Writers’ Conferences–Valuable for an Indie Author?

I’m plugging away at my next novel (70,000 words into EE5, in case anyone is wondering!), so I’m glad to have a guest poster lined up for today. Indie fantasy author Dale Ivan Smith is here to talk about writers’ conferences today. Are they worthwhile for those who want to self-publish? Let’s take a look…

Is there value for an indie author at writers’ conferences?

Writers’ conferences have long been a place where aspiring writers thronged, attending panels to listen to editors and agents dispense marketing advice and publishing wisdom, and line up for pitch seasons, where they could have a few minutes of an agent or editor’s time to run a novel or non-fiction book proposal past them, hoping that lightning would strike. Writers still head to annual conferences, hoping to connect with an agent or an editor and be invited to submit the first few pages to the agency or publishing house.

This is all well and good for writers looking to land a contract with a big NYC publisher or a small press, but what about the indie author? Is there any reason you should attend a writer’s conference? Conferences can run four hundred dollars or more for a weekend, not counting hotel, food and transportation. Is it worth your hard earned dollars to spend 1 to 3 days with fellow writers, editors and agents at hotel?

My short answer is a resounding yes! Writing conferences can offer far more than just pitch sessions and editor/agent panels, and even those have value for indie authors.

Writers’ conferences usually have a well-stocked schedule of workshops and panels on all sorts of writing craft topics, from putting emotion into your fiction, plotting, world building, inspiration, you name it. At my local annual conference put on by the Willamette Writers, there are panel and workshop tracks on fiction writing, non-fiction, YA fiction, and general topics. I’ve taken workshops from bestselling thriller author Larry Brooks, the “story fixer”, SF and mystery writer Mary Rosenblum, and accomplished short story writer Eric Witchey, to name but three. All are accomplished teachers. Craft workshops can range from a presentation on a topic and questions and answers, to writing exercises where you may, if you wish, share what you wrote with the workshop leader and your fellow attendees.

Despite having read a number of books on fiction writing, workshops opened my eyes to understanding how a story works, and beginning to learn to break down the craft of fiction into parts, much like analyzing a golf swing or learning to play the piano, something which had never occurred to me before.

Looking at the conference schedule for this year’s Write on the River conference, held in central Washington state, you will find a workshop by accomplished SF novelist and screenwriter Steve Barnes on the Hero’s Journey, another on making your writing process fun by C.C. Humphries, who also will offer an extensive longer workshop building a novel on Sunday. The big Surrey Writers’ Conference, in British Columbia, even offers master classes immediately before the conference begins in mid-October every year.

Of course, writing well isn’t just honing your craft, and learning useful techniques and tips on plotting or characterization. It’s also about finding inspiration, and facing the blank page. I took a terrific workshop a few years ago at my first conference from Eric Witchey on dealing with procrastination, with tips like writing for 15 minutes first thing in the morning, recognizing obstacles that keep you from writing, and how to turn them into allies to help you write. (Come to think of it, I need to rewrite my workshop notes.)

You can also find plenty of opportunities to cross-pollinate. For instance the right screenwriting workshop can give you unexpected insights into story structure, suspense, motivation etc. Screenwriting may be extremely stripped down in terms of narrative, but movie dialog has to work on multiple levels, and plot and structure are often tight and well-honed.

The “general” track at the Willamette Writers Conference covers publishing, finding agents, what editors want etc. But these days’ panels and workshops on all sorts of indie publishing topics are being offered as well in that general panel and workshop track, covering things like promotion, marketing, using social media, search engine optimization, building a career as a self-published writer, designing an eBook, etc.–the same sorts of things Lindsay has written extensively about here. There is a growing recognition that indie publishing is another way to reach readers and possibly make a living doing so.

While you might not be aiming at traditional publication, pitching to agents can still prove useful, giving you feedback, and perhaps landing you an agent if you decide to pursue a traditional book contract on the side, or to help with foreign rights. It’s also good practice for framing your novel, and helping with distilling it down for your description at Amazon, Smashwords, B&N and other e-book distributors. The same goes to pitching for editors. Moreover, conferences could lead to meeting a freelance editor or a referral to one for content or copy editing.

Also, often you can submit a first chapter or a short story for a paid manuscript evaluation at a conference, which can give you some extremely useful professional feedback. I did that at Willamette Writers a couple of years ago and found it a big boost to being able to look objectively at my own fiction, not an easy task for many of us. I sat down with an author who had read my manuscript and we went over his comments—I was able to ask clarifying questions. His written feedback was well worth the modest price, an additional charge not covered by the conference registration fee. Check with your local conference, chances are you’ll have an opportunity to submit a first chapter or short story for evaluation.

Connecting with other writers is one of the biggest benefits from a conference in my experience. Back in 2009, I ran into an old friend, a fellow writer, who had moved away years ago. We reconnected just at a writing workshop the last day of the conference, and went on to form a new critique group, which has been invaluable in improving my writing. And renewing my friendship with my writing pal led to him introducing me to a number of other local writers.

There are also intangible benefits from attending a conference. I had kept my writing to myself for several years, after some intense experiences in previous critique groups and accumulating a pile of rejection slips from various science fiction and fantasy magazines. Just going to my first Willamette Writers conference was a public acknowledgement that yes, I was a fiction writer, and I was rubbing shoulders with many other kindred spirits. It was a boost to my confidence, and the first step in getting my work back out into the world. That workshop I took on dealing with procrastination was at the same conference, and it led to my taking several classes from the instructor, which also was a huge help in improving my writing.

To recap, yes writers’ conferences have a lot to offer the indie author:

• Workshops and panels on writing craft topics.
• An opportunity to cross-pollinate with film, YA, and non-fiction.
• Panels and workshops on indie publishing.
• Pitching can be good practice even for indie authors, and you can meet agents and editors there. It’s also a place to meet potential free-lance editors, too.
• Paid critique and manuscript evaluation.
• Networking—you meet other writers, share stories, and find possible critique groups or beta readers.
• Intangibles like confidence building and acknowledging to yourself that yes, you are a writer.

If you are interested in attending a writers’ conference, how do you find one? The good news is there may be one closer than you realize. Many cities in the United States host an annual conference, often put on by their local writer’s organization. Here in Oregon the Willamette Writers and the Oregon Writers Colony both run a conference each year.

In the Pacific Northwest alone we have the following:

Surrey Writers’ Conference: http://www.siwc.ca/

Pacific Northwest Writers’ Conference: http://www.pnwa.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=5

Write on the River: http://writeontheriver.org/

Willamette Writers: http://www.willamettewriters.com/wwc/3/

I’ve never attended Surrey, but several friends have. It’s the largest of the four above and has a stellar reputation. Write on the River is the smallest, but still has a number of panels and workshops.

The following sites can help you search for writers conferences in your area:

Retreats for Writers: http://www.retreatsforwriters.com/conferences/

Writers’ conferences and centers: http://www.writersconf.org/

Writer’s Digest: www.writersdigest.com

Writer magazine:  http://www.writermag.com/events.aspx?page=list

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Bio: Dale Ivan Smith has his mother to thank for his love of science fiction and fantasy. When he was five, he glimpsed the cover of a paperback sci-fi novel she was reading and was immediately interested. (It had a giant radioactive spider on the cover.) When he was fifteen, she loaned him her collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Barsoom novels and he devoured them in short order. He got into trouble in grade school for sneaking off to the library during class, so naturally he wound up working as a librarian. While he has had fiction published in a couple of magazine and had the goal of having novels traditionally published, he has now embraced indie publishing. His story Persisting is now up at Amazon and Smashwords. In July, Episode 1 of his serial Weed will be published. You can find him at  www.daleivansmith.com, where he blogs about science fiction, fantasy, ereaders, and his fiction.