tracks" like craft, self-publishing, how to land an agent, etc. Some offer pitching opportunities, but that's usually at an extra cost, and to be honest I've never found those to be helpful. I will say I've learned a ton at various conferences and made some wonderful friends. But I wouldn't recommend attending one until you're sure what you want and need from it. Knowing that will help you choose the right conference, too.

I'll probably be an outlier here, but I had a great experience at the New York Pitch Conference. I learned to pitch.

Did I learn to deliver on the pitch? No. Querying in the months after the conference, I got 4 of 10 agents requesting my MS, and no one liked it!

Did I get an agent? No.

But I learned to pitch, and I learned the concept "let the pitch tail wag the novel dog."

In other words, if you're having a hard time writing the pitch for your book, you need to take a long, hard look at your concept and plot. A good story is easy to pitch because it's exciting, clear, relevant, and not difficult to explain. These are big lessons and, to me, they were well worth the $1k+ I spent on those 5 days. But I make weird decisions like that.

Marissa D said:

The NEC-RWA Conference in April in Burlington?

If you're in Connecticut, you might look into ctrwa.org--they have some interesting programs coming up for the year including a one-day workshop with Donald Maass in Norwalk (I'm thinking of going to that one), and their conference in September is supposed to be a good one.

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Yes,that's the one. I think I'll go to just see what happens there, it couldn't hurt..except my wallet(just a little).

Where I live, my options for conferences are extremely limited. Fortunately there's a very good one held every October called Write Well, Sell Well. The comment above about deciding why you'd go and what you want is quite sound. I started going in order to network with local authors and just glean any information that might help with marketing, Facebooking, spurring creativity, etc. The benefit I didn't expect was that talking with authors face to face showed me that I'm not alone. I'm not weird. At least, there are others who share my kind of weird and who speak the same language and understand the blood, sweat, and tears we go through. It's always an uplifting, inspiring, kick-in-the-pants kind of experience. Highly recommend.

Now, just to work up the courage to do the practice pitch workshops there. Yikes.

Carrie in PA said:

Depends on what "benefits" you're looking for. Conferences can be fantastic... or they can be a waste of money and time.

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Or worse. They can be a soul-destroying experience. I've had the full spectrum of experiences at conferences, and the lat two I attended, maybe 15 years ago, both fell into the deep dark bad black hole end of it.

caw

I just finished doing three presentations at a writer's conference (Write Stuff) in Bethlehem, PA. I found the keynote speakers to be very good and well prepared. I did a two-hour presentation for Writer Beware (first half on trade publishing, the 2nd on self-publishing and a Q&A), as well as a workshop on Writing Fight Scenes and World Building. I haven't gotten the official feedback from my presentations yet, but they seemed to go well, there were a lot of good questions from the audience and all in all, I thought it was useful for both them and me.

Conferences are only worth what you put into them.

Jeff

mrsfauthor said:

The Wesleyan Writers' Conference is coming up. I am wondering what I should have available on my laptop...some short stories, the start to my historical fiction novel? I'm not sure I need anything at all but if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

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Nobody's going to look at your laptop. If you have the opportunity to pitch to agents/editors, they will tell you what they want to see. Whether it's a query letter, the first X pages, or a synopsis. Printed out.

However, if you don't have a completed novel, they don't want to see it. If they don't represent it, they don't want to see it. Your fellow attendees will also not want to see your stuff. Take business cards to exchange with people you meet.

(And just a picky FYI - "fiction novel" is a no-no. All novels are fiction.)

Carrie in PA said:

Nobody's going to look at your laptop. If you have the opportunity to pitch to agents/editors, they will tell you what they want to see. Whether it's a query letter, the first X pages, or a synopsis. Printed out.

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Echo this, for emphasis. And it is unlikely that, at a conference, anyone will be interested in looking at anything you have in print form either, unless there is a contest associated with the conference. Even then, chances are no agent will want to see such stuff. What you might have is the opportunity to "pitch" your novel to an agent or two, IF it is completed. Your pitch is a presentation, as concise as possible, of what your novel is about, and not an actual presentation of any text from it.

And, again, unless there is a contest involved, no one will be interested in looking at short stories. You might have an opportunity to read from a short piece at an informal gathering (often very late at night), but this is also dependent on the conference.

You need to research conferences to find out what things can happen at them. They are all individual.

caw

Hey, this could really be cool!

I'm going to start going as well. It'll be fun to talk to people, even if I muck it up, anyways.

All the best to you and I hope you make contacts and can show them some sort!

I just got back from a conference and I'm gearing up for another next month. Can echo cmhbob - Pennwriters is wonderful. Anyways, I love conferences because it takes writing, which is often lonely, and reinforces the community aspect. The experience is what you make of it. I met two clients of my now-agent before I signed with him, and hearing their accounts of working with him really reinforced that he was who I wanted to sign with. I made friends with a group of writers and we've stayed in touch between conferences, and it's lovely to see them every year and go over our new projects and bounce ideas off of one another. So, the social aspect is awesome, from what I've found. Don't be afraid to talk to people!

As for what to bring:
-BUSINESS CARDS. This is my number one. I have a small card holder that I take with me everywhere over the conference. Anytime you meet a writer you want to connect with, it is so handy to just hand over that card (and they'll usually give you one too!). Agents/editors don't usually ask for them, but they're nice to have on hand. For instance, this year, I'm focusing more on looking for agency internships and a few people took my card for that. It also makes you look more professional and prepared. If you don't have them, no worries. I did order mine the week before the conference last year and they came in like 2 days later.

-The pitch. If you're thinking about pitching to an agent or editor, make sure you can summarize everything succintly and clearly and tie it up with a nice little bow. I was pitching to editors, but it goes a little like this: "Hi, (name), it's so nice to meet you! My name is s_nov and I'm a writer from (blah). I went to (school) and graduated with my BA in English fiction writing and anthro. I'll be continuing my education this fall at (school) where I'll be working on my MA in creative writing. I'm repped by (super nice agent) and if you're interested, I'd be happy to have him send you this manuscript." I like to introduce myself first, because they're not just investing in the book, they're investing in YOU. Plus, face-to-face, I think it's nice for them to know exactly who they're talking to. From there, I talk about the book. My basic is to start broad and move to specifics. "(Book) is a gender-swapped YA (fairytale) retelling set in modern-day (location) with a creepy twist. It is complete at 98,000 words." At this point, I ask if they'd like to know more, because some agents know right away when they're not interested in something. I go into a short synopsis, and see if they have any questions. Usually, they ask for comps, so this is good to keep in mind. They might ask more about character, setting, etc. Also, they might say they're not interested when there are still 5 minutes left in the pitch appointment, so it's nice to have a backup topic to talk about I always ask how they got into agenting/editing.

-Query letter. I print this and have it on hand, just in case. Some conferences have The Voice: Query Edition or other fun games like that. Sometimes there are read and critiques, which I've found to be super helpful. This might also ask for the first few pages of whatever you're working on.

-Pen and notebook. I like to take notes during the sessions. It's a little odd to take out your laptop and do it that way, so it makes a little more sense to just write stuff down.

-Gum/breath mints. Okay, this is a personal one, but you're drinking so much coffee and then talking to SO MANY COOL PEOPLE. I like to have these on hand, especially if I"m like omg i just ate so much garlic and I'm pitching right after lunch.

-An open mind and a desire to succeed. Self explanatory

Go forth and rule that conference!

s_nov said:

I just got back from a conference and I'm gearing up for another next month. Can echo cmhbob - Pennwriters is wonderful.

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I was there, too! Small world.

@Carrie That's so funny! Maybe I saw you there!

gtanders said:

I'll probably be an outlier here, but I had a great experience at the New York Pitch Conference. I learned to pitch.

Did I learn to deliver on the pitch? No. Querying in the months after the conference, I got 4 of 10 agents requesting my MS, and no one liked it!

Did I get an agent? No.

But I learned to pitch, and I learned the concept "let the pitch tail wag the novel dog."

In other words, if you're having a hard time writing the pitch for your book, you need to take a long, hard look at your concept and plot. A good story is easy to pitch because it's exciting, clear, relevant, and not difficult to explain. These are big lessons and, to me, they were well worth the $1k+ I spent on those 5 days. But I make weird decisions like that.

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I dunno, I would disagree with that.

M MS2 pitches well because I built the novel around a pitch, and designed the core concepts with agents in mind. Whether it sells, time will tell, but right out the door the query is miles more popular than the last time I was getting into these trenches.

Meanwhile, MS1 will always and forever be difficult to pitch and/or query, but is a better book in probably almost every way.

If your novel is very unusual, or very literary, or layer-dependent, or half a dozen other things, it can still be a perfectly decent story while not querying as easily.