Making The Most
of a
Writers' Workshop or Conference
Continuing the series of Guides to Writer's Conferences, this
week's Guide helps you get the most out of your event...
Know What Your Goals Are
Nothing is more important than this in helping you
make the most of a writer’s conference. It will help you choose the
right event and decide what to do when you get there. Keeping your
primary goal in mind (your ‘what I want to get out of this’) will
help you realize that goal. It will even help you relax and have fun, as
you are no longer running around from session to session, feeling
anxious about missing something or wondering if you look like a fool.
Set your goals for the conference or workshop based on your stage of
development as a writer and your over-all writing goals. If you are
planning to publish your novel this year, plan to attend all the
publishing business seminars you can. If your goal is to find out what
kind of writing you enjoy the most, plan on taking workshops in
different areas and types of writing. If you want to make this the year
you make your living from writing alone, make sure you are attending
seminars aimed at freelance writers, and sign yourself up for one-on-one
meetings with successful freelancers and any appropriate industry
professionals, such as magazine editors.
One-on-Ones
If you can, go to your chosen expert’s seminar
before you meet with them (they are bound to be having one). Then, when
you get into your meeting, don’t waste your precious minutes asking
questions they have already answered.
If you are talking to an agent, this is a chance to
get your idea past the mountain of mail on their desk. Make sure you
have a pithy 2-3-sentence description of your book. Look at the cover
blurb on books similar to yours and try to analyze what makes them
compelling. Remember that you are trying to sell the idea to someone who
is going to have to sell the idea, in turn, to her bosses, and
ultimately to millions of readers. She knows that you have less than 10
seconds to catch a reader’s attention. Your book must be able to do
that, so do not explain the whole plot. Explain the concept. Compare it
to something that he will already know. Written a coming of age story
about an uncomfortably intelligent fat girl? Tell the agent, with a
smile, that it is ‘She’s Come Undone’ meets ‘Good Will
Hunting’. Or is it more ‘Shampoo’ meets ‘Malcolm In the
Middle’ (see how those give totally different flavors?). Of course,
it’s not really so much like any of those, the comparison gives
the agent an idea of the tone of the piece as well as the plot and
possible audience.
Don’t expect to get too much out of these
sessions. No professional is going to sign up your book or article on
the spot. What this session may do is make your name recognizable to the
editor or agent. They may ask you for a sample or a query. When sending
this to their office, be sure to mention that you met them at the XYZ
Conference on these dates. This will help them remember that they have
already ‘pre-qualified’ your work and judged it as something they
might be interested in. This will automatically elevate your mail to
somewhere near the top of the pile, unlike all those unsolicited pieces
they receive that, they know, could be anything from genius to garbage.
Above all, be
professional. Whether you are talking to an agent, an editor or any
other expert, this is someone you want to have thinking, ‘I could work
with this person’. You may consider yourself an artiste and
think that people should love your eccentricities, but these people are
professionals. That means that when they are dealing with you, it is
their job, and doesn’t everyone want to work with people who are
professional and considerate and relatively uncomplicated? Save the diva
act for your amateur dramatics group!
Social Sessions
Remember that you’re not just here to learn from
the experts. Every writer can teach you something and you are here to
network. Even if you are shy, don’t forget that everyone is in the
same situation. Some people come with a friend, but there are plenty of
others flying solo. Social events give you a chance to meet people whose
faces you will be seeing in seminars, to catch up with people you
connected with earlier, and to talk to other people who, like you, love
to write. How often do you get that in your everyday life?
You may also find that the experts and speakers
come out to mingle at these events. If you have a question for them or
simply want to compliment them on their presentation (and believe me,
they’ll appreciate that), go on over, introduce yourself and say your
piece. Remember, they’re only human. Do try not to button-hole them,
however. Be brief and you will endear yourself to them.
Do try to listen more than you talk. That way, you
will learn from others instead of simply coming away knowing what you
think about things, or what you are working on (which you knew
before you paid the price of admission). Ask everyone about their
projects, who the best speakers have been so far and what they have
learned.
Learn One New Thing in Every Session
You could
copy down fifteen pages of notes in each session and still come away
none the wiser, if you aren’t really listening. No matter how tired
you are getting, or how many speeches you have heard, make it your
mission to come away from each session with one new insight. Imagine you
are going to be tested at dinner and try to think what one thing you
cite when asked, “well, what did you get from the Writing Literary
Non-fiction That Sells’ seminar?” Don’t try to capture everything
the speaker says. You can’t. But if you go in looking for one ‘take
away’ insight that will stick in your head without needing to be
written down, you will find yourself paying closer attention to what is
being said, and thinking more critically about the discussion.
Talk to Speakers
If, after a talk, you
feel you need clarification on some point or other, don’t be afraid to
approach the speaker. They are only human. They are, however, pressed
for time, so keep your questions brief and to the point. If you are
asking for advice, make it one small piece of advice. Don’t launch
into a discussion of your area of expertise and then ask for a list of
agents who specialize in that area. Don’t describe your major plot
point and ask for help in working out the kinks. Ask for one small tip,
and be gracious if they say it can’t be done – often authors ask me
a seemingly simple question like ‘how do I promote my book?’ and I
have to refer them to a whole Dewey decimal category! Instead of
badgering the speaker, sign up for their newsletter, buy their book, or
simply wander over and say ‘thanks!’.
Discussion Sessions
If a session is open to
questions from the floor, this is a great time to ask for clarification
of a point or open up the discussion. However, this is also a dangerous
opportunity to turn into a bore and a preacher (not that I have anything
against preachers, but there is a time and a place. People did not pay
to hear your opinions above all others).
Don’t feel you have to
ask a question, just to make your voice heard. If you have a question,
try to ask it in a concise way. Try not to ramble and include too many
‘prefaces’.
If this is a small
session, where you know they’re going to come to you, be prepared.
Write down your question if you have one. If not, don’t be afraid to
say ‘No, I think all my questions have already been answered.
Thanks!’.
Also, in discussion
sessions it pays to be open to surprise. You may go in there thinking
that you hate Chaucer and ready to argue the point that he should be
struck from the Canon. If you wait, and listen, and are open to
surprise, you may find that someone else has a point that changes your
mind, or at least opens your ears to the reason Chaucer has been read
and taught for 700 years. You may go to a self-publishing session ready
to condemn the whole thing as an exercise in vanity, and come to realize
that, while not right for your project, it is a time-honored tradition
that works very well for certain types of books and authors.
Be open to surprise.
Don’t expect to come home with all the same opinions and preferences
you set out with. That would be a waste of your time and registration
fee.
***
So, in short, know what
you want to achieve, be prepared, and be open – to new people and new
ideas.
And remember to have a little fun!
***
I’d love to hear
your comments on this article: was it helpful; did your experience of
conferences differ from this; is there anything I missed that you would
like to know about? Send your comments to jd@jdwrite.com.
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