Did you Blog About the Conference?

Now that those of us who traveled long distances to the conference are overcoming our jet lag, we're beginning to blog our thoughts about the conference.

• Nick Harrison (editor at Harvest House Publishers) blogged about why "personal experience" stories have a hard time finding a home with publishers.

• I (Laura Christianson of Blogging Bistro) blogged about writers' conferences in general, and I included a picture of the lovely people who attended my Branding Continuing Class.

What about you? Have you been blogging about your experiences at the FCWC? If so, please include a link to your post(s) in the Comments area.

Stay tuned for a slideshow of the conference. If you have great pix, please send me low-res versions of your best shots. Or better yet, send me a link to a slideshow of conference pictures you've uploaded to a photo sharing site. I'll share the link on this blog. My address is laura@bloggingbistro.com.

The Cardinal Sin of Writers’ Conferences

At a writers’ conference, I sat with one of my editor friends during lunch. Another conferee joined our table and proceeded to share her life story with the editor (completely ignoring everyone else at the table).

She droned non-stop in a loud voice for 45 minutes (I kid you not!). The editor listened politely, nodding occasionally.

At the end of her monologue, the conferee announced, “The Holy Spirit gave me the gift of gab.”

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Writers’ conferences have unwritten rules of social etiquette. Here are five to engrave on your heart:

1. Listen more than you speak.
2. Ask questions that show you’re interested in others.
3. When you’re chatting with others, observe their body language. If their eyes are flitting all over the room and they’re fidgeting, it’s time for you to stop talking.
4. When you share a meal with others, give everyone an opportunity to speak before you chime in.
5. Don’t use 100 words when 10 will do.

Conferees and conference faculty: what "rules" for conference etiquette would you add?