Ka-why are you writing?
a Kauai Writers Conference Recap
One month ago, I boarded a plane to the island of Kauai, Hawaii’s Garden Isle, to attend the Kauai Writers Conference (KWC).
As the humidity hit my hair and the chicken squawking echoed around me (if you’ve not been to Hawaii, there are wild chickens and roosters everywhere), I arrived on the conference grounds, uncertain what the week would entail.
This post serves as a recap of my time there. Moreover, I hope it is a helpful pro-tip/guidebook for those debating attending KWC or another large writing conference in the future.
I’d signed up for four days of master class, three days of writing conference, and registered for three pitch sessions with literary agents.
My writing group crew and I wandered to breakfast the first morning, and the energy was palpable. You expect a conference to be a place of heavy networking. Still, all at once, I was overwhelmed by physical business cards, conversations about published works, and a flurry of questions about me and my writing journey.
Why? When? Where? What? How?
The people who craft books are not shy — perhaps an exception to the typical artist stereotypes. Or maybe it was simply the safe space of a writing conference that had everyone firing off questions.
It was thrilling, if intimidating. Everyone I encountered was excited, and the enthusiasm was contagious. After the initial shock, I settled into the rhythm and became eager for these daily meal-time exchanges.
KWC Takeaway: The Meal Plan
If you are attending KWC, I recommend signing up for the meal plan (breakfast & lunch). It is an opportunity to sit among fellow writers and instructors (including agents, publishers, and published authors) in a casual setting. Sharing food is always an excellent vehicle for conversation.
Like college kids leaving the mess hall, everyone scattered as the proverbial bell tolled before making our way down breezeways, notebooks in hand, to our respective master classes.
The course I enrolled in was focused on the path to publication and was taught by the witty, insightful literary agent Ryan Harbage.
For four days, we shared writing samples, learned about the querying process, heard about the agents’ journey with publishers, and had great discussions about the highs and lows of the industry.
KWC Takeaway: The Master Class
If you’re a writer and contemplating KWC in the future, I highly recommend the master class portion of the experience. Though I only took one, I focused on a class relevant to my stage of the writing/publishing process and walked away feeling more knowledgeable and comfortable with the next step of my journey. The small-ish format of the course (about 25 people) was also incredibly conducive to learning.
In discussing other master class courses with attendees, I heard similar sentiments. I also heard from a few people who took two master classes (one morning and one afternoon) that they were sufficiently wiped out by the end of each day. So, while you want to get the most out of the travel experience, consider your physical/emotional bandwidth before signing up for two.
With afternoons open (my master class was in the morning block), I could network freely after lunch, write, or enjoy the intermittent sunshine & rain showers that Kauai had to offer poolside.
It was a wonderful and necessary reset after absorbing so much new information.
KWC Takeaway: Enjoying Kauai / Rental Car
Though some people did leave the resort (the Royal Sonesta) for adventures elsewhere on the island, the consensus around the premises was that leaving was too much work, and you miss out on relationship building. So, if you don’t want to spend money on a rental car or an Uber (which is necessary to leave the hotel), you’ll be fine without it.
That being said, if you’re maximizing conference time: you may not see much of Kauai.
A big pro-tip for this conference (and perhaps others): going with writer friends was one of the biggest perks of my time at KWC.
Now, I recognize this may not be something everyone has — it may be why you’re attending KWC in the first place (aka to make friends). However, it was incredibly reassuring to have ‘my people’ to connect and decompress with every evening. Sometimes, we gathered with others, but largely after many hours of “new” (people and info), we found ourselves seeking solace in the familiarity of each other to complete our days.
KWC Takeaway: Take a Writing Friend (if possible)
If you’re able, go to KWC with a friend (or three!). It can cut costs if you’re willing to share a room, and a buddy system makes the entire networking effort more comfortable.
As the master classes completed, we moved into the conference portion of the week, learning from authors like Joshua Mohr, Jean Kwok, and Laura Groff and industry experts like Wendy Sherman, CeCe Lyra, and Lisa Sharkey, to name a few. Of course, some big hitters like Marta Kauffman, Molly Ringwald, and even Salman Rushdie (via Zoom) were present.
Each session was informative and inspiring. The biggest downside to the conference sessions: I found the overlap of presentations frustrating because I wanted to attend multiple sessions simultaneously. However, I have yet to master time travel.
During those final three days, as I noted before, I participated in the agent pitching opportunity. Or, as I like to call it, speed dating literary agents.
Each 15-minute session, sitting across a tiny table from those who hold the keys to the industry, was exciting, terrifying, and profoundly helpful. Of course, the hope is to have a positive outcome—an agent asks for your manuscript for review, and you hope that turns into an offer of representation. However, the meeting is also an opportunity to gain industry insights from those who know it best.
KWC Takeaway: Literary Agent Pitch Sessions
If you attend KWC (or any conference offering these sessions), sign up! Then, make the most of that time by engaging thoughtfully. Ask questions about how that agent operates, inquire about industry trends that aren’t Google-able, and actively listen to their messages about positioning yourself and your work.
Overall, I’m immensely grateful that I was able to attend KWC. Moreover, I believe I attended the conference at the perfect time.
At the time I arrived in Kauai, I had:
A completed manuscript (not an unedited first draft, but an actual MS)
A query letter that was in decent shape (improved by my time in my master class)
A prepared/memorized summary of my book
These three items made me feel ready to navigate the conference. Nerves arose when under the pressure of answering questions from strangers, but my preparation was invaluable.
Although this is the only conference I’ve attended (so feel free to take this advice with a grain of salt), I’d say that if you can hold out for a conference of this caliber until you have those three things locked in, you will put yourself in the best position to learn and succeed.
Ultimately, the new connections and friends I made, the information garnered, and the manuscripts distributed to literary agents were worth every penny to attend.
Hopefully, this was helpful if you’re considering KWC or other conferences. If you have any questions about my experience, I’d happily connect further in the comments. You can also find me on Instagram @meganeilerswrites!
Until next time (and mahalo),
Megan
P.S. if you scroll down, you can see all these tips in one fun graphic
Fabulous tips! I agree with all of them. I'm so glad we met there.
This is awesome. Thank you Megan for sharing all of this. Was just in Kauai in March, would love to have this kind of reason to go back.