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Attending conferences at distant locations can
be expensive, but some people find them worth the money for networking, if
not for the content of the lectures. I’ve read about a writer who went to a
conference, met an editor from a well-known publishing firm, and sent that
editor her first novel. The editor accepted it, and published the writer’s
next several books—all without an agent. I’m not that good at networking—or
that lucky.
I live in the New York City area where many
writers’ conferences are held, so I’ve been able to attend a number of them
conveniently, without travel costs. I’ve found some of the lectures at
every conference helpful, and sometimes I go to a conference just to hear a
single lecture. Occasionally I’ll even travel to hear a particular writer
speak. I flew many miles to hear Elizabeth George, my favorite contemporary
mystery writer, and it was worth every penny. (To learn more about
Elizabeth George and her books, see
www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com.)
But a
conference can have losers as speakers or consultants on the program along
with its stars. Some of the speakers don’t bother to prepare. At one
conference, each attendee was asked before the conference to send in several
pages of a current work for evaluation by an agent. The agent—let’s call
him Jack Slick—hadn’t read my
submission: didn’t know it was a mystery,
talked about being sick of “beautiful” girl novels
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