There’s a reason why many companies have yearly seminars. It gives employees a chance to fire up their enthusiasm for their company and its products or services. It offers them a chance to unplug from the ordinary and have some fun while networking with others in their field. And it gives them the chance to learn about industry trends or acquire and refine a new skillset.
This, in a nutshell, is what makes a good writers’ conference: relax, fire up, network, learn.
But let’s face it. In this tough economy, digging around in your car and between your couch cushions for enough spare change to pay for a writers’ conference is far from most people’s minds. That change is supposed to pay for gas, after all. It’s very possible that you might get a guilt trip for being honest about your expense-to-income ratio: “You should invest in your career. That $500 + airfare + hotel + rental car is an investment in your future!” Ummm, yeah.
We all want to invest in our career as writers. We all want to “make it” — defined as whatever your own personal goals for your writing happen to be. But for many of us, attending a writers’ conference, much as we would love to do it, is just out of the question.
Solution? Design your own writers’ conference!
Let’s look at a few of the amazing resources right in your own backyard, sorted according to our four aims listed above.
RELAX
One of the major draws of going away to a writers’ conference is just that: going away. Unplugging from the daily grind. The good news: you don’t have to travel a great distance to “get away” for a little while. Scope out the state parks in your area. If you live somewhere where the weather is pleasant this time of year (not Texas), take a notebook and a pen or your laptop and a picnic lunch and strike out into the wilderness for an afternoon. If you live somewhere that is unpleasant outside at this time of year (Texas), then perhaps there is a great indoor location that would work for you. Even a fine coffee shop or wine bar would be excellent. It doesn’t need to be an all-day, sit-in-the-lobby-of-a-hotel-you-aren’t-staying-at affair. Find a special getaway spot that fits your personality and allows you some down-time to recharge your batteries.
Cost: zero – $
FIRE UP
One of the best ways to get fired up about your writing is to listen to an inspirational speaker. There’s nothing like a supercharged speech to rev the engine of productivity! So often, we fall into a rut and become discouraged. We need someone with a plan, someone who’s been there and done all that, to set our feet back on the path to success.
Once again, there is no need to travel anywhere to find motivation! Thanks to the fact that we live in a virtual age, there are any number of webinars available for writers — some free, some with a relatively minimal charge. Check out the Writer’s Digest University for a selection of great offerings.
Perhaps a good book might inspire your creativity and productivity. The Writer’s Digest Shop has a huge selection of great writerly materials. Your local library and Amazon are other great places to find books for writers. More on this later in the post.
There are often author events hosted by local libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops. Look for advertisements for these events and try to attend a few. Helping a fellow author is never a wasted effort, and you may be able to do a little networking of your own!
Cost: zero – $$
NETWORK
Of all the purposes of a conference, this one at first blush seems to be the most difficult to come by outside an actual conference. But it need not be difficult at all! Here are a few options to consider for finding new ways to network with other writers:
- Join a new writers’ forum. There are so many online networking sites for writers of all types. Perhaps you already belong to one or a few. Why not browse around for a new group? Perhaps visit some websites of a few of your favorite authors. Sometimes they have their own online communities, or perhaps they belong to some. In either case, it might give you a good place to start looking.
- Join a new writers’ support group in your area. If you don’t already belong to a local writers’ group, perhaps now is a good time to join. If you live in a city, there are likely to be several different groups available to you.
- Start your own writers’ group! If, after many fruitless searches, you cannot find a local group that suits you, perhaps you can fill the void by starting a group yourself. Why not? Someone has to start these things, after all!
- Attend author signings or readings. As mentioned above, this can be a great opportunity to meet other writers (and readers too)! Who knows what doors might be opened through such contacts?
Cost: zero – $
LEARN
Just because you can’t attend a conference this year doesn’t mean you can’t work on your craft or become more industry savvy. Here are some great, inexpensive ways to feed your knowledge.
- Follow some successful writers and industry insiders on Twitter and Facebook.
- Find a few writerly blogs (like this one!) that are fun to read and offer tidbits on bettering your writing.
- Use your library! Some have better selections of writing books than others, but chances are good that you’ll find something useful.
- Haunt used bookstores for writing books.
- If there are some books you know you want, look for them on Amazon, alibris, or the Writer’s Digest shop.
Here are a few books that might help you get started (I found these at my local library this weekend!):
- The Portable Writers’ Conference
- The Writer’s Idea Book (Jack Heffron)
- The Writer’s Idea Workshop (by Jack Heffron)
Cost: zero – $$
BOTTOM LINE
Don’t let finances and the economy prevent you from bettering yourself as a writer. You don’t have to lay out a small fortune to attend a conference. With a little creativity, self-motivation, a library card and internet access, you can put together your own workshop and recharge your writing!
