Hit the Road!

Spring gives me the travel bug. I love attending workshops and conferences. Later this week I'll be attending the Blue Ridge Writers Conference in Blue Ridge, GA. I've never been to this one and I don't know a soul there. So why go? I not only get to hear speakers I haven't heard before, I get to meet new people, editors/agents; I get to meet Blue Ridge Writers and find out what they write about and consider pertinent. It's a form of expansion, of growing.

But why attend these functions? Shouldn't I stay home and write? Because in today's world of publishing, you have to do more. I must say I haven't been to a workshop. Mainly, because I don't find many in my area. Workshops focus more on the craft of writing. Some are run like classrooms--write, then share. This is a place for improving your skills. Some offer critique services and it behooves every novice writer to take advantage of this.And please, don't be so thin skinned you can't take a little criticism. These people are trying to help you. If you're such a sensitive artist, you can't take criticism, perhaps you're not meant for the highly competitive world of publishing.

Conferences on the other hand are wonderful socializing events. While you will hear speakers and possibly mingle with editors/agents, the contacts you make at these events can be life changing. Usually authors who have published make their books available at these venues.

Where do you find out about writing workshops and conferences? I go to www.shawguides.com. Here you'll find conferences all over the United States and elsewhere and it is also broken down by genres. Once you start attending conferences/workshops, you'll be on a mailing list. Or you can Google writing conferences/workshops and go to the actual site. You may want to start within your own state and gradually branch out as confidence and cash allows. And yes, some of them are pricey, but you can also find many that are reasonable. I started out with one a year, then increased it to three, all within my home state. Now, after several years, I'm branching out. If you've never attended a workshop/conference, maybe this year is the time to begin.