Writers Conferences: Be a Friendly Freak

Okay. I'll admit it. The reason I went to my very first writers conference was mostly because I wanted to meet Francine Rivers. In fact, I can count all my conference experiences not by year or location, but by what famous authors I got to meet. Is that sick or what? Even sicker...I'm pretty sure I'm not the only craz-o-maniac who's revved up to see Frank Peretti this year. Part of the fun of a writers con is to meet all the successful beautiful people that we aspire to become some day.

That being said, it's probably a good idea to lay down a few rules of the Meeting New People Game.

#1 Rule: It's okay to be friendly, but use some discretion.

dis·cre·tion

disˈkreSHən/

noun

1. 1.

   the quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information.

Trust me on this one. Authors LOVE to meet their readers. It's validation for all the hours spent pounding away at a keyboard in complete solitude, or at least in semi-solitude if there's not a full house at Starbucks.

So go ahead and approach Mr. Famous Author. Tell him you love the way he crafts words and builds worlds and touches the innermost corner of your heart. But do NOT tell him your new epic saga idea and how it's better than what he wrote, or complain about a typo you found on page 257 of his latest release or challenge one of his plot points. And it's definitely not okay to ask him how much moolah he made on his bestseller. Savvy?

#2 Rule: Location, location, location.

Would you want a starry-eyed minion following you into the restroom stall? How about a pack of rabid fans descending on your lunch table just as you're about to bite into your salad? When you do work up enough gumption to shake the hand of an author you love, choose an appropriate time and place.

#3 Rule: It's not just about the big names.

Don't forget the little guys. The no-names. The newbies who haven't figured out showing vs. telling from a jar of pickles. Every person at a conference has a story to tell, something you can learn from them, even if it's a simple tip to not take the east end elevator because it smells like salami. Treat everyone with respect, big name or not.