This post took some time to write as I digested all of the great stuff I learned from the 2022 Women in Publishing Conference. It was my first major foray into the writing world and I am very pleased that I branched out. The conference kicked off in the evening of March 1, 2022, ending in the evening of Saturday March 5th. The bulk of the sessions ran through working hours (generally 9am-6pm EST) with some extra connection and cool-down sessions running afterwards. It was incredibly busy, but I really appreciated the organizer’s mindful approach of reminding attendees to take breaks and recording all of the sessions so watching at your own pace was very attainable.

I must say, this conference blew me away. I have spent a few years trying to cobble together writing resources and researching to “find the right path forward” and this conference laid it all out … in four days. What I really liked was that the conference was not organized to push a “right way” to publish, but instead offered a plethora of options from industry professionals in every writing arena. This approach really impressed me. As someone who flip-flops between self-publishing and traditional publishing (and had not explored hybrid publishing too much) I loved the opportunity to absorb the different viewpoints of these amazing professionals and I know I can make a better informed decision for myself when the time comes. 

I thought I’d share my key takeaways from the conference, and I would honestly recommend attending the session next year if you too are a writer looking at next steps. I know I will be attending.

Key takeaways:

1. Your work needs to be professionally edited prior to looking for an agent or querying a publisher. Do not go outside of your budget, always ask for samples for comparison, and your editor should ALWAYS operate within your genre and have published a book themselves. There are three main types of editing: developmental, copy/line, and proofreading. Developmental looks at the “big picture” like plot holes, timelines, and world consistencies. Copy/line editing does exactly what it sounds like, and will catch the little inconsistencies. Proofreading is the grammar and typos check. A writer should plan to submit the most polished work they can to an editor – the more work you do in advance, hypothetically the less you will have to pay when an editor goes through it.
2. In order to do takeaway one well, you need to give yourself the adequate time to do so. For me, I’m expecting to add another year to my process.
3. Change must be meaningful in your story and when there is change make sure your characters are responding to it.
4. Setting is badass and does not need to be dull; it is most easy to add on the second round of edits.
5. Every writer should have a polished elevator pitch. If you are like me, and you do not … get working on one.
6. If you want to go the querying route with a traditional publisher, do your research, plot out the timelines when the publisher is accepting submissions, and follow their instructions to a ‘T’. Agents and publishers receive such a high volume of traffic that mis-packaged queries are just rejected. Also do not submit queries to more than 10 publishers at a time even if it is difficult to wait.
7. Branding is important. Do your research, start with one platform and build it. Be mindful of your audience … a.k.a. If you post too much writing content, you may attract more writers than readers, which is not exactly what you were hoping for (though most writers are readers).
8. There is a strong, amazing writing community out there, and they are supportive and welcoming.

I’ve called writing lonely before, and it does typically feel that way. I think it is so important for creatives to branch out and find their people so they can support each other through their process. I loved the Women in Publishing Conference for this. There are ladies like me, just starting out, all the way up to highly successful, regularly published authors. It was empowering and inspiring. I am so pleased that I was able to participate in this amazing journey.