Why Attend Writers’ Conferences and Critique Groups?

After thirty-four years of overseas living, my husband and I settled in California. I was already a multi-published author, with five books and a variety of devotionals and articles under my belt. I had a whole shelf of “how to write” books in my office. So why would I think it’s important to join a writers’ critique group and attend Christian writers' conferences?

At first I didn’t understand the importance of joining a critique group or attending Christian Writers' Conferences. Then I attended my first Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, held over Palm Sunday week-end (Friday -Tuesday) at the Mount Hermon, CA, Conference grounds. It’s a huge conference, with about 400 writers in attendance. Eighty staff members, including editors of Christian publishing companies, literary agents, and successful authors presented eleven morning tracks that covered fiction and non-fiction writing, writing articles and devotionals for magazines, scriptwriting, marketing and publicity, and writing for children at the 2010 conference.

I could choose from seventy afternoon workshops. This year included workshops on how to write query letters and proposals, know when I’m ready for an agent, get branded, learn about market trends, writing book reviews, Bible studies, or memoirs. I came away from my first writers’ conference realizing there was a lot of stuff I didn’t know about the Christian Publishing world.

At my first conference I bumped into Sandee Foster, a friend from my college days. Would you believe she invited me to join her San Gabriel Valley Writers Critique Group? I couldn’t believe my luck. Now something really serious has to be going on for me to miss our first-Friday-of-the-month meetings. Since my first meeting, I’ve submitted every unpublished article, devotional, and book chapters to this wonderfully gifted group of women.

They shoot straight from the hip. If they don’t like how I wrote, they tell me so. And why they don’t like it! Not only has my writing improved. My knowledge of the Christian publishing world has grown immensely.

After attending the Mount Hermon Conference a couple of years, I discovered that smaller writers conference are held in Southern California every year. The Orange County Christian Writers Fellowship sponsors a conference in May and the San Diego Christian Writers Guild sponsors a conference in September. Because there are fewer attendees, it’s easier to get acquainted with the workshop leaders, agents, and editors that attend. And it cost a lot less than Mount Hermon.

This year one of the editors who worked with me on my article in the compilation book, God Encounters sent me an invitation to the Heart of American Christian Writers Conference in Olathe, Kansas. I checked out the HACWN Website and noticed that two editors and an agent I hadn’t met would be participating in the conference.

So, yes, I flew to Kansas City, rented a car, and stayed in a hotel. I sold an article to the online teen magazine “On Course” and met Rick Steele, acquisitions editor for AMG. He asked for a copy of my Fruit of the Spirit book proposal. I also attended a couple of classes taught by a literary agent who, within about six months, would be representing me. Cost me money to go? Yes. Worth every penny? Yes!

The Christian Publishing world works just like the real world—networking counts. Good writing also counts. So go ahead and do it. Join either a local or an online critique group. And go to writers’ conferences. Google “Christian Writers Conferences” for those held in your area. You’ll be glad you did.