After seven years of sampling just about every conference and conclave I could find, conferences have played an important role in my understanding of the writer’s craft. Here are eleven learnings gleaned from attending.
1. Know why you write: Are you writing to an audience of one (yourself) or in search of an audience of many? Few will ever “make a living” writing. Those who do make greater sacrifices than almost any other career and keep going when everyone is telling them to give up.
2. Choose your business model: Are you enduring the gauntlet of what’s left of the traditional publishing process? Or are you taking on the dual role of publisher and author? Understand the financial, emotional and temporal investments each require. Be prepared to face them with grace and resilience.
3. Write every day – Read everything: Skills sharpen with practice. Prioritize it. You learn to spot excellence by consuming both steak and fast food. Decide which is the best balanced diet for you and your target audience.
4. Experiment with process: Are you more comfortable as a plotter or a pantser? Don’t be afraid to try both. Have the courage to plow through that first draft with as little judgement and editing as possible.
5. Write what you know. Learn what you don’t: Research is everything. Find people who walk in the shoes of your characters. Study the world in which they live. Strive for accuracy in both grammar and detail. Find your voice and let it sing. AI may someday be able to imitate. Only you can create.
6. Find your tribe and engage: Seek out the best talent and evaluate their processes. Surround yourself with trusted critique partners and fellow “siblings in crime” who are as interested in you as you are in them. Avoid those who are not. Give of yourself to those who are.
7. Build the best team you can afford: Editors, story consultants, beta readers, cover artists, marketing pros. It takes a village to tell a story. Engage each as if your future depends on it. It does.
8. Choose your learning experiences with care: Conferences rarely have a financial return on investment. And once you declare yourself an author, your in-box will become inundated with people promising promotion and riches. Think about what skills you want to sharpen and what obstacles stand between you and your goals. Proactively seek tools, experiences, resources and relationships that move you forward.
9. Become a marketing expert: We are at a place in time where there is no proven formula for successfully selling your writing. Watch what seems to work for others in your lane. Idea, plan, execute, measure, adjust, and repeat.
10. Ship: Keep writing and publishing. New releases help sell your back catalogue. The more good work you have to sell, the more you are likely to sell it.
11. It’s not the book: It’s a given that you must create consistent, compelling content and lots of it. But in the end your success will be totally dependent on how much the audience is attached to you. Many of us are drawn to the craft because we thought it was solitary. All we thought we had to do was create and others would excitedly sell it. Not true. We remember authors, sometimes their protagonists, rarely their book titles. Yeah, this is an over-generalization, but you get the point.
That’s my take. As with everything, throw some salt on my suggestions. The journey is yours. Make your own decisions, keep writing and enjoy the ride.