Mid-month Mention: Writers and a Writers Conference

I'm not a big subscriber to newsletters. I only subscribe if my interest in the author's newsletter is strong. Plus, I would say a deal-breaker for me is an author who provides recommended reading titles. Jordan Raynor gives one noteworthy recommendation to close his weekly newsletter. I may skim through the devotional, but I always take time to consider the book suggestion. Jordan highlights non-fiction suggestions. You can visit his website and sign up for his newsletter if you want a weekly faith and work devotional along with a Christian non-fiction book recommendation.

In February, I entered a giveaway and encountered D'ann Mateer. She lives in Texas, just a stone's throw away from my son, Bryce. Her blog posts must have reeled me in because I signed on for her newsletter. She offers extensive reading recommendations and regular giveaways. In fact, it looks like now, if you sign up for her newsletter, you receive a free short story from her. That was not the case when I signed on. In addition, I trust her to recommend clean reads. Since she often highlights World War II novels, I forwarded her information to my sister, but I don't think she was up for more mail in her overflowing in-box. A few days ago, D'ann sent a book recommendation for an enticing book on Lewis and Tolkien. This month's newsletter highlighted a blog post about things she has learned about writing.

Learning more about writing is always on my mind. I've taken on-line courses and read books. But, when I lived in DeKalb, IL, my writing group often tried to take an annual trip to attend the Write-to-Publish Conference in Wheaton, IL. This was, perhaps, my favorite educational excursion. Oh, the laughs we had on the shared drive over and back. I attended two or three times while we lived in IL and have been once since we moved to IN. The only other similar conference I attended, was a one day meeting of the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in a quaint town in Wisconsin (where I tried to pitch my rhyming children's book, Recipe for Stew).

The Write-to-Publish Conference is under new leadership, now owned and managed by the Christian Writers Institute. It takes place at Wheaton College from June 13-16, 2023. If you wish to get in on the reduced rates, you must register by May 31st. Of course, the best approach is to pay for full registration, which includes all sessions and meals, plus 2 one-on-one meetings with key editors/agents, and a Friday night concert by Michael Card. 

I can't afford to invest in the full experience this year. Last time I attended for one day, so I considered doing so again. The full fee is $600, while the daily fee is a little over $200. Instead of 2 meet-ups with editors/agents, you only secure one. Plus, in viewing the schedule, the sessions I am most interested in fall on the final day - Friday. This poses a problem. In the past (although I don't know if this is still the method), you signed up for the slots at the outset of the conference. This would mean, by arriving Friday, all the slots will be gone and I will not make my hoped-for connections.

The most important benefit to attending a conference is making connections. You can connect with publishers and befriend other writers who may become cheerleaders for your writing goals. The last time I attended for one day, I did not pay for the meals (then, a separate fee) and thus didn't have those prime opportunities to sit with and talk to other writers or faculty members. A conference is an opportunity to network, learn, and grow as a writer. But there are key things to do to improve these results.

The first thing I always do is review which manuscripts I wish to pitch to editors or agents. Next, I study the faculty line-up. I get to know them and their manuscript interests. Then I write a list of individuals who might show an interest in what I'm pitching. The truly hard part is snagging time to make an elevator pitch (a one to two-minute hook to grab interest). If you cannot secure a one-on-one session, you must seek other opportunities in a natural and unobtrusive way. This is where meals were helpful, yet four or five other writers may be there wanting to pull the ear of the faculty member as well.

Once my game plan is in place, I skim the sessions on offer. I try to select topics that will improve my chances of meeting my writing goals. For Friday's first workshop, I'm torn between "The Formation and Execution of a Publishable Idea," and "Writing with God: Creating Spirit-led Content That Resonates, Maintaining Healthy Expectations, and Building an Unshakable Faith for Your Journey." For the second workshop, I'm torn between "The Most Common Mistakes Authors Make When Developing and Pitching Their Book Project," and "Writing to a Felt Need That Publishers Will Want to Publish and Readers Will Want to Read." This year, the plenary speaker is Dr. Leland Ryken, father of the current Wheaton College president and my former professor (I love his wry style). The evening speaker is Jerry B. Jenkins.

I'm noticing many changes to the structure and execution of the conference. Instead of meeting in the Billy Graham Center, they will hold sessions in the Beamer Center. This will be different. In the past, they offered a manuscript critique included with the conference fee. One year, the initial pages of one of my young adult novels netted a request for submission. That was exciting. Now, instead of providing a critique, the conference fee includes a copy of this year's Christian Writers Market Guide. They also used to offer a time for fellow-writer critiques. These sessions occurred after the evening program and provided a chance to read a bit of your work aloud and receive feedback. It seems to me there are hundreds of attendees and limited numbers of faculty meet-ups (were those one-on-one sessions previously ten minutes long, to accommodate more people?). Surely, they'd all be gone by the time I arrived on the final full day, so maybe my plan isn't productive. Still, if this is just the thing you need to jumpstart your writing career, check it out!