I love going to writers conferences. There are usually composed of a lot of smart, interesting people talking about a lot of smart interesting things. They are an intellectual playground of the highest order, and they are a high point on my yearly schedule.
Unfortunately, that’s a problem for me, especially since I am pivoting to being a professional author.
The average live conference time of a three day conference is a 24 hour commitment; adding on the travel time, eating time, and settling-in time, a conferenve held within my city is easily 40 hour committment. And, when traveling to a great location—such as San Francisco or Hawaii—conference time (also known as “non-writing” time) can easily extend to above 100 hours.
But, other than intellectual enjoyment, what is the business value of this 100 hour time expenditure?
Well, if you’re on the cusp of publication, looking for an editor or agent, there are probably only 2 hours of these conferences which really count.
And 2 hours out of 100 hours? 2 percent? That’s a dangerously low return on investment.