CONFERENCE TIME OF YEAR AGAIN – 2016

Wow, how time flies. April isn’t far off and it’ll be the Las Vegas Writer’s Conference time again. Since I’ve been going every year since 2005, this will be my 11^th conference in a row. In a way, this is like my Christmas time of year. Since writing is more of a passion – a calling for me rather than a hobby, just like astronomy, I look at it the same way as my star parties when we go out to remote dark sites to observe the stars. I don’t expect most of you to look at the upheaval of your life and the expense of such a thing in the same way. That’s why I write a fresh approach to the same subject year after year here at Fred central.

I know many of you have no desire to scroll through the 200+ articles I’ve written on the subject of writing craft, though I’d love it if you did! In that case, you’d find probably a dozen articles on writer’s conferences. To save you the time, especially for those new to my site, I’m presenting it fresh for you today. For those of you that have been around awhile and haven’t attended a conference, maybe it’s time and I can talk you into attending.

LEARNING THE CRAFT

There are many reasons to attend a writer’s conference. One of them is to learn the craft. Our conference is made up of training sessions that go on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each session covers various subjects that deal with writing, pitching, marketing, publishing, editing and everything you need to hone your skills. Folks, this is the meat of what you need to succeed at this passion/hobby/business. These sessions are held by experts in the field. This is the time to get first-hand knowledge, ask questions and learn valuable stuff you might never learn an easier way.

NETWORKING

You’ll never find a more concentrated gathering of like-minded people plus experts in one area. You not only get to talk to other writers, you get to mingle with publishers, agents, editors and marketers. You’ll hang out with them and pick their brains. You’ll have meals with them, chat them up in the halls between sessions, talk to them in the main room between events or just hang by the front desk and grab whoever walks by. Folks, this is the golden opportunity.

PITCHING YOUR WORK

If you have something ready to pitch, or even if you just want to practice, this is the place for you. The event is set up so you can schedule pitch sessions with the various agents and publishers. This is your chance to plug your story and see if they’re interested. There is nothing better than face-to-face with an agent rather than an anonymous letter or e-mail. I’ve had 100% success rate getting their attention even if I’ve had 100% success rate at getting rejected for a long time. On the other hand, I obtained a step up over others in that these agents and publishers had a familiar face to attach to my work. Ultimately, I also obtained success in finding my publisher at this event. At other conferences, often you have to pay separately to pitch to an agent. Here, that’s all part of the fee. Also, because of the limited attendance, you almost always have the ability to pitch to every agent you want to.

IT’S A GREAT THREE DAYS

We keep hearing over and over that the Las Vegas Writer’s Conference is one of the best in the nation. Because it is smaller and more intimate, it’s a more quality event. We attract a quality staff and quality people. It pays for what most get out of it and we get lots of repeat attendees. I highly recommend it.

You can check it out at: http://lasvegaswritersconference.com/

Happy writing!