THIS! Christine

Of Conferences and things.

Just to give you a little bit of background, I worked in the telecommunications area for 10 years, and attended several conferences and trade shows wearing that cap. So RWANat wasn't the huge shock to me that it is to some, although many aspects were (and still are) real eye openers.

RWA National Conference is an interesting beast to attend. This year in Atlanta was my fourth time experiencing this phenomena and for purely personal reasons it was also my best.

New York was the first Nationals conference I attended. It was in an unofficial capacity as I missed the registration deadline, and frankly I went there to meet all the people who had assisted me in my writing over the years. I had a wonderful time, and, listening to all the glowing reports on what the seminars offered, I vowed that next year I would attend officially.

Next year the conference was in Dallas (shudder). I was official, I was caught up in all the excitement along with everyone else and basically acted like a hick. I tried to cram in every seminar on offer (simply not possible) and was disappointed in about 95% of them because they were a rehash of knowledge I'd already gathered in my quest to improve my writing. Not the seminars fault... more my ability to select pertinent seminars. Then came Reno... I had a bit more experience now, (and a few more books under my belt) and feeling much more comfortable about how to comport myself at these events. I chose seminars focused on the publishing industry instead of writing techniques and got far more out of that conference experience than previous.

Then came Atlanta. In many ways Atlanta mirrored my New York experience except now I had many more contacts to meet and greet. I only attended two seminars both were a disappointment to me, BUT, beyond the seminars there was the social aspect. And this is where my previous (otherlife) conference experience finally kicked in. You hear time and again how networking is vital in this business (writing). Well, that's what I did this year. I was relaxed, I talked to everyone and anyone--and rarely about their books. I slipped back into my familiar hostess mode, asking about their lives etc and generally felt as if THIS year I came away with some solid benefit. By listening to these people I learned about what was happening in the industry and for the first time felt myself on solid ground.

To bring this back to my original comment about conferences.

With those conferences or trade shows I was the customer. My business was being courted or my expertise being sought. I learned about new trends, technoligies, and regulations at the seminars that may affect my business or how we operate. RWA Nationals is the total opposite. I (the writer) am the vendor. RWA gathers potential customers (publishers, agents, booksellers) together for me to strut my wares. The 'industry' and its inner workings is spoken of in hushed tones for fear of potentially offending our 'customers'. These conversations inevitably take place in small social gatherings. Never in an official fact giving seminar. Industry news from publishers are given in their 'Spotlight' sessions. Essentially glowing press releases which doesn't exactly arm the writer with the pros and cons.

It's an oddity, and I'm not sure it can change to better meet and educate the budding author (I'm not even certain if it should). What I do know is that I'm finding it increasingly frustrating to gather the information I feel I need at this time.

I probably will not be attending the conference next year (it's in Dallas (shudder) again) unless I sell. In which case I may have to revisit the idea. Anyway thems is my thoughts on RWA's National Conference.

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