As I unpack and repack in preparation for Book Passage, a travel writing conference in California, I’m delighted to have a guest post from Eva Holland on why such events are worth the money and the bother.
In 2007, I bet it all on Book Passage.
I was an aspiring travel writer fresh off a British graduate degree and a European backpacking tour, with a student loan and credit card debt for souvenirs. During my time in England I’d gotten my first clip – a story in my hometown paper, the Ottawa Citizen, about a “Trainspotting” themed walking tour of Edinburgh – and now that I was back home in Canada I wanted to take a serious shot at writing full time.
I spent the winter reading and writing and pitching. I got the occasional rejection note from an editor as months passed and I upgraded my day job from snow-shoveler to deli counter wench to waitress to office worker. Mostly, I got no reply at all.
I’d read about the Book Passage Travel Writing and Photography Conference in Don George’s Lonely Planet Travel Writing (How to), a guide that had appeared under the Christmas tree when I first started talking openly about chasing the dream. The conference was spendy – around $600 – and it was held in San Francisco, a very long way from Ottawa. But it seemed like it could provide the jump start my writing career dream efforts needed. I cashed in my frequent flier miles, hoarded for the past six years, and blew all my meager savings on conference tuition and a Marin County hotel room. In August, I was off to Corte Madera.
If you know me, you know the story from here. By September I was blogging for World Hum and Vagablogging – I’d met both Jim Benning and Rolf Potts at Book Passage – and by April 2008 I’d given notice at my day job. My first features had appeared on World Hum, I was an editor at Matador, I had a semi-regular gig with the local paper, and I was landing my first magazine assignments. I was officially a full time, self-employed travel writer.
I don’t want to sound like a late-night weight loss infomercial. (“If I can do it, you can do it too!”) But I’ve become a bit of a writing conference addict/evangelist.
I’ve been back to Book Passage twice, in 2008 and 2010, both times as a lurker and schmoozer at the public evening events. This summer I made it to TBEX for the first time, and – one of the highlights of my year – I also attended the inaugural Oxford American Summit for Ambitious Writers. I won’t make it to Book Passage this weekend, unfortunately, but I’ll be following along on the Twitter, hopefully soaking up some virtual benefits.
Here – because one of the things I learned at that first Book Passage conference is that people like lists – are four reasons why writing conferences work for me.
1) I make invaluable contacts at writing conferences.
“It’s who you know” sounds cynical, but in a world with zillions of writers and terabytes of online submissions it’s only natural that an editor’s eye will be caught by a familiar name in the inbox. It’s not about nepotism or playing favorites or anything at all sinister – it’s just a reality of the sheer volume at play.
And meeting an editor can sometimes mean even more than gaining a slight edge in the slush pile: This summer I met an editor at a conference and she specifically invited me to pitch her on a topic we’d chatted about, offering me her personal email address. I landed the story, and if all goes well (I never count my freelance chickens until they’re actually in the bank) the pay from it will cover my hefty conference fee. That, in the coldest mercenary terms, is return on investment.
2) I learn things at writing conferences.
This one should be pretty self-explanatory. There’s a whole discussion to be had on the “Can writing be taught?” question, but surely pitch writing can be taught, as can other aspects of the freelance life – from mastering blogging platforms to filing tax forms.
And whether or not non-writers can become writers, writers can improve their writing. I absorb everything I can at conference panels, seminars, workshops, casual discussions – anything that helps me gain a fresh perspective on my own writing helps me change it for the better.
3) Writing conferences help people my solitary, online world with colleagues and friends.
Freelance writing can be a lonely pursuit. My “real life” friends don’t really understand my job, and it’s nice to have people with whom I can vent, joke, gossip, compare notes. Of course I can – and have – met peers and friends on Twitter and elsewhere – but there’s still something essential about the face-to-face sit-down over beers, coffee or a meal.
4) I work harder (and better) after writing conferences.
I don’t mean to get all mystical, but I honestly believe I come home from writing conferences imbued with some intangible energy: I get off the plane or out of the car, and I sit down and crank out pitches, emails, words by the hundreds. I come home full of determination to read more, research harder, pitch smarter and write better. Sometimes my newfound motivation stays with me for a few days, sometimes a few weeks, but either way it’s invaluable, invigorating. That post-conference high is what I’m always chasing as a freelance writer: the feeling that I’m doing exactly what I want to do with my life, and for the moment – for that one hour, maybe, or that day or that week – I’m doing it really well.
Eva Holland is the senior editor of World Hum, the site that’s probably the finest place for travel narrative on the web. (That’s my description, not hers.) I’ll be at Book Passage co-teaching a session on travel writing for the web with Jim Benning, one of World Hum’s founders.
Photo, by Eva Holland, used with her permission.
How does this book passage work for aspiring novelists? I would love to do this kind of thing but $ is often an issue.
Hi Karen, I don’t think Book Passage would be an ideal fit for an aspiring novelist – it’s entirely focused on nonfiction travel writing. The Oxford American event I attended this summer had a fiction stream, though, and I’ve also heard good things about the Key West Literary Seminar. There are all kinds of writing conferences around (probably way more for fiction than non) – you might try a publication like Poets and Writers for guidance on which ones might work well for you.
Yes, I’ll second the motion, Eva, that conferences really do energize your travel writing career. My best assignments came after face to face meetings or referrals from someone who knew me personally.
The next greatest advantage is that I also get more work done once I land back in my home office.
And I’m so happy that, after many years, I am attending the Book Passage Travel Writers Conference this Thursday. It will be awesome.
Lenore, say hi! I’ll be there. (Pam, not Eva.)
Thanks for this.Yups $ is the big issues. But eventually once the book you will buy was informative one I wont regret to spent a $ on it.I will look forward to buy your stuff.
Writing conferences have been essential to my writing career. I landed my first good clip by stalking an editor. I met my agent at one. Now I’m on the committee of the local writing conference here in Muncie, which is actually a really amazing conference about to enter its 39th year. Former faculty included Clive Cussler and Kelsey Timmerman!
One of my top bits of advice for writers is “go to conference!” Enjoy Book Passage Pam!
Eva,
I can’t believe it has been four years since we first met at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California.
As a two time attendee of the conference, I found it much easier to put myself out there and network the second year. For me personally, the first year was very intimidating being around so many talented writers/faculty members.
My advice for conference attendees is to go with an open mind and open ears. Absorb as much as possible from the faculty, as they are there to help you become a better travel writer.
Have a great time Pam and bring the uke, of course, for karaoke night!
Solid points, Eva! For me, the Key West Literary Seminar has been my Writing Golden Ticket, one of the smartest things I’ve ever done for my writing path/career/whatever-it’s-called. I’ve gone for five or six years now and I’ve met editors who later published my stories and other writers with whom I still exchange work, to say nothing of many, many lifelong literary friends. KWLS isn’t really focused on the on the craft of writing–though that does come up here and there, of course–but I’ve learned so, so much from hearing famous writers talk about their work and from informal discussions with Actual Authors or lowly-conference-attendee-aspiring-authors. In my experience, I often learn more from informal chit-chat than I do from the panel discussions and presentations themselves. (Also, KWLS is in January in Key West, and I live in Minnesota, so …)
On the money issue, I’d recommend seeing if you can attend a conference as a volunteer. That’s what I do at KWLS. I still have to buy my own plane ticket and find a place to stay, but I don’t pay the general event fee. They just ask that I work as a volunteer for about half the time; the other half (and, I might add, during all the parties and that sort of thing), I’m free to go into the event space and hear the readings and panels. It’s work, but it’s totally worth it (and even when I’m working, I’m doing it with cool, book-loving people–many of whom I also now consider friends).
Added perk: volunteering gives you at least a bit of backstage access and generally more respect from panelists (at least at KWLS). You’re not just another random literary groupie–you’re the one who drove them to their hotel or did line-control during their book-signing or simply opened the door for them. At this point, I can’t imagine attending KWLS any *other* way.
Awesome point about the volunteering, Doug!
Book Passage is *the* conference I’d really like to attend, but it’s incredibly expensive, as you said. And it’s not just the conference fees that add up – San Francisco’s hotels, food, etc. – yikes! I’ve been saving up for two years, and I think I might finally be able to go next year.
Nonetheless, I definitely agree with everything you said. A good writing conference is a great writing conference. I love the ones that leave me feeling motivated, inspired and excited!
I’d not gone because for me, it added up to be about a 1500 dollar weekend. I just couldn’t make sense of the math. I totally get where you’re coming from. I really hope they’ll find a way to bring the price down a bit.