TRANSCRIPT

Hi… I’m classifying this as one of my “unpopular opinion” videos because I think a lot of people may disagree with me… that said, here are my thoughts on big writing conferences.

In 2023, I was determined to get an agent and committed to doing everything in my power to get one. This included attending the SCBWI’s annual conference in New York. Now I easily spent over $1,000 on registration, airfare, hotel and food. In my opinion, and again, this is just my opinion, and not an attack at all on the great work that SCBWI does, but the event itself… for me… was a complete waste of time and money.

So why do I say this? Well, I’d estimate that there were probably over a thousand people there all with the same deep desire to somehow get noticed by an agent or publisher and catch their lucky publishing break.

And you know maybe some people did catch their break. I definitely didn’t. At these events, they do have these smaller breakout sessions, but even these breakout sessions had hundreds of people. How can you make any sort of real connection with an agent or publisher with that many people all vying for the exact same thing?

Now to be fair, my opinion is also jaded because I’m introverted and talking with strangers is just not my thing. I’ve read blog posts from attendees who had a fantastic time, met amazing people and developed connections with a supportive writing community. So I mean, if you enjoy meeting new people and want to feel involved with the writing community in the real world, then, by all means, don’t let my opinion dissuade you from attending.

I will say, however, that a conference I did find helpful was my local SCBWI chapter’s annual event. Now this I would recommend. For starters, it’s way less expensive. It’s also much more intimate and relaxed. You get to meet fellow authors in the same boat as you who also live in your area. So at the very least, this gives a new relationship a strong starting point instead of just an awkward opening conversation. The breakout sessions have just dozens of people, not hundreds. And there are actual opportunities to connect with the speakers. For example, I sat next to an agent at lunch. And when I queried her, I was able to reference that lunch. And while this query didn’t actually lead to any sort of representation, it did lead to a personal reply from her, which was so much better than getting another form rejection.

So those are my opinions on large and small conferences. I’d love to get your thoughts on them. Maybe I’m missing out on what makes them special. But please comment below and, as always, thank you so much for watching. If you got any value out of this video, like it, subscribe to my channel and share the video with other aspiring picture book authors.