I’ve been writing for most of my life, albeit, entirely without income or notoriety to show for it, but I’m embarrassed to say that I had never taken the time to attend a writer’s conference until last year. I finally took the plunge at the 2024 Blue Lake Christian Writers Conference because I was familiar with the location, since I had attended many other retreats and conferences there in the past; it was within a relatively short driving distance from where I live, so I could drive to it without having to resort to commercial travel; and an esteemed author/blogger and acquisitions editor, Terry Whalin, whom I greatly admired, was going to be on the faculty. Even then, due to my job constraints at the time, I was able to attend only two of the four days. That will be different in 2025, as I intend to take full advantage of the entirety of the conference’s offerings.
It isn’t that I didn’t see the value in it throughout my lifetime, but I simply didn’t make it a priority. The hindrances (excuses) were either justifying setting aside the time on my schedule as a full-time pastor (or as a full-time active duty Army Chaplain for over nine years at one point) or having the personal finances to spare or any number of other seemingly “good” reasons for postponing or procrastinating.
Procrastination–yeah, that’s a big one for me. I could always find a good reason why “now is not the time.” Meanwhile, I shelved my dream of writing a book “one day” until I had more time or more money or more success at being published. After all, I believed I should have had some publishing success before I dared to mingle with other accomplished writers. However, that simply is not a prerequisite for attending a writers conference, because writers conferences are as much about helping aspiring writers get into the business as they are for helping established writers improve their skills and find fresh opportunities.
I did finally make the time to write not only one but six books to date, but I chose the independent publishing route because of my lack of success in grabbing an editor’s interest theretofore and my lack of any network connections with anyone in the industry. Had I attended a writers conference sooner, I might have gained both of these greatly-desired outcomes long ago. Though I had amassed a nice collection of books personally autographed by the authors over many years, I was not personally acquainted or even professionally acquainted with any of them. However, in just two days at the Blue Lake Christian Writers Conference, I managed to make multiple connections and glean an immense amount of information for improving my writing and publishing opportunities.
If insufficient personal finances is one of your hindrances, as it was for me for many years, consider getting an extra part-time job to save up the funds to pay for it. If other commitments prevent you from taking on another job, consider gathering up a bunch of used items you no longer need from around your house and put them up for sale on eBay or Craigslist or even by hosting a garage sale one or more weekends. I don’t advise taking out a loan, including adding it to your credit card if you don’t have the means to pay the bill when it comes due, but perhaps you might suggest to your family members and/or friends to give you cash instead of other gifts for special occasions such as your birthday or Christmas to help you fulfill your writing and publishing dream. I’m sure you can come up with a few more ideas of your own to accomplish this goal.
Determine right now to attend at least one writers conference sometime within the next year or two. It has the potential to supercharge your dream and propel your entrepreneurial writing career far beyond your expectations. If you don’t know of any writers conferences, do an Internet search and narrow the list down to those within driving distance to save a little on travel expense.
Don’t make the mistake I’ve made by procrastinating and making excuses for delaying your dream any longer. Take action now. You’ll be glad you did.