If you've never been to a writing conference or festival, you are missing out, my friend!

At a conference you can learn about things like marketing, how to better write dialogue, or how to interview sources for nonfiction, and more. You can meet agents and publishers, and often pitch your manuscripts right there. You can connect with other writers (because only other writers really understand the madness), and so much more! A good conference is one of the best investments you can make in your writing career.

And while a festival probably won’t have the same level of learning involved, it will have all the connection opportunities.

Here are a few of my favorites or ones close friends highly recommend.

Scissortail Creative Writing Festival—Ada, OK—first week in April

Tulsa LitFest—Tulsa, OK—mid-end of April

Oklahoma Writers’ Federation Inc. (OWFI) Conference—Oklahoma City, OK—first weekend in May

Imaginarium Convention—Louisville, KY—mid-July

Killer Nashville—Nashville, TN—mid-end of August

WriterCon Conference—Oklahoma City, OK—Labor Day weekend

New Frontiers in Writing Conference—Amarillo, TX—end of September

Bonus:
The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow—Eureka Springs, AR—year round

Worried about being scammed? Does it sound too good to be true? A good rule of thumb is if they contact you first, there’s a good chance it is not legit. But don’t worry, get empowered! Check here before you pay someone to publish your work.

Writer Beware—one of the best resources for anyone hoping to publish or get their IP picked up. There’s a LOT of information.

The Authors Guild—while not as extensive as Writer Beware, The Authors Guild pretty regularly posts about the most current scams going around.

Social Media Groups—don’t underestimate the value of just asking the group. There are quite a few with thousands of members who want to protect each other.

The Chicago Manual of Style by The University of Chicago Press

The Elements of Style by E. B. White and William Strunk Jr.

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Understanding Show, Don't Tell: (And Really Getting It) by Janice Hardy

Write Anyway: Giving Yourself Permission to Write No Matter What by Emily Brooks and Jon Meyers

Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola

The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

“Hang in there,” she said.

It’s all the same, right?

Just in time for the new year!

I promise, it’s not as hard as it seems.

Can you guess what’s number one?

Yes, you need both, but one is vastly more important than the other.