I have been invited to three writers’ conferences so far this year. I have accepted one invitation. Let me explain why.
The reason why I attend conferences as an agent is to connect with writers who may now, or in the future, develop an excellent nonfiction book idea (or write a great novel). That’s it. I don’t go for the atmosphere or the food or because I have nothing better to do on weekends. (Although if anyone wants to invite me to Maui, I could be persuaded.) I like to share what I know, that’s true, but I can do that on this blog as easily as I can in a workshop.
Taking three or four days off to attend a conference requires a great deal of effort, organization and expense on my part. I have a personal life; going to a conference necessarily infringes on that. Weigh those negatives against the positives — potential for clients and the chance to hang out with writers — and it’s never a sure thing that I’ll go. I can get clients sitting here at my desk.
So here’s why I accepted one invitation and not the others. The organizer for the “yes” conference had a clear idea of what she wanted me to do and when she wanted me to do it. She proposed her plan, and stated her intention of paying for travel and lodging. She gave me a sense of what the conference was going to be like, and how many people had attended in the past. All in all, the conference seemed well organized and the invitation was gracious, welcoming and sent in plenty of time for me to make plans.
In contrast, I was invited to attend another conference but with no expenses paid. I love writers and I even enjoy attending writers’ conferences, but if you’re going to ask me to work all weekend, the least you can do is pay my travel and lodging expenses. I’m not paying out of pocket for the privilege.
The third conference was an invitation that was apparently sent to everyone in the universe who calls himself/herself an agent or an editor. We were invited to submit proposals for panels that we would give and we’d be informed if our panel was selected. No word about expenses paid, but I can guess. Frankly, I have many better things to do with my time than beg people to consider having me work their conference. Most legitimate agents I know feel the same way. Now, before someone says, “But that’s the way RWA has always done it!” let me reassure you that I’m not talking about RWA, which is a conference unto itself; I’m talking about a regional conference someone put together without seriously thinking about what they were doing.
If you want your conference to be taken seriously by agents and editors, you will want to build in a method for paying the expenses of the professionals who’ll attend, and you’ll want to invite them specifically and individually. I can promise you that you’ll have a lot more success that way.
Tags: The Publishing Business