About a year ago I "came out of the closet" and told my friends and family that I was writing a book and hoping to make a living out of being a writer. I was really nervous about telling people about my book because you always get the same reaction..."Have you gotten an agent yet?" "When will your book be out?" "I've been writing a book too! Can you pass it on to someone for me?" I knew that I wanted to take this seriously, so I signed up for a conference in the DFW area. It was pretty pricey, but I knew that it was worth at least going to see if I was even good at this whole writing thing. I had a great time and had such good feedback from my book that I was instantly hit with the writing bug. I had to sign up for my next conference and the Lexicon conference was a few months after that. Here is my review of both conferences.
DFW Writers' Conference: When I first went onto their website, I was blown away. The director of the conference had a blog that was updated regularly with author and speaker bios, tips on pitching sessions, and even success stories from the previous conferences. When I finally arrived at the conference, I was a little overwhelmed by how big it was. It was kind of nice to be surrounded by a large group of people who all wanted the same thing. I felt welcomed when I first arrived. The thing I liked most about DFW was the literary agents they had set up for us. It was my time to see if I actually had something. In the end, I met some really awesome people and have a new confidence in my writing abilities. The one thing I wish would change for next year is bigger classrooms, I had to sit on the floor for quite a few of them.
Lexicon: I found Lexicon after doing a google search for conferences in the state of Texas. This one was far less expensive and was around the same DFW area that the other conference was. The director Mitch was quick to reply to my e-mails and I was excited to attend. I knew that this conference would be smaller than DFW and I was interested to see what it had to offer. The first night was a Meet & Greet and I was really nervous. How would people react to this young, unpublished author? I was shocked at how nice and welcoming everyone was! The director Mitch was never too busy to have time for you and the other authors had so much advice to share! I felt right at home among the others and everyone just seemed so excited to be there. The classes were full of information and even has me excited about writing the screenplay of my novel! In the end, I really had a great time and met so many new lifelong friends.
Overall, both conferences offered me two different things. DFW offered me a chance to meet with big named people and Lexicon offered a chance to network and learn from already published authors. If you are looking at attending these conferences I would highly recommend them. Especially if you are a self-published author, Lexicon is the place to be. If you are just starting out and not sure about what to do, DFW is a great place to get your foot in the door.
I hope this post was helpful!!
DFW Writers' Conference: When I first went onto their website, I was blown away. The director of the conference had a blog that was updated regularly with author and speaker bios, tips on pitching sessions, and even success stories from the previous conferences. When I finally arrived at the conference, I was a little overwhelmed by how big it was. It was kind of nice to be surrounded by a large group of people who all wanted the same thing. I felt welcomed when I first arrived. The thing I liked most about DFW was the literary agents they had set up for us. It was my time to see if I actually had something. In the end, I met some really awesome people and have a new confidence in my writing abilities. The one thing I wish would change for next year is bigger classrooms, I had to sit on the floor for quite a few of them.
Lexicon: I found Lexicon after doing a google search for conferences in the state of Texas. This one was far less expensive and was around the same DFW area that the other conference was. The director Mitch was quick to reply to my e-mails and I was excited to attend. I knew that this conference would be smaller than DFW and I was interested to see what it had to offer. The first night was a Meet & Greet and I was really nervous. How would people react to this young, unpublished author? I was shocked at how nice and welcoming everyone was! The director Mitch was never too busy to have time for you and the other authors had so much advice to share! I felt right at home among the others and everyone just seemed so excited to be there. The classes were full of information and even has me excited about writing the screenplay of my novel! In the end, I really had a great time and met so many new lifelong friends.
Overall, both conferences offered me two different things. DFW offered me a chance to meet with big named people and Lexicon offered a chance to network and learn from already published authors. If you are looking at attending these conferences I would highly recommend them. Especially if you are a self-published author, Lexicon is the place to be. If you are just starting out and not sure about what to do, DFW is a great place to get your foot in the door.
I hope this post was helpful!!