The 2024 Colorado Gold Writers Conference, The Next Chapter, starts today! I am looking forward to seeing writers I’ve known for years, greeting social media acquaintances, and making new friends. If this is your first time at the conference, be prepared for a rootin’-tootin’ non-stop weekend. You’ll go home exhausted, but you’ll also go home with a lot of valuable information, useful connections, and a smile.
You never know what to expect from a writers conference. Some of my favorite memories are of those sessions where there was no PowerPoint presentation or handout. At Wyoming Writers, the incredible award-winning poet David Romtvedt played his button accordion and serenaded those of us in his poetry workshop with traditional Basque folk songs. Another year, the amazing Wyoming poet Lori Howe, who created and developed a new poetic style, asked participants to alter the punctuation in her own poems to form new meaning. It was eye-opening to see how many different interpretations arose from moving a comma or adding a period. At Castle Rock Writers, participants were instructed to randomly walk around the room and talk in their characters’ voices. At first, the room was silent as people just meandered. Soon, a few voices were heard, then many, then it grew to a loud hum. Imagine one hundred people trying to avoid each other’s trajectory while talking to themselves. Everyone laughed a bit self-consciously as they took their seats, but the room crackled with excitement and engagement.
In the past, writers conferences could be discouraging, as the shared stats of getting an agent or publisher were clearly low. The advent of self-publishing and thousands of publishing entrepreneurs (that’s you I’m talking about) has been a game changer. Around 3.2 million books were self-published in 2021, and the wave is growing. Writers have jumped into the water with both feet, and the conversations around publishing have taken on new energy.
So what should you do to capitalize on your time at the conference? Three words: network, network, network! You will meet writers who have published a dozen or more books as well as those who’ve written 10 pages. You’ll find people who write the fiction genres we all know and love—Romance, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Mystery—as well as writers who are inventing and building new genres such as Romantasy, Space Opera, Steampunk, or Utopian/Dystopian with their works. You’ll learn that agents and representatives of publishing houses who are “just folks”—no golden thrones or looking down the nose at anyone.
Here are some suggestions for making this weekend’s conference the best ever (at least until the next one):
- Attend all social events. Don’t miss BarCon, when writers let down their hair and chatter away with anyone who is near them. Even if you don’t drink, you’ll find yourself tipsy on friendship and fun by the end of the evening.
- Enjoy the “Birds of a Feather” groups with people who write your genre. Last year, I hosted the Historical Fiction group. In the time allotted, we didn’t get much farther than introducing ourselves and relating the historical period in which we write, but I had many great conversations later with writers I met there.
- Take classes that pertain to your chosen genre and style. Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your writing and choose classes that address your weaknesses.
- Take classes outside your chosen genre. Step outside your comfort zone. I write Historical Fiction, but I usually attend a poetry workshop when one is offered.
- Take a marketing class. Learn what it takes to be a businessperson as well as a writer. You’ll thank yourself for it when your book is published.
- Don’t sit with the same writers at every meal. You’ll find that tables are “hosted” by writers of various genres. Choose the table hosted by a writer of your genre for one meal but spread your wings and learn about other genres as well.
- Remember, writers LOVE to talk. Ask questions, strike up conversations, stay up late and talk. Take advantage of all the opportunities you can and have fun!
I hope to see you there—if not this year, then next year. If not this conference, then another!
Photo by Lisa Fotios @pexels.com
