Pre and Post-Conference Planning
So Essential Given the Significant Investment of Time, Energy, and Dollars It Takes to Attend and Participate in These Events
Just last week I had a really wonderful experience participating in The Institute for Independent Journalists’ Freelance Journalism Conference. It was a two-day virtual event featuring panels and networking opportunities with over 40 speakers, mostly editors who were sharing tips and insights for writers/independent journalists who are looking to grow their freelance careers. I got the opportunity to be on the strategic marketing panel, concentrating on establishing contacts, growing networks, and landing new clients.
I was very impressed with this conference, from the planning and communication to the programming and execution. It takes so much work to organize and run these types of events — hats off to the IIJ team. And beyond the conference, I am inspired by the IIJ’s mission, which is focused on “financial and emotional sustainability for independent journalists of color, through community learning, innovation and advocacy.” (I have added the IIJ to my BIPOC Resources page.)
With that fantastic and energizing conference work in mind, I wanted to share a few things I was reminded of by taking part in this event, knowing that attending and speaking at conferences, trade shows, and festivals is a major part of the author/writer/publishing professional experience. (Also noting that AWP is right around the corner.)
— Really read through the conference program, and most especially the description of any panel you are speaking on. Write-up your goals for the event, such as a list of people you’d like to connect with, panels you want to attend, and booths you want to visit. And if you are part of a panel, put down on paper the talking points you want to convey during your time on the stage.
— Make sure to get together with your fellow panelists and the moderator for a pre-conference planning session. This gives everyone a chance to meet, ask questions, go over the run-of-show, and discuss goals for the panel. It also provides the moderator with crucial information on how to foster engagement and get as much information across as possible given the limited amount of time on the stage.
— Let people know you are attending/speaking — on your website, via social media posts (especially LinkedIn), in your newsletter, as well as through targeted email outreach to specific colleagues and contacts.
— If you are part of the programming, make sure you do your part by promoting the event. The more you and other speakers do to create awareness, the more successful the conference will be.
— With the goal of expanding your network in mind, be strategic with your pre-conference outreach, and take the necessary time to map out which panels and programming it makes the most sense for you to attend. Be bold about introducing yourself and making connections, before and during the event. There’s no need to hard sell your project or service. Just have authentic conversations and meet as many people as you can.
— If you are a panelist/speaker, and you get a request for information from the organizers (like your bio or author photo), respond quickly with the requested materials. By delaying your response, you just create more work and time crunch headaches for the organizing team.
— Take lots of pictures and share via your platform (social media/newsletter). Make sure you are actually in some of these captures. If you are on a panel, make sure someone gets a great photo of all the panelists together.
— Take good notes when you are at the conference — people you meet, heard speak, etc., as well as projects and books and other things that get showcased that you want to know more about. Include some context so that AFTER the conference, you can follow-up. Maybe that’s a post or follow on social media, a LinkedIn connection invite, or a note you may send via email to fortify a connection you made. The more effort you put into this post-conference work, the more deeply rooted and impactful your conference experience will be.
— Publish a recap post to share your conference experience — the things you learned, conference highlights, the people you met who made a strong impression, etc. Share information that may be helpful to those who were not able to attend, or who may go in the future.
I’ll leave it there for now. Please feel free to leave your conference-attending/speaking tips and recommendations in the comments.
But overall, attending and speaking at conferences, trade shows, and festivals is a significant part of the writer/author life. These types of events are great for professional networking and education, as well as promoting projects and connecting with readers, fellow writers, and friends. Being a part of programming can also be a source of income. In the end, you get what you put into these types of events. If you go thinking it’s going to be a drag, then it will be a drag. If you go in with a plan and the intention of meeting lots of people, gathering inspiration and acquiring knowledge, and having a good time, then you will likely have that kind of productive and enjoyable experience.
MY TALKING POINTS FOR THE IIJ STRATEGIC MARKETING PANEL
These were notes I made for myself and shared with my fellow panelists and the moderator before our pre-conference panel meeting. My talking points were very focused on leveraging a newsletter to help foster new connections and land new clients, which ended up balancing really well with the different types of insights and recommendations my fellow panelists shared.
— A newsletter can further your positioning of expertise over your beat/areas of coverage, and create more awareness of who you are and the writing that you do.
— Publishing a newsletter gives you something meaningful and proactive to focus on during those periods where there is less freelance work.
— A strong newsletter can be helpful for landing a book deal, in that you can develop your ideas, forge direct connections with a readership, and share subscriber numbers/metrics as part of your proposal during the query/proposal/submission process.
— A newsletter can be a significant part of your journalist/writer “platform” that allows you to define the niche of your journalism/reporting. Given that you will be writing for various publications, it’s important to have a long-term hub where editors/readers can always find you, and where you can showcase who you are and what type of reporting/writing you do.
— An active newsletter and overall platform is a way to stay top-of-mind with editors/fellow writers — possibly because they are subscribers/followers, but also because you can link to/forward as part of your correspondence/pitching.
— To help you forge connections, you can mention editors / publications / stories. This lays some initial groundwork because you can reference these mentions when you are reaching out. It fosters more interest/intrigue from the person you are contacting, because you have shown an interest in who they are and highlighted their work.
— A newsletter is an especially strong lever to pull to amplify awareness when you have published pieces, helping to drive traffic and interest in the article/publication. This is an important value-add for writers when pitching and working to make new connections.
— Establishing a paid subscription model can be an additional revenue source. It takes time to develop, but if you put in the work, over time, this will help generate some dollars. Substack is the go-to platform for paid subscriptions (at the moment).
Special shout out to my fellow panelists, freelance journalist and podcast producer Mallory Carra and small business expert Melinda Emerson (aka as SmallBizLady), as well as our moderator, independent journalist Shernay Williams.
And big thanks to the IIJ steering committee members and conference organizers Katherine Reynolds Lewis and
.Be sure to subscribe to the IIJ’s newsletter, as well as Erika’s The Reported Esssay.
HAPPENINGS AND NOTES
Was thrilled to see that the People of Color in Publishing is back in action. I didn’t learn of their recent event until after it was over, but the grassroots organization just had its first in-person programming on Feb. 5 after a long hiatus. Follow the org’s Instagram and Facebook to learn about future programming.
Coming up on Wednesday, March 5, at 8 pm ET — An Instagram Live with
(author of The Gloomy Girl Variety Show) and Leslie Ann Murray on Leslie-Ann’s electric Brown Girl Book Lover Instagram. Love the energy and enthusiastic inquiry that Leslie brings to her programming, which is always putting new books and authors on my radar. Super excited for this conversation.
The March 10 line-up for the Franklin Park Reading Series (in Brooklyn, NY) looks amazing. Thrilled that
Weiner (author of A Gorgeous Excitement) will be reading, along with Melissa Broder, , Jinwoo Chong, Edgar Gomez, and Andrew Lipstein. Shout out to Penina Roth for the consistently amazing reading series curation.
Thanks to literary agent
for letting me know about the AALA People of Publishing Conference (The AALA is the Association of American Literary Agents). I’ve added it to my 2025 Industry Calendar. It takes place on September 17 at the New York Academy of Medicine (same venue as the upcoming US Book Show on June 3), and is for literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals. Note: be sure to check out Sally’s excellent newsletter Not So Secret Agent.
I’m currently reading
new book Death and Other Speculative Fictions (published by Spuyten Duyvil) Absolutely love the short burst chapters/prose poems, which are layered with wit and emotional depth, and maneuver the reading experience through space and time in intriguing, heartfelt, and fascinating ways. Learn more about the book here, and be sure to check out Caroline’s excellent newsletter, Writing Sandwich.Thank you for reading, sharing, and commenting. 2025 just keeps getting busier and busier. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming AWP Conference later this month. Having some fun doing outreach and assembling plans, to make the most of the show (following my own advice!). If you are attending, drop me a note — would be fantastic to connect.
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ABOUT THE WRITER OF THIS NEWSLETTER
is an author and longtime book publishing professional who has held leadership positions at publishers such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Blackstone Publishing, and Abrams Books. Currently he works directly with authors and publishers as an independent marketing and publicity consultant to grow their platforms and successfully launch their books.Learn about the book marketing and publicity services I provide, and how we can work together.
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Thank you so much for the shout out!