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You may want to read PART ONE and PART TWO before jumping right into the tips for attending a conference so you can see where I was at in my career and why going to a conference turned my attitude and my writing around.  Sticking you neck out and going to a writer's conference can be scary, especially if you've never been to one before. It can be hard to know what to expect or even if it's worth it to go. (Hint...it's worth it). In this blog post, I'm hoping to leave you with a few tips on what you can possibly expect and what you can do to make the experience the best it can be. First: It doesn't matter if you write poetry, fiction, picture books, short stories, or nonfiction, a writers conference is for everyone. Everyone is welcome. There will be people at ALL stages in their writing that will be attending. So, don't feel as though, "I can't go to a writers conference because I haven't published a book or I don't think I'll fit in" because you will fit in just as you are. That is the truth. Writers who are further along in their career love to help other writers. Do not be intimidated by them. Where else can you go to learn and ask questions of those who have been where you are? Writers as a whole are very supportive of one another.
Second: Most writers are introverts by nature. You may worry how it will possibly work to go to a conference when you're not super out-going. That's okay. The great majority of those in attendance feel the same way as you do. Take it at your pace. Don't feel as though you have to be someone you're not. Be you and know being an introvert is NOT a bad thing. (7 Reasons Why Introverts are Good at Writing). Third: Try and be a little brave and get to know other writers. The best way to do this is to simply ask, "What do you write?" or "How is your writing going?" Writers LOVE a chance to talk about their passion, and those two questions alone will even get the most introverted of introverts talking. This is how writing groups can be formed and how you might find a great critique partner or even just a great writing friend. If you find someone you feel a kindred spirit to, don't be afraid to ask to friend them on social media or get their email address so you can continue to connect after the conference is over.
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**If you haven't read PART ONE, you probably should. It will give you a better understanding of my mind frame and what plans I had for my writing career (psst...my plan was to quit). Then pop back here to hopefully gleam some of the insight I was given**  You're probably wondering what career saving advice I was given that turned everything around for me, that caused me to go from throwing in the towel and walking away to feeling like I've found my writer self again.
I wish I could say it was one profound thing said or done that did the trick, but that just isn't the case. It was the combination of many little things that did it for me. The first: I had believed I no longer needed writing conferences because I'd become a more "seasoned" author. I was beyond the need for learning to create dialogue or learning to show and not tell in my writing. Since, I believed most conventions were geared toward the newbie writers, I felt I'd moved on. What I found from going to this particular conference was that I had it all wrong. There were classes offered to writers at every level--from the beginner to the not-so-new-to-the-game writer. The funny thing, even though I was a guild member (published author) and out of all the guild classes offered to guild members, I went to only one. Just one. All the rest were classes open to everyone--newbie or not. They were FANTASTIC classes! I took a class on How to Write Sympathetic Villains and now, I want to write a super villainy book! So, who the heck was I to believe I didn't need to learn anything more? (A jackass, apparently). Basically, if you think you've learned it all, you're wrong.  My sixth published book ANYONE? exceeded expectations. I had written a book that went to market at the right time and readers were gobbling it up. I spent little on advertising, so all of the attention the book received came organically, and I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. I'd made it in this writing world! Finally, after five books, and experiencing some mediocre success from them, it was happening! *Release the doves!* Any other books I would write after this one would surely ride on the tails of ANYONE?'s success. So I thought. I published ZIA, The Teenage Zombie & The Undead Diaries the following year, and everything was different. It did not do what I though it was going to do. In fact, it was the exact opposite of what I'd experienced with ANYONE?. Seriously, the VERY opposite. I couldn't get this book in front of the right audience no matter how I tried. And boy, did I try! I loved this book (I still do). I loved the characters and the story, and those that had read it, thought it was one of my best works. If I had to do it all over again, I would still write this book. I have no regrets. It's a sweet book with blood, brains, and romance--my cup of tea even if it isn't for everyone else. The problem was that my readers for ANYONE? were not interested in ZIA, something I did not expect, but now know totally makes sense. I get it. But this "failure," along with some hard personal issues in my life that I was experiencing at that same time, caused me to doubt everything I was doing. Every aspect of my life went under the microscope, including my writing career. It was the making of the perfect storm. It crippled my writing and a type of depression set in. Book two, ANYONE ELSE?, was in the works. The cover had been made and promises to readers needed to be kept. I love my readers and I didn't want to let them down, but that only added pressure to my already fragile state of being.  I was struggling. Really struggling. Time and years were slipping away, and I didn't know what to do to stop it or fix it. I'd set goals, and then watch those goals flutter past me, unmet.
I wanted to do anything but write. Doubts plagued me. Horrible thoughts crept into my head every time I would put my fingers to the keyboard. Where I was once able to write a chapter in a day, I was lucky if I could write 100 words in a week. Blogging? Forget about it. My author social media? Practically non-existent. I dabbed a little here and there, but nothing like I once used to. I no longer trusted my intuition. I no longer believed that I had it in me to create good stories that people would want to read. If I no longer believed in myself, how could I possibly expect anyone else to? |
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