This is the time for writers’ conferences all around the country. The big crème de la crème of conferences is the famous one at Mt. Hermon in California which kicks off over the Palm Sunday weekend, featuring some of the premier people in Christian publishing. From the large conferences to the smaller ones, these events are recommended by almost all the publishing professionals. You can find a conference in most any state of various sizes and popularity, Christian or secular.
So why go? The answer is simple enough. You meet professionals face to face. You have the opportunities to attend group sessions or individual sessions to pitch your “product” to specific agents or editors who are there to uncover talent and ideas from either first time writers or those who’ve been doing it for awhile but haven’t yet broken into the biz. The authors, editors, and agents often teach classes about all aspects of writing, producing, and marketing books, both fiction and non-fiction, except for the big fall conference in Dallas which deals solely with fiction.
Because of several factors, not the least of which were the location and the reasonable expense, I attended my first writers’ conference which transpired only about a 45 minute drive away from where I live (since the traffic wasn’t bad when I left home).This is an annual conference which used to be sponsored by Seattle Pacific University but has now transferred the leadership to the Northwest Christian Writers’ Association who calls the event Northwest Christian Writers’ Renewal.
Two of the individuals who have been interviewed on this blog, namely Karen Ball and Mick Silva, were in attendance, listening to pitches, and teaching classes/workshops. Karen Ball, author of several novels and a well-known and highly acclaimed editor who has worked for Tyndale, Multnomah (before it joined Waterbrook Press), Zondervan, and is now the fiction acquisitions editor at Broadman and Holman, graciously substituted for Don Pape who couldn’t make it at the last minute. Mick Silva, in the process of writing his first novel, is a non-fiction editor at Waterbrook/Multnomah, a division of Random House. Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency attended this conference representing her firm of four agents.
This may seem odd to you, but it was especially fun for me at the conference because I got to go without any pressure to pitch my novels. Most of my novels do not adhere to current CBA trends, so I determined before I sent in my registration that I was not going to make appointments to waste the time of professionals who could not help me. The other very cool part was that because I knew what some of the other attendees were experiencing, I was able to encourage the few that I met and help them understand some things they had yet to learn. It was gratifying to note that all the hours spent at this computer really had paid off in providing the information necessary to make the experience of the conference personally beneficial. In fact, nothing there was a surprise to me because of the excellent information given on the various blogs of professionals in the industry. In spite of it being my first conference, it felt routine.
Karen Ball is a boisterous, fun-loving, overworked, and incredibly savvy professional who shoots from the hip with humor and kindness but no-nonsense. She speaks the truth in love, but if you don’t want to hear it, don’t ask. Meeting Karen was like catching up with an old friend. Wait, she’s not old, I am.
Mick Silva impressed me with his ability to be precise and articulate on the fly or impromptu, and he also possesses an easy sense of humor. I missed a class of his I wanted to take because it conflicted with another I felt I should take. We’ve had some interesting conversations over the last year via e-mail, so it was good to finally meet “my friend”.
For me, the real beauty of this adventure was the amazing opportunity for prayer. I asked the Lord for a few specific things before I drove up to take part in this conference, and I asked others to be praying for these requests to be granted to me. My heart’s desire was to somehow be able to bless others while I was there, and I believe God honored the prayers. While certainly others such as the two individuals I mentioned above blessed me, I do feel the encouragement and prayers I was able to share with some other people touched their hearts and gave them hope from their Savior. I just delivered the message.
It was a rewarding experience in such a spiritual way, and that’s exactly what I’d hoped and prayed to happen. Praise the Lord.
Father, thank you for so many specific answers to prayers. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to share you with other believers I now know. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you for allowing me the honor of blessing others with encouragement from you. Thank you for who you are. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
*Kristy Dykes is in dire need of our prayers at this difficult time. Please pray for her and her family.*