Why I pay the price to go to writers conferences:

               Every year I try to take in at least one writer’s conference or retreat. I put money aside, so I can get on a plane and rub shoulders with other authors, editors, and agents. Why? Because it’s all about marketing. It’s all about meeting other writers, learning from the challenges they are facing, making connections that will help a writer, interested in pursuing a publishing career, later on.

               But it’s also about the friendships established and molded over the years. At my very first conference, I met three very special writers: Debra Clopton, Linda Goodnight, and Janet Tronstad. We spent an afternoon touring San Francisco, but even more, their passion for writing made me determined to move ahead with my desire to be an author.

               Several years later, I attended a Susan May Warren My Book Therapy retreat. The friendships we molded on that long weekend together are still with me today. We created a group called The Ponderers and we do weekly blogs at http://mbtponderers.blogspot.com/. Several in the group have moved on to publishing careers and we rejoice with each success. I was able to meet with another group, shown here, that I have made casual and professional connections with over the years.

               Some may believe writing is a lonely profession, but if my experience to day is any indication, it takes a whole team of writers behind you to help you along and going to a conference makes the difference.