2014 San Francisco Writers Conference Tips

The San Francisco Writer's Conference is coming up on President's Day weekend in February, and I'm already getting a little giddy. This will be my fourth year going as a volunteer and even though that means they put me to work, it's a major vacation from being mom, and that makes it one of the highlights of my year. I get to put on my creative professional hat, wear my professional clothes, and converse with other intelligent adults for five days straight!  And I get to do it in the grandest historic hotel in the great city of San Francisco (the Mark Hopkins), where cable cars clang their bells right outside the front doors, and it's an easy stroll by the Fairmont around Huntington Park to Grace Cathedral, with views down to the bay, to Union Square, and even the ocean. Yeah, if you're a writer, you want to go to this conference!

On top of all that, this is the best writing conference in the world in purely numerical terms. The ratio of industry professionals to attendees is 1:3. All of those professionals come on their own time for the cost of their travel expenses, if that, because they want to meet, encourage, educate, and discover emerging authors. You will not find a more conducive environment for taking the next step in your writing career.

The first time I saw the cost to attend, I thought it couldn't possibly be worth so much. Today, I would say it's the best deal in conferences you will ever find. That said, it's not cheap to travel to San Francisco, and your registration represents a significant investment in your writing career, so you'll want to get the most out of it you can. As a fellow writer on a budget, and veteran of the conference, these are my tips for doing so.

1. Try for a scholarship, or volunteer, if you can't afford to go otherwise. If you live close enough and are able bodied and organized, the conference is best experienced from the inside. A large number of volunteers are needed each year to make the conference run smoothly. Many volunteers are repeaters so the openings are few, but new people are needed each year. Sign up for the conference email and send an inquiry to the volunteer coordinator listed at the bottom. They will get back to you in November. You will not get to eat the extravagant meals served to attendees in the Peacock Ballroom during the Keynotes, but you will get your lunch compliments of the conference from the nearby deli and are welcome to sit in the back to hear the speakers. You will not get to every workshop you want, but you'll get to most of them. You won't get to go speed dating for agents either. But that won't matter, because you'll get to eat dinner with many of the pros on the last evening of the conference, they'll recognize you from seeing you at work, and you'll meet and speak with agents and editors in a relaxed setting conducive to building relationships.

2. The publishing industry is all about relationships. You're going to come all this way because you want to build new relationships. Don't worry about having a friend to come with you. If you do come with a friend, agree to part ways after the opening address and not be offended. I'm not gonna tell an introvert to get over it, but if you can, fake it. Put yourself out there and say "Hi." Sit next to a stranger in the lobby and ask if they're here for the conference too. Invite conversation by smiling at people and making eye contact. If you come multiple years, you'll look forward to seeing the friends you make here again and again. You'll connect on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You'll pass out your business card, bookmark, promo cards from your latest work, or whatever other creative connecting device you've come up with. I once received an incredible little flip book of "Hello" poems from another writer.

3. Come early, stay close, and leave late. If you can't afford the conference hotel, there's an excellent Hostel five blocks down Mason Street toward Union Square that costs about $35/night and provides breakfast. You won't be spending much time there anyway. This year extra sessions begin on Thursday morning and extend the conference through Monday afternoon. Mornings begin at about 8 am, and if you hang out with the poets, you might see the backside of that coming in. (Not really. We usually hit the hay by 4 am. ;-)

4. Sign up for the group meals early. All of them! Even if you've pinched pennies by waiting until a volunteer slot opened up and staying at the hostel, you'll want to spend the $25-$35/meal to eat your dinners with other conference attendees and  various pros hosted by Harvey Pawl. If you don't feel like going where they plan to go, round up a few other random people and host your own group meal. Meal times have been the best times of the conference for me. The person you sit next to may be a mover and shaker you haven't heard of yet. Or they may know the thing that gets you past the boundaries that have been holding you back. We learn so much from each other.

5. Go to the pitch sessions and learn how to craft a great pitch. Then don't stress about it. I found that crafting a great pitch was more for my benefit, so I had an easy and comfortable way to describe my book, than for lobbing at random agents. You will have plenty of time to pitch your book to every agent you want to meet. Take time before the conference to read the agent bios online and mark the ones you want to meet, that way you won't be wasting your time, or theirs. Then meet them. Go to a session they're teaching. Introduce yourself in the lobby while waiting for a meal. Be polite and professional, and 9 times out of ten they will ask you what you're writing. If you've looked at the photos with their bios, you might find you get the opportunity to sit next to them at a meal. As long as they're wearing their name tag they are available. Respect their time if they're not. And never pitch in the bathroom. NEVER.

6. If an agent makes a suggestion about your work, that is not a rejection. That is an invitation to change it and pitch again next year. Do it. Overheard in the volunteer lounge, "I just signed this guy. He pitched last year and I made some suggestions and he changed it and brought it back and it's awesome. I just took him out for lunch and signed to be his agent!" Yes, the exclamation mark is correct. Agents get excited when writers demonstrate an ability to take constructive criticism and willingness to work hard to improve their writing. Few of the writers attending a conference for the first time will have work of a high enough quality to sign immediately. We write in solitude and have no good basis for comparison since nothing we see in printed form was delivered to the agent that way. It all gets edited. The question is, how much editing do we need to do before submitting. Probably more than we think. So, they want to know that we're willing to do it.

7. Plan your schedule of workshops, then take any open slots to try something different. I came the first year focused on my novels, but tried a poetry session when nothing else interested me that hour. I found my people, and it reignited my passion for verse. You may be focused on finding an agent, but a marketing workshop could be what you need. You could be thinking self-publishing, but a craft workshop could get you the extra nudge in quality your book needs to succeed. It's great to have goals and be focused on achieving them, but opportunities may arise outside of your focus that you won't want to miss. After 20 years writing sci-fi and poetry, the first book I've had published is a how-to on eBook Fundraising that is a direct result of an opportunity that came out of a relationship formed at the SFWC. But this roundabout connection is still bringing me closer to my ultimate writing goals.

8. On a practical note, plan to use public transportation if you can. The cost of parking in the city can be $30-$60/24 hours. In most cases a taxi, bus, cable car, commuter ferry, train, or combination of the above, are all more cost effective. You can buy a weeklong muni pass that includes unlimited cable car rides for about $26. One way cable car rides are $6 when purchased singly. The cable car runs up Powell, one block east of Mason, and saves you the uphill climb if you stay in the Hostel. And it is a CLIMB. I've tried different ways over the past years and coming from the north bay I like to take the commuter ferry across from Larkspur and the cable car up California Street. Yes, with my luggage. Then, my husband drives down to pick me up Monday night. This works nicely because my luggage is a lot heavier leaving.

9. Your luggage will be heavier leaving too, because you'll want to purchase books from Neal of www.bookshopwestportal.com at the in-house book table, and have them autographed by your favorite authors and speakers. You'll also be weighed down by your conference goodie bag and San Francisco Souvenirs. My mother-in-law is a voracious romance novel reader so I always pick up an autographed paperback or two for her so I can be the best daughter-in-law ever, and the book fair planner at my kids' school commissions me to get autographed children's books she can use for prizes during literacy week at the end of February. Plan ahead. This is a great opportunity to shop for the readers in your life!

I always look forward to meeting many new people at the SFWC (like R.L.Stine below in 2013) and I hope to see you there!