Conventions, Retreats and Workshops, Oh My

For anyone who writes romance novels, the recent Romantic Times convention in Texas was "the" place to be. It is a meeting of writers and readers - heavy on the readers - with lots of parties and schmoozing and fun. The next big one to go to is the Romance Writers of America being held in July in Dallas, Texas. Unlike the RT one, this one is specifically aimed at writers - although I don't know any writer who isn't also a reader. But it is heavy on the workshops, meet and greets with editors and agents, oh, and yeah, schmoozing. But it is geared more towards the business end of writing than the reading end. These conventions are attended by thousands of people.

And these are just two. Pick up any writer related magazine or join a writer's list or organization and you'll see conventions, workshops, retreats, etc. listed for every month of the year and for every genre. Don't like huge crowds? Pick one of the smaller, more intimate ones, often held at colleges. Want to concentrate on a specific area of your writing? Go to a workshop specifically aimed at that.

All these things can be fun, but they can also get expensive as you figure in the cost of the event, travel, lodging, meals (though some are included in prices). So how do you pick and choose what to go to? You join writer's lists and ask questions. Somewhere, someone has been to one or more of these and will give you good advice. You have to weigh the benefits of going with the cost.

I ran into that problem this year. I am a member of RWA and was going to attempt to go to their national convention in July. First off, let me tell you, I do not do well with travel or with crowds. So why even consider going? To promote my books. But when I looked at the costs vs. the advantages, and then considered other more local, smaller conventions coming up, I decided not to go. I could spend the same amount of money going to several venues here in the northeast as I could going to one event in Dallas - where I would just be one of thousands trying to push my work. I would reach nearly as many people and not have nearly as many travel hassles as I would going to Texas.

I still aim to get to a national convention one of these years, just to say I did it. But I think I'll wait until it comes here to the northeast. In the meantime, there are fantasy cons, science fiction cons, retreats, workshops and other events I can attend. So, where do I go next... hmmmmmm...

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Birthdays: Thomas Henry Huxley , Graham Swift, David Gutterson

Tips and Teasers: Finish this, using glass, lizard, knife, flag: Finally, I checked the closet, and found…

Thought for the day: "A bad book is as much of a labor to write as a good one, it comes as sincerely from the author’s soul." - Aldous Huxley