Conference FAQs: What should I prioritize at the conference, given my budget?
By Lissa Provost
This is a challenging question to give a specific answer to because budgets vary widely. It’s my observation that people usually have more money than time or vice versa. It’s rare to have both, so I’m going to break my advice down into the form of a list ranging between those states. You will see that the planning team is committed to creating opportunities that answer needs at every level and balancing opportunities. If you have money to spend, doing so will create opportunities for those who don’t. We have an incredibly generous community and are grateful for everyone in it.
You have plenty of money but no time.
The VIP service at SFWC is a Conference Concierge appointment. This half-hour spent with a well-connected friend of the conference will give you personalized advice for making the most of your time. They can help you find direction on your path to publication, tell you whom you should make a point of meeting, and introduce you if they get the chance. You’ll leave your appointment with a new friend on the inside, and they welcome you to continue this relationship outside of their appointment blocks as they’re present throughout the conference. These $75 appointments fund scholarships, so your luxury also creates opportunities at the other end of the budget spectrum.
Agent conversations are another rare opportunity to get specialized personal advice. This isn’t necessarily the time to pitch, though you could use it to get advice about your pitch, query, summary, plans, etc. Many agents know each other and can advise you who might be the best fit for your writing and what you still need to work on before pitching. Agencies often send one agent per conference who can tell you who in their agency you should query if it’s not them. Be aware that when you’re talking to one agent, they may be speaking for their entire agency. These $100 appointments help us bring in more agents per attendee than any other conference we know of, which means more opportunities for everyone who does speed dating with agents.
Stay in the conference hotel. Time and energy spent coming and going are better spent planning and networking. Opportunities to learn and connect start at breakfast and run through nightcaps. Don’t miss anything. You can catch up on sleep after the conference. But, you can get more sleep at the conference if you’re staying in the same hotel. We’ve negotiated an excellent price for the Hyatt Regency if you book before mid-January. There are cheaper deals at other hotels, and use them if you must, but if you have more money than time, it’s worth it to stay at the Hyatt.
If you’re ready to pitch and query, Speed Dating with Agents ($75) is an opportunity you can’t afford to miss. If you can’t afford it under any circumstances, you can do your homework on the conference website to find out which agents you should meet and what breakouts they’ll be in. A self-introduction to an agent at breakfast or in the halls between breakouts is usually followed by the question, “what do you write?” This is your free opportunity to pitch. Be ready for it. The Speed Dating session is your assurance of having that opportunity and having it repeatedly with many agents all in a short window without requiring any semi-stalking behavior.
Dinners with Harvey are a mid-list item here because you’re already at the conference and you have to eat. Maybe you could eat cheaper on your own, but the restaurants he arranges are lovely. Harvey treats any presenters who join, which means they’re motivated to join his dinners, which means more opportunities for you to talk to them. It’s also a particularly good opportunity, as research has shown that humans collaborate and connect quite a bit more readily while sharing food. Connection is the reason you came to an in-person conference. This is the first place I would spend any extra budget. If it’s really too much, you can still connect with other attendees and go out together somewhere more affordable. The people attending the conference with you are also writers on the rise. You will learn from and support each other on your journeys as much as from any experts if you make an effort to connect.
You have plenty of time but no money.
Here we are at the other end of the spectrum with no budget, where I started ten years ago.
Lots of local writers attend the conference commuting in on public transit to save money. Unless you’re quite close, you can save even more money and commute time by staying at a hostel in the city. Bring a small rolling suitcase with you on public transit and stay in one of several local hostels for less than the cost of daily transit or driving and parking. I’ve stayed in two of Hostelling International’s three locations and would highly recommend both. The streetcar line and cable cars are a short walk from either and bring you right by the conference hotel.
What do you do if you can’t afford a private appointment with someone who can point you to whom you should meet? You know that trope in movies where a super important person has their assistant study the photos of everyone attending a big event and then whisper information over their shoulder at the party so they know whom they need to talk to about what? Unless you’re bringing an assistant, you can help yourself become an important person by doing the same kind of homework. Study the presenter list on our website. Circle bios in your program. You’ll be prepared to take advantage of networking opportunities like the nightcaps gathering, dinners, the gala, and Ask A Pro. Humans can’t help being impressed when someone knows who they are and greets them respectfully. Even better, attend breakouts strategically to create opportunities to meet the people you want to greet most. The content will all be on video to watch later, but meeting opportunities will be gone.
If you’re ready and willing to work at the conference, you can attend for free as a volunteer. Volunteers don’t get all the perks of paid attendees. However, they are still a part of the rich community that develops, gets access to all the content, and has abundant opportunities to make connections. Most of our staff began as volunteers. Many of our returning volunteers become experts in their own areas and can be a resource to attendees. Even some of our speakers started out as volunteers. I’m convinced it’s the greatest opportunity in the industry for a writer with zero budget. Especially if you’re still developing your craft and don’t feel confident you could win a scholarship with your writing. We add about 40 new volunteers at each conference. Be aware that we screen all applicants to maintain the integrity of the team. Volunteers must work at least two days and fulfill their duties professionally and fully. Apply now athttps://askmepc.com/sfwc-volunteers/.
Apply for a scholarship. You can attend with all the perks and no work. However, there are fewer scholarships than volunteer opportunities. If you’re going this route, take your time preparing your best writing according to the parameters of the scholarship you want. Most scholarships come with big bonuses like our Director Scholarship. It comes with a breakfast meeting with our director and a year of mentoring by her. She has been known to sign scholarship winners as their agent in prior years. Even if you’re not confident, it costs nothing to apply. Try.
Come in for a one-day Summit if your writing focus is poetry or screenwriting. These sessions are included in the full conference registration but can also be purchased as a one-day conference for $195.
Take a Master Class on Thursday or Sunday. Some of our best teachers take the opportunity of being in the city to offer these intensive classes outside of the conference. Fees vary from $99 to $199. This could be instead of the conference at this end of the budget, or in addition to it at the other end, depending on how tight your time constraints are.
Attend Writing for Change for FREE. On Friday night of the conference, we are offering a condensed three-hour version of our Writing for Change conference for free to the public in the ballroom. You do not have to attend the main conference to attend this session. You do still have to show proof of vaccination or negative covid test. Also free and open to the public are our Ask A Pro session and Poetry & Jazz event Saturday.
I want to thank all the attendees who find their way into our community. Everyone contributes in the ways they can, and the result is an event where everyone is invested in each other’s success. That is the reason the San Francisco Writers Conference is the friendliest writers conference. In an industry where relationships are key, we’re incredibly proud of that.
There are opportunities to buy shortcuts at the SFWC, but the opportunities are also available for free if you have time and are willing to make an effort.
E.A. (Lissa) Provost is the author and illustrator of Diary of E.A.Provost/Diary of that Weird Girl and Love, Joy, & Pees, illustrated poetry books that celebrate family life for its beauty and messiness. To clear up some of that messiness she designed Maggie’s Planner. She is the founder of the cooperative publisher, New Alexandria Creative Group. In her spare time, she is also the San Francisco Writers Conference Director of Operations Poetry Summit Coordinator.
