Pros and Cons of Writing Conventions

Later today, I'm leaving for our Kansas Authors Convention, held in Wichita this year. The lineup of speakers from morning to late afternoon on Saturday looks terrific. I'll be on a panel of four bloggers at 9 a.m. that day. We'll each present a short bio of our blogging life, then have a Q & A session.

Saturday evening, a banquet and keynote speaker will round out our day. Awards will be given for best cover design, best published book, best published poetry book, best history book, and best children's book. On Sunday, there will be some business meetings and a few more workshops, then lunch and the awards presented from our annual writing contest. I entered a few things, so I'll be paying close attention.

Besides all the opportunities for learning, I'll be able to spend time with writer friends I've made over the 20 years I've belonged to the Kansas Authors Club. I wish we didn't have the word 'Club' there because it sounds like all we do is have tea and cookies and maybe an occasional speaker. Far from it! Our 7 districts meet at different times throughout the year and around our state. We maintain a website and a Facebook page, and lots of us email back and forth about this and that.

We'll all be doing some 'active listening' this weekend. We'll listen and talk and trade stories about our writing life. Those who have published books this year will have them on display, and for sale, in our Book Room.

I try to attend this convention each year. I come home inspired to write each time. It's my habit to keep a small notebook with me to jot down ideas as they pop up in the various workshops.

Like most things, there are pros and cons to attending writing conventions and/or conferences. A partial list for each is below.

Pros: 

• Connecting with other writers, sometimes editors and agents (depending on the size of the convention)
• An opportunity to hear speakers from your own area and from distant places, as well
• A place to become inspired to write
• Immersing yourself for 2 or 3 days in a world of writers
• A place to market your own published book(s)
• A place to sell your published book(s)
• A place to find help for your writing problems

Cons:

• Can be expensive figuring registration, transportation, hotel and some meals on your own
• Can be intimidating if it is a very large convention/conference
• The workshops might not be geared to your special interest writing field
• If you're an introvert or a very shy person, it might be a bit overwhelming
• You can feel like an outsider if there are groups of old friends conversing all around you, leaving you on your own
• Getting away for 2, 3 or more days might be difficult

I'm looking forward to our convention this weekend. There are a great many writing conferences/conventions throughout our country and even abroad. You can use your favorite search engine to find ones near you. I would urge you to check to see if your state has an annual convention. Start there and move on to others if you enjoyed that one. Some are geared to all kinds of writing while others zero in on only one kind of writing--mystery, romance, sports and many more. Whichever one you choose, be an active listener.

Convention Report

The Kansas Authors State Convention offered many good workshops and panel discussions. Enough to inspire me to want to hurry home and write! And that's one of the real reasons to attend conferences and conventions with other writers. Another is to be able to talk with other writers and see what they've been doing with their work. 

Those who have published books had copies to sell in the Book Room, and it was most interesting to browse there among the many different types of books. Everything from poetry books to recipe books with a whole lot of in-between.

Nancy Pickard, award-winning mystery author, was the keynote speaker after the Saturday night banquet. She spoke about her writing career, the eighteen novels she's had published and ended with some encouraging words to the many writers in the room. Nancy lives in Kansas City and her last two novels have been set in Kansas, as will the next two. It amazed me that she has the next two already planned. 

Sunday, I left the awards luncheon a happy woman. I'd entered my work in eight categories and four placed in the state contest. The entries had to be in by June 18th so it had been a long wait to see if I had any winners. The rule states that they cannot be published prior to the convention time, so it's also a long wait to hold up new work before submitting it to publishers. I won two Honorable Mentions, a second and a first place. 

Now, I have to decide where to submit each of those winners. If any of your work has won an award, be sure to state that in the cover letter you send with your submission. It just might make an editor look a bit more carefully at the submission. And do send your work to contests. You can't win unless you do!