I joke that if I didn’t like my husband, I could arrange to be away at writers conferences 90% of the time. The truth is, Christian publishing blesses industry professionals with many excellent opportunities, including classes, worship, professional speakers, the chance to meet top agents, editors, and writers, along with mentorships and fellowship, to name a few. Each conference is unique and offers its own ideas and opportunities. How to choose?
Intangibles are good.
Meeting new writers, seeing old friends, and strengthening connections with other industry professionals are all significant reasons to be on the faculty. If the conference location works with taking a vacation, seeing extended family and friends, or conducting other business, making the trip may be more than well worth your time.
If you’re a happily published author but are not on the faculty, the trip will likely be about intangible benefits for you. At this point, you don’t need to meet with editors or agents. You may like two or three classes, but most workshops probably won’t be geared toward you. However, when a conference you can afford to attend allows you to meet with many other authors, the money will be well spent. If your editor and/or agent happen to be going as well, this is an opportunity to chat with them. At this point in your career, attending a conference shouldn’t make or break your career.
If you’re a new author, attending a conference is a big deal on many levels. Some authors attend a small conference close to home before attending a national conference with hundreds of conferees and loads of faculty. Other authors jump right in with the big conference. Whatever works for your personality, time, and budget will be deciding factors for you.
Have a plan. Do you want to meet with editors to garner interest and then find an agent based on editors’ interest, or do you want to meet only with agents? Either way is legitimate. However, I recommend that authors seeking an agent use the time to meet with agents if the conference permits this. Agents know editors, so we can open doors with many editors, whereas authors are likely to be able to meet with one or two editors at any given conference.
Consider faculty members. Most conferences post pictures and bios of scheduled faculty members on their websites. Visit the website of every conference you can realistically attend and see if you can meet with an agent or editor you want to work with. I don’t know of any conference that guarantees beforehand that an author will meet with a particular agent or editor. If you can’t get an appointment with your selected faculty members, attend a panel or class where they will be present, sit with them at a meal, or try to see them some other way. Speaking for myself, after a conference, I’m not opposed to receiving a note from an author who says they couldn’t see me but are interested in working with me.
Consider the unstated conference goal. Each conference has its own personality and slant. You can see which conferences emphasize magazine writing, books, fiction, nonfiction, or specific genres. When choosing the best conference for yourself, review the classes offered and the faculty who will be present. If possible, it’s better to spend a little more money and time to attend a conference that seems geared to helping you fulfill your goals than to participate just because it’s cheap or close to home.
Hard for you to travel? Many conferences have an option to meet with industry professionals over Zoom. As an agent, I find this option helpful, and I have been blessed to spend time over Zoom with many talented authors.
The main point is to take the time to do the research before committing to any conference. Using our resources that belong to the Lord is a way to honor our commitment to writing for Him.
