Top Tips for Writer's Conference Attendees

Top Tip #3: Dress comfortably. Even if you're a presenter.

So I’ve just returned from my writer’s conference and I thought I’d share a few tips before I forget everything. And I’m starting with the biggest tip of all: volunteer.

You know what? I don’t think that sounded emphatic enough so I’m going to say it again: VOLUNTEER!! (I added the extra exclamation point because it’s that important.)

Volunteer because you will meet lots of people, and for a newbie at a conference, that’s the best and easiest way to make new connections.

If you’re working with food service, you can bond with the crew as you figure out where the cups and/or napkins are hidden. Maybe you’ll end up timing critiques; you can comfort the people waiting to get their critiques and commiserate with the ones who’ve just received their critiques. If you volunteer to drive a faculty member to the airport, you’ll make a great impression with your helpfulness. Plus, you can get all kinds of insider information from agents or editors as long as you don’t drive off the road while chatting. (You will be remembered if you drive off the road, but maybe not in the way you’d imagined.) And if you’re helping with registration, you’ll get to meet every person that attends the conference, and I’ll bet you’ll meet someone who coincidentally lives right down the road from you and become life-long writing partners!

Or maybe not. The point is, volunteering gets you inside the conference instead of sitting on the sidelines of the conference. So if there’s a box to check off with “Volunteer” on it, sign up! I promise you’ll be glad you accepted the opportunity.

The next tip is how savvy writers beat the system. Attend the conference with your critique group members or a couple of writing friends. Get together ahead of time and discuss the presentations or workshops and what will best serve your groups’ and/or personal needs. And then spread out and cover that conference like kudzu!

While one of you attends the plotting workshop, the other takes notes in the character workshop. Someone goes to hear the editor talk about publishing trends and someone else goes to the agent who’s talking about the perfect pitch. I know it sounds not quite above board, but as long as you keep the information among the members who attended the conference, it’s fair and square. If you blast all the information from the conference out on the web, however, you have crossed a line. That’s not fair to the presenter who will be giving that same presentation in a few months at another conference, and it’s not fair to all the attendees who paid to get that information.

All of these tips will guarantee that you’ll get the most out of your conference experience. They worked for me and these tips will work for you, too! Now, if I could just remember where I put my notes…

~ (A very tired) Cathy C. Hall 

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9 comments Cathy C. Hall, tips for conferences, volunteering, writer's conference

Three Steps to Get You Closer To Publication

Last month, my first published books arrived! They were English books written for the Korean educational market. Not surprisingly, my kidlit writer friends have asked how I came to write books for the Korean educational market, and usually, I say it was just luck. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to see that it wasn’t “just” luck. There were a couple steps I took along the way to publication, steps that I’ve seen work time and time again.


JOIN GROUPS


Most writers join professional writing organizations or other writing groups in order to learn more about writing, and that’s always a good thing. But making connections in those groups is even better.

It was a writing friend from a group I joined years ago who passed along my name. She was asked about writer/teachers who might be interested in opportunities in the Korean educational market. The publisher doesn’t post writer guidelines; they work through connections. And they’re not the only ones who follow that formula. Editors often ask for recommendations, so join up, get to know your writer friends, and maybe you’ll be recommended next!


VOLUNTEER


So now you’ve joined an organization, but maybe there’s hundreds of people in the group. How do you get to know people? How do people get to know you? Volunteer!

And you don’t have to be that person in the top tier of the organization, or even the one who’s comfortable up on the stage, talking to everybody. Writers are often introverts by nature, I know, so volunteer in a capacity that suits you. For example, if you’re great with directions and love driving, volunteer to pick up an agent or editor from the airport. That’s thirty minutes to an hour of wonderful one-on-one time!

Of course, not everyone can pick up the agents or editors. But when you volunteer, perhaps you’ll get invited to a volunteer dinner at the end of a conference. That’s how our SCBWI region thanks volunteers, and so for a couple hours, we have the opportunity to chat with all the speakers at the conference. I know writers who’ve received book contracts, just because of a fortuitous conversation at dinner!

BE PREPARED


Mostly, make sure that you’ve done the work so you’re well-prepared when opportunities come along. Learn your craft. Write, write, and write some more. Know what’s going on in your chosen field. And be open to whatever may come your way.

Sure, luck has a little something to do with finding publishing success. But if you follow a couple simple steps, lucky opportunities will find you!

~Cathy C. Hall

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5 comments Cathy C. Hall, professional writing organizations, steps to publication, volunteering, writing success

World Book Night

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Time is ticking away! You only have three days left! Tuesday, January 31 is the last day to register to be a part of World Book Night.

What? You've never heard of World Book Night? World Book Night is a celebration of reading that was started last year in the UK and has spread to the US this year. The idea behind World Book Night is to encourage people who aren't regular readers to pick up a book and enjoy. And what better way to do that than to give them a free book! Thanks to book publishers, sellers, lenders and more World Book Night is prepared to give away ONE MILLION free books on Monday, April 23.

One million.

That is a lot of books. So they need a little help in the form of 50,000 volunteers willing to stand on street corners, in grocery stores, or anyplace in their community where they think they could find a few folks willing to take a free book. Check out the list of books being given away on World Book Night: memoirs, novels, horror, mystery, YA and tween here.

Think you can talk 20 strangers into accepting a free book? Then sign up for World Book Night and join the fun.

If you become a World Book Night volunteer, where would you give away books in your community?

Jodi Webb is a WOW Blog Tour organizer and writer. She often gives books she reviews to her family, friends, and local library. If chosen, she'd like to give away books at her local donut shop -- the place she worked before deciding she was a writer. Read about her World Book Night adventures at Words by Webb.

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3 comments book giveaway, volunteering, World Book Night