From Edie: Julie Lavender shares what writers should do after a writing conference, from following up with editors and agents to organizing notes, building connections, and creating a plan for long-term writing success.
What Writers Should Do After a Writing Conference: 6 Steps for Long-Term Writing Success
by Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites
The 50th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference certainly lived up to the year-long, celebrated anticipation shared on social media and in newsletters and emails. If you took part in the Blue Ridge gathering or another recent writing conference, either virtually or in person, ponder this question with me:
6 Post-conference Tips and Suggestions for Writers
1. Send requested material.
Hopefully, you had the opportunity to speak to an editor or agent while at the conference, either during a one-on-one session or while enjoying a meal in the dining hall. If an editor or agent industry professional invited you to send your work – an outline, proposal, article, summary, first couple of chapters, etc.– be sure to send the materials pronto!
Before you do so, however, scrutinize your work for any errors or typos and make necessary changes. If you haven’t had a critique group look over your pages, at least let a trusted writer friend edit your work before sending it off to the editor or agent.
Be sure to follow the expressed instructions they gave for how they wanted the materials delivered. Also mention in the subject line of the email the name of the event where you met. You might say, “Requested material from BRMCWC conferee” in the subject line and remind the person exactly where you met – one-on-one session or lunch table – in the body of the email.
(It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) – PLEASE spell the person’s name correctly in the salutation!)
2. Connect with new friends on social media.
Reach out to some of the fellow writers you met on whatever platform of social media you enjoy most. If you exchanged email addresses, add them to your contact list so you won’t miss out on communication.
3. Support fellow writers.
Find ways to support the writing journeys of fellow writers you had the opportunity to get to know. Read and comment on their social media posts and blogposts. Share their posts about writing successes. Buy their books and leave reviews on various platforms. And send them an occasional direct message of encouragement for the journey!
4. Organize class notes.
Read over your notes from various classes. File them in folders to access easily or type them into a computer folder for easy access. If you thought of any action steps during the class that you wanted to take, make sure to follow through with those ideas and suggestions.
5. Take positive steps forward.
Make a list—a short one, at first—of steps you want to take that will move you forward in your writing journey. Do you need to revise a document? Write a proposal? Rewrite a proposal? Submit a devotion? Make a list of achievable goals for the next several weeks.
Also make some long-range writing plans, too. Ones that might take time to come to fruition, but will keep you dreaming and moving forward!
6. Pray for guidance and success in your writing journey.
Obviously, this bullet point could have come first, been added in the middle, AND included at the end. In other words, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! Over your work, over your ideas, during the writing process, before you hit “Send,” after you meet your goals, and when you hold your published work in your hands! Give every part of your writing journey to the Lord.
Sometimes it takes a minute of two to come down from the “high” of a writing conference – especially when the conference takes place high on Black Mountain! But keep the momentum of the conference going with some actionable steps and continue to reap the benefits of the conference long after you’re back in your own zip code.
What about you? What steps have you taken after returning from a writers’ conference? Share your tips with us so we can add them to our list.
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