A Writers Conference: To Attend Or Not To Attend

​    In a few weeks I will be attending the Florida Writers Conference. This will be the first writers conference I've been to in several years. I’m certainly looking forward to going. If you've never been to a writers conference you may be asking yourself, why attend? After all it's pretty expensive. And it's likely to cut into your vacation time if you have a full time job. But, there are advantages to attending a writes conference. Here are just a few:

• You meet like-minded aspiring and published writers. Writing is a solitary profession. We sit alone in our writer’s loft or home office or corner table in the coffee shop and pound away on our laptops churning out chapter after chapter. Unless you’re collaborating on a project, you work day by day in self-imposed seclusion. By attending a writers conference you meet fellow writers; share mutual concerns; commiserate. In short, you realize you’re not alone in your endeavor. You share the same worries, joys, doubts, and triumphs.  
• The speakers provide useful information on writing and publishing. Most writers conferences feature speakers, experts in their field. You can learn a lot about your craft from them. Everything from the basics of novel writing to how to self publish to how to get an agent.
• There are agents present looking for the next great novel. If you’re interested in finding an agent for your work, a writers conference is no better place to search. Literary agents looking for new writers attend many conferences. But, this means you need to have a polished pitch and several pristine pages of your novel ready. And, who knows, that meeting could be the launch of your writing career.
• You can share your work with your peers. There’s usually a late night session where aspiring writers like you read their work to each other and undergo criticism. You can learn a lot for sessions like this.
• You leave inspired to complete that novel. By the end of the conference you’ll feel renewed, inspired, driven to finish that novel you’ve been struggling to complete.

    A writers conference can be an expense in time and money. But, if you find the right one, it can be a springboard to a long and satisfying writing career.  In the coming weeks I’ll share what I specifically learned from previous writers conferences and from the upcoming Florida Writers Conference. Stay tuned.

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