Writing Conferences: Worth the Effort

(c)Heather Ivester

As you look at your calendar, do you wonder if this will be the year you spend some time growing as a writer? If so, the best thing you can do to fuel your writing passion is to make plans to attend a writing conference.

It’s worth the effort. A conference will give you a breather from your hectic life as a busy parent and remind you that you’re not the only person who feels a bit crazy without some time alone at the keyboard.|

Yet major conferences can require a huge commitment of money and time.

Here’s where your real creativity can kick in. You can cut costs by finding a roommate – start asking around now through your real-life and online networks. Scholarships are also available if you start nosing around, asking questions.

Major conferences, such as Mount Hermon (California), ACFW (Dallas), Glorieta (New Mexico), Write to Publish ( Chicago), and Blue Ridge ( North Carolina), all last several days, yet the opportunities you’ll have to meet with editors and agents may give you a chance to sell enough of your work to pay back the costs.

You don’t have to attend a national conference to move ahead with your writing. A local one-day workshop may be just what you need to feel that fresh jolt of inspiration. Many established authors (like some of you reading this article) make time to teach new writers in your hometowns, increasing your fan base along the way.

Even though I’m in a super busy season of life raising kids, my goal is to attend two writing conferences a year. So far, I’ve managed to bring my family with me to most, turning the conference into a travel adventure. (I’m the lady you’ll see in the cafeteria eating with her husband and kids. Care to join us?)

When I attended the Glorieta Christian Writers Conference in 2005, I brought my six-month old daughter who was still nursing. Since babies are not welcomed into workshops, I invited my parents along to babysit – as well as my oldest daughter. While they rented a car and went sightseeing through New Mexico, I absorbed the thrill of being surrounded by hundreds of Christian writers. And I bonded with the few other brave parent writers who brought families as well.

Yet most conferences I attend are local, within an hour or two of my house. At these smaller workshops, I try to invite a friend to join me. Commuting saves hotel fees, and I don’t have to worry about big-time babysitting.

In the past three years, every conference I’ve attended has resulted in a sale, directly or indirectly. Casual conversations as well as one-on-one meetings with editors have helped me find new markets for articles and devotionals.

If I can do it, you can too. Make this your year to attend at least one conference. It doesn’t even have to be a Christian event. One of my favorite conferences is sponsored by the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). There are plenty of local chapters that hold small conferences in this organization.

I’ll be looking for you … I’ll be the starry-eyed woman carrying a diaper bag/backpack, ready to hear your story of how you too are a writer … interrupted.

You can do a keyword search for conferences here:http://writing.shawguides.com/

Writers Information Network lists the major Christian writing conferences here:
http://www.christianwritersinfo.net/conferences.htm

American Christian Writers holds dozens of local two-day conferences with top-notch speakers: http://http://watkins.gospelcom.net/americanchristianwriters/index.htm

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: www.scbwi.org