A couple of weekends ago, Wendy Lawton, Cynthia Ruchti, and I served on the faculty of the Northwestern Christian Writers Conference, which was conducted virtually. Being on the faculty of a writers conference was nothing new, but a virtual conference was a first for Wendy and me. Cynthia had been involved with the Speak Up virtual conference a few weeks before.
What was the same in a virtual writers conference?
Workshops were pre-recorded and were viewable at the time they would have occurred at the planned in-person conference. But they also could be viewed whenever convenient for the conferee.
Panels occurred as scheduled, with questions posed real-time in the Chat section of the platform. A moderator chose from those questions.
1:1 appointments unfolded much as they would in person, with faculty and conferees gathered in “the lobby” (everyone muted their audio, and you could turn off your camera, if you wanted) until the breakout rooms became available. Each person then clicked on his or her breakout room invitation at the designated time and found him/herself on camera with only the individual they were scheduled to meet.
Keynote messages also were pre-recorded.
What was different in a virtual writers conference?
The networking dynamics of an in-person conference are what is lacking most in a virtual conference. No shared meals, breaks, or social gatherings that could translate into serendipitous encounters. It makes the conference more antiseptic.
Northwestern staff did set up networking times in which people who wrote in a particular genre or category could meet online. Time also was set aside for conferees from different parts of the country to meet each other. That was a nice touch.
What were the pluses?
Being able to view portions of the conference when convenient enables each conferee to take in information at his/her own pace. (The recordings are available for a set amount of time after the conference.) Rather than feeling like you’re drinking from a fire hydrant, as is typical for conferences, you can absorb input at a slower pace.
For the 1:1 appointments, the faculty were able to request what they wanted to see before the meeting. In-person conferences generally create “cold” meetings, in which the faculty member has no idea what the conferee will present. A portion of the in-person session will be spent with the faculty reading what the person hands him/her or listening to the person pitch a project.
Faculty pre-appointment prep
But for this virtual writers conference, I requested one-sheets from the conferees who signed up to meet with me. Before the conference began, I read all the sheets, wrote down my first impressions, and listed questions I wanted to ask. This meant the time for the meeting was spent providing more feedback than I could have given at the in-person conference.
Some faculty asked for sample writing, which would require much more prep pre-appointment for the faculty, but it also enabled the faculty member to sample the person’s writing voice. But without a one-sheet, the faculty didn’t have a context for the writing sample.
Minuses
As I mentioned earlier, the unexpected opportunities to connect with are lacking. So you won’t just happen to run into a conferee who lives 30 minutes from you, see writer buddies you met at previous conferences, or have a get-to-know-you conversation with an agent during a social event.
I found the virtual panel I was on lacked the conversational dynamic that would have occurred in-person. Since conferees weren’t posing their own questions, a panelist couldn’t ask clarifying questions such as, “Are you asking about fiction or nonfiction?” “Are you referring to self-publishing or traditional publishing?”
Also, the panelists didn’t tend to converse with one another. Ordinarily, a question sparks a conversation among the panelists. “To add to what Andy said…” “Another way to look at the question is…”
Instead, one panelist would answer the question, and generally no one expanded or offered another view. We would move on to the next question instead.
While that might seem minor, I felt our answers weren’t as fulsome as they would have been in-person. Maybe that was the dynamic of our particular panel, but I noted it as a marked difference.
So, is a virtual writers conference good–or bad?
Well, considering the alternative is no conferences…
Actually, a virtual writers conference is the perfect venue for some people to participate who couldn’t otherwise. Northwestern had a conferee from Australia and another from Germany.
If you are:
- disabled
- have an infant
- can’t take time off from work
- can’t afford the travel and registration expense of an in-person conference,
then this is a great opportunity. Since almost all conferences this year and at least through the beginning of next year will be virtual, consider dipping into the water. The water’s fine.
Why might a virtual writers conference be worth your considering? If you’ve attended one, did you feel you got your money’s worth?
TWEETABLES
What are the pluses and minuses of a virtual writers conference? Click to tweet.
Want a preview of what a virtual writers conference is like? Read this new blog post. Click to tweet.
I walk now abroad the land,
and through God’s empyrean
with what tool I have to hand,
computer and its screen.
Although I’d rather share the breeze
and rain, friend, face to face,
virtual’s naught at which to sneeze,
for it offers timely grace
that brings the photograph to life
(blurred, perhaps, by webcam)
and in background, perchance, see the wife
who’s made me who I am
The reality is not the same,
but still, we gather in His name.
In the early days of my writing career (2005), I stayed at home with two little ones. An in-person conference was not in the budget, nor could I have spent an entire day, or multiple days, away from the girls.
Around the same time, I met author Lea Schizas, who coordinated an online writers conference. This online conference was all online–via a forum–and 100% free. I participated for several years and presented at one of them. This allowed me to feel connected to my writing community, and I secured two of my publishers as a result. If it still existed, the technology we have today would make it so much easier.
I am a huge fan of online conferences and attended two last year and one this year. The fees are generally lower and having material I can go back to later makes the most of my time.
I’ve “attended” two online conferences so far this year—one as a presenter and one as an attendee.
First one:
Pros: (1) The first one I did a live presentation on devotional writing: 25 min. speaking and 15 min. Q&A. I felt that format was effective because there could be give and take between speaker and attendees. (2) That one also had a conference FB page where folks could interact, creating a sense of community. (3) As faculty I could attend any otter workshop, which I probably wouldn’t have done at an in-person event.
Con: There were no editor appointments. At this point in my career, that’s primarily why I go.
Second one:
Pros: I could pay extra ($200) and get four editor appointments. I now have 10 opportunities to send proposals. (2) Editors from very good traditional houses provided time the couple weeks after the conference to meet in 15-min. Zoom meetings one on one. And I had the sense that many more editors agreed to do this, bc it requires zero dollar investment out of pocket. There are very few conferences these days where many big houses are being repped. (3) I saved a ton on travel expenses. (4) The recorded seminars were incredible. Just packed with hands-on help. Sometimes conference speakers ramble a lot. As a whole I’ve found the recorded workshops are stronger content-wise.
Con: There was little personal interaction bc there was no conference FB page for random sharing, although there were opportunities for one-on-one prayer, and of course, the meet and greet groups. Those groups were too big to get to know someone.
Would I do another? Yes, depending on the editor lineup.
Thanks for your specific feedback, Janet. That’s very helpful in weighing what a person’s goals are in attending, and which virtual conference is formatted in a way to fulfill those goals.
I attended this virtual conference and agree with all the points you made!
I much prefer face to face conferences. Almost everything that can be gained by attending a virtual conference can be done by reading books and watching videos. People are more important than things. But we’ll have to wait and see what the future brings. We’re already living in a world that was science fiction a few decades ago.
I’d say our current lives would have looked like science fiction to us in January! “Hello,” the agent said, her voice muffled through her face mask.
Some interactions do occur in a video conference, including 1:1 appointments (which are very much face-to-face) and panel discussions, especially if you are at the panel in real time and can pose your questions.
There’s no denying the dynamic of an in-person conference can’t be duplicated with a virtual conference. But, for this year, this what we’re adapting to.
I “attended” this particular conference, and although virtual, have benefited. Like a live conference, it still forced me to drop my usual routine to refocus on learning.
Your presentation, Cynthia, was very interesting — comparing pitching to editors or agents with Shark Tank thinking was intriguing!
I did miss very much the personal interactions at live conferences. The meet-and-greets via Zoom had so many attendees, the time was mostly taken up with people introducing themselves. I think more, smaller, niche meet-and-greets like that would be great. But very hard to squeeze into the conference dates, so I hope the conference will stimulate some ongoing Zoom groups. (I’m in a wonderful critique group that meets via Zoom each week, so know that can be helpful.)
I also missed the God-moments that usually surprise me at live conferences — meeting unique people in the coffee line, for example, then connecting with them and sitting with them at other times during the conference (and retaining those new friendships after the conference).
I wasn’t fond of the mere two-week window to be able to view presentations after the conference, although it did push me to see them all in time. A little tough though, what with article assignments, blog posts, a book proposal to polish, and book chapters I need to work on, too. The actual day of the conference was entirely taken up with viewing the panel discussions and keynotes, so I truly couldn’t view the presentations quickly. (I’ll suggest to the conference directors they give participants more time after the conference to view the recorded workshops. I’m not willing to pay an extra charge for more time to view them.) At other conferences I’ve purchased the MP3s to listen to for an unlimited time, so this surprised me.
All in all, I’m still glad I participated, and will also be participating in the AWSA virtual conference. But with AWSA, I already have relationships with members, so that will feel more like a reunion. I can’t wait for live conferences again!