Another year unfolds before us: 2009. In this year, we have choices to make, decisions to follow through on, and writing conferences to attend. Oh, the choices! If you are a Christian Writer, you have multiple options: Mt. Herman Writer's Conference, Colorado Christian Writer's Conference, American Christian Fiction Writer's Conference, Glorietta Christian Writer's Conference, Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer's Conference, and many, many more. How do you decide which conference is right for you?
I have attended the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference the last two years and plan to go again this May. The first year, I went because a friend of mine had gone and decided to go again. The next year, I had some decisions to make. Did I want to go back and if so, why? Below you will find four questions I asked myself when making my decision to attend the same conference three years in a row:
1) Why am I going to a Christian writer's conference?
2) What do I hope to gain from attending the conference?
3) Where am I in my writing career?
4) How much do I have to spend on the conference--including travel expenses, food, lodging, and the cost of the conference itself?
Three simple questions helped me resolve the conference quandry. For the first one, I wanted to go to a Christian writer's conference because I write decidely Christian material. My articles, blogs, website, books (both fiction and non-fiction) have a Christian flavor. So I chose to attend a Christian writer's conference to meet others who are like minded, and at the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference (CCWC), I met wonderful Christian writers, editors, and agents. Actually meeting some of my favorite authors and talking to editors from major publishing houses was daunting, but each one I met thrilled me with their genuine interest and honest feedback. I also enjoyed the more casual times sitting around the dinner table talking about our day and life back home. These times showed the authors, editors, and agents for the real people they are.
Secondly, what do I hope to gain from the conference. At my first conference, I hoped to be discovered as the next great fiction writer, but those hopes were quickly dashed with my critique right at the start of the conference. I realized the best the thing I could do at my first conference was to learn as much as I could at the various, to meet as many people in the industry as I had time to, and to walk through the open doors that presented themselves.
I was very naive the first time around, but I was better prepared the second time. I knew I wanted to meet with my editor at Group and she attends the CCWC. I also wanted to make contact with more magazine editors and editors looking to assign writing (devotional work and contributing book work.) I learned about both of these opportunties the first year and wanted to pursue more of those types of oppurtunities.
Next, I asked myself where I am in my writing career. While I am selling some work on a regular basis, I still have not sold a non-fiction proposal or finished writing a novel, and I need to continue building my platform. For those reasons, I decided against conferences that focus mainly on fiction and non-fiction books, and chose one that had as many magazine editors in attendance as book editors. In this way, I wasn't wasting my time or the valuable time of editors who were looking for something I couldn't, as yet, offer.
The CCWC is one of the best conferences for beginning writers in this regard. The conference is low-key. You are kept busy from morning to night, but you don't have to dress to the nines. You can dress comfortably for the hike around the Y campus in Estes Park. The faculty is approachable and willing to answer any and all questions. I'll warn you, however, if you have never attended a conference before be prepared to be overwhelmed. The sheer volume of information given is incredible.
Finally, how much can I spend. A friend of mine made a spreadsheet of each conference, the cost of travel, food, lodging, and the conference cost itself. I did not get that detailed. I chose the conference I wanted to go and then I earned the money to go. Last year, I was able to pay for the conference entirely with money I had earned writing from contacts I had made the year before. I was pretty proud of myself. Granted it took all of the money I had made, but I was happy.
As the market took a downturn so has the number of writing opportunities. Publishing houses have restructured and in the interim have decreased the number of books they are putting out. I did find new venues in which to write. I've contributed to several more books and have been assigned devotions and articles by various magazines, but, to date, I have not earned enough to pay for an entire conference. So this year, I am substitute teaching to support my writing habit.
I hope these four questions will help you in the quest for the perfect writer's conference. The most important step in analyzing your conference choices is prayer. Once you have narrowed down your choices, pray for peace, direction, and open doors in your conference experience.
This has been another "Thought From the Tub."
Lori
Sigh! The writer's conference is fast approaching and I do not have my novel anywhere near finished. So I am implementing the tried and true goal of writing 2000 words/day. I read of this in King's book On Writing. He writes 2000 words a day. Period. No ands, ifs, or buts about it.
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