Aline Soules

Poet and Fiction Writer

writing conferences

Kauai Writers Conference: Main Conference

After four days of master classes, the main conference began and the number of attendees jumped to about 300.  This expanded our networking opportunities and a number of us enjoyed meeting more new writers.  

The event schedule can still be seen at http://www.kauaiwritersconference.com/schedule/ and the presenters gave us lively perspectives on their topics.  We explored the changing world of publishing, the continuing elements of craft, and the growing need for developing platform.  I learned something from every session I attended, which I can’t say for all the conferences I’ve attended. While my primary focus at this conference was my novel, there were craft sessions on character, place, memoir, poetry, screenwriting, etc.

Image:  Photo taken from my hotel room at the Kauai Marriott Resort.

Having spent four days in master classes on craft, however, I chose to attend sessions that addressed other issues, especially the changing publishing scene and marketing.  I was impressed with Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry’s session on marketing, and their obvious enthusiasm about helping us to make progress with our marketing and platforms.  I bought their book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published.  While the publication date is 2010, which now seems a long time ago in light of the speed in which the publishing world is shifting, it offers practical advice that is likely to be of value for a long time.  It also has an effective table of contents. You can find the section you want quite easily and don’t have to read it cover to cover to find specific help.

I don’t know if I’ll be ready to attend this conference again in 2019.  I have much work to get my novel in shape and this is one of the more expensive conferences by the time you pay for registration and flights and, if you choose, a lengthy number of nights at the host resort.  Attending conferences (this or any other) requires a strategic plan.  Who will be there?  Where are you in your project?  How will the two fit together?  What is your goal for the conference?  For me, this year was worth the expense as I met top writers, agents, publishers, etc. and my project was at a point where I needed professional feedback and networking.

Now, it’s time to write.

 

Sumer is Icumen in — along with Summer Conference Season

Summer is such a great time for renewal, re-creation, and expanding horizons.  As a writer, I can tell it’s time for summer because emails and snail mails about summer conferences flow in, enticing me with their subjects and tantalizing me with the wonderful presenters/workshop leaders.  Of course, there are expenses—registration, lodging, flights, meals, incidentals—and there are times when I get greedy, take on too many, and find myself exhausted by the end of the summer.
But I love them.  I write this on the first day of the AWP conference, which I am not attending for a variety of reasons, and some of you may read this while you are in Tampa, but I’m talking about the lazy summer conference—the kind that inspires you to write with space and time to write during the event, the kind that sends you home with a sense of euphoria.
You don’t get that with every conference you attend, but, if you’re lucky, you do—and it’s the best gift ever.  You come home and, if you’re even luckier, that “high” stays with you for at least a week.
So here’s to summer conferences.  Check the web, lists in Writers Digest, Poets & Writers, Writer’s Chronicle, wherever you can get a good list.  Find the ones you think you want and check them out thoroughly before you spend your hard-earned money.  Then go.

San Francisco Writers Conference

I just attended the SF Writers Conference for 2018 and it was fabulous.  There were multiple tracks for fiction writers, non-fiction writers, memoir writers, poets, self-publishers, marketers—something for everyone.  For poets, one highlight was the keynote speech by Dana Goia, current poet laureate of California.  He spoke eloquently about creation and read a few poems.  He really knew how to inspire us.  I’d not been to this conference before and my main goal was to get my feet grounded in this conference to understand how speed-dating worked, how pitching worked, and practice.  When my novel is ready next year, I’ll feel much more confident; meanwhile, I received a couple of “nibbles” to send pages or a query when I’m ready.  Most encouraging.  As a result, I spent less time on poetry tracks, although I did have a 15-20 minute conference with Diane Frank, both poet and novelist.  She was most encouraging and she, too, offered me support on my novel based on its premise.
Writers conferences are a great blessing—from the small to the large, from the unknown to the famous.  They provide a writers’ community; learning opportunities from experts; connections to editors, publishers, coaches, and others; a sense of the latest trends; and, if you’re lucky, an opportunity to meet someone with the same sensibility, someone who can work with you in future through a writing group (online or in person).
Writers conferences are listed in a number of places, e.g., Poets & Writers (sign up for the e-newsletter if you can’t afford a subscription), Writers Digest (again, same set-up), Association of Writers & Writing Programs (same set-up), and lists through a standard Google search.  Get on the e-mail lists and you’ll get brochures in the mail, as well.  Costs vary, but events local to you will probably be your cheapest option.  The key is to connect and stay connected.  It will enrich your writing life.
Image credit:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing