by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
I attended my first writers conference of 2020 last weekend. It was a virtual conference, with all the attendees and speakers “zooming in” from all over the world. The technical glitches were few – and I’m certain that’s because of the many prayers that were prayed during the two days, as well as the hard work leading up to and during the conference.
Was it worth my time attending a virtual conference? Absolutely. Will I attend another one? Already planning on it.
Here are some things I learned that will help you prepare to attend a virtual writers conference:
- Print off the conference schedule/handouts beforehand. Yep. Just like we do at a regular conference, we need to pay attention to the conference schedule. Go ahead and highlight all the workshops/sessions that concern you. Copy and paste Zoom links into your Notes app or a separate Word document. Also, if the conference coordinator makes speaker notes available, print them off and put them in a file so you can find them again when you attend the virtual workshops.
- Dress comfortably. No need to worry about the dress code for a virtual conference – unless you’re teaching a workshop or on a panel. You’ll be sitting for most of the day, so relax and wear what’s going to stand up to you sitting down for hours.
- Choose a good location or two. I took advantage of both my office and my treadmill desk during the conference. My office provided me with privacy and my tread-desk got me out of my chair and on my feet for a couple of hours. A change of scenery helps, especially in the after-lunch hours when we tend to get drowsy.
- Use earphones/headphones. If you don’t have the ability to shut the door and have complete privacy while attending a virtual conference, then utilize earphones so the rest of your family isn’t listening in on the conference too.
- Prep meals and snacks. Even if a conference provides time between workshops to grab meals or take bathroom breaks, speakers can run long. I was doing the in-home version of DoorDash when it came for meals – running into my kitchen and grabbing something – anything – to eat. Not gonna’ happen next time. It’s easy enough to make a salad or sandwich ahead of time and have bottled water or your favorite beverage (in spill-proof containers) on hand. NOTE: Even thought we were supposed to eat meals together during small groups online, it was a bit awkward to watch myself eat, so I usually ate during workshops, when I wasn’t online.
- Prep for technology glitches. My desktop computer shutdown on me – three times! I finally switched over to my laptop and had no more problems after that. It helps to have a back-up option: laptop, iPad, iPhone –to attend the virtual conference if your first option fails you.
- Don’t hesitate to participate. Join in the conversations! The comment section is how we meet one another during a virtual conference, so go ahead and comment. Start with emoticons at first, if that’s what you’re comfortable with, and work up to complete sentences and asking questions.
Have you attended a virtual conference in 2020? I’d love to hear your tips for how to make them worthwhile.
How can you choose what is right for you when your decision will break the heart of someone you love? Having abandoned her childhood dream years ago, Johanna Thatcher knows what she wants from life. Discovering that her fiancé was cheating on her only convinces Johanna it’s best to maintain control and protect her heart.
Despite years of distance and friction, Johanna and her sisters, Jillian and Payton, have moved from a truce toward a fragile friendship. But then Johanna reveals she has the one thing Jillian wants most and may never have—and Johanna doesn’t want it. As Johanna wrestles with a choice that will change her life and her relationships with her sisters forever, the cracks in Jillian’s marriage and faith deepen. Through it all, the Thatcher sisters must decide once and for all what it means to be family.
Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releases May 2020. Other books in the series include Things I Never Told You, which one the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget.
Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.
An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.