Attending a writers' conference is a great way to immerse yourself in the literary community. Don't limit yourself to attending only specific genre conferences or e.g. children's writers conferences. So much of writing applies to writing in the broader sense, so you will gain something from every conference.
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Interacting with your writing colleagues is equally as inspiring and informative as the formal program. It's also a way of stretching yourself, and opening yourself up to new possibilities.
Some tips
- Study the program. If there are electives, book your spot early for these, as they have limited places, and they fill up quickly.
- Study the directions before you go and allow plenty of time. You don't want to start your day by arriving late, rushed and frazzled.
- Have business cards made up if you don't already have them. They don't need to be expensive, but they should loook professional.
- Take lots more business cards than you think you will need. Once you get chatting, it's amazing how many you give out. You'll meet people with whom you'll want to stay in touch. This is your new extended writers network.
- Sometimes time is set aside to meet with editors and faculty members, to ask questions or discuss a manuscript. Plan for this and make the most of it. Sometimes this is one on one or in small groups. Have a business card ready, just in case. Who knows you will meet - maybe even your future editor.
- Work out a 30 second snapshot of who you are and what you do. You will be answering this question every time you meet someone new.
- Be ready to answer questions such as "What sort of writing do you do? What are you working on at the moment? Have you been published?"
- Collect publisher catalogs and freebies from the trade exhibits.
- Take a mini stapler. It is amazing how many exhibitors pay huge amounts to display and don't staple their card to their catalog or handouts. You don't want to play mix and match when you get home.
- Take a light carry bag for catalogs and the inevitable books you won't be able to resist buying. You may even meet authors and want to store their signed books carefully.
- You will get much more out of an author's presentation, if you are able to read at least one of the books beforehand. The conference bookseller needs to know which specific books the author will focus on, to order these books in, so conference organisers usually know well beforehand.
- Talk to the authors if you get a chance. This can be quite inspirational.
- At the end of the conference, you will have information overload. When you are ready, sort through the collected paper jumble. Be ruthless. Keep only what you need. Organise and file it.
After the conference, I guarantee you will be inspired and learn a lot. Writing can be an isolated pursuit. Interacting with other writers can be a very energising and affirming experience. Try to keep in touch with those writers with whom you felt a rapport, or had writing interests in common. After all who better to understand a writer than another writer in the same boat?
