Wednesday, June 5, 2013

IWSG Post: Conference Envy

This is my sixth post since I joined the InsecureWriter’s Support Group, started by Alex Cavanaugh. We meet on the first Wednesday of every month to share our writing insecurities, fears and anxieties and support each other.

One of my writing insecurities is not being able to attend conferences. Whenever I read about writers going for a one-to one pitch sessions, or whenever I read that writers met their agents at a conference, I do feel a small twinge of envy.

It would be wonderful to attend a conference, listen to the experts speak about the current trends in publishing, the art of crafting the perfect story, meet other writers as well as literary agents, attend crit sessions and meet editors of publishing houses.

The Bangalore Lit Fest I attended last year (it was mine, as well as Bangalore’s first lit fest) gave me a taste of what happens at conferences.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have any one-to-one with the editors. There were just question- answer sessions with editors, where random people in the audience asked questions, which the panel replied to.

Have you all attended a conference, had a one-to-one pitch with agents, maybe attended a group crit session, listened to the experts speak? What was the experience like for those who attended? And for those like me who have never been to such conferences, would you be interested in attending a conference? Do you have conference envy, like me?


25 comments:

  1. I haven't attended a conference in about 5 years, and I really want to go to another. I enjoyed my first experience. And, I'm more confident in my writing now, so I'd be better at the pitch fest thingy. Maybe.

    I'm still intimidated by the whole affair :)

    .......dhole

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  2. I love conferences, but they *can* be hard to get to.

    Have you thought about holding your own mini conference - like I'm doing:)

    Who knows if it will be a success, but I'm going to have fun trying :)

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  3. I agree with Mark. Hold your own conference in a quiet and mostly free location and involve good coffee and snacks (that go with coffee, ie. not octopi). Also, blogging at midnight is unhealthy. I should know. I do it too. Woops!

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  4. I have attended conferences, but it's been awhile. I wish I could go to more of them and ones where there were more agents too. But the cost right now isn't something I can justify with my job loss next year.

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  5. I've been to four conferences - three that were smaller events with just a few editors and published authors giving talks and leading discussion groups, and one, huge, big one at which I got to meet with an editor and have him trash my story pitch.

    I wish I could say that was a positive experience, but in the best light I think he was having a really bad day. (kind of a grumpy, no-good, bad day at that).

    For the length of that big (and expensive) conference, I felt like I was just a number to the event planners - one more ticket purchased to make money for the event - and although I did receive some good (meaning both good and bad) feedback for my novel and for a short story I wrote, I had received better feedback (not just positive, but more in-depth) from other writers previously. (I had a gem of a writing group at the time circa 2001).

    I've avoided those big, flashy writer's conferences since then . . .yes, now and then I long to go, but for the most part, I don't think they're worth the price tag.

    Give me a good, nice, smallish sized writing conference with positive people and I'll be happy.

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  6. I've never been to a conference. I should probably go to one some day since I do have access to them.

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  7. I've been to a couple and even did a quick pitch at Book Expo America. I'm sorry you don't have many conferences there, but there are ones online, such as WriteOnCon and the Muse Online Writer's Conference.

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  8. I have never been to a conference or had a one-to-one, although I would love the opportunity to do both. I live in the very southwest of England and these sort of events are in short supply around here too! I hope we both get to enjoy one in the not too distant future. Nice to meet you via the group.

    Suzanne
    IWSG co-host

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  9. I've never been to a writer's conference either. I'd love to go sometime. It would be so cool to meet up with blog buddies, too! I see bloggers doing that sometimes. It looks like such a great experience, meeting your online pals and at the same time learning something helpful for your writing.

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

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  10. Hi, Rachna,

    I do get conference envy, but not necessarily for meeting and agents and editors.

    This might be taken as me lacking ambition, but a wonderful part of all that for me would having the chance to meet some of the writers I've 'friended' online in person.

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  11. I definitely have conference envy as I've never been to one. BUT, with the trends in self-publishing nowadays it seems increasingly possible to go a very long way without... but maybe that's naive of me.

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  12. I've never been to a writer's conference. Would like to go one day.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  13. I haven't attended one yet, but I think I might be speaking at one in October...still working out the details, but if it happens I'll be very excited!

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  14. Hi friends..thanks for sharing your views. I would love to attend a conference, not just to meet editors and agents, but also my blog buddies who I have only met online. It would be wonderful to meet them in person.

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  15. I have not attended a conference... yet. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to one someday. They look really interesting and meeting fellow authors and people in the business is exciting!

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  16. I've never been to a conference...heck, I'd be happy to just find a local writing group.

    Hopefully, more conferences will come your way and you'll be able to attend. Until then, you still have your blogging pals :)

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  17. I'm okay with not attending conferences. There is so much info on the Internet and lots of support groups to join, that as much as it might be nice, I don't think it hurts my writing if I can't go either.

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  18. I live in Egypt, so I understand your inability to go to conferences. But I don't like to travel, so I imagine not being able to go is easier for me than you. I think we're lucky there's so much online these days. You almost feel like you aren't missing anything. :-)

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  19. I've attended the RWA nationals and SCBWI conference numerous times and really enjoy them. But you'll never see me pitch to an editor or agent. :)

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  20. I would love to go to a conference just to see what they are all about, and to indulge in another side of the writer's life in a way that isn't just writing. I think they could be useful.

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  21. first, great post with alex & his time mgmt mystery revealed! i still think he has a minion or 2!

    today, i used to have conf envy. i finally went to one & had an agent interview. didnt know a soul & was out of my genre. but i met tons of folks & learned a lot & had a great time! i hope to go to another some day.

    what i look forward to now is meeting my blog friends, those are the posts i envy!

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  22. This may cheer you up: I've gone to conferences, and because I don't go that often, I really get a lot out of them. If I went too often, I wouldn't have time to really mull over and digest what I learned. When I went, I didn't have anything to pitch to editors or agents, I really went for the information. So your annual Bangalore literary festival may do the same for you.

    Meanwhile, I didn't get my agent from pitching at a conference. I got her from a query letter, and everything was handles online. Your are such a good writer and researcher of markets, I'm sure you will eventually do the same.

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  23. I've been to one similar to the one you went to, but I did get to meet a few published authors and a few agents afterward.

    It was very casual and I didn't pitch anything. It wasn't that kind of meeting. The one-to-one sessions are exclusive and expensive.

    I would love to do it sometime though. Envious... yes, at times. I really had a good time and would like to attend more.

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  24. I would love to attend a conference, to meet online bloggy friends in person! That would be the highlight of the conference!
    Writer In Transit

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  25. I haven't done any pitching but I've attended writer's conferences before. The truth is, Rachna, they're not all that. The money spent isn't worth it except that's it's another experience in the writing world. But you can learn pretty much everything you learn there online too and for free.

    Jai

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