Hi friends!

It’s been a while. Hope that your transition into summer has gone smoothly. Here in New England, I can’t say it’s happened yet, as the weather has been doing a fantastic imitation of mid-October, and not the nice mid-October when you can still enjoy some time outdoors. It looks like this week we may finally have turned a corner. I’m more than ready.

Project management-land has swallowed me up lately but fortunately I had a quick break in order to celebrate book things with my friend and fellow coach Samantha Skal at ThrillerFest in NYC. (Check out her Instagram, linked—you may spot me in a few of her fantastic snaps. 😉)

It had been 5 years since my last in-person writing conference and I had forgotten how magical they can be. The energy, the camaraderie, the support and curiosity about process, pathways, subjects, and more is motivating.

(NOTE: Today I’m specifically talking about conferences, rather than writing workshop/retreat-type events. Those can also be great—and I might have some news about something like this, stay tuned—but for now I’m specifically talking about conferences with high-profile author keynotes/guest speakers, panels, etc.)

I’ve been at this long enough to know that everyone’s path—to writing, to querying, to publishing—looks a little different, and that’s okay. It is reassuring to sit in on a panel of six massively successful authors and hear that half of them are plotters and half are pantsers, or maybe a couple of them are somewhere in between. (There was a discussion of multiple whiteboards with multi-colored magnets representing different plot beats that was next level.)

It’s also reassuring to realize what a big tent the writing world has. Do we need to continue to do better in terms of diversity and equity? Absolutely. But in terms of the sheer number of books that come out each year and the different audiences they satisfy, there is a lot of space—more than it can feel like when you’re at home working away or in the query/submission trenches.

And though my current WIP is at best “thriller-adjacent”, I love thrillers, mysteries, and supernatural spooky books and the people who write them. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an event where so many people self-identified as ‘weird’. No wonder I felt so at home. 😍

But I also knew that I would be so mad at myself if that’s what I actually did and a quick power nap or reading break helped me restore my equilibrium.

So if you think that an event like this is not for you, for the same reasons, let me assure you that it’s worth it. Know yourself and take breaks when you need to. Don’t be afraid to sit by yourself at a table in the back; it will be full before you know it and you’ll meet some lovely folks you probably otherwise wouldn’t have.

Another strategy: volunteer! Most conferences desperately need people to help keep everything running smoothly and there’s no better way to ‘belong’ than to be an official part of the goings-on.

Look for conferences that are centered around your genre or something more general in your area, especially if travel isn’t feasible—lots of events cover more general ‘craft and commerce’ themes and could be useful regardless of your particular niche.

Writing is a solitary activity, which is why it is so important and helpful to find community wherever and whenever you can. Don’t be afraid to stretch and go out of your comfort zone (you can always strategically retreat for a bit when needed).

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Cheers!

Kerry