Where Writers Gather

How to Promote Your Interests at Conferences and Workshops Without Wasting Your Time or Money

Tracy Hahn-Burkett

Writers, for the most part, work alone. I enjoy carrying on lively conversations with the characters in my head as much as the next writer, but at a certain point, I need to interact with people whose thoughts are not actually mine. Conferences and workshops provide excellent opportunities to meet other writers and business contacts, and to learn both the craft and business aspects of the writing industry. But figuring out which conferences and workshops were right for me took some effort when I began writing, and it still does.

Our writing skills, interests, and abilities are always developing, so no matter where you are in your career, you’ll need to research and prepare in order to get the most out of your time and avoid wasting money. I recommend taking an annual approach to conferences and, to a certain degree, workshops. At the beginning of each year, sit down with a pad and pen and ask: What do I need to accomplish in my writing life this year? Define your goals, determine your budget, and select conferences and major workshops, leaving yourself some room for flexibility as the year progresses. Then you can begin preparation for each event as it approaches.

CONSIDER WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN

Where are you in your career? Are you a beginner seeking to soak up any wisdom you can find about the craft of writing? Have you just completed a first draft and don’t know how to go about revising the beast? Are you experienced and want some guidance on, say, how to make subtext more effective in your next manuscript? Look through conference and workshop listings to find those that offer sessions that address your needs. You can explore possibilities by consulting your local writers’ organization, visiting the searchable directory at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs website, or simply by searching “writing conferences” or “writing workshops” and the current year online.

If you want to learn how to market your book or sell your stories, a conference focused solely on the craft of writing isn’t going to help you. But a conference such as Grub Street’s annual three-day Muse and the Marketplace in Boston, which addresses both craft and business, may be the perfect fit. If you want immediate feedback on your work, seek out a workshop, although some conference sessions offer a live-critique feature, too. If you’re brave enough, find a Literary Idol session where volunteers read their work in front of an audience until authors, agents, and/or editors serving on a judging panel tell them to stop. Has one particular aspect of craft been giving you a headache for months, like point of view? Look to a local or state writing organization or online for a workshop specifically focused on that point.

CONSIDER WHO YOU WANT TO MEET

Are you seeking a community of like-minded writers—people who understand what this life is like in a way well-meaning friends and family never could? Try a local or state writers conference, or Writer Unboxed’s own UnConference in Salem, Massachusetts, which focuses on craft and community. Need a critique partner? Again, a local or state conference is a great opportunity to find someone you can work with, as is any workshop you can drive to and, sometimes, an online workshop. What if you write in a specific genre and wish to meet other writers who share your particular trials and triumphs? The Romance Writers of America holds a renowned conference every year, and they have local chapters you can join as well. For writers in other genres, look into Killer Nashville, ThrillerFest, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and more. If you write young adult fiction, a single workshop offered by an organization like The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland, can improve your craft, help you with your queries, and introduce you to potential critique partners and fellow travelers in the YA world.

What if you want to market your work? Are you looking to shop a completed manuscript? Then find a conference that includes pitch sessions. Make sure you follow the instructions, and don’t accost agents and editors in the bathrooms. (Yes, people do this—but you shouldn’t if you want to be viewed as a pro.) Are you trying to make business connections now that will help you in the future? Are you hoping for career advice or industry insight from experts? Look for conferences that offer lunch tables with professionals (often for an extra fee), happy hours, or other mingling opportunities. Swap business cards when you can; you’ll use them later.

Conferences aren’t just great for meeting people; they’re also perfect for reconnecting with all manner of literary folk you don’t have the opportunity to see very often. Whether you want to grab a beer and reminisce with that person you clicked with at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference last year, or you hope to reconnect with the agent you met when, darn it, your manuscript wasn’t quite ready, there’s always a good reason to get together again with contacts from conferences past. Industry professionals travel from all over the country for the largest literary conference in North America, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, held in a different U.S. location every year. Contact people you want to meet up with ahead of time, because it’s tough to find a specific person in a crowd of twelve thousand.

CONSIDER YOUR BUDGET

Most conferences aren’t cheap, and if you have to travel for them, the expense can more than double. Some events offer scholarships, so apply for those if you’re eligible. See if you can volunteer in exchange for a break in fees. And look at how your travel schedule syncs up with other parts of your life. Do you have to go to Florida for your day job? Can you attach the Sanibel Island Writers Conference to one side of that business trip? Is your family vacationing in Cape Cod? How about the Cape Cod Writers Center Conference? Obviously these types of combinations won’t always work out, but it’s worth seeing if you can combine travel expenses where possible. Finally, look for conferences or workshops you can attend without traveling. The annual New Hampshire Writers’ Day, hosted by the New Hampshire Writers’ Project, is just a short trip from my house. If you attend an online event, you might not even have to change out of your pajamas.

CONSIDER YOUR ENJOYMENT

Don’t forget to factor in your own potential comfort and gratification—they’re so important. If you are an introvert who shuts down in crowds, don’t start out by going to a megaconference. Take a small workshop, or attend a local or regional conference or a conference that limits the number of attendees and includes lots of breakout sessions. Skip a session at a larger conference, and retreat to your hotel room. Maybe sit in an unattached café, and read or write a couple of pages. This will allow you the space to recuperate so you can return to the rest of the conference recharged and ready to engage again.

Conversely, if you view conferences as your chance to break out of isolation and party, you’ll find plenty of companions at the bigger events. Go to all the happy hours and after-parties you want, but always be professional and respectful of those who are quieter and have come primarily to learn. Remember: Everyone is paying for this opportunity.

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MONEY

As I said before, conferences and some multi-session workshops often come with a hefty price tag. Here’s how to stretch every dollar—before, during, and after the event.

Before

If you’re given an assignment before a workshop or session such as completing the first fifty pages of your manuscript or drafting a query letter, complete it. Never attend anything without a notebook—either paper or electronic. At conferences, draw up a list of contacts you’d like to make. If there are people you want to meet or reconnect with, consider e-mailing them ahead of time or asking a common friend to introduce you. Make or order business cards. If you’re nervous about attending a big conference for the first time, see if the conference provides any special means of preparation. Grub Street, for example, often offers a class each year before Muse and the Marketplace to coach new conferees about how to get the most out of the experience. If you’re anxious about sharing your writing in a workshop, don’t worry: You’re not the only one. Every writer has been there, and we’ll all be there again.

During

Don’t sit in the last row unless those are the only seats left; it can be hard to hear back there, and your attention is more likely to wander. Exception: Some conference sessions encourage dropping in and out to see what you find interesting. In this case, if you’re not sure a session is right for you, sit toward the back and come and go as quietly as possible.

Whenever you’re in the lecture or workshop setting, put your phone away (and set it to vibrate so you don’t interrupt the presenters). Swap business cards with people you connect with.

After

If it’s a conference or a lecture-heavy workshop, rewrite your notes as soon as possible. Every time I have failed to do this, I have regretted it. Also, as soon as possible, send thank-you or glad-to-meet-you notes or e-mails to new contacts to reinforce their impressions of you and to mark the beginning of auspicious relationships. If you promised to send work to anyone, don’t delay. If you’ve just completed a multi-session workshop, take steps to stay in touch with anyone from the class with whom you’d like to maintain a relationship.

Consider your experience: Did you get what you expected? What was lacking? How will your writing practice change because of what you learned or whom you met? Would you go to this conference again? Would you take another workshop taught by this instructor? How about one offered by the organization? How would your approach be different? If something didn’t work for you, what would you look for instead?

REEVALUATE AS YOUR GOALS CHANGE

The conferences and workshops you find suitable will likely evolve as you progress as an author, as will your role in them. Your requirements will become more exacting; you will look for specific authors, agents, or editors. Where once you only took notes at conferences, you may find yourself presenting at some of them. But you are never too advanced to learn; you are never too good to improve. Even if you’re presenting at a panel at the Writer’s Digest conference in New York, there’s a good chance that you can learn something that will help you improve an aspect of your craft or marketing by attending another panel or two while you’re there.

Conferences and workshops offer an almost unlimited number of resources for writers who want to learn about the craft and business of writing and who are willing to invest some time and money. But be careful not to fall into the conference trap: You can spend so much time going to conferences and workshops, networking and socializing, that you can lose sight of the reason you’re having all of this fun with writers and other industry folks. Eventually you have to sit down and write. If you realize that you’re just going from one conference to another, call a moratorium. Plant yourself in a chair, and face no one but your laptop or your notebook. I did this a couple of years ago when I felt like my networking had surpassed my writing production and I needed to recalibrate my priorities.

Always keep one eye focused on what matters, and use your resources wisely. Because conferences and workshops aren’t worth anything unless you use them to help you put words on a page.