A Time to Review: Assessing Conferences

By Regina Allen

Just as it's important to decide how many conferences to attend within a year, it's also important to assess past conferences to see if you want to attend them again. This is not a New Year's Resolution - that's reserved for making promises to market manuscripts and garner a sale. As part of your financial planning and honing your skills as a writer, it is a good idea to set aside time to review individual conferences to see whether you wish to attend or find another. For me, travel, finances and conference notes help determine whether to attend a conference in the upcoming year.

Travel: This year for the first time, I traveled twice out of my region. Why? Two reasons: One, I had enough money to spend on travel. My writing funds were such that I could comfortably travel without dipping into my personal funds. Second, the editors of the magazines I wanted to send my manuscripts to were on panels. It was a good opportunity to attend their panels and find out what they needed for upcoming issues. And after the sessions, I could talk to the editor. If he was interested, I could give him the manuscript right there!

Finances: Whether you're published or unpublished, assessing expenses is important. Assess your expenses, spending patterns and, places to see where you may have over spent or had insufficient funds emerge. By reviewing your total finances, you can set up a preliminary conference expense budget to budget for regular expenses and create what I call a "balloon" for unexpected expenses like buying books, souvenirs and rare collectibles from famous authors.

Conference Notes: Once you've attended the conference, go over the notes to get an overall impression. In some cases, you pretty much know whether you want to attend the same conference the next year but there are also those who leave with ambiguous feelings. Just remember the reasons why you attended the conference, and then review your notes. Did you meet your goal? Did it leave you feeling unsatisfied and if so, why and what's the cause? For example, years ago I attended a conference that honed my writing skills and taught me a little about networking. Yet, I never had any lasting memories about the panels or the people. When I reviewed my notes on that conference, my comments included "mundane," "uncomfortable," "rigid atmosphere." Was it worth it to attend this conference again even though it taught me better writing? No. In the end, I decided to opt for another conference. Why spend money for a conference that makes you feel uncomfortable and on your P's and Q's every single moment?

In my opinion, reviewing past conferences gives you a better understanding of what you'd like to see and do at conferences, how far you're willing to travel, and how much you can and will spend for a conference that will give you valuable insight or ideas into your writing. Now go out and enjoy yourself!

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Regina is a fiction writer who lives in Exeter, Rhode Island with her father and cat named Isis. Currently, Regina is working on a science fiction novella and collaborating on a medical thriller with suspense author, Joel Ross (www.joelross.net). You can send information on conferences, retreats or workshops with two months' advance notice to regall649@msn.com.