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Why Author Conferences Still Matter: Building a Sustainable Writing Business

August 18, 20261 min read

Fresh off presenting a workshop at the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference in Auckland, and still thinking about TL Swan's keynote on rebuilding her covers and blurbs nine times before Amazon finally took notice, this episode looks back at ten years of conferences, from Romance Writers of Australia to the biggest one yet in New York, and what showing up, year after year, has actually built. Plus, an invitation to the Sunshine Coast Fiction Festival's writer's day on October 30.

In this episode:

  • TL Swan's keynote on treating self-publishing like a business, and why she never gave up after nine attempts at her covers and blurbs

  • The workshop I presented at RWNZ: Building a Writing Career That Actually Sustains You

  • Ten years of Romance Writers of Australia, and the lessons from Michael Hauge, Melissa Storm and Bella Andre that I still use today

  • Romance Writers of America, New York, 2019: the biggest and most overwhelming conference I've ever attended, and why I've never regretted it

  • An invitation to the Sunshine Coast Fiction Festival writer's day, October 30

Links & resources mentioned:

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