Whether a one day session, one week conference, or a month-long writing workshop, writing related events are a good way to commune with other writers. They are opportunities to network and get your name out there. In some instances, you can meet and mingle with editors and agents. Some offer critiques or pitching sessions. Nowhere will you find a higher concentration of introverts enjoying each other's company. Local conferences are a good place to meet potential critique groups or recruit members. Some are free. Some require a fee. Some are more social than others. Many are for new writers, but a few dig deep into craft. You should choose an event that speaks to your needs and desires. Unfortunately with the pandemic, many in-person events have been cancelled. Some have been replaced with virtual events, podcasts, or online classes and lectures. Virtual events allow for a wider audience and lower costs since attendance does not require travel and lodging. January 7 - 17, 20...

Photo by Cara Lopez Lee Fifteen thousand people at one writing conference are enough to bring out my inner introvert. That’s what I learned at my second springtime leap into the swarms of the annual AWP Conference , this time in Los Angeles. (AWP stands for Association of Writers and Writing Programs, so can anyone tell me why it’s not AWWP?) People often talk about creative writing and introversion as if they’re inseparable, but thanks to writing’s dual requirements of solitude and communication, I believe it attracts a spectrum of introverts and extroverts. I’m an ambivert: exhibiting qualities of extroversion and introversion in almost equal measure. In Myers-Briggs personality tests, I typically score 51% extrovert/49% introvert. I’ll bet if the tests were not designed for bilateral results, I’d test 50-50. Non-writers often seem surprised to meet an extroverted writer. Meanwhile, writers who know me seem surprised to learn I’m half-introvert. “But you’re so social!...

Writing tends to be a solitary profession. It's just you and your manuscript. But sometimes it's good to get out and mingle with people other than your characters. When I started writing, it was all about learning the craft. I hooked up with a critique group, joined my local chapter of Romance Writers of America (even though I didn't think I was writing a romance—people recommended the organization because it covers all aspects of writing), and kept writing. And submitting. My critique group encouraged me to attend a local conference for writers, and although they practically had to drag me along, I found these gatherings of writers were wonderful places to exchange ideas and learn more about the craft. There was a kind of "relief" to see so many people in the same situation as I was. Kind of like when I attended my first "Mothers of Twins" meeting and found out I wasn't alone. Fast-forward a few years, and I had a few published books to my name. N...

Oops! My first edit of the year. Happy N ew Y ear! Some of you are probably still on holiday, but the Blood-Red Pencil editors have been busy planning the 2012 schedule. We'll continue with our individual posts the first part of the month, like Kathryn Craft's popular Busted! series. Then we'll have special guests the third week, and the last week of each month add a different new theme. This year, we'll post those topics in advance right here on the blog. If you have a contribution you'd like to make around our topic-of-the-month, please shoot us an email . Our theme for January is Conferences with Awards , and specifically we'll address how an author would use an award as a promotion tool for their book. There are more prizes and medals than you can imagine for all genres, and many are available to individuals as well as self-published authors. This is an area of publishing that is changing and expanding as quickly as everything else in the industry. ...

Conferences used to be about learning to write. They had workshops on Editing, POV, Cutting the Passive Verbs, etc. Now it seems most of them are about finding an agent. The conference will have three or even twenty agents in attendance. Attendees can sign up to pitch to an agent. If there’s a pre-conference cocktail party, attendees show up in hopes an agent or two will be there and they can meet them and possibly fit in a pitch. But the truth is … the chances of you snagging an agent are small. During your pitch, for which in many cases you have to pay extra beyond what you paid to attend the conference, the agent may ask you to send 30 pages. Or he may not. There are no guarantees. Or an agent giving a talk may tell all the attendees in her class to send the first ten pages if they think their manuscript is ready. In either case, make sure your pages are stellar. You won’t get a second chance, unless the agent sees something in your story and writing that makes them ask you to r...

I recently attended the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference in Denver, so the benefits are fresh in my mind. In addition to the educational and networking opportunities at these conferences, there are often manuscript critique workshops and appointments to pitch your work to agents and editors. Here are my ten suggestions to get the most from any writers’ conference you attend. 1. Become a member of the organization sponsoring the conference. If that organization has a Yahoo! Group, join it as well. It’s the best way to make contacts before the event and find the volunteer jobs I mention in #3. 2. If you have an area of expertise useful to authors, send a workshop or panel proposal for the conference committee’s consideration. At Colorado Gold, some of the well-attended sessions were presented by unpublished writers or others with knowledge of e-books, e-readers, digital publishing options, police arrest tactics, blogging and social media, and publicity. 3....

Why do you use a can opener? To open a can. What kind do you use, electric or manual? Either will work. It depends on circumstances. If the electricity is on, it's easier to go electric. Otherwise, the manual will do just as well to get the job done. There are many ways to get a book published. Which method works best for you depends on your circumstances. If you can get to a conference and pitch, or if you can win a contest with the prize being an editor, agent or publisher reading your manuscript, the process will go smoother. If those options are not available, you can still rely on the tried and true methods of following guidelines and submitting a query, proposal or partial, depending on requirements. If you're talented and fortunate, you'll advance to the next round, which is submitting a full manuscript. Whenever I can, I go the electric route and pitch at conferences, such as this past February's Love Is Murder conference, where I pitched to ed...