When the pandemic shut down travel and group events in 2020, I discovered something about myself: I’m more of an introvert than I thought. (If you know me from conferences I’ve attended or taught at, that probably comes as a surprise to you too!) I’d been serving on faculty for about six to eight conferences a year for several years, all over the country, and I loved it! But when that all stopped suddenly, I realized how much I enjoyed staying home with my family and my writing and editing—and not having to deal with the hassles of traveling.
But after five years of not doing any conferences, I’m super excited to be back!
Earlier this month, I attended Author Media’s Novel Marketing Conference, and it was fantastic! I saw some colleagues I hadn’t seen in a long time. I met wonderful new friends. And yes, I learned a lot about marketing—not just for my novel (which is still not finished) but also for the second edition of my Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, which I’m planning to publish after the new edition of The Christian Writer’s Market Guide is released.
In April, I’m attending the Vision writers’ conference at Mount Hermon. While I have gone to several women’s retreats and one family summer camp at Mount Hermon since they stopped hosting the writers’ conference in 2020, I have not yet tried out the conference put on by Inspire Christian Writers as a guest group there. I’m looking forward to seeing many of my beloved Mount Hermon writer friends, both faculty members and attendees.
Also in April, I’m excited to be serving on faculty at the Renewal Conference, sponsored by Northwest Christian Writers Association, to be held April 25–26 in Issaquah, Washington. This year marks NCWA’s 35th year of empowering writers. The conference will include Carol Kent and Debbie Alsdorf as keynote speakers, several workshops, panels, personal critiques, and networking opportunities with fellow writers, editors, and agents. If you register for the NCWA Renewal Conference by the end of January, you can get in on the early-bird discount. Follow them on Facebook for updates and speaker spotlights.
May 7–9 will be the virtual PENCON editors’ conference, which is always a highlight of my year. On Friday of the conference, I’ll be announcing the winners of the Editors’ Choice Award. If you’re an aspiring, beginning, or established editor, I highly recommend PENCON. And if you’re writing, editing, or publishing a book that will be released in 2025, I hope you’ll check out the Editors’ Choice Award. (They will be open to submissions starting June 1.)
I hope to see you at one (or more) of these events this year!
And if you run a writers’ conference or other writers’ event, and would be interested in having a professional editor on faculty, please email me so we can chat.