Awesome Christian Writer's Conference that you have to attend

Okay… wow. I had this thing all typed out, hit submit, and the thing didn’t connect so I lost all my work. 😛
So bear with me as I go through it all again.

First. I attended an amazing writer’s conference back in October with @Hope Schmidt on the campus of Anderson University, Indiana. Hope can back me up when I say it was totally awesome. I cannot even begin to count the different ways I was taught and encouraged. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

But I would like to summarize (and I mean SUMMARIZE) a few of the things I learned and share them with you… I’ve picked the two things that most stuck with me.

1. In regards to marketing, you are your brand. You’re not trying to sell your product, you’re trying to sell yourself. Once a potential customer knows, likes, and trusts you, they’ll trust you enough to buy your product. It’s all about building relationships. (One of the reasons an email list is so crucial). If you take the time to invest in them and make them feel welcomed and appreciated, they will not only be loyal customers, they will be advocates— enthusiastically recommending you to others because their experience with you was so satisfying. It’s the basic rule of hospitality. You’re inviting them into your space, and it’s your job to make them feel at home. If you do, they will be so impressed they will WANT to point others in your direction. They’ve become advocates. One advocate is worth ten indifferent customers.
So the basic sales funnel looks like this:

KNOWS YOU—-> LIKES YOU—–> TRUSTS YOU—–> RECOMMENDS YOU TO OTHERS.

And since you are your brand, be yourself. It’s like that entirely cliche, old-as-the-hills relationship advice— be yourself, and you’ll attract your kind of people. Don’t try to be something flashier or more professional or more whatever than you are. You are you, and that’s your strength. Because no one else on the face of the earth is like you.
This not only means authenticity, it means consistency. Don’t try to attract them with something flashy, or invest in them only until you think you’ve got them, then switch gears. That destroys their trust, ruins their perception of you, and loses you a lot of potential business they could have recommended.

2. Don’t be discouraged if your book doesn’t get traction with publishers; that doesn’t mean it’s a terrible book. (I mean, it might be. But assuming it isn’t and assuming you know it isn’t). One, there are more factors involved than the quality of the manuscript. I talked to a publishing agent, and he said that quite a number of manuscripts are rejected simply because they aren’t the right fit for that particular publishing house. (Do your research, people). Also, sometimes they reject things simply because THEY HAVE NO ROOM IN THEIR STORAGE WAREHOUSE. Confession: I laughed at that one, but think about it. Seriously. They have practical problems. That directly affects you, but it has zero anything to do with you personally. So don’t be hurt.

And secondly, if God has given you something to say, He wants you to say it. And He will provide a way. Maybe not the way you wanted. Maybe not the way you thought you were going to take. But His way and His timing, and that is always, always best.

There was a lot more— so much more. It would take me ages to share it all. But those were the two things that really stuck with me.

Of course, there was that awkward bit about never telling a publishing agent that you write 400,000+ word books, and that you have eleven of them planned for one series, and that you’re only seventeen… I think I gave him a heart-attack. Otherwise, all good. 😛

I completely recommend this conference. I’m hoping to be able to attend again this coming year. The entrance fee is $100 if you enter before August, which I did, and for me it was well worth it. I’m not completely certain I’ll be able to make it this year, but I’m hoping to. And the more KeePers I can meet there, the better… 😉