How to Prepare for a Writer's Conference

Those of you who know me know I don't do anything without days of research so here is my research-backed “how to prepare for a writer's conference blog series.” It was getting to be a bit long so I'm going to break it up into sections. So far I’ve got writer’s conference specific preparation, how to stay comfortable at your conference, and after I attend I plan to post a “what I should have done for my writer’s conference.” 

How to Prepare for a Writer's Conference - My personal tips - Enjoy!

Travel Prep

I'm going to state the obvious: research how to prepare for a writer's a conference. That's how I've gotten almost all of these great tips. Here’s a link to a Google search of this: https://www.google.com/search?client=browser-rockmelt&channel=omnibox&gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=how+to+get+rid+of+sugar+jitters#hl=en&client=browser-rockmelt&channel=omnibox&sclient=psy-ab&q=prepare+for+writer's+conference+&pbx=1&oq=prepare+for+writer's+conference+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=937777l941888l2l943824l32l23l0l1l1l3l1533l7404l0.7.7.1.1.3.1.0.1l22l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=580d903cc5acc20c&biw=1212&bih=685

Start by regularly checking the conference website and sign up if they have an email newsletter. That's where organizers will post important last minute changes, the updated schedule of speakers, and last minute driving snaffuse (spelling?) - for example when I go to my conference I have to be prepared for the Bay Bridge to close and the street the conference is on to close because Pres. Barrack Obama just so happens to be speaking down the street ... now who can prepare for that?!?!

Book your hotel early, get driving directions, consider printing alternative routes, and plan out parking if you know you will have to pay. That can make the difference between $50 parking and $20 parking.

Research hotels. Sometimes conference hotels are quite swanky and can be super overpriced. I paid $200 for three nights at a hotel down the street when that was the nightly rate at the conference hotel. Ouch! You don’t need that nice of a room when all you will be doing is collapsing onto the bed after each day full of workshops and social hours.

Conference Study Tips

Print out the tentative schedule and plan which workshops you want to go to. Consider who is speaking, and read the tiny one liner underneath the title because sometimes it can be genre specific. Don’t forget to check out the final schedule as times and classes will change at the last minute. If your conference is like mine it will have several workshops on the same topics so make sure you don’t attend five marketing workshops and nothing on craft unless that’s all you want to get out of it.

Next, and this one sucks and is time consuming so you should do it early, research every agent and editor who will attend. Why? Half will be so far off your genre that if you pitch to them they are going to think you are an idiot. For example: I write historical fiction and ruled out over half the agents and editors because they represent children's books, Young Adult, science fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, etc. 

While you are double checking your agents and finding ones that do work for you, read a little about them and pick out potential conversation possibilities, like a recent job change, a new book coming out, a love of running, etc. You can find this personal info in interviews or on their website bios. Print out agents that are right for you with background info and conversation possibilities on a sheet of paper for reference. Print out those who don’t work for you too because if you don’t recognize a name you might want to double check to see if it was someone who didn’t work for you or a agent added at the last minute.

-A note on finding conversation topics. A convo starter is great so that you don't have to be this person: tap on the shoulder, Hi Agent, my name is Stephanie, and I've written blah di blah di blah blah, awkward silent stare, ok bye! Nooooo don't be that person. Be this person: Hi Agent, my name is Stephanie, I recently read that you have a degree in law, how did you get into agenting? Agent smiles and gives a lovely anecdote, then says, and what do you write? Much smoother, less awkward. I know that's the point of a conference. Pitch your book. But no one likes to feel awkward. No one. 

Don't forget to create the minute pitch and the one liner pitch, memorize and rehearse out loud so it doesn't sound awkward. Imagine how it will go down so you can be prepared for the actual delivery. You don't want to sound like you are spouting out a memorized pitch even though that's what it is. And research how to craft a great pitch too. Here’s a site on pitching: http://www.writing-world.com/publish/pitch.shtml.

Be prepared but not over prepared. Bring one or a couple of copies of your submission materials and the first chapter of your manuscript and maybe a few extra copies of the first five pages. DO NOT TAKE YOUR ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT! No one is going to read your entire manuscript within the couple of days at the conference where they are attending workshops for 10 hours a day. It's not going to happen. Oh, but the agent might want to take it home, NO! NO the agent will not want to lug your 300-500 page manuscript home, on a plane, or in a bag, or at all. It's just going to end up being a literal pain in your neck and shoulder.

Bring a notebook and lots of pens. If you have extras to share, you are going to boost your networking power. Hot idea: Make personalized pens instead of business cards!!!! I wish I thought of that earlier!

Buy a nice business satchel or bag and plan to ditch your purse. You are going to want to have a lot of stuff at the conference while still looking neat and professional. Also no one wants to carry two bags. Also buy a nice business folder to keep those manuscript pages neat and crinkle free.

Consider an editorial consultation and join a writer’s group prior to the conference. This one is just something to consider because most conferences offer some feedback opportunities but a lot of people go to writer’s conferences to find an agent or publisher so you want your work to be at its absolute 100 percent best before you go, not after. That’s just my personal opinion.  I did both before my conference and it significantly improved my manuscript and especially my first pages (probably the only part of a manuscript anyone will see at the conference). Check out Writer’s Digest Online Community http://community.writersdigest.com/. 

A word of caution, research editors – there are a lot of scams. Cross reference on Predator or Editor http://pred-ed.com/. Plan to network with everyone. Anyone you meet at a conference may become a resource in the future. Maybe they can give you feedback, support, friendship, advice, or if they publish before you, a good recommendation and an OK to name drop in your query letter.

CONFERENCE DON’TS

I’ve seen it recommended to wear something unique like a scarf or something so you can be easily recognized/remembered but be cautious of being gimmicky. I’ve heard only negative responses to authors dressing up like their unknown characters or giving gifts to agents during agent speed dating. You don’t want to seem desperate either.

Plan to be positive and chill. Don’t panic or feel like you have to meet every desired agent. These agents are all friends and will be networking with each other. If you have a good pitch for Agent A, Agent B will tell him or her about it.

Chill Pill - Take It.

-Also keep this in mind: Are you going to leave this conference with an agent and editor in the bag – if you do, you probably won’t know it when you are leaving. If they like your material most agents will ask you to send more via email. The benefit you get is being able to write REQUESTED in the subject line of the email and your desired agent being able to associate a personal connection with the material. That’s right a personal connection, you are going to fare much better if you had a conversation with the agent about something other than your book.

            -Also remember that you will get tons of great things out of this conference besides an agent or editor. You will network with all kinds of people in the biz, learn craft, and business tricks from the masters, inspiration, and ooo lala signed books. Not to mention general creds for having attended a writer’s conference.

-So don’t put on your snooty I just wasted so much money on this crap because you WILL leave having wasted your money and time. You got to be willing to get something out of it and to have a good time. You won’t get that if you are freaking out about your pitch or meeting agents or worrying that you wasted your money. Your money is gone whether it’s a waste or not so try to get the most out of it.

One of the number one DON’Ts I see is – don’t bug the agent/editor at an inappropriate time i.e, while eating, in a personal conversation, on the phone, or for the love of … when they are in the bathroom. No. No. No. My conference website said if their name tag is off, leave them be.

This got much longer than I wanted but I hope you got some good tips and advice for your writer’s conference experience. Feel free to leave questions via comments. Don’t forget to check out my other posts on conferences.