It's all about marketing

OK. You probably won’t want to hear this—I know I didn’t—but it’s a fact that you must accept as a writer.

It’s all about marketing.

See…..I knew you wouldn’t want to hear it!

Writers aren’t generally gregarious marketing types, are they? We’re solitary folks who are satisfied to sit in front of our computer screens as long as people will let us. Some of that time we’re actually writing. The thought of putting on real clothes—you know the kind I mean, the ones that match and aren’t full of cat hair or holes—to leave the house and promote our work is….well, scary, and takes a lot of energy that is better used on Facebook, I mean writing.

No one else is going to do it for us, though. We have to make connections with others who can help us. It can become overwhelming, though, unless we have a plan.

One tactic that will let us wiggle our toes in the shark-infested waters of marketing is to attend one or two writer’s conferences in our immediate geographic area. Most conferences offer about two days of workshops and other opportunities to meet those who have some stake in the literary world. Local conferences are reasonably priced and you won’t have to spend money on a hotel room and a lot of over-priced food. Many colleges and universities put these events on every year, so check out the institutions near you as a place to start.

Another important reason to attend is all the editors, agents, and publishers that show up there, too. They have their own reasons for attending, but I’m not here to give tips to them. What YOU need to do is go and talk to everyone you meet. Everyone who sits in the bar like you, trying not to be noticed. All the people who gather outside by the pool and smoke. And most of all, those agents and other people necessary to our world that you run into during the day in workshops, in the banquet hall during lunch, and on the elevators.

Exchange contact information with anyone who is willing. This type of networking is essential in any business. You never know who knows someone who can help you. Create a distribution list for the conference after you get home. Follow up with a short email making nice comments about them, suggesting you all stay in touch, and generally being sociable. You can do this. You’re a writer.

For an additional fee when you register, you can sit at a tiny table and meet one-on-one with the editor, agent, or publisher you feel will be most useful to you and your career. It is true that these face to face meetings are VERY short, but you can maximize this time if you are well-prepared with your pitch, a proposal, and some samples of your work. If they suggest you follow up with them after the conference, DO IT. Remember, they are there for a reason, too. You might be their next big discovery. You can make them famous and they can make you rich, and vice versa.

While you’re choosing your workshops, pick at least one that stretches your limits a bit. You might fall in love with poetry or children’s literature, romance novels, or personal essay writing. This enlarges your writing opportunities. Plus, it makes you a better writer to struggle within a new genre.

Marketing means much more than attending conferences. But I don’t want to scare you right now with all the other stuff you should be doing to promote your work. We’ll worry about that later, as Scarlet says.

Start out small and then follow all the contacts and leads that you gather as you attend one or two conferences in 2010. It won’t hurt to pry yourself out of your comfy office chair and actually turn that computer off for a weekend! Commit to yourself and your craft that you will do it this year.

Here are some links to find conferences in your area:

http://writing.shawguides.com/

http://writersconf.org/

http://www.newpages.com/writing-conferences/


Have you attended any writing conferences? What has been your experience with them? Share your comments with the group below.

We can help each other choose good conferences and share ideas on how to make the most of our time and money.

Keep writing!