Money Money Money...

 

What do your writing expenses look like for a conference? Airfare, hotel, meals, books, booze. What about ROI (return on investment)? Are conferences worth the expense?

 

What a question! And a question that every writer probably has asked themselves at one point or another during their journey. I saw a post from a fairly well-established writer a while ago struggling with a decision on whether to attend a major upcoming conference. They ultimately decided against because the royalties they earned this year would not cover the cost of the conference. Something I had never thought of before. To be fair, if I used my royalties as a deciding factor on whether to attend a conference it might be a while before I saw any of my wonderful writing friends again.

The last conference I attended was Bouchercon 2024. In between flight, hotel at a massive, expensive resort where nothing cost less than $20, food, books, and of course wine, that conference cost me a few thousand dollars, easy. For that price I got the pleasure of seeing old friends, meeting a few new ones, and hopefully finding a few new readers. Was it worth it?

I think how you answer that question depends on where you are in your writing journey. If you are a new writer, I think a good writer’s conference is invaluable. Writers need other writers, to encourage, support, and tell us we’re not absolutely crazy for fighting so hard to be a part of this world. And when you’re used to writing alone there is no better place to find other writing friends than a writing conference. If you’re lucky those friends will stay with you throughout your writing career. I honestly believe I would not have a writing career had I never went to a writer’s conference. We live in a world where sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and the writing world is no different.

There is another benefit of attending a writer’s conference that cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Inspiration. I never feel more inspired than after returning home from a few days of being surrounded by all things writing. The nights at the bar talking writing. Listening to a writer you long admired talk about their process. Meeting your writing hero or heroine. And, of course, feeling like a writer. That’s a big one. Most of us, especially those of us who still work a 9 to 5 never really get to feel like a writer in our everyday lives, so it’s cool to feel like a writer only, even if it's just for a few days. That feeling is priceless.

I have three conferences that I love. I try to go to at least one of them every year when my coins allow. I come home feeling refreshed, accomplished, and loaded down with more books than I'll ever be able to read. It's the best feeling in the world.

 So, are writing conferences, worth it? Maybe not on paper, if you look at it from a strictly dollars and cents standpoint. But for me the FOMO is far greater than my struggling bank account. So, I’ll see you there.