Big Conference vs. Small Conference

 

By Thomas Kies

I confess, I’m signed up to go to Bouchercon in New Orleans in September.  After attending the one in San Diego two years ago, and then again in Nashville last year, I was reluctant to commit to going to another.  It’s not that they don’t do a good job.  They work hard at making Bouchercon a good experience for everyone involved.

That’s part of the problem, however.  There are so damned many people there.  I think there were over 1,500 participants in Nashville last year.

Yes, I love seeing old friends again, and yes, I love making new friends.  But honestly, I feel lost in the shuffle. 

In March I attended the Suffolk Authors’ Festival presented by the Suffolk Virginia Tourism Bureau.  They limit the event to about 50 writers across different genres.  The one-day event was attended by about 550 readers, many of whom bought our books. 

I had a chance to interact with almost all the other authors and spend a lot of time with attendees.  Because it was so small, the folks who put it together spent a lot of time and effort to make sure we were all happy. 

That includes coffee and snacks in the morning, lunch, and then a really nice dinner, exclusively for the authors along with an open bar.  Anytime you have an open bar for authors, you’re making friends. 

That final evening, I spent drinking wine and talking with the likes of John DeDakis, John Gilstrap, K.L. Murphy, Jeffrey Higgins, and Bill Rapp.  Earlier in the day, I was on a crime panel with Maya Corrigan, Esme Addison, Jenna Harte, and Carrie Ann Knox, none of whom I’d ever met before, but were delightful.

The cool thing about the panels at the Suffolk Festival was there was only one panel at a time.  The room was filled with attendees.

 Don’t get me wrong, if I didn’t enjoy going to Bouchercon or Thrillerfest, I wouldn’t spend the money.  And those events, after the airfare, hotel, food, and bar tab, are pricey.  My publisher, Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks, has always put together a wonderful book signing at Bouchercon.  The event organizers do their best to put as many authors on panels as humanly possible. 

The dilemma with so many panels is that there are multiple panels going on all the time. Some are very well attended…and some aren’t.

There are so many attendees that if you’re not an extravert, you’re going to get lost in the crowd.  And let’s face it, an awful lot of authors are introverts.  At the bigger events, you’ll have a better chance to meet editors and agents than at the smaller venues, but sometimes, it’s at an additional cost.  

The point of this piece?  Don’t overlook the smaller events.  The big ones are good, for sure, but it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd.