Conference Tips

Crimebake was a massive success for me personally. Not only did I get to hang out with writers and participate in workshops in a genre I love, I made some great friends, learned a lot, and made great contacts in the publishing world.
So here are my tips for a successful writer’s conference:
1. Stay loose. Yes, there are going to be some great workshops, but you shouldn’t plan on going to all of them or feel constrained to stay in one that isn’t working out for you. Go find a different workshop, go to the bar, get in a conversation with people.
2. Two Follows on one. Go to the bar. This really should be mandatory, especially if you’re wanting to make contacts in publishing. Agents and editors hang out with one another in the bar. They’re not writers, so they don’t get much from some of the workshops, aside from the ones they run.
3. Hang out with people. Everyone is there to meet someone else, so join a conversation. You don’t want to take over, but there’s nothing wrong with hanging out and at least getting recognized.
4. Be you. Don’t try to impress people. Don’t try to be what you think people want you to be or what you should be. The friends I made at this conference were because I was my usual obnoxious, sarcastic self. There’s a group for you in the conference.
I could probably go on and on, but really that’s the essence of it. Enjoy yourself and make friends. Don’t stress about finding an agent and getting published.