It’s conference season and I’ve just come home from the Write To Publish Conference that happens every June. It’s been around for 50 years. That says a lot about how important conferences are.

I’ve attended this conference for fifteen years. And during that time, my writing career has grown from all that I’ve learned. All of my currently published novels have found homes through attending conferences. And I pitched my newest manuscripts to editors at WTP this year.

Conferences are a great thing to add to your writing toolbox. A collection of college-level classes are available for fiction and non-fiction writers along with marketing tips. Here is my list of why I attend writer’s conferences.

1. Learn stuff- you don’t know what you don’t know until you attend writing classes. There is a pattern for writing fiction and non-fiction books that a new author may not have a clue about. Article writing is its own creature as well. There is even a speakers track for those who wish to add speaking to their toolbox in promoting what they write.

• Meet people- not only publishers, editors, and agents but other writers who can share their wisdom with you and perhaps introduce you to publishers or editors they work with. Not to mention marketing tips that work for them.

• Find an agent- if you’ve got at least one book published or have been offered a contract, an agent might find your work fits in their wheelhouse of publisher contacts and take you on. Agents can open doors to some publishers that are not available to unagented authors.

• Meet publishers and editors who only work with the agented authors will take manuscripts from new writers if they meet you at a conference. They let you send your manuscripts to them even if you don’t have an agent. If you’re meeting with them leads to interest in your work you can email your proposal or manuscript to them and avoid the gatekeepers.

• Magazine editors also open their doors to freelancers they’ve met at conferences. They may offer to buy your article for their magazine because of your contact with them at the conference.

• You learn marketing tips that you may have never known as well as social media insights. Both from classes and fellow writers who have found success in social media.

• Critiques of your work by published authors and editors that give great insights to help you get published. There may also be critique opportunities that you might sit in on and learn as others’ work is critiqued. These are invaluable opportunities in my opinion.

• Inspiration for articles and books for future needs of magazines and publishers that you can now focus on and may never have heard of outside of the conference circuit.

• Mealtimes with other like-minded authors. Writers are their own breed, and it is so fun to know you are not alone.
• Lots of books at a discount on writing craft books and from other authors and teachers attending the conference.

And an additional reason: many conferences have contests and winning awards gives a writer extra credentials and a boast in their self-confidence. I’ve won four awards since my first book was published.

Check online for conferences coming up this year. See if there are scholarships available to help with the cost. Or if they are looking for volunteers to help with set-up and behind the scenes. Some conferences offer discounts on your fee for your service. That’s a great way to reduce the cost of attending. Even if you must pay full price attending a conference for the first time is worth every cent and will set you on a straighter path to publication. And it is tax-deductible under the education category. Check with your tax preparer for details.