Planning a Writers' Conference Part 2

I’ve blogged about how my writers’ group conference committee approached planning our first major event this past spring. Now I’m listing what we learned (sometimes the hard way) from the event itself as we gear up for 2011. Hopefully these items will be helpful for anyone out there looking to plan a similar event in the not-too-distant future.

Choose a venue that fits your needs. Large conference-type facilities are pretty sparse in my corner of the world, so we had to get a little creative. Since we were very conservative in our attendance goals (not to mention budget), we decided on our arts council, headquartered in a beautiful old Victorian mansion. As it turned out, our registration far exceeded our expectations! The location was high on historical significance (it’s a local landmark) and character, but extremely tight on space and maneuverability. Since we only expect our attendance figures to grow (fingers crossed), we had no choice but to find somewhere else for next year. We just booked a hotel with meeting rooms that seem to be a much better fit for what we’re doing—until we outgrow that (here’s hoping).

Ask attendees for feedback. This is a quick and easy way to brainstorm for the next year. We provided everyone with a formal evaluation in their registration materials and asked for suggestions for speakers, topics, and any other types of programs they would like to see. There were some recurring suggestions, so we’ll be keeping those in mind for sure as we start planning the day’s schedule.

Invite agents and editors. A caveat—we aren’t quite at this level yet, but I’ve already sent out some inquiry emails asking about the best way to locate these industry pros. But this is a huge selling point, and one of the biggest reasons writers attend these types of events. The enticement of possible publication is almost always irresistible to most writers.

Secure a killer keynote speaker. Last spring I went to a conference that featured James “How to Write a Damn Good Novel” Frey as the keynote, and they sold out. Our keynote was a developmental manuscript editor who spoke about incorporating writing and art into our everyday lives. We aren’t quite at the James Frey level yet, but for my money, our keynote’s presentation was the relevant, moving, and inspiring message that our crowd needed.

Find sponsors. Any event, no matter how small the budget or scale, can benefit from securing a few sponsors. It’s a win-win—financial or in-kind support for your event, free publicity for them.

What about you? Any other tips for planning a terrific writers’ conference?

Planning a Writer's Conference 101

My writer's group is gearing up for our first large-scale event--a 1-day conference scheduled for April 2010. Our group has been around since 2007, and we've finally picked up enough momentum to even attempt something like this.

I've worked on enough events to have a pretty good idea of how the day should flow, but there's always those little details that slip through the cracks, no matter how organized or prepared you think you are. But I'm listing some of the key points to keep in mind when planning a major event:

Know your limits. We don't have the resources (manpower or financial) to pull off something huge, so we're starting with a 1-day event. We're hoping that what we might lack in quantity, we'll make up for in quality. Rather than hold our conference at a huge conference center or hotel, we're keeping it on the smaller side with a more intimate feel and holding it at our local arts council.

Be organized! We started holding monthly meetings to discuss the day's logistics and details. So far we have the location and most of the speakers confirmed. Luckily, our group's treasurer is super organized--I had a fairly good list of initial tasks we'd need to accomplish, and she more than picked up what I'd missed. Lists, lists, more lists and timelines are a huge factor in the success of an event. Try to predict (and plan for) any foreseeable conflict, and especially those you may not see coming! Have a plan in place to troubleshoot for any dilemma that might pop up. Delegate tasks to your volunteers and be sure to communicate with them often.

Have a catchy name. Marketing is key, especially for your first event. After our last meeting, our homework was to come up with a list of possible event names. Though I can't share my list here, the key is to draw in your target audience. Our goal is to bring in writers from all genres, so we can't be too elitist in our title, yet we want something with a "hook" that will attract people's attention. A local city called their book festival Pages and Places, using the book angle to draw crowds to their downtown, while a neighboring writer's group's conference is called The Write Stuff.

Listen to member feedback. We sent out an informal survey to our members, asking them for what sorts of topics they'd be interested in for our conference. Not surprisingly, "getting published" and "overcoming writer's block" were our top winners, so we're including breakout sessions for both topics into the day's schedule. We're also holding genre-specific sessions but allowing the speakers to determine the content--we gave them the general topic but trust them to do the rest!

Schedule dynamic, organized (yet flexible!) speakers. We asked some of the more outstanding speakers that have presented to our group over the past year to lead the breakout sessions.

Think about the takeaway and other incentives for attendees. What would appeal to you if you were a mere attendee? Freebies, writing contests, agent/editor meetings, critique groups, book fairs? It may not be logistically possible to have all of these things for your first time out, but determine what's possible and then assign the task to someone on your committee. Think about what you hope the attendees get out of the event. If this is your first time out, focus on offering one or two "extras" rather than breaking your budgets or manpower by trying to do them all. Even the most established writing conference is constantly being tweaked and developed to better serve their writers. Give yourself some credit--you're pulling off your first major event! Be proud!

What do you look for in a good writer's conference?