By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
There are several good reasons why writers should invest the time and effort required to attend writers’ conferences.
Attending a writers’ conference only takes a few hours, or a couple days at the most, a small investment, and a little effort to register and arrange travel and lodging, but the payoff can be big.
Attending a writers’ conference gives you a great chance to pitch your book, learn about the major publishing houses, meet book editors, agents and book marketing specialists. If your book is six months or a year from being finished, you can meet people who will give you valuable ideas on shaping your book and provide other advice to help you wrap up your project when you return home.
Or maybe you have been working on your book for a few months and are feeling insecure or unsure whether you really can be a published author. Attending a conference is a good way to get a reality check from book editors to get a professional opinion on your plot and characters and to determine whether you are on the right track.
Most importantly, attending a writers’ conference provides you with an opportunity to learn about the publishing business from fellow authors. You will also get honest and helpful professional assessments from book editors that will be more than worth the cost and effort of attending the conference.
Of course, you will want to prepare for any writers’ conference you attend by having a plan of what you want to find out and what you will do while there. You will want to develop an ‘elevator pitch’ of your book that you can deliver in 30 seconds. Have a one pager available with your book cover, author headshot, short 50-word synopsis, short bio, website URL, Twitter handle and your contact information. You never know who’ll you’ll meet so be prepared for that moment.
Now that you are ready, here are some writers’ conferences that you should consider attending:
Here are some upcoming writers’ conferences in 2019 for your consideration.
February 23, 2019: New Orleans Writers Conference (New Orleans, LA)
March 2, 2019: Writers Conference of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN)
March 8, 2019: The Alabama Writers Conference (Birmingham, AL)
March 9, 2019: Atlanta Writing Workshop (Atlanta, GA)
March 30, 2019: Kansas City Writing Workshop (Kansas City, MO)
April 5-7, 2019: The Muse & the Marketplace Writers Conference (Boston, MA)
April 6, 2019: Get Published in Kentucky Conference (Louisville, KY)
April 13, 2019: North Carolina Writers Workshop (Charlotte, NC)
April 26, 2019: Kentucky Writers Conference (Bowling Green, KY)
April 27, 2019: Seattle Writers Conference (Seattle, WA)
May 2-4, 2019: Las Vegas Writers Conference (Las Vegas, NV)
May 3-4, 2019: Northern Colorado Writers Conference (Fort Collins, CO)
May 4, 2019: Michigan Writers Conference (Detroit, MI)
May 9-11, 2019: Storymakers Conference (Provo, UT)
May 10-11, 2019: Washington Writers Conference (North Bethesda, MD)
May 17-19, 2019: PennWriters Conference (Pittsburgh, PA)
May 17-19, 2019: Missouri Writers Guild (Cape Girardeau, MO)
June 16-21, 2019: Santa Barbara Writers Conference (Santa Barbara, CA)
June 29, 2019: The Writing Workshop of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
July 28-August 2, 2019: Napa Valley Writers Conference (St. Helena, CA)
August 1-3, 2019: Mendocino Coast Writers Conference (Mendocino, CA)
August 3, 2019: Tennessee Writers Workshop (Nashville, TN)
August 22-25, 2019: Killer Nashville Writers Conference (Franklin, TN)
August 23-25, 2019: Writer’s Digest Conference (New York, NY)
October 25-27, 2019: La Jolla Writers Conference (San Diego, CA)
October 12-13, 2019: James River Writers Conference (Richmond, VA)
November 23, 2019: Philadelphia Writing Workshop (Philadelphia, PA)
Select a writers’ conference of interest to you and be prepared to enjoy the benefits of meeting other writers, acquiring knowledge you can use immediately, learn about different genres, find a new market for your book, elevate your professional effectiveness, meet editors, agents and publishers, become inspired and return home energized.
The Bottom Line: Make a commitment to attend at least one writers’ conference this year. You’ll be glad you did!
About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
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Find one of these conferences that you think suits you, and just go. I went to one in Missouri, met a handful of key people that could help me, but I found also that there were some people that I myself could help, and that was a good feeling. I went with business on my mind, and left with a few new friends and fellow writers. A great place to go if you’re a book publisher looking for new clients.