During the last weekend of October, I was a first-time attendee at the Emerald City Writers’ Conference, put on by the Greater Seattle chapter of RWA. It wasn’t my first conference ever, but it was my first writing conference! I attended sessions on craft, on career, and on business, tweeted compulsively in lieu of writing notes and managed to keep my cool (I think) when I found myself in the same room as Beverly Jenkins and Julia Quinn.
Advice for a first-time attendee
As a first timer, I got a flair ribbon to add to my name tag. A few people commented on it but everyone was pretty friendly whether they were looking at the name tag or not. I tried to ask people what their advice for conference newbies was. Here’s what I got:
- Sit with new people at each meal.
- Don’t take notes — you’ll absorb more.
The first tip I did follow, and it worked about as well as I could expect given the constraints of the setting. Between eating, listening to keynote speakers, and the buzz of conversation from those who had connections already, it wasn’t easy to chat with strangers across the large round table. I know I missed out by going home every night and not partaking in after hours conversation over drinks. But hopefully I’ll see some of the same people at future events (or social media) and strengthen the nascent connections.
Major shout out, by the way, to my mom! I wouldn’t have been able to attend at all if she hadn’t flown in to help with my toddler and with potty training, too.*
As for not taking notes… If the subject is intriguing, I think I am incapable of not trying to write it down and share it somehow. Hence this whole blog and social media thing! You can find the master list of my twitter notes here.
Other lessons learned
Bring cash for raffle
There were beautiful gift baskets given away during the meals, with the proceeds benefiting DAWN, a non-profit which “protects women and children from domestic abuse, providing shelter, support and empowerment so they can build secure and happy lives.” I didn’t have cash or time to get any, so I’m adding it to my reminders for next time and adding DAWN to my list for end of year donations.
And address labels for the tickets
I saw many people with cramping fingers as they wrote their name — legibly! — on dozens of raffle tickets. And I saw one person with a sheet of address labels, which are just the right size to go on the tickets. Genius!
Don’t forget your business cards
As I was driving across Lake Washington from Seattle to Bellevue on the first day, I remembered that this was a physical event, and there would be in-person networking and I would need to trade business cards with all the in-person people. Most of my professional networking is on Twitter–I had to dig up my cards on the first night in order to hand them out on Saturday and Sunday.
Confession time!
I wore glasses for the whole conference, but… I don’t actually… need… glasses. They were entirely performative, and very cheap on Amazon.com.
You see, as I am preparing for book launch, one of the things I am sorting out is the difference between my everyday self and my Romance Writer self. I have chosen my pen name (future post on that) and I decided that she wears glasses. (Maybe I watched 10 Things I Hate About You too many times in high school?)
I also have a super awesome purple velvet blazer with shiny magenta silk lining, which I wore for the last day. I’ve had it for years, but it also feels like a core wardrobe item for my Romance Writer self.
So if you are looking for me at a future event, I’ll be the one with a fab purple blazer, glasses, and a smartphone in my hand.Come say hi, because I promise you won’t feel any more awkward than I do in public!
*As she was preparing to depart, my mom told me she’d seen a friend of hers post on Facebook about spending the week with her 15 year old grandchild. That grandma made cupcakes with her grandchild. My mom did not make cupcakes. She did laundry. Next time, there will be more pastry and fewer dirty pants!
