Posts Tagged ‘Attendance’

Here’s how to receive a 5% discount on American Airlines flights, and special rates on rental cars from Avis, for DFWcon travel around Feb. 26-27, 2011:

American Airlines Travel

Reservation ID: 1621BK (enter this ID in “Promotion Code” field)

Telephone reservations: 800.433.1790

Online reservations click here: American Airlines Website

Avis Rental Cars

Reservation ID: J906969

Telephone reservations: 888.754.8878

Online reservations click here: Avis Reservation Website

Note: If you make reservations through any other phone number or website system, you may miss out on these discounts.

When we began planning the 2011 DFWcon back in the fall of 2009 (yes, it really does take that long when you grow as fast as we have, and you have to find a new venue), I wanted to replace agent/editor pitch sessions with consultations, no finished manuscript required.

But at the 2010 conference in April, we pulled the agents together as an impromptu advice panel, and they said in very clear and unanimous terms: No.

Their reasoning is abundantly clear if you think about writing as a business. Why do agents and editors come to writing conferences? As much fun as most of them seem to have hanging out with writers, they’re not doing it for laughs. They’re doing it to make money.

If you talk to them about a project they think they can sell, but you don’t have a finished manuscript to hand them, then they’ve got nothing to take to the bank. You’ve let them down. Were you an agent or acquisitions editor, would you like that? Not likely. (Note that nonfiction works a bit differently — you can get away with only a partial in that case. But with fiction, a finished manuscript is required by most agents and editors.)

Jason Myers, 2011 DFWcon co-director

The co-director for 2011 DFWcon, Jason Myers (who is in charge of acquiring agents and editors for the conference), wrote a good blog about this a few months ago. I recommend taking a look at it: Don’t Waste Their Time.

Meanwhile, we’re still putting together our list of agents and editors for 2011 DFWcon. We’ve got promises to attend from many, but we’re waiting for them to provide bio information and manuscript requirements before we post them to our site and announce them. As you can imagine, they’re busy and it takes a while to collect and verify all that updated information. Please bear with us.

By Jeff Posey, Director of the 2011 DFW Writers Conference

Why go to a writers’ conference?

There are many reasons, of course, all of them legitimate. But one major reason is to discuss your finished project with an agent or acquisition editor. It’s time to find out if you’ve got an idea, the writing skill, and the professional business skills to take a shot in the bigger world of publishing.

That’s what a little more than half of our past attendees have wanted from DFWcon. (The rest come for education and networking.)

Does it work? Do writers really find agents to represent them at DFWcon? Yes. And here’s proof: Three Success Stories. (Special thanks to volunteers Kyle White and Steve Manning for putting this section together.)

Do you know of any other success stories at DFWcon and other conferences? Has it happened to you? Please let us know in the comments section below.

Other news

We’ve had several agents verify their acceptance to DFWcon. Watch for upcoming blog posts to announce them (sign up for our DFWcon Blog RSS Feed so you won’t miss one, or follow @DFWcon on Twitter).

If you’re already signed up to attend 2011 DFWcon, you’re guaranteed a top spot in making your choice of agent/editor for your 10-minute sessions. If you’ve not yet signed up, don’t delay. We sold out two months in advance last year. We have a larger venue this year, with significantly more agents and editors, but we still expect demand to exceed the 450 spots available.

We’ll also be announcing news and information about speakers, teachers, and classes as they develop.

Ask a Question

Have a question? We have two question-and-answer sections: the Conference FAQ and the Agent/Editor FAQ.

If you have a question that’s not answered here, help us out by asking it in the comments section below. We’ll do our best to answer it, and add it to the appropriate FAQ.

Volunteers

Unlike many conferences our size, we are all-volunteer, all the time. Everyone who works on DFWcon has a full-time job and is dedicated to their own writing projects, as evidenced by their active association with the DFW Writers’ Workshop. As co-director for the 2010 DFWcon, and a volunteer the year before, I can attest to the hours and difficult decisions involved in staging this event.

So please bear with us as we slowly and methodically build 2011 DFWcon to be the best conference we possibly can for aspiring writers just like ourselves, and just like you.

By Jeff Posey, Director of the 2011 DFW Writers Conference

Last week I thanked the writers who attended the 2010 conference. This week, I want to thank those of you who have already signed up or are planning to attend the 2011 conference.

Big things are in store for next year’s conference, and the all-volunteer team from the DFW Writers’ Workshop is hard at work getting everything organized. What can you expect to see on this blog in the next few weeks and months?

• A firm list of agents and assigning editors who will be at the conference in greater numbers than any previous conference (you’ll be able to sign up for ten-minute sessions to speak with your agent/editor of choice)
• A list of speakers, teachers, and panelists who will share their expertise to help us become better writers
• A class schedule (probably in the early fall)
• Instructions on making hotel and flight reservations at discounted rates
• Questions to you about how you’d like to see certain events and activities handled
• Updates on agents/editors/speakers in the news
• Special and (hopefully) fun activities planned for the conference
• Introductions to the behind-the-scenes conference volunteers
• Explanations of decisions we’ve made, especially the hard ones (there are more than you can imagine)
• Anything else my brain can kick up

Meanwhile, I encourage you to follow this blog: DFW Writers Conference Blog RSS Feed. Then you’ll always be in the know of what’s going on with the DFWcon (our shorthand for the conference).

Also, if you do Twitter at all, follow our news here: DFWcon on Twitter.

Until next week, take care and I wish you good writing.

By Jeff Posey, Director of the 2011 DFW Writers Conference

We are just launching the new 2011 DFW Writers Conference site, and the first thing I want to do is thank all those who attended the 2010 conference in April. It was a great conference, our last at the old location. All the people who showed up and made friends and connected with other writers were what made it great — as well as our agents, speakers, and teachers.

I also want to thank all the volunteers from the DFW Writers’ Workshop who planned this conference for a year and then executed it far better than the year before. Perfection is never our goal. We only want to improve from year to year.

Next year’s conference is in a new location, the American Airlines Training & Conference Center. When we were scouting for new locations last fall for 2011, we immediately liked this setting. It’s the refurbished AA stewardess training center from fifty years ago and has a lodge-like feel, with forests of post oaks surrounding the buildings, and little casual gathering areas in every direction. It seems the perfect setting for a writers retreat and gathering.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. For those of you who attended 2010, I hope you learned enough to keep you going for a year or more. Many of you, I hope, will return for 2011.

I’ll keep this blog weekly, with a goal of posting updates every Tuesday. As things develop — such as when we get confirmation from agents and acquisition editors, as well as speakers and teachers — I’ll post the information here. Guest bloggers may step in on occasion.

So if you’re interested in what we’ll bring to the writing community the last weekend in February, 2011, please come back often. I don’t see an RSS feed icon on the site yet, but we’ll try to get that up soon so you can easily keep up.

As always, if you have any questions at all, please let me know. We have an official DFW Writers Conference email address, but it’s not yet pointing to me, so feel free to contact me directly in the meantime: JeffPosey@Verizon.net. I’ll feed a Twitter account as well, at @DFWcon. Please follow.

Until next week, take care.

We’ve been looking at statistics for the nearly 200 people who have already registered for the DFW Writers’ Conference, April 10 & 11 in Grapevine, Texas. And we discovered something very interesting. Not only did registrations exceed last year’s total a full three months out from the conference, but writers are coming from across the country! Thirteen states are represented so far, and registrations are still rolling in!

Writers are coming in from: California, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio and of course, the conference’s home state of Texas. Within Texas, the largest contingent is from Dallas but they’re coming in from all over the state, including several from the Houston area and others from Amarillo, San Antonio, Laredo and Corpus Christi.

With 10 literary agents, more than 40 workshops and a gathering of writers from around the country, this is shaping up to be the best DFW Writers’ Conference yet!