To Conference or Not To Conference?

What I'm reading: Dying for a Date, by Cindy Sample

In two days, I'll be on the road to Santa Fe for the Left Coast Crime conference. It's the first time I've attended this one, and I'm looking forward to meeting new authors, many of whom are names from internet groups.

Why go to conferences? They're expensive, after all, and unless you're a big enough name to be a featured speaker, you're going to have to pay for transportation, lodging, meals, and registration fees. But there's a lot to be gained as well.

What should you look for?
What's the target audience of the conference? I lean toward romance conferences, because that's where my books fall, but I also attended SleuthFest, a mystery conference for years, because my books all have mystery themes. Left Coast Crime is a relatively small, regional conference, and since I couldn't get back to Florida for SleuthFest, I decided to try this one. The fact that it's driveable helped a lot. (I admit that when I signed up to attend, there was the distant hope that I'd be joining the ranks of mystery writers, but that didn't happen). But even though my books fall into the romance genre, I still consider them mysteries.

Is the conference geared toward readers or authors? Reader conferences tend to be geared toward 'fun' and they're a way to meet readers as well as authors. Publishers might showcase their authors, there are games, meet-and-greets, and a lot of social events. Author conferences are geared toward the professional side. Agents and editors often accept pitches, so you can try to move up a rung on the ladder toward publications. Sessions cover professional and craft topics, so you can learn more about all the aspects of writing.

How big is the conference? Are you going to be a small fish in a huge pond? Large conferences might be overwhelming, but this might be your chance to meet a LOT of industry professionals. Smaller conferences won't have as many agents and editors, but there's less competition for slots, and you might feel less like an outsider if you're new.

All About Conferences

Tomorrow, I'm heading off to a romance conference, RomCon, in Denver. It was a sort of spur of the moment decision. I saw a post about free admission and decided that since we were living in Colorado, Denver was within driving distance, and free was good. Of course, 'free' doesn't include the hotel or meals, but I thought it would be smart to mingle with live people for a change.

The 'catch' of the registration was that it's a Reader registration. It was far too late to sign up as a participating author, so I figured why not? I'll still be meeting the same people. There was a rather stern warning about Readers not being allowed to do anything in the way of promotion. NOWHERE TO HIDE isn't officially released, but I do have bookmarks. I wonder if handing them out in lieu of business cards, which I haven't updated, constitutes promotion?

On the up side of being "only" a reader, there's very little pressure to make sure I have everything perfect. I don't have to worry about presentations, handouts, PowerPoint failures. It'll be all about the mingling. I have barely begun my preparations. I topped off my gas tank, charged my shuffle, and am doing laundry.

A Conferencing We Will Go

I'll be heading off to SleuthFest, a mystery writer's conference, at the end of the month. Why do writers go to conferences? Join author J L Wilson as she talks about the Roman legionnaires she met while in Chicago.

I just got back from two writer’s conferences (back to back), and since I write murder mysteries set at conferences for writers, they were very, very useful to me.

I used to go to big conferences — RWA National and RT spring to mind. But in the last few years I’ve focused on three or four smaller conferences throughout the year. And let’s face it, three small conferences cost as much as RWA or RT, so I’m getting more bang for my buck.

The thing I like about smaller cons is that I usually get to either meet readers or I get to meet writers who are often with smaller presses, just like I am. So I get a chance to (1) reach a new audience and (2) exchange ideas with people in the same boat as me.

Speaking of boats …
Keep Reading...

...the first conference was a cruise at sea. Since I’ve never cruised, it was fascinating (if you want more details you can check my newsletter, posted at my web site. It was a very brief cruise, but enough to give me a taste of the life, so to speak.

The last conference I attended was in Chicago and was a murder-mystery conference. I’m finding those more to my taste than the romance conferences. This one was particularly interesting because another conference was at the hotel at the same time, and it was “Re-Enactor Fest.” So we had a few hundred people sharing the hotel with us who were dressed as: soldiers (Roman soldiers, WWII soldiers, British soldiers — you name it, we had it), Southern belles (complete with hoop skirts), Henry VIII, pioneers, Native American Indian scouts, movie stars …

The variety was endless. I have to tell you, I got SO many plot ideas! And I had a chance to inspect muskets, blunderbusses, and swords up close (so useful for my time travel books) as well as see just how uncomfortable some of that clothing was (the consensus was that the shoes were the hardest to create accurately AND comfortably).

So all in all — a very good time. I sold a few books (my latest came out on the first day of the conference, so that was a bit of serendipity) and I gathered a lot of ideas for upcoming novels. My next conference is in June then one in August and I’m done for the year. Since I’m already contracted through 2011 that should give me enough plots to get me through 2012! For more information about my various books (mystery, romantic suspense, and time travel), check my web site