Virtual Conferences—Yay or Nay?

I recently participated in two online conferences—the Beau Monde conference (for Regency-era writers) and this past weekend I was on faculty with the Northwestern Christian Writers Conference. I have been involved with NCWC over the last few years when the conference was held in-person near me in St. Paul, Minnesota. This year, as with a lot of things, most conferences are either being canceled or going to a virtual format.

Like many other people, I went into the experience with a level of uncertainty. Would it be worthwhile? Would pre-recording the sessions be effective without being able to take questions? Would 1:1 appointments work, and what about the loss of networking? But I have to say, I think the pros of these virtual conferences outweighed the cons. (Then again, I am an introvert so I didn’t miss the large group interactions as much as others would. :)) I know several writers who specifically didn’t sign up because the NCWC conference went virtual. For a while the registration numbers were below expectations. But as the conference drew close, writers began registering from distant states as well as from other countries, like Canada and the UK. In the end, total attendance ended up being robust indeed.

For the conference, I co-taught a class on “Getting Started in Christian Fiction” with author-friend Michelle Griep. And because we pre-recorded our talks ahead of time, attendees and faculty are able to watch all the workshops over a two-week period, instead of having to pick only one or two.

So far, I have only had time to watch Mary DeMuth’s talk on “Write the Truth; Change the World.” But I plan to watch more, like author Tessa Afshar’s “Become Your Own Best Editor,” Shawn Smucker’s “Creating Characters with Depth,” Susan Meissner’s “How to Maintain Great Relationships in Your Writing Career,” as well as others.

The keynote addresses were awesome. Alicia Britt Chole spoke Friday night. I was not familiar with her but her talk really moved me (as well as my husband and son who watched with me). And on Saturday morning, the legendary Karen Kingsbury gave an inspiring message about looking for miracles in everyday life and letting Jesus be the hero of our stories.

Alicia Britt Chole, Karen Kingsbury, and fabulous host Susie Larson

Later that day, I took 1:1 appointments via Zoom and met over a dozen up-and-coming writers that I truly enjoyed connecting with. I also participated in a fiction “Pro-Advice Panel” with a few other faculty, and, oh my goodness, did participants ask great questions. The hour went all too quickly. And finally, the conference team did an amazing job managing the technical details and keeping us all organized.

As I mentioned, I went into these virtual conferences a little reluctantly, feeling like they were a second-best substitute. But both were great experiences. Now, I am considering with far more interest upcoming online conferences like ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and JASNA (The Jane Austen Society of North America.)

What about you? Have you attended a virtual conference of some sort yet? Thinking about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.