For the moment, we are in a CoVid lull, and in-person conferences (both medical and writing) are back.
I have found attending in-person medical conferences has usually involved some blending of three purposes: to learn, to connect, and to have fun.
There was usually is one dominant purpose, and one secondary purpose. For example, when I attended the Mayo Clinic’s conferences on social media, it was mostly about connection and secondarily about fun, whereas when I attended a pediatric conference in Maui it was more about having fun and only secondarily about learning.
However, in my medical career there have been exceptions. I have taken a few in-person board review courses, and for these conferences, I was there—from the moment I woke up, to the moment I went to sleep—strictly to learn. It had a singular focus: to pass the boards with ease. I didn’t care if the only person I spoke to the entire week was the check-in person who handed out my badge, and the only time I left the hotel was for my return flight!
Well, later this year I have two separate in-person writing conferences scheduled, and I have decided to approach both of them with a singular focus: to connect.
Writing, unlike healthcare, can be isolating. But it is also a business where connections with agents, editors, and publishers will often determine success, so it is essential to create and nurture these connections. Therefore, for my upcoming writing conferences, I am writing out a “connection strategy plan” with the intention to measurably broaden my in-person network.
In-person conferences are expensive and time-consuming, and Ali have neither money or time to waste.