Writers Conferences--Are They Worth It?

by Pamela S. Meyers

Just after the calendar turned from 1999 to 2000, when I was starting to write fiction, I became aware of a Christian writers conference in my own area called Write to Publish. I had heard from others that a conference like WTP was the best way to get noticed by editors and agents.

I attended the conference with the dream of having my current WIP contracted by the time it was over. I didn’t see my dream realized (rarely is a contract signed at a conference), but I came away with a lot more.

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Grabbing Our Attention for a Shift in Vision

The day I wrote this post, we mourned again the shift that happened to us as a nation on that September 11, the lives lost and the pain experienced by so many on that day and in the days since. We-the-people and they-the-leaders have heard and told so many lies in the ensuing years . . . some purposeful, some hopeful, some just plain stupid.

by Zachary Staines, Unsplash
Turmoil in the heavens (titled by me)

We live in times that challenge us to ask questions of ourselves and each other. How shall we live? How did we get here and what are we going to do, what can we do, to climb out of the mess? I hear hopelessness from so many, anger at the political games and the candidates, fear about tomorrow and tomorrow’s tomorrow.

This isn’t a political post. It’s a writer’s post. It’s a human’s post. I’ve asked these questions here before, and I’m asking them again because I don’t think I’m the only one pondering these things. Don’t you feel a stirring to do something different—or at least to do it differently?

I just returned from the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Nashville, the first ACFW gathering I’ve attended since 2010. Cost nixed any thought of ones in between, that and wondering if I fit among CBA writers. I’m merely a Christian who writes fiction instead of a Christian who writes fiction that’s Christian. There I go, anthropomorphizing books: our stories don’t, in themselves, have a belief system. Let’s say instead that some Christians write fiction that does more than reveal their worldview; it actually provides a strong and unequivocal faith message. My “Oh, I can’t afford it” had some backbone in the thought that a conference designed for those who write for the tribe instead of those who write across lines wasn’t something I needed.

If you’ve read my recent posts here, such as Writing in a Time of Discontent and Writing and Reading When the Living Ain't Easy, you will have noticed a certain angst building in me. I’ve begun to believe this was a God-driven discontent. I had no specific reason for it, no answers. All I knew was that I longed for a new or renewed vision.

NASA, Unsplash
Vision? Yes, please.

To attend or not to attend? I’m frugal by nature, and I hate to inconvenience others. Attending would disrupt my husband’s life. He’d have to man the fort here, and because my mama lives with us, he’d be in charge of meals. (Michael doesn’t cook.) I’d already booked a flight to the Women’s Fiction Writers Retreat in New Mexico. And now I was thinking of zipping off to another one? It felt selfish. Greedy. The idea of seeing old friends didn’t have the weight it needed to absolve me of guilt. Nor did the fact that on the way home I’d be fulfilling a commitment to address a book club.

But I couldn’t rid myself of the idea that I was supposed to be there, as if God wanted to do something in me and with me and for me, something He could do best if I spent too much money, drove too many hours, and got myself to Nashville.

My beloved husband said, “Go. We’ll be fine.”

I went.

And, oh, my. What an experience. Old friends, yes, and new friends added to the blessing. But the inspirational messages from Don Maass and Ted Dekker, the worship, the sheer joy of being among other writers at whatever stage they found themselves, was so powerful that I wanted to do a happy jig. The only downside to the entire experience was driving the mountain road west of Asheville with marauding trucks for company. They didn’t like me any more than I liked them.  

I am among the most blessed of women. I have a husband who adores me and supports my dreams and sails with me. I have family of whom I’m immensely proud. I have friends and tribes, and I have the most fun job in the world, that of crafting stories and sharing love with readers. And I have a God who pushes and prods me into action because He knows what I need.

I came away from Nashville with one answer, at least. I will continue with added zeal to cleave unto Him with all my heart and not let the enemy distract me from my purpose. I won’t worry about what others do. I will do—with all my might—whatever my hand finds to do. Right now, that means loving Him and loving my readers with all I have in me and crafting whatever story He calls me to write, hoping that His love will pour through the words into hearts more in need of Him than ever before.

by Joe Gardner, Unsplash
Opening to the Light (titled by me)

I can’t fix the times we are in and neither can you. But perhaps we can write stories that offer hope and point readers in the direction they need to go, in whatever way we’re called to do that.

Because I had such a spectacular time, I asked three friends to share their thoughts about the conference. 

Robin Patchen, http://robinpatchen.com, critique partner and friend, said this about her experience this year. “The biggest takeaway for me was the sense of community. I love the way veterans reach out to people new to ACFW and try to make them feel comfortable. I love the way ‘big’ authors don’t act big but sit in classes and learn with everybody else. I love getting to share my stories and hear others’ stories—not just our books, but our lives. I love feeling like I’m part of this great, godly, flawed, writing, editing, publishing, crying, celebrating, and worshipping community of crazy writers.”

Sharon Srock, http://womenofvalleyview.blogspot.com wrote, “…It’s such an encouragement to sit in classes, shoulder to shoulder with much more accomplished writers and see your own ‘Ah ha’ moment mirrored on their faces as an instructor gives us all something new to think about. So much of Donald Maass’s early-bird session added to what I already had. His questions about what can make things worse for your protagonists, what can make them feel more human, what new highs or lows can you add to the story were exactly what I needed. I finished the conference with Susan May Warren’s session on ways to supercharge your series… Add in the chance to put faces to names and seeing that we all struggle with the same doubts and worship the same way… I can’t wait till next year.”

And then there was the woman I picked up in the hall. Who could imagine I’d do such a thing, but as I headed to my room on the sixth floor, I noticed a porter giving directions as he wheeled a stranger’s luggage forward. I called out, “Are you here alone?”

She looked at me in horror. A strange woman in a strange place asking if she were alone? She finally said, “Oh, no, I’m here with ACFW.”

I grinned, realizing I’d sounded slightly mad. “Oh, good, so am I.”

by Alex Harvey, Unsplash
Give Kathy 20 years, and she might have looked at me like this!
Can't you imagine her lifting her cane, ready to throttle me?

Kathy Beliveau—who, it turns out, lives within an hour or so of me—is an aspiring author and a delightful new friend. She and I spent the afternoon and evening together, checking out the bars and singers on Broadway (as my husband said, “What else would you do when you pick up a woman?”) until we decided we were too old—or our ears were—to handle the volume and we retreated to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

by Linda Yezak of Kathy, yours truly, and Ane Mulligan

Here are Kathy’s words about the conference.

“I was in such a dark swamp before the conference. And you, Normandie, asked if I was alone....and then... Blessings.

“I've been blessed meeting some wonderful folks, cheering folks I've marginally met who I ‘met’ while reading and judging their books. 

“Thank you fellow writers for the help, encouragement, support and the lifting up that ACFW conference provides. Reminds me of how blessed I am.  Not in a swamp of my own making but amongst others who reach out and say ‘come.’"

So, what about you? Did you attend the ACFW conference or another one that brought on a shift in thought and motivation? What has been roiling in your spirit recently? Do you feel the need for change? The need to move in some different direction? Or perhaps just the need to get busy and get out there, to be doing the work you were called to do, whatever that is?

I’d love to hear from you.

Click to Tweet: Do you need a restart? Grabbing Our Attention for a Shift in Vision.

Normandie studied sculpture in Italy before receiving a BA, summa cum laude with special honors in English. Her women’s fiction has garnered numerous awards across the country, including a recent final in the Maggie (Heavy Weather): Becalmed (2013), Sailing out of Darkness (2013), and Heavy Weather(2015). Her first romantic suspense, Two from Isaac’s House, released in November 2015 and was a Romantic Times Top Pick. From Fire into Fire is her fifth book. A lifelong sailor, she and her husband spent a number of years on board their 50-foot ketch, Sea Venture, in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. 

www.normandiefischer.com

https://www.facebook.com/NormandieFischer/

@WritingOnBoard

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Conferences—Advancing Your Writing Career

by Robin Caroll

As a little girl, I had a dream—to be a writer. Life ensued. I went to college and graduated with a paralegal certificate, then realized I hated the legal industry. I wanted to experience life, so I went to work in the automobile industry. Stayed there, in customer service, for ten years. Let me tell you, THAT was an experience. Every now and then, I’d remember the dream and write a poem. Enter it in a contest, got a couple published. Then I got married and had my first daughter. I had such a busy life, how could I think of my dream? Until the day my little girl and I were reading, and I thought to myself, “I love reading, have always loved reading. I want to be an author, have always wanted to be an author.” I decided to do something this time. I enrolled in a Writer’s Digest fiction course. Completed it, and began work on a manuscript.

Life interrupted again. We moved—twice. I had two more little girls. But the dream didn’t die. And ten years after I completed my fiction course, I decided to do something again. I bought craft books. Joined writing groups. And learned about writing conferences. Before then, I hadn’t a clue that there were conferences you could attend to take workshops and classes to learn and study. Places you could go and be taught by nationally recognized authors. Events where you could meet with *gasp* editors and agents, face-to-face. Boy, was I hungry for that.

I attended some small, local conferences. Learned what a pitch was. Realized I was nowhere ready to pitch to an agent, much less an editor. Honed. Networking  Robin Caroll, Novel Rockettudied. Absorbed. It took me having gone to four conferences before I attended the “big” ones—ACFW National and RWA National.

At my first conferences I:

• Met my critique partners face-to-face and our relationship changed from just writing partners to dear friends for life.
• Met my mentor in person and realized I loved her just as much as I did on email and telephone.
• Met my agent in person for the first time.
• Pitched to the editor who ended up contracting my first book—the one I’d pitched to her.
• Networked with editors who I just like hanging out with because they’re fun
• Been blessed to have taught and encouraged other writers
• Realized how much I NEED conferences to feed my writing spirit 

Now that I’m published and have many, many conferences under my belt, I still wouldn’t miss going to at least one or two a year. Why? Because now I can:

• Connect with my writing friends. There’s something special about hugging a friend and praying with them in person.
• Network with others in the industry.
• Visit with my agent and various editors I’ve worked with.
• Get up-to-date information on this ever-changing industry.
• Feed my writing spirit.
• Learn new insights as well as brush up on my skills to hone my craft. 

Want to advance your writing career? GO TO A CONFERENCE. Yes, it takes money to go. Plan ahead. Apply for scholarships. Sale the kids. (Ok, I’m kidding about that.) But the expense is worthwhile—you’re investing in your career. And for me? It’s investing in my mental stability to be around others in this crazy industry.

Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin's mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage--two aspects Robin weaves into each of her 25 published novels. When she isn't writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty-five+ years, her three beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons--in the South, where else? She serves the writing community by serving as Executive/Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as the Carol Award, Holt Medallion, RT Reviewer's Choice Award, Bookseller's Best, and Book of the Year.

Bayou Corruption

"Don't let them get away with it, Jacks-" 

Those were the sheriff's last words. Left for dead in the middle of the road, Jackson Devereaux's good buddy had slipped into a coma. Well, Jackson wouldn't let them get away with it, once the ace newspaper reporter uncovered who they were. He'd start with the lovely Alyssa LeBlanc, the only eyewitness to the crime. Problem was, she hated Jackson-why?-as much as she hated being back in the Louisiana bayou. Unfortunately, the truth lay deep in the bayou's belly. And whether they liked it or not, Alyssa had to lead the way.

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Sometimes, #Writing is Hard

Award-winning author Catherine West writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or reading books by her favorite authors. She and her husband have two grown children. Catherine’s novel, Bridge of Faith, won the 2015 Grace Award. Her new novel, The Things We Knew, releases July 12^th, 2016, through Harper Collins Christian Publishing. You can find Cathy on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Google+, and her AmazonAuthor page.

 

This one always makes me laugh.

Because sometimes? Writing is hard. And sometimes being a writer is harder.

Today, I hope to encourage you. You know who you are. You're sitting with your plane ticket or staring at a map wondering what in the world you're thinking . . . you're heading into Writer Land, ACFW in Nashville!!

And you’re just a little terrified.

Yes, it's a big writers conference. If you're used to hanging out with your dog and maybe your spouse on occasion, you're going out of your comfort zone. A little. But . . . ACFW is a blast. It really is. Writers, editors, agents, publicists¾four days of hanging out with people just as nuts as you. (About writing).

But it can also be a scary time. Especially if you're new to this business, and you're still a little starry-eyed over the whole thing. You'll get over it. And if you want to get over it quick, find the group of haggard-looking, glassy-eyed, worn out veteran writers and come talk to us. (We'll be in the bar).

Because writing is hard. 

I know. You want me to tell you all the tricks. How to not be nervous. How to blow an editor back from the table with the best pitch they've ever heard in all their two years of coming to conference. (Yes, most of them really do look like they just graduated college). You want to know how to find your way through a crowded (think salmon season and you're swimming in the wrong direction) dining room and land a spot seated right next to your dream agent or that one editor you've never been able to talk to without crying. You want me to tell you there's no reason to panic, no reason to be nervous or fret or throw-up a couple times before your appointments.

And I wish I could. But I don't have the tricks. I don't have a magic bean and I sure don't have the confidence I certainly should after years in the field. The whole extravaganza still scares the bejeebers out of me. I feel your pain. And I still get nervous too. I'd prefer to just hang out with my friends, and then hole up in my room and read and rest and rewind a little. But that defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

We need to get out there and find the ones just like us, shaking in their boots and wondering what they were thinking coming here. They're easy to spot. Slammed against a back wall, looking a little green. We need to find them and tell them, hey, you know what, you're here, that's amazing. You're amazing! And you can do this. And they might not believe you, but you just keep saying it until they do.

Because writing is hard.

And we need our friends. Sometimes they'll drag us across a room if they have to, because honestly, what fun is it really, plastered against a wall looking like you're facing down a firing squad? And maybe you don't even know for sure that this is your calling, that this is where you're meant to be. Well, that's okay too. But you're not going to find out if you don't get out there and start asking. Seeking. Listening.

And then when it's all said and done and you've done your best, you've put yourself out there, you've prayed and maybe cried a little, and hopefully laughed a lot, you wait.

This is the hardest part. Ask me how I know. 

But . . . trust. Believe. Do the work and don’t give up. Find a little extra faith for each day that comes. And then, one day, you'll know.

One day you’ll find yourself standing in the midst of a dream come true.

And it will be good.

Until then, grab on to your seat, buckle up and hold on, because it's a heck of a ride. But if you let in a little light, love and laughter along the way, it's a really fun one.

Go in peace, friends. Face down your fears and just do the thing.

Because you're awesome.

Are you headed to conference? Tell us how you’re feeling!

The Things We Knew

When their tragic past begins to resurface, can he help her remember the things she can’t?

After her mother’s death twelve years ago, Lynette Carlisle watched her close-knit family unravel. One by one, her four older siblings left their Nantucket home and never returned. All seem to blame their father for their mother’s death, but nobody will talk about that tragic day. And Lynette’s memory only speaks through nightmares.

Then Nicholas Cooper returns to Nantucket, bringing the past with him. Once Lynette’s adolescent crush, Nick knows more about her mother’s death than he lets on. The truth could tear apart his own family—and destroy his fragile friendship with Lynette, the woman he no longer thinks of as a kid sister.

As their father’s failing health and financial concerns bring the Carlisle siblings home, secrets surface that will either restore their shattered relationships or separate the siblings forever. But pulling up anchor on the past propels them into the perfect storm, powerful enough to make them question their faith, their willingness to forgive, and the very truth of all the things they thought they knew.

TWEETABLES: #Writing is hard. And sometimes being a #writer is harder. (Click to tweet)

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