To Conference or not to Conference

An Opinionated View of Conferences

This past weekend was Malice Domestic, a conference I have long wanted to attend but never entirely managed. Sometimes, the dates conflicted with other events; other times, like this year, it was a question of finances. Let’s face it: conferences are expensive. Which conference and how many or what type of conference you attend depends on where you are in your publishing journey.

The first conference I attended was held by Virginia Romance Writers in Williamsburg, VA. I’m not going to lie; part of the attraction was that the hotel was a short taxi ride from Colonial Williamsburg. I figured I would spend at least a day and a half exploring while attending the conference. Colonial Williamsburg is like Disneyland for history lovers. I went with Leslie Carroll, who was also unpublished at the time. Instead of flying, we took the train from New York. The only problem was that only two trains went to Williamsburg a day. If we wanted to get there in time to explore, we would have to leave at 11:00 pm the night before. Yes, it was an all-night train ride. I couldn’t tell you what I learned about writing, but I had a great time at Colonial Williamsburg.

My second conference was at RWA National in New Orleans. Again, one of the reasons that I went was because it was held in NOLA. It was my first time at RWA National and it was a bit of culture shock. RWA National conferences were huge, more than 1,000 attendees. I didn’t know anyone and I wasn’t staying in the conference hotel because I booked too late. I pitched the novel I had just finished to an editor from Harlequin which was my main reason for attending the conference. And that is one of the best reasons to participate in a conference, mainly if you live outside New York. The chance to network with editors and agents if you are unpublished. Friends of mine pitched me to an agent, who I signed with a few years later, that they met a publisher’s party at RWA in Atlanta.

I’ve been guilty of choosing whether or not to go to a particular conference by whether or not it’s held in a city that is either a favorite or someplace I’ve never been. I attended RWA National in Dallas, Atlanta, and San Francisco for that reason, turning it to a working holiday of sorts.

There are two types of conferences: those where you can learn the craft and those that are more fan-based, like Boucheron or Malice Domestic. I’ve been to both over the years. The Historical Novel Society North American conference might be up your alley if you write historical fiction, mysteries, or romance. Some conferences aren’t genre-oriented, such as the Writer’s Unboxed UnConference, held every two years in Salem. Writer’s Unboxed was probably one of the best conferences I’ve attended.

So why should you attend a writers’ conference? Writing is a lonely profession; spending three or four days with other writers, networking, and socializing are great. I’ve met some fabulous people at writers’ conferences. But they can also be stressful if you are not naturally an extrovert. I’m not an extrovert, but I can fake it for a few days, but then I need to nap for a week afterward! It’s always helpful if you know people attending the conference because that gives you a bit of a social network. However, I’ve gone to conferences where I have not known anyone. This forced me to come out of my shell a little bit.

In the last few years, I’ve had to take a step back and really consider whether or not it is worth it, not just monetarily, to attend conferences. I think it comes down to what my reasons are for going. Is it to deepen my craft? To network? I haven’t been published since 2021, so I would be promoting a book that is now three years old. Since my current WIP is historical fiction, it makes sense to continue to attend conferences like the Historical Novel Society conference. I’ve served on the conference board twice, so I know that the program committee makes an effort to schedule craft workshops and panels more geared toward readers and published authors. There is also the opportunity to pitch to editors and agents at the conference next year in Las Vegas. It also gives me a goal to work towards regarding finishing my manuscript.

I love mystery fiction, but it doesn’t make financial sense for me to attend a conference like Bouchercon, even though my second book was historical true crime. I would love to go to Sleuthfest, but at the same time, we have our quarterly board meeting at my day job, so that is out. I also have a certain number of vacation days a year, limiting the number of conferences I can attend. At this point, it would make sense to return to Paris to do more research than attend a conference.

I would advise unpublished authors to research a conference before attending and talk to people who have been in the past. There are conferences/conventions for pretty much every fiction genre out there. Look at past conference schedules to see what kind of panels/workshops they have offered. If you are ready to submit your work to editors/agents, look for conferences where you can pitch your work in person. There may be an extra charge for pitch sessions, but it will give you a chance to hone in on what your novel is about. It also gives you a bit of an in when you query if you can say that you met this person at a conference.

What I’m watching:

Franklin—I’m really enjoying Michael Douglas’s performance as Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV’s miniseries Franklin. The series is gorgeous to look at, and the acting is uniformly excellent. Historian Stacey Schiff is an Executive Producer on the series, so it is fairly historically accurate. The cast is international, and many characters speak French when appropriate.

Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office—I just finished watching this series on PBS this past Sunday, and I’m still thinking about it. What happened to these sub-postmasters is outrageous, and the Post Office in Britain still won’t take any real responsibility for what happened. Of course, one of the culprits was also the faulty software that the Post Office put in place, but again, no one wanted to take responsibility. So many people's lives were ruined, and the fallout is still going on. There’s also a documentary on PBS about what happened, which I have on my watchlist.

What I’m Reading:

Wives Like Us: A Novel - Thanks to Edelweiss for giving me access to Plum Sykes's latest novel. Think “The Real Housewives of the Cotswolds.” I love the names of the villages: Little Bottom, Middle Bottom, Great Bottom, and Monkton Bottom. The novel details the lives of a glittering new breed of female: the Country Princess. I’ve just started it, and it’s pretty good so far. It's not quite as juicy as the back cover copy, but interesting. If you have read any Jilly Cooper novels, then I think you will like Wives Like Us.

Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman: I picked up a copy of Lucy Worsley’s biography of Agatha Christie last night after the MWA Edgar Awards. Lucy Worsley is the Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces in London and is one of my favorite historians, I’ve seen pretty much every show that she’s presented, so I’m eager to read what she has to say about Agatha. I really enjoyed her book A Very British Murder, so I’m eager to tuck into this book with a lovely cup of Yorkshire Gold Bedtime Tea and a London Fog Milano.