Your particular writing specialty is…FITB (fill in the
blank). You see a conference not far
from you that has a workshop that interests you. It’s a weekend, so you don’t have to take
time off from your day job, it’s within your budget and you’re ready to sign up
to go. Before you do, ask yourself one
question. Is it the right conference for
me?
Break the question down further. What do I plan to get out of it? What are the qualifications of the workshop
leaders? Does the brochure say, “Herbert
T. Provanowitz has written seven novels” or does it say he has actually sold
and had published seven novels? If it’s
door number one, he may not have any more qualifications than you, so what can
you learn in that workshop? If it’s an
agent or editor you want to meet and pitch to, find out if they are actually
looking for new talent. Send them an
email and ask how many clients or manuscripts they have acquired at conferences
in the past? I think you’ll be surprised
at the answer.
I have had the pleasure of attending many writer’s
conferences as both a participant and a speaker. Several of the conferences have invited me
back again after a few years. In almost
every case I have had people come up to me and tell me they saw me two, three
or four years earlier and really liked my presentation. I’m always flattered when that happens but I
began to wonder. Why are they coming
back year after year? What new
information are they getting or what do they expect to get? I had to know, so I asked that question of
several of them. Be careful what you
ask, you may not like the answer.
Many said they left the conference fired up and ready to hit
the keyboard or yellow legal pad bright and early Monday to really get serious
about writing…this time. But…Monday
rolled around and work/school/chores/whatever had to be accomplished
first. By the time they finished them,
it was late and Jeopardy was just
coming on and…and…you see the pattern.
Or maybe they spent time with the editor or agent and actually followed
up and sent them something. One month.
Two, then three and four passed with no response. A polite email inquiry got them nothing
either.
Bleak picture?
Unfortunately, it is, but some of it is a self-inflicted wound that can
be avoided. Do your research on the
conference and the presenters. Make sure
they are selling something that you want to buy and can actually use. And then
USE IT.
I think it was Mark Twain or somebody else who said,
“Writing is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” Use some of that 90% for preparation as well.
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