As someone who is still fairly to new to this writing gig but completely obsessed about her recently completed novel, I was wondering if the conferences are really worth it.  Do agents take you more seriously face to face?  Does the networking there yield any meaningful results?  There is a workshop coming up in September featuring Donald Maas.  It's expensive and long, but he is a top agent.  Would attending such an event improve one's publishing odds?

Thanks for the input.

Erika

Having been to a number of conferences and looking forward to a few more in the coming years, I think I can address a few things about conferences.

First, at one conference, I met a woman whom had just completed her manuscript the night before and was planning to meet an agent and make a deal. She was crushed when she was told it was a “good idea” but needed a lot of work. She also didn’t listen to anything other then the voice in her mind that said “rejected”. All the advice and information from the agent was lost on her after that.

Second, you have to ask yourself just why you are attending. Myself, I have a work in progress – but that’s all it is. As a Self employed individual, I’m very busy and don’t get as much time to write as I’d like. I’m also very social and like meeting people, so I go to conferences to meet and greet – make new friends who are or aspire to be authors – I go to the open-mike sessions and hear others read and get critiqued and generally have fun. I’m planning to finish my work in progress in another year, get it evaluated, and then pitch it to an agent – who hopefully I’ll have met a few times at one or more conferences and made a decent impression on. This is the business aspect of writing.

Third, the workshops are great. They give you ideas, motivation and information you can use to further your writing and career as a writer.

So, for me they are worth the time, effort and money.

You mentioned a conference that is coming up and an agent that is going to be there. What kind of conference is it? Will it help you in any other way but to meet this person?

Does this agent represent your type of work? Will you be able to meet any other people or agents there that you might garner a relationship with? Will any of the workshops or breakout sessions assist you and your writing?

These are the questions to ask before registering for a conference.

Best to you

Mark

Most definitely.  I attended the Henderson Writers Conference in Las Vegas two years ago and met the publisher who has brought out my new book, "You Are More Than Enough:  Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power."  In addition, I met a well known literary agent who offered to promote my writing, my writing coach, and my wonderful friend, Greg Kompes, who puts on the Writerpreneur programs.  He's been so helpful with teaching me about promotion on the internet.  Writers conferences are great networking opportunities and there are so many exciting and informative speakers....it's well worth the  time and money spent.

Judi Moreo

Author,You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power

Conferences are a little like writers' groups, writing programs or relationships -- well, they ARE relationships. Because conferences cost quite a bit, it's well worth finding out who puts them on, who the participants are, how the price compares, what other writers say about those conferences. Some have thousands of people attend -- I think they are meat markets and the likelihood of meaningful networking is diminished. Some conferences are genre specific. Some have great classes and some have few classes but lots of agents and editors.

 It's your money and time. Do your research. Maybe start small in your own area with a workshop or two and talk to some folks. Then check out some that have good reputations and that have been around for at least half a dozen years. I lost money on one a few years ago that never did actually hold the conference.

 When you find the right conference, it's inspiring, educational and great networking.