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| Karen Odden |
Next Month, I will be attending my fourth Bouchercon, this time in New Orleans. It's a monster of a mystery conference ... five full days, with hundreds and hundreds of editors, agents, reviewers, readers, bloggers, and writers of novels, short stories, plays, TV shows and more. The first time I attended, in 2019, I had two books out. In retrospect, I probably should have started attending conferences earlier than I did. Why didn't I? Partly because no one suggested it (I was probably supposed to know about them, but I didn't); and partly because even with two books out, I was still unsure that I belonged at a national gathering of “real” writers. However, had I gone, I would have discovered an important truth: there are infinite ways to participate in the mystery writing community.
There is no one "right" path, and no single measure of success. More important, at conferences, you meet people who are a bit farther along the road and willing to offer advice, share their stories, and lend a hand.
As a side note, one of the smaller conferences might have been less overwhelming for a first-timer, e.g., Left Coast Crime, Thriller fest, New England Crime bake, and Malice Domestic, to name a few. I truly believe it is impossible to foresee what good things will happen, if you talk to people, ask questions and listen well. At Bouchercon 2019, I attended a panel on secondary characters, with Juliet Grames, along with several other writers. That night, at the Harper Collins party, I told her I appreciated what she shared about spending months in Italy researching the characters for The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna. Not until months later did I learn she was an editor at Soho Crime. We stayed in touch. Five years later, she acquired my book. It's just one anecdote, but still. When I teach my workshop on building a community of practice as a writer, I spend a good chunk of the 90 minutes talking about how to attend conferences. It's more than just going to panels and checking out the bookstore.
So... what are some specific tips for getting the most out of conferences?
First off, leave your shy hat at home. Meet as many new people as you can. Yes, we writers tend to be introverted, but at a conference, everyone in the room is up for connecting. That's usually why they're there.
Second, prepare for connecting. Usually, conferences will list the participants on the website in advance. If there is an agent or editor you want to meet, find out if they'll be on a particular panel or will be taking meetings with attendees. If there's an author you admire, plan to find them in the book room after their panel; that's when they sign books.
Third, immerse yourself without drowning. That first conference, I attended as many panels as I could, and when I met people, I asked for their bookmark or card. I volunteered to be a panel timer (a very easy job) and checked attendees in at registration. I attended the dinners and joined the group at the bar afterward. I also took breaks in my room, just to chill. Fourth, follow up. The first few days after I returned home, I decompressed. But after that, I went online and looked people up. I found their books at the library or bought them. I followed their blogs and read their reviews. If there were people I genuinely connected with, I wrote them an email to say I'd like to stay in touch.
As you build your community of practice, think of every interaction as a thread of a web you are building, in both your web and theirs. Having some of that web in place before you have a book published can be very valuable. And it's always good to stretch ourselves a wee bit.
About the author:
Karen Odden is a USA Today bestselling author; her latest book is Under A Veiled Moon, an Inspector Corravan mystery. For more writer’s tips and other news, subscribe to Karen’s newsletter or visit her website. You may also visit her Arizona Authors Association page.
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