The Essentials of Writing Conferences – Post 4

In this series, I am going to write about the essentials of writing conferences. These are some of the most important things that I have noticed in my conference career (now entering my fifth year of 2 conferences minimum per annum).

If you are a writer and you are at the conference with a book to sell or want to network and learn, keep reading.

Part 10 of too many: Dining logistics

One of the most astounding parts of conferences is group meals. You start with one person and ask what they are doing for dinner. If not attending an exclusive event, ask if you may join them. Then, you meet up with the people they were planning to meet up with and the people those people invited with them and it results in a mass of 6-18 people going for lunch/dinner/what-have-you.

When dining out with a lot of people:

Carry cash, preferably a little more broken than solid twenties.
Sit at a table with an equal mix of people you do know and you don’t know. Or sit at a side of a table like this because, often, groups are so large that conversation is divided.
If you are vegetarians and it is a group meal of tapas or Chinese, sit together. It makes life easier to vegetarians and meatatarians alike.

Part 11 of too many: Be abreast of (inter)national events, politics, and health care.

Source: College broadcasters

When travelling, know policies or the places you are visiting and how they match up with your home policies. There is a lot of talk about healthcare, insurance, legal systems, and more.

There is usually an equal mix of talk about conference/writing and other random topics.

Part 12 of too many: Know what the different parts of the conference entail

Panels are interesting, but the attendees are mostly novice writers. The professional writers only attend topics that are more uncommon among all the other cons in the past. In the meantime, authors are in meetings or at the bar.

Readings. Authors go to support their friends. Novices are busy blind in the panels.

Parties. There are specific parties you are not allowed in and open parties (the Australians will be there and they will get very drunk). If a publisher party, be professional at all times.

Con Suite. Freebie food

Part 13 of too many: Parties go into the wee hours. Every morning.

I did not go to any parties. I’m not a party girl. Perhaps I should have tried but by the end of the day, my limited extroversion was completely exhausted.

But I did ask some people for tips.

Go up to the suite floor and go toward the noise. Like a moth to a flame, you will find yourself in trouble aka surrounded by progressively more drunken writers. Be at peace.

There are two places you can be for maximum gravitational pull. Number one is sitting on a couch area. People will come and go and you can talk while they are relaxing. This is for maximum rotation of people. Number two is by the air conditioning source. As the rooms warm up, people will come to you. And you will be cool (haha, pun!), calm, and collected.