Are you planning to sign up for a conference this year? While there are conferences held all year round, the majority of them crop up in Spring and Fall. This is a good time to start researching appropriate conferences in your area of interest, in your region and on your time schedule. Here’s a new link I found yesterday that might help in finding writing-related conferences and book festivals where you can learn more about writing and publishing and where you can sell your books.
http://jodierennerediting.blogspot.com/2011/12/writers-conferences-book-festivals-2012.html
If you are a new writer or a budding author, I recommend signing up for a writers’ conference. If you are an experienced author or freelance writer, you might get a gig presenting a segment at a writers’ conference.
Do your homework and choose a conference that addresses your current needs. This might be book promotion or you might be ready for some fiction-writing workshops. Perhaps you are ready to start showing your manuscript around to agents. Study the conference agenda to make sure they offer what you require at the moment.
If you are marketing a nonfiction book, you should seek out speaking opps at conferences related to the theme of your book. Here are links to writers’ conferences as well as conferences on all variety of topics—technology, marketing, business management, arts, crafts, animals/pets, relationships, travel and more.
http://shawguides.com
http://www.allconferences.com
http://www.bvents.com
(Note: These are just some of the hundreds of resources provided in my two latest books: Publish Your Book and Promote Your Book.)
Why should you attend conferences?
If you are in the process of writing a book or have recently produced one, you should attend writers’ conferences in order to:
• Educate yourself about the publishing industry.
• Learn more about your options and the possible consequences of your choices.
• Become familiar with the process and necessity of book promotion.
• Network, network, network.
Attend conferences related to the topic of your book in order to:
• Learn more about your field.
• Meet the movers and shakers in your area of interest.
• Become familiar with the process of promoting a book within this industry.
• Network, network, network.
The author who steps outside his or her comfort zone and strives to learn, stretch and grow will experience greater success than the author who seldom ventures out. And conferences are a great source of the information, resources and connections you need in order to succeed.
Have you ever attended a writers’ conference? Have you attended a conference related to the topic of your book? I would love to hear/read your impression of the event. What did you get out of the experience on behalf of your book project?