I went to a local writer’s conference last weekend and I’m going to tell you why I think you should attend one.
This particular conference was sponsored and hosted by our county library system. It was reminiscent of small, software-specific technical conferences I attended when I was in the tech industry. There was a keynote presentation, several different course tracks, socials and even had a coffee station in the morning. This conference was free, so big value points right from the start. I attended the same conference last year (shortly after I started writing seriously) so this was a good comparison year for me.
You might be saying to yourself, “That’s nice for you, Mike, but my library system is pretty small.” To which I would say to you, “Have you asked, you poo poo head?” I think local libraries sponsoring writer gatherings is way more common than you might think. Librarians are legally bound to be either a) a writer or b) an author groupie. Often times they’re both. Even if the library doesn’t sponsor a gathering, I bet you that one of the librarians knows about one locally. Ask the one with the blue highlights-the young one who help set up the teen space with squishy chairs that are nicer than the ones you have at home. You know who I mean. He’ll know.
One of the few criticisms I have about the conference is that it was not well advertised. It was hard to find online and if I hadn’t heard about it from a friend, I never would have know it existed. Even so, there were almost 250 people who registered and attended.
Why should you attend a program like this? Continue reading “The Writer’s Conference”



