Writer's Digest Conference 2023

August 17-20, 2023

New York City

 

The Writers Digest Conference was an energy shot in the arm for every writer that was able to attend. It was held again this year in the Midtown Hilton on the Ave of the Americas (6th Ave.). It is an easy walk (about 2 miles) from Pennsylvania Station, but taxi is certainly a faster method. My last WD Conference was in 2019, pre-covid, so I was eager for an in-person writing event and this one did not disappoint.

The day before the conference started, a variety of all-day workshops were held for anyone who wanted to take advantage of the moment.  The conference offered a rich variety of sessions within several categories: Craft, Publishing, Fiction and Non-Fiction, Inspirational and Platform Building.  It also offered a Pitch Slam throughout in designated time slots the first day for those wanting to connect with an agent. Within the Hall of the spacious second floor there were also plenty of vendors like Ingram Spark, Your Book is Your Hook who could answer any questions.

I jumped at the chance to soak up some concrete advise from Michael Le Ronn in his hour presentation: Microsoft Word Unleashed. It was fabulous. He knows his stuff.  For anyone not familiar with One Drive, it was a good explanation of the features of the software. He strongly advised writers to turn on Auto Save. I never work in Dark Mode, but he showed how to switch the different modes and said Dark Mode is becoming the popular choice. He also advised that writers take advantage of the Read Aloud option. I absorbed as much info as I could, and I was happy to know that the conference will be sending the attendees a replay of the sessions, so I didn't have to write everything down. He also offered his help with question afterwards by giving us his email. Several people stayed a little later that he helped with specific questions. 

 I have a tendency to get stuck in the middle, so I was excited to see that Hank Phillip Ryan was set to address this very issue in her session: Conquering the Muddle in the Middle.  In Act 1, the writer has established the genre and has laid out the setting and the problem to be solved.  In Act 3, is the resolution. The character either wins the prize or is defeated. And the middle, Act 2, focuses on the decisions the character makes to keep the story advancing. She gave us a 5-step approach to keeping things changing so you can keep the story advancing at a good pace. 

Tiffany Yates Martin gave several presentations and an all-day pre-conference intensive on Supporting Elements of Story. She is loaded with excellent information and a high dose of energy to keep the pace going for the length of the session. She's amazing. I attended her Writing Multiple Timelines and Storylines session.

I grew up in a big family of seven sisters, and I seem to always have too many characters in my stories. Ms. Martin gave me several tips regarding mixing POVs that I will be sure to take include in my writing. 

This session was excellent.

There were more craft sessions but I had to also delve into publishing, media and platform still. Each block of time, say 10:15-11:15, offers classes within all the categories and you can't do all of them. That is why the organizers send out a replay of the conference to the attendees.

I have more confidence in my writing skills than I do in my promotion or media skills. I know this about me, so when a presentation regarding promoting your book before and after its release came up from Jennifer S Wilkov, a successful book and business consultant, I quickly signed up. She's a dynamic speaker.                                                                                                                                                                                                  One of her biggest tips was probably start promoting yourself and your book six months before its released.  That's odd for me to think about doing since the book hasn't been published yet.  That's why authors or publishers will offer the reader a chance to pre-order a book before its printed. It keeps the readers interested especially if it's part of a series. This was a fast-paced session and went from goal setting to digital and offline marketing in record time.

These are just a sampling of what was offered that weekend. It was a well-developed conference. There was little time to fit in the city itself, but I worked it out. One of the best things about New York City is its creative energy. I look forward to the next Writer's Digest Conference in 2024.