You want to go to a writing conference dedicated to writing commercial (popular) fiction. Stuff people like to read. You want a conference that actually helps you on the business end, not just with craft. You live in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, northern Arizona, or maybe a bit farther. What if you could go to one that featured the following:
- AUTHOR: Anne Perry. Yes, that Anne Perry, the mega mystery goddess.
- LITERARY AGENT: Michael Bourret (Dystel & Goderich Literary Management)
- LITERARY AGENT: Hannah Bowman (Liza Dawson Associates)
- LITERARY AGENT: Alyssa Henkin (Trident Media)
- LITERARY AGENT: Michelle Witte (Mansion Street Literary Management)
- EDITOR: Victoria Curan (Harlequin Heartwarming, which is a line that focuses on wholesome contemporary romances that celebrate traditional values, strong communities, family connections and true love)
Plus lots of other great folks. Including some who are making some nice numbers on Kindle selling independently.
Geez, John. Sounds fab!
Yeah. It’s happening May 10-11, 2013 in Provo, UT (a glorious time in Utah). It’s the LDStorymakers conference. There’s not a better conference in the Intermountain area. I presented last year. It was fun and insightful. I’ll be there this year. It’s great for meeting other authors (that includes lots of friendly folks trying to break in). And, obviously, meeting agents and editors.
The thing is the attendance is capped. Last year they turned folks away.
If you want in, I suggest you register now.
See you there! (Really, I hope you come up and say hello.)
I find the LDStorymakers author’s guild rather offputting, considering their requirement for membership. It seems to me that anyone who is not LDS who pays to attend this conference is helping to fund a group who would never allow them to join.
I don’t belong to the guild, but it’s still a great conference.
JohnW,
Who said anything about membership? I’m not a member of the group.
Folks don’t go to the conference to fund something or join the organization. Who cares about joining? They go because they feel two days of education are worth the dough. This is an educational and networking event. If the education and meeting opportunities are worth it, then it could be sponsored by the Ex-Clowns of Russia, and it wouldn’t matter (alas, such a highly-prestigious group I won’t be able to join).
You know, it could have been a closed conference. But by opening it to the like-minded public, they are able to offer more to everyone. The key is whether there are going to be folks there in your genre and doing your thing. If not, don’t spend the money. If so, it’s an excellent opportunity.
You don’t need to become a Shriner to like their hospitals 😉
I said something about membership. I’m not sure why you reacted so defensively.
As I said, I find the rules of membership of their author’s guild off-putting. If I went to a conference of theirs, every time I met or listened to someone in the guild I would be thinking that here was someone who would not let me into their guild, even if I became a published author.
Clearly that does not bother some people. But it would bother me. If they were good teachers and mentors and earned my respect, it would be even worse, since I could not aspire to one day join their guild.
JohnW,
I guess you and I have different goals when it comes to these things. I suppose if my goal were to join a group then this would indeed be a waste of time. And off-putting.
My goal is different at these things. Like I said: I wouldn’t go to a Shriner’s hospital because I wanted to join the Shriners. I have no intention of becoming a Mason. I’d go to get medical services. Which is why my original post was not intended to suggest people join LDStorymakers. It was intended to highlight great “services” for like-minded authors.
None of the guests are members of the group. Neither are many of the presenters. Nor a huge number of the attendees. Contacts and aquaintances made have nothing to do with any group.
But if that’s your goal, then you’re right, it’s going to be counterproductive. My job here is not to convince anyone they must go. I just want to make my post clear, and that is for folks looking for great education and contact opportunities, this is an excellent opportunity.
Thanks for the shout-out John, though the email you got the dates off of was wrong. It’s actually May 9-11. (Thursday through Saturday, not over the weekend.) Thanks for being willing to present again this year. We’re really excited about the lineup of guests and fantastic classes.
Doh! Dates edited.