From Edie: Lilka Raphael shares a plan for returning home from your writers conference. Learn how to evaluate feedback, follow up with industry professionals, and turn conference insights into writing success.
Writing Conference Checklist Part 3: How to Maximize Your Return from a Writers Conference
by Lilka Raphael @Lilka_Raphael
With conference season well underway, appointments have been made, chapters submitted, and classes scrutinized like stocks on the Nasdaq. Yet many authors fail to do the things after a conference that significantly increase their return on time and money invested. Here are three tips to make the most of your experience when you return home.
Take Inventory
Admittedly, conferences can be exhausting. So much to do in so little time can leave you drained upon returning home. But this is often when the real work begins. It’s crucial to analyze your new to-do list and not allow potential opportunities to slip away.
What new platforms did you learn about? Whom do you need to send a thank you? Writers conferences provide a wealth of information. Subsequently, this gives authors a lot to deliberate once the conference ends.
If you had a meaningful conversation at one of your appointments, stay connected via email. If an agent or editor requested a submission, do it quickly. I’ve learned from experience that the more time that lapses, the less likely you are to get it done.
Reevaluate
If your appointment didn’t go as planned, assess the feedback you were given. You may not agree with all of it, but there is likely some merit to what was said. Use any recommendations to help refine your writing. Maybe you need to reconsider your genre? Perhaps an agent asked a question that could change your plot for the better. How can you incorporate what you learned into your work?
Receiving a book deal or representation at a conference is every writer’s dream. However, conferences are typically steppingstones to making those dreams come true. Don’t dwell on any disappointments. Instead, incorporate what you learned into your projects and prioritize developing relationships (do not stalk them) with industry professionals. Staying connected with other authors also nurtures a writing career.
Also, use what you learned to reevaluate your options. Is traditional publishing the path you want to pursue? Or would you rather have more control of your work and reap a larger profit? Self-publishing or hybrid-publishing may be something you never contemplated but may potentially expedite reaching your goals. As trends evolve, so do the opportunities available to writers. Give thought to what may work best for you.
Plan
What did you learn? How does it affect your project? Is the word count appropriate? Do you need hard edits that will make your writing marketable? Oftentimes, the recommendations suggested at one conference can get you the “yes” you’re looking for at another. Take what you recently learned to explore new opportunities and hone your craft.
Lastly, did the conference meet your needs? If so, go ahead and make plans to return next year. If not, research a better fit. The remarkable thing about writers conferences is that they are available for most genres. With a bit of effort and planning, your next conference can be your best conference.
TWEETABLE
Lilka’s greatest achievements are her two adult sons who have flown the nest. Happily married for thirty-two years, she lives east of Atlanta with her husband, Rod. They now share their home with two German Shepherds—Holly and Ivy—and one naughty kitty, Moxie.
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