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Writers’ Conferences Put Authors on the Road to Success

by | Blog, Book Awards, Book Events, Book Fairs, Book Festivals, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Marketing a Book, Writers Conferences

Writers’ Conferences Put Authors on the Road to Success

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications

Writers Love to Help Fellow Writers – What Better Way to Meet Them Than Writers’ Conferences?

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 days at the most, a few bucks, and a little effort to register and arrange travel and lodging, but the payoff can be big.

If the book you are working on is almost finished, attending a writers’ conference gives you a great chance to network with other authors, pitch your book, learn about the major publishing houses, meet book editors and book marketing specialists. If your book is six months or a year from being finished, you can meet people who will give you ideas on shaping your book and give other advice to help you wrap up when you return home.

Or maybe you have been working on your book for a few months and are feeling unsure about whether you really can be a published author. Attending a conference is a good way to get a reality check from book editors or literary agents who can give you a professional opinion on your plot and characters and help you determine whether you are on the right track.

Most important, attending a writers’ conference provides you with a great opportunity to learn about the publishing business by purposeful interaction with insiders. Some conferences offer an opportunity to 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 speech pitch of your book that you can deliver in one minute. Have handouts available such as promotional bookmarks or book covers, or a one-page written pitch with website URL, email, and one paragraph book summary.

Now that you are ready, here are some writers’ conferences in the coming weeks and months you should consider attending:

Here are some upcoming writers’ conferences in 2025 for your consideration:

February 6–9, 2025: San Francisco Writers Conference. (Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Embarcadero Waterfront – Immerse yourself in over 20 years of rich literary culture. We’re dedicated to empowering writers by creating opportunities for meaningful connections with publishers, editors, agents, and more.) https://www.sfwriters.org/

February 7–8, 2025: The 2025 Online San Diego Writing Workshop. (Online. A two-day online “How to Get Published” writing event. Writers are welcome to attend virtually from everywhere and anywhere.) https://sandiegowritingworkshop.com/

February 22, 2025: The 2025 Las Vegas Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, February 22, 2025: Hampton Inn Tropicana and Event Center, 4975 Dean Martin Drive | Las Vegas, NV 89118.) https://lasvegaswritingworkshop.com/

March 1, 2025: The 2025 South Carolina Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 1, 2025: DoubleTree by Hilton Charleston Mount Pleasant, 1330 Stuart Engals Blvd, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464.) https://southcarolinawritingworkshop.wordpress.com/

March 7–8, 2025: The Online 2025 Texas Writing Workshop. (This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop on March 7-8, 2025. In other words, it’s two days full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published.) https://texaswritingworkshop.com/

March 7–8, 2025: North Carolina Writers Workshop. (FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2025: Charlotte Marriott SouthPark, 2200 Rexford Road, Charlotte, NC, 28211 & SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2025: The McKimmon Conference and Training Center at NC State, 1101 Gorman St, Raleigh, NC 27606.) https://carolinawritingworkshops.com/

March 14, 2025: The Alabama Writers Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, March 14, 2025: Embassy Suites Birmingham, 2300 Woodcrest Place, Birmingham, AL 35206.) https://alabamawritingworkshop.com/

March 15, 2025: The 2025 Writing Workshop of South Florida. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 15, 2025: Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port, 400 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, FL 33004.) https://writingworkshopsouthflorida.com/

March 15, 2025: Atlanta Writing Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 15, 2025 — at the Le Meridien Atlanta Perimeter by Marriott (north central suburbs), 111 Perimeter Center W, Atlanta, GA 30346.) https://atlantawritingworkshop.com/

March 22, 2025: The 2025 Oklahoma Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 22, 2025: Residence Inn Oklahoma City Airport, 804 S Meridian Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73108.) https://oklahomawritingworkshop.com/

March 22, 2025: The 2025 Chesapeake Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 22, 2025 — at the Hilton Arlington, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22203.) https://chesapeakewritingworkshops.com/

March 26–29, 2025: The AWP Conference & Bookfair. (Los Angeles Convention Center – The AWP Conference & Bookfair is the essential gathering for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Join thousands of attendees, explore hundreds of events and exhibitors, and immerse in four days of vital literary community and celebration in Los Angeles!) https://s2.goeshow.com/awp/annual/2025/index.cfm

March 28, 2025: The 2025 Connecticut Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, March 28, 2025: Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, 155 Temple St, New Haven, CT 06510.) https://connecticutwritingworkshop.com/

March 29, 2025: The 2025 Boston Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 29, 2025 — at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport, One Hotel Dr, Boston, MA 02128.) https://thebostonwritingworkshop.wordpress.com/

April 4-5, 2025: The 2025 Ohio Writing Workshop. (ONLINE: Writing Day Workshops plans both in-person and virtual/online conferences. The 2025 OWW is an Online Conference, on April 4-5.) https://ohiowritingworkshop.com/

April 5, 2025: Writers Conference of Minnesota (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, April 5, 2025 — at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront, an IHG Hotel, 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55101. (651)292-1900.) https://minnesotawritingworkshop.com/

April 11, 2025: The 2025 Sacramento Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, April 11, 2025: Sacramento Convention Center (SAFE Credit Union Convention Center), 1401 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814.) https://sacramentowritingworkshop.com/

April 11 (Orlando) and April 12 (Tampa): 2025 Florida Writing Workshops. (FRIDAY. APRIL 11, 2025: Crowne Plaza Orlando-Downtown, an IHG Hotel, 304 W Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32801. SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2025: Hyatt House Tampa Airport / Westshore. 5308 Avion Park Dr, Tampa, FL 33607. (813) 207-9500.) https://floridawritingworkshops.com/

April 25, 2025: Get Published in Kentucky Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, April 25, 2025 — at the Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202.) https://kentuckywritingworkshop.com/

April 26, 2025: Tennessee Writers Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, April 26, 2025 — at Music City Center, 201 Rep. John Lewis Way South, Nashville, TN 37203.) https://tennesseewritingworkshop.com/

April 26, 2025: Philadelphia Writing Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, April 26, 2025 — at Drexel University (inside the LeBow College of Business), 3220 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19104.) https://philadelphiawritingworkshop.com/

April 26, 2025: Bluegrass Writers Coalition – Conference of Writers (April 26, 2025, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Kentucky State University’s Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort KY.) https://bluegrasswriterscoalition.com/conference/

May 2, 2025: The 2025 Arizona Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2025: Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Airport North, 3838 E Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ 85008.) https://arizonawritingworkshop.com/

May 2–3, 2025: The 2025 Washington Writers Conference (May 2-3, 2025, Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, Rockville, MD) https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/page/the-2025-washington-writers-conference

May 3, 2025: Michigan Writing Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, May 3, 2025 — at the Embassy Suites Detroit – Livonia/Novi, 19525 Victor Parkway, Livonia, MI 48152.) https://michiganwritingworkshop.com/

May 3, 2025: The 2025 Writing Conference of Los Angeles. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, May 3, 2025 — at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport, 5711 W. Century Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045.) https://writingconferenceoflosangeles.com/

May 9–10, 2025: The 2025 Pittsburgh Writing Workshop. (ONLINE: Writing Day Workshops plans both in-person and virtual/online conferences. The 2025 PWW is an Online Conference, May 9-10, 2025.) https://pittsburghwritingworkshop.com/

May 10, 2025: Seattle Writers Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, May 10, 2025 — at the Seattle Marriott Bellevue, 200 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004.) https://theseattlewritingworkshop.com/

May 17, 2025: The 2025 Cincinnati Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, May 17, 2025: DoubleTree by Hilton Cincinnati-Blue Ash, 6300 E Kemper Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45241.) https://cincinnatiwritingworkshop.com/

May 9, 2025: The 2025 Portland Writing Workshop. (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, May 9, 2025: Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel, 8235 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97220.) https://portlandwritingworkshop.com/

May 15–18, 2025: 38th Annual Pennwriters Conference (Thursday, May 15, 2025, 8:00 AM until Sunday, May 18, 2025, 12:00 PM – Pittsburgh Airport Marriott, Coraopolis, PA 15108) https://pennwriters.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=522048&module_id=378066

June 13-14, 2025: The 2025 California Writing Workshop. (ONLINE: Writing Day Workshops plans both in-person and virtual/online conferences. The 2025 CWW is an Online Conference, on June 13-14.) https://californiawritingworkshop.com/

June 21, 2025: The Writing Workshop of Chicago (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, June 21, 2025 — at the Congress Plaza Hotel.) https://chicagowritingworkshop.com/

July 20–25, 2025: Napa Valley Writers Conference (Sunday, July 20 to Friday, July 25, 2025, Napa Valley College, Napa, CA) http://www.napawritersconference.org/

July 25–26, 2025: The 2025 New England Writing Workshop. (ONLINE: Writing Day Workshops plans both in-person and virtual/online conferences. The 2025 NEWW is an Online Conference, on July 25-26.) https://thenewenglandwritingworkshop.com/

July 31 – August 2, 2025: Mendocino Coast Writers Conference (Daytime events will take place at the K8 School – 44261 Little Lake Road. Evening events will take place at Crown Hall – 45285 Ukiah Street, Mendocino, CA) https://mcwc.org/

August 21–24, 2025: Killer Nashville Writers Conference (c/o American Blackguard, Inc., 314 Watercress Drive, Franklin, TN 37064-3234). https://www.killernashville.com/

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!

Make a commitment to attend at least one writers’ #conference this year. You’ll be glad you did! #writersconference #authors #writingcommunity #writerscommunity Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

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://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.

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!


How Amanda Hocking REALLY Did It – An Inspiration for All Authors

by | Author Advice, Author Spotlight, Blog, Book Spotlight

How Amanda Hocking REALLY Did It - An Inspiration for All Authors

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications

Amanda Hocking, as I’m sure you know, is a best-selling e-author on Amazon.com. Since uploading her first e-book in the spring of 2010, she has grossed about $2 million. She’s got 10 novels under her belt, all of which fall into the paranormal-romance category. The prominent entertainment company, Media Rights Capital, optioned her four-book vampire series “Trylle”.

Clearly, she’s had great success self-publishing her e-books. So, it was a surprise when Hocking decided to sign with St. Martin’s Press, which is a very established publishing house.

Hocking has openly explained that she suffered from depression for the vast majority of her life and turned to writing as a sort of escape. She finished her first novel at 17, titled “Dreams I Can’t Remember” and was turned down by each of the 50 agents to whom she’d sent her work. Not long thereafter, she caught a clip-on YouTube of the band Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus encouraging American youth to make their dreams come true. Hocking admits having a sort of “aha” moment and realized that she could not wait for her dreams to come true. She had to put forth the effort and make them come true.

In 2009, Hocking began to treat writing as a job rather than something she did for entertainment. She wrote a few more novels, sent them off to agents, and still received only rejections. In April 2010, Hocking uploaded her novel “My Blood Approves” to Amazon, then later to Smashwords, then directly on Barnes & Noble’s site. Hocking started selling books, first a few a day, then as she uploaded more of her work, she managed to sell 26 books in one day in May. These days, the author is selling 9,000 books a day.

Just how did she do it? Well, the stories she writes are an obvious piece of her success. Her novels combine action and romance with a dash of quirk and topped off by Hocking’s creative style of writing. Additionally, by selling e-books, Hocking was able to sell the books for far less money compared to a traditional bookstore book. Therefore, people were more inclined to spend the 99 cents or $3.00 to read her work instead of dropping upwards of $15.00 for a book off the shelf of a trendy bookstore. Hocking has a very blasé attitude in regard to her success and rapid writing. When asked just how she manages to complete her work so quickly, Hocking responds on her blog, “I don’t know. I just write a lot and drink a lot of Red Bull.”

Hocking also suggests that writing paired with reading more than she writes, was instrumental in her success. She made sure to edit her novels a great deal in order to get them just right. Learning to take criticism was useful to Hocking’s success because she was able to understand that although her books weren’t for everyone, they did have an audience.

Taking a look at her blog, Hocking describes herself as an “Obsessive tweeter. John Hughes mourner. Batman devotee. Muppet activist. Unicorn enthusiast. Fraggin Aardvarks guitarist. Author of the USA Today Bestselling Trylle Trilogy & the upcoming Watersong series.” She actively updates her blog, so her fans always have something new to read. This past October was Hocking’s second annual “Zombiepalooza!” on her blog, which ran for the entire month of October. Hocking explains that while she especially enjoys zombies, Zombiepalooza is really a celebration of all thing’s horror and Halloween. Throughout the month, there were guest posts, giveaways, and other fun goodies, such as the “ultimate Halloween Playlist.”

John Kremer recently mentioned Amanda Hocking in a seminar about blog tours. Amanda Hocking inspired him to name a particular type of blog tour a Blogpalooza. John got the name from Hocking, after her first Zombiepalooza in October 2010. In his seminar, John also explained a few of Amanda’s stats, which were affected dramatically by Zombiepalooza. Before Zombiepalooza, Amanda had been selling about 3,000-5,000 copies of Kindle eBooks each month. She sold about 20,000 total before October 2010. In December 2010, after Zombiepalooza, she sold 100,000 copies in the month of December alone. In January, she sold 450,000 copies of her Kindle eBook novels.

In February of 2011, she made the USA Today best-seller list. By the end of February, she had sold 900,000 copies of self-published Kindle eBooks. In March 2011, her book sales totaled over 1 million copies, and she subsequently sold the rights to four of her books to St. Martin’s Press for $2 million. Some were surprised by her decision to sell her book rights, but Hocking has explained that in order to be a billion-dollar author, she needs people to buy her books at Wal-Mart. In order to get her books onto shelves, she had to partner with St. Martin’s Press.

Says Hocking, “I’m a writer. I want to be a writer. I do not want to spend 40 hours a week handling emails, formatting covers, finding editors, etc. Right now, being me is a full-time corporation. I am spending so much time on things that are not writing.”

“I like writing. I even like marketing, especially when it comes to interacting with readers. And I don’t mind editing. I just don’t want to run my corporation, because that takes away from writing and everything else that I actually enjoy doing,” concludes Hocking.

After gaining so much success, Amanda has been able to seize unique opportunities. For example, she was a featured speaker at Comic Con in San Diego. Additionally, she was able to buy a life-size Han Solo figure from Star Wars, which was encased in carbonite. The life-size figure is rare and was something Hocking had her eye on for quite some time. The unique purchase was due in great part to the success of her Zombiepalooza.

The way Hocking executed Zombiepalooza is what earned her such success. She invited people to guest-post on her website, offer free copies of their books, and contribute stories to her blog. Simply put, she asked people to come to her blog and blog. Those guest bloggers, in turn, brought their fan clubs to Amanda’s website, earning Amanda’s work more exposure and causing her to gain even more fans. Zombiepalooza was an event blog tour that really got people talking and excited about the event, making it extremely effective.

In addition to her own blog, Hocking has separate blogs for her book Virtue, My Blood Approves, The Hollows series, as well as a blog dedicated to soundtracks for her various books. Hocking follows dozens of blogs herself. Having been blogging since April 2009, Hocking has had nearly 2 million page views. Check out Amanda’s blog to learn more about her, her work, and to see release dates of her upcoming books at AmandaHocking.blogspot.com or her Facebook fan page.

The Bottom Line: Amanda Hocking is an incredibly talented author. She has achieved great success in her career, largely due to marketing her novels so effectively. Amanda began writing e-books and now has a multimillion-dollar book deal. Her talent for both writing and knowing how to market her books has enabled her to become a wildly successful author. Amanda Hocking has helped pave the way for authors to follow in her footsteps without the traditional ‘gatekeepers’ of publishing being involved.

Amanda Hocking is an incredibly talented #author. She has achieved great success in her #career, largely due to #marketing her #novels so effectively. Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

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://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.

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!