But who comes here? I am invisible; And I will overhear their conference. —Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare was apparently a big fan of writers conferences. No, that’s not a documented fact, but if you look closely at his words, he had a lot of great advice for conference goers. Just trust me on this.
I have recently returned from Thrillerfest 2024, and I’m here to tell you that people haven’t changed all that much since 1600, and the Bard had plenty of timely things to say about everything that went down on Seventh Avenue last week.
Thrillerfest was held at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel which is… not in Times Square. Not even close. Hotels lie sometimes. Just picture a big conference hotel with the air-conditioning turned up too high. Thrillerfest is an excellently run and well-attended con for aspiring and published thriller writers. They had some legends of suspense on their docket, including Louise Penny, Alex Finlay, Gregg Hurwitz and Tess Gerritsen to name a few of my favorites. Here’s how that went:
"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." -Macbeth
As Shakespeare clearly meant to imply, a big writers’ conference can be throughly overwhelming. It didn’t help that I barely know a soul. Suspense is a new category for me, which meant that I was suddenly the new girl again.
“What’s in a name?” Romeo & Juliet
As with any conference, the first thing that happened when I arrived was that I was given a name tag on a gaudy lanyard. I have an entire drawer of these from past conferences, and I keep them to remember all the places I’ve traveled to talk about writing. (Dallas! Colorado! Cannes! Berlin!)
Even though it clashed with my outfit, I wear that sucker proudly. It’s only polite. The first thing everyone does when interacting with unfamiliar faces at a conference is to sneak a glance at that name tag.
It should be visible at all times. And consider adding some details to your name badge, such as:
Your hometown
Your genre or specialty
“First timer”
In this vein, I wore an Etsy Necklace to this conference with my book cover on it. I had this little bauble made this past winter, when I was headed to a cocktail party my publisher threw. So I dusted it off for the conference, and it served as a bonafide conversation starter. When someone asked what kind of books I wrote, all I had to do was lift the pendant and show them the cover.
“Boldness be my friend!” - Cymbeline
Shakespeare obviously knew that every conference has a clump of people who all know each other. They’re the loud people in the hotel bar, catching up on all the news since last year’s con.
But for every one of those people there are four more newbies. You can find them hovering near the walls, checking their phones and regretting all their life choices.
Here’s where you have to channel your inner extravert. Even if they don’t look it, most everyone at a conference is open to meeting you. In fact, you must talk to strangers. I insist. This seems like an obvious statement, but it’s easy to cut yourself a little too much slack when everyone else looks more comfortable than you feel. It’s easy to sit in the back row and not engage.
But that would be a mistake. The ugly truth about conferences is that the most useful bits will be the unplanned conversations. The keynotes will be inspiring for sure, but you’re not going to become pen pals with the headliners. You might, however, meet some other writers who become part of your writing community forever. And that will only happen if you’re willing to start conversations with strangers at the coffee station.
Over the last ten years I have met the following people at conferences:
Women who invited me into a tiny Facebook group where high level authors discuss the business. I’ve learned so much from them over the years.
Author friends who later arranged newsletter swaps with me, so that we could cross-populate our readerships.
A copyeditor who edited several of my books.
One of my French publishers.
Narrators who I later hired.
This job is easier when you have collaborators, and conferences are great for meeting them.
"A fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." - As You Like It
What Shakespeare was trying to say here is that you should ask your new friends which sessions they’re attending. Thrillerfest was a four-track conference, meaning that at any given hour there were four talks to choose from.
On the first day, I sometimes chose badly. I’d forgotten to ask veteran conference goers which sessions they were attending. The repeat customers of a conference usually know who the best presenters are.
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." - Julius Caesar
Before we part, I leave you with these eight truisms about writers conferences:
1. You’ll meet at least one person who insists they have the next bestseller. (Shakespeare put it this way: "The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.”)
2. You’ll learn as much from fellow attendees as from the speakers.
3. Your tote bag will be overflowing with swag, free books, and most likely a very ugly water bottle.
4. You will leave with more business cards than you know what to do with.
5. The coffee is never as good as the conversation.
6. You’ll hear the same advice multiple times, but it’ll click the third time.
7. Someone will pitch you their book in the bathroom.
8. The real conference happens at the hotel bar. Just take it easy on the drinks in case you meet any agents or editors. And because, inevitably, the best session of the following day will begin at 8 a.m.
That’s all the advice I’ve got! And now I have a new lanyard and name tag for the collection. And all those business cards…