Why You Should Attend a Christian Writers’ Conference

By Jeff Gerke
2010 FCWC faculty member

You should go to a Christian writers’ conference. They're wonderful. Where else can you find hundreds of other weird people like yourself? [grins innocently]

Seriously, writers’ conferences are great places to meet like-minded people who want to write and who love the Lord. You can laugh and weep with these folks because they understand you like perhaps few other people in your life do.

Conferences are places to attend seminars by experts in the field you're trying to break into: acquisitions editors, accomplished writers, influential agents.

Sometimes, depending on the conference, you can even catch VPs of publishing, sought-after speakers, and that holy grail of Christian writing: famous authors. I've had the pleasure of rubbing elbows with the likes of Frank Peretti and Jerry Jenkins at some of these conferences.

It's a tremendous place to network too. Sometimes "who you know" really can help you out. If you meet an agent and you two hit it off, who knows but that a beautiful professional relationship might just be born. If you meet an aspiring author like yourself and you critique each other's work, who knows what might happen if that author gets published and is willing to put in a good word for you with her editor?

Best of all, Christian writers’ conferences are the only place I know of where you can pitch your book idea directly to the acquisitions editors at major publishing houses, even if you don't have an agent. Almost every CBA house is closed now to unagented authors. The Christian writers’ conference is your way to bypass that restriction and get right to the person who can get you in the publishing door.

The classes and seminars and panels you can attend at these are often worth the price of admission unto themselves.

• Imagine learning plotting from James Scott Bell, Writer's Digest author and Christian novelist.
• Imagine learning how to market yourself from Rebecca Seitz, a professional publicist who works with all the major Christian houses.
• Imagine learning suspense from master storyteller Angela Hunt.

Writers’ conferences afford you opportunities you'll not get anywhere else.

And did I mention the wonderful people you'll meet?

Some of these conferences (like the Florida Christian Writers' Conference) are held at beautiful retreat locations too, giving you the chance to get into the mountains or the forest or the beach when you're not in class.

But you might be having too much fun yukking it up with your new lifelong friends--or pitching to editors--to do much sightseeing.

After you attend one Christian writers’ conference you will be hooked. You'll think, "That's the best thing I've ever done for my writing career." And you'll be back next year.

Attend a Christian writers’ conference. You won't be sorry.

Jeff Gerke has been called the de facto gatekeeper of Christian speculative fiction. After writing his own speculative fiction and spearheading the launch of a fiction imprint dedicated to Christian speculative fiction at a major Christian publishing company, Jeff branched out on his own to launch Marcher Lord Press, the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction.

Conference Goal for First Timers

I don’t think seeing a picture of the Swiss Alps is the same as being there.

I don’t believe watching the Superbowl on TV is the same experience as sitting in the stadium immersed in the roar of the crowd.

And reading about swimming is not the same as paddling around a crystal blue lagoon.

I thought I understood publishing. I’d perused numerous brochures and figured writing conferences weren't much different than the conferences I'd been to for years in my day job. Just a bunch of information I could learn less expensively from reading books. Then I went to my first writing conference.

Wow. I quickly discovered Jim be highly ignorant.

A conference will baptize you into the world of publishing like no book or blog ever could. You'll come away inspired and encouraged. You'll feel like a teacup in front of a fire hose, but that's a good thing. You'll soak up a ton of wonderful wisdom that will advance your career, as well as meet potential lifelong friends.

Let's talk about those friends for a moment

If you're coming to the Florida Christian Writers Conference to sell your project, don’t. Your goal should be to meet people. Not get a contract. Seriously.

As Randy Ingermanson likes to say, “Think contacts, not contracts.” He’s right. And not just contact with editors, agents, and faculty members. At most conferences, I see writers scramble to hob knob with everyone on faculty, while ignoring the fascinating conferees all around them.

Relationships are the conduit to success in any business. Relationships with everyone. The pub world is no different.

My first conference

On the way to my first conference I rode in the airport shuttle bus with a husband and wife from Montana. Warm people. Lots of laughter. Fun questions were thrown back and forth.

By the time we arrived at the conference I felt like I’d made two new friends. But I was so brand-spankin’ new to the world of publishing it was halfway through the weekend before I realized this lady was a multi-published, influential author.

Three days after the conference she volunteered to read some of my writing. A day after that she said she wanted to recommend me to her uber-agent.

Let me be clear

The moral of that story isn't, "Make friends with everyone because they might help further your career!" The moral is relationship. This author has become a dear friend. Yes, the intro to her agent was wonderful, but the gold is an eternal relationship with this lady and her husband.

In other words, if you believe God is in control, then believe God is in control. Just meet people. Don't try to make things happen at the conference. Don't try to maneuver and manipulate. Trust Him. If He knows every hair on your head, He's figured out who you need to meet, and just as important, who you shouldn't meet. He's the most talented appointment coordinator you'll ever know.

If you’re a veteran, tell us about your first conference experience.

What was good? What wasn't? What one piece of advice do you wish you'd been given before your first conference?