Conference game plan

I'm prepping for the Emerald City Writers' Conference, which will be happening this weekend at the Westin in Bellevue Washington. Last year I was the conference chair, so ran around quite a bit putting out fires and managing little details with the hope that none of the attendees would noting any of the snags we encountered.

This year I'll be giving a workshop. Get Out of Your Own Way: An Introverts Guide to Interpersonal Relationships. It's a crazy huge title, but basically I'm going to be breaking down the various interpersonal relationships that you, as a writer, want to develop and assist in making a plan in how to do it. To start, there are professional contacts, fellow writers, bloggers, and readers. And there are all sorts of ways that you can encounter these people. One of the areas I'll be focusing on is conferences. Sort of makes sense since we'll be at one, right?

Last year I had several people approach me to tell me they could 'never' do what I did. That getting up and talking in front of three hundred attendees would send them into vapors. That speaking to their favorite author is terrifying. Forget sitting with an acquiring editor at dinner. We're not supposed to pitch to them, so what would we talk about? eek!

First, take a deep breath. Next, straighten your spine and dive in. I know that's not the hand holding, flowers and rainbows advice that some people want, but it's what you have to do. You can help yourself by preparing. Hone your elevator pitch--you know, that small, thirty second bit you can rattle off any time someone asks you what you write? That. Because the first time someone asked me what I wrote, I froze. Seriously, what did they mean? I'm at a writing conference. A ROMANCE writing conference at that, so that can't possibly be what they mean, right? So, the first thing that came to me? "I write words. On a good day, lots of them."

*forehead smack*

But, the ice was broken. So, my first bit of unsolicited advice is to prepare. Work on your small talk, practice your pitch and prepare your game face. Because when it comes to conference, you have to be social to a degree.

If you'll be at ECWC this year, I'd love to see you. Please be sure to stop by and say hello. And if you'd like more tips, be sure to attend my workshop, Friday afternoon.

Hope to see you all there!