The Best Secrets from my First Writers Conference – Part 1

Mid-February, I went to the San Francisco Writers Conference, my first-ever conference. While I did not get signed, I made a TON of connections and friends in the writing scene. On top of that, I learned so much about the industry that I wanted to share some of the best secrets and advice that I learned. I paid about $900 for the whole experience and I can very much say it was worth it. I feel like I just absorbed two-years worth of mistakes and learning, all in one weekend.

NOTE: I’ll probably make a few more posts that will go more in-depth about each topic, so stay tuned!

Also, disclaimer: I include some conversations I had with people at the conference. These are not direct quotes, but rather playful replications of what was said, in order to get the emotion and point across. Some flourishing has been added.

Without further ado, here are the top secrets I learned from my first writing conference.

Make a Newsletter

Look, I literally cannot relay how important this tip is. You should start one now. Yesterday, even.

Throughout the conference, the amount of industry professionals that kept saying this is absolutely astounding. I kid you not – at nearly every single session or 1:1 that I had, there was some mention of starting a newsletter as soon as possible.

It’s important to start one, because your email list is your audience, who will care about your journey and is more likely to buy your books in the future. It roughly takes 2 years to really build your mailing list, so don’t be afraid if you don’t have a product right now to show to your audience. There is also something to be said about how having a good mailing list will make your more marketable to agents; therefore, you’ll be more likely to be signed.

This is also a very shameless plug to join my newsletter! You’ll get the latest on writing resources that I discover, updates on my writing journey, and great art that I’ve been enjoying. I’d love to foster a writing community, so I hope you join 🙂

Your Money is Going to Connections

No matter which conference you choose to attend, it’s not a cheap decision to go. While it’s easy to think that you’re paying for informational sessions (also highly important!), you’ve got to remind yourself that you’re paying for networking. Before, I thought that networking in person was important, but now I’m convinced that it’s essential.

STORY TIME: I met a writer friend at the conference who had been querying her novel for years. No response. No promising leads on agents who were interested in her book. At the beginning of the conference, she said to me, ‘I just have a feeling that I need to meet these people in person and tell them about my book.’

Guess how many agents were interested in her book by the end of the conference. Not one, not two, not just three. But FOUR agents!

So, if there is an opportunity to talk to an industry professional, talk to them. I saw a few people make the mistake of cutting a conversation short with a professional, because they needed to go to a session. If you have to make a decision between talking to an agent or going to an informational session, always talk to the agent. There’s a chance you’ll find the information online, but 1:1 conversation with a professional is rare as gold.

Know the Art of the Quick Pitch

This was one of my pitfalls during the conference. So I’ll tell you how one of my new writing friends pitched her book. She was also a friend who received A LOT of interest in her book and I’m truly in awe at her business acumen.

First of all, she had her pitch down to a tee. It was less than a minute long, highly comprehensible, and included all the ways that people were already interested in the story.

‘If you’re interested in an agent, attend the session where they are speaking,’ she said to me. ‘Now, most people make the mistake of swarming the agent right after the the presentation. You’ll never get their attention that way. Wait until people have rushed off to their next session and the crowd has died out. Then approach the agent. They’ll most likely need to go to another session to, so ask if you can do a walk and talk. You should be able to do your elevator pitch in that time.’

I was in awe I heard that. Though it was late in the conference by the time I heard that, I applied that mindset where I could. I found that I had richer conversations with professionals. I’ll even venture out to say that I was more memorable to them than if I had been fighting for their attention in crowd of other writers.