Aloha Writer’s Conference Lessons
I had the privilege (and I do mean that, in every sense) of attending the recent Aloha Writer’s Conference on my home island of Maui. Lessons from a top notch writing conference are best digested in small bites, but the experience itself was like eating a whole chocolate fudge cake at a sitting after being on a no-carb diet. In a word, overwhelming.
Headliners for the event were Kaui Hart Hemmings, John Lescroat, Diane Lake, Thomas Cook, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Rebecca Walker and a host of others.
What I loved:
Rebecca Walker. Memoirist and author of bestsellers such as Black White & Jewish, she is the award-winning daughter of Alice Walker and an activist lawyer. Every word she spoke was as deliberate, beautiful and fully formed as a pearl individually knotted on a string. What I got from her two presentations is that words matter. Quality matters. Taking time for excellence matters. And I saw and experienced a writer who embodied qualities I aspire to. I literally hung on everything she said, making notes as fast as I could.
Jacquelyn Mitchard. Author of the Deep End of the Ocean and many others, she now heads up a YA imprint. I loved her presentation on Why Adults Read YA, and I was thrilled to pitch my YA novel, `Aumakua, to her after being so inspired by her passion for what young adult literature is doing in the world.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I did very well—she baldly told me that the title (`Aumakua) wasn’t going to work, people couldn’t remember or process a new/foreign word like that. I got so rattled I forgot what I was going to say and babbled sweatily, and in the end she told me to read the guidelines for submission and if I thought the book qualified, go ahead and send it in—not exactly a “I wanna see this.” Still, (with my Facebook friends’ input) I renamed the manuscript Path of Island Fire and Richard Parks, my agent, submitted it. We’ll see what happens.
In any case, I got some valuable insight into why it may have been rejected before. Embedded in Hawaii, I tend to forget things like how many words begin with K and that I need to define things that to me, are so clearly meaningful. The other valuable takeaway I got from that is that I really want to see my books out in mainstream America, shaping and educating perceptions through an entertaining story. Someday, everyone in America should know what an `aumakua is—so getting clearer about what I’m trying to do with all of my books was worth gold.
Keiki O Ka Aina. The conference was run by a culturally relevant nonprofit, and the hulas, chants, talks and organization of the event were beautifully rendered by this lovely and inspiring group of parent educators. Vicki Draeger, head of the nonprofit and organizer of the event, did a great job keeping things smooth, friendly and inspiring.
What I Didn’t Love:
The whole orientation of the conference was toward the traditional publishing model. Thomas Cook’s presentation on The State of Publishing Then and Now was epically depressing and inaccurate in that he didn’t present the hope and joy that midlist authors can now make fortunes by self-publishing. There was one seminar on social media, and the speaker, whom I knew wasn’t at the forefront of using social media regarding books and writing, cancelled. Upstarts like me, with the temerity to be successful “outside the box” were left feeling like upstarts rather than a new wave of hope and freedom for writers, which is what I think we are. A valuable opportunity to encourage writers was missed—that, even if chances of a pub deal are even more miniscule than they always were, there are a million new ways to be successful if you’re creative, hardworking and have a business mindset with your writing.
The Ritz Carlton Kapalua. Maybe it’s my social worker perspective, but the money I spent on the hotel felt wrong, and was way too expensive for most writers I know. I just got done writing a book that posits an uprising of the working class in an anarchy movement against being invisible “Oompa-Loompas” in uniforms, pushing brooms and mowers as they make Hawaii a playground for the rich—and there I was, going down the hall handing out tips to my brothers and sisters in uniform, feeling like a hypocrite.
Paying my bill made me feel physically ill. I’m not a rich haole member of the 1% and I resent being made to feel like one. Yes, I enjoyed the great beds and vanilla soap and drinks by the pool, but I don’t need to do that again.
Lessons from the Aloha Writers’ Conference continue to be learned in my dreams, in my conversations with others who attended, in my very bones and marrow. I've been encouraged to have the courage of my convictions, to hunt for the exact right word for every sentence, to believe unwaveringly that I have a unique message. I think the lessons of this conference are slowly coming clearer for me and they have to do with who I am as a writer and a woman walking in this world.
What are some of the lessons conferences have taught you?
Wow, that was a great recap of the event. I have already given the coordinators feedback, including my feeling that there needs to be good, positive, up-to-date info presented for Indie authors, or those who may be looking in that direction. That was the one thing that was sorely lacking from this wonderful conference.
I got my $1100-a-night suite at 75% off and thought that was an amazing deal. But I kept wondering if the maids and other hotel workers were aware I wasn’t really a high roller. The maids couldn’t have missed that I brought my own food, and cooked oatmeal and noodle soup in the coffee cups. It was still way out of my normal budget and the total bill for 5 nights nearly made me cry.
Like you, I am still processing the whole experience. I haven’t decided if what I took away from the conference was worth the money I paid to be there. But I will never forget the fun I had and the friends I made.
I hope you count me among them. Meeting you was a highlight and I hope it’s the first of many meetings.
Aloha
Toby
Laurie, how did it compare with Spellbinders? Thank you, Toby, for your insights. They certainly are of great value to a newbie like me.
Wow, Toby! I loved reading your take on this conference as well as your thoughts that all writing conferences should be offering more than a “nod” to indies. I feel deeply proud of my self-pubbed friends and my own small accomplishments in just getting a single book to market … all by myself. I haven’t yet had the opportunity to attend a writers conference, but I’d love to hear which conferences are doing right by us!
This was my first writing conference ever, and it was a big deal one. I’m still sorting it all!
Toby, I appreciate your candor and love your pictures and summary. I too feel that words matter on all platforms (books/periodicals/blogs) and get quite disturbed when people start saying things like pretty soon everyone will have a short attention and only want to read tweets. I feel there are so many people like me that appreciate a strong voice, a funny voice and an opinionated voice that can string more than 140 characters together in an interesting way. Books and essays will never disappear.
I’ve always wanted to attend a writer’s conference on Maui. The prior organization always held theirs right at the end of the month, which is not when a financial controller can take off work unfortunately. When I read about this one, it was just too costly for me. I’ve also heard people mainly go to meet contacts to get published. I don’t know if that’s true or not but if it is I currently don’t have anything close to being ready to publish.
It is interesting that they did not have a good section on alternative publishing, distribution and sales. You would hope a professional conference would be looking ahead in the industry and be innovative. I do find in writers groups that I’ve joined on LinkedIn, my impression was there was an inflexibility to new ideas for many, a stubborn resistance to anything marketing related and a general understanding of engagement. In the topic threads, many of the group members were doing the highbrow talking down to instead of truly engaging and learning from others. One of the reasons I read your blog Toby is you are down to earth and relatable and open minded to new ways of doing things. Look how well you’ve done, the proof is in your pudding 🙂
I really wish you could have come and been my roommate! Maybe next year. I’ll go again…if I’m asked to be a presenter, ha ha!
Aloha and friendship
Toby
Thank you for the insiders look Toby. It made me think of when I attended the Maui Writers Conference back in 2004 as a volunteer. I found it overwhelming too, and was too exhausted to write for months afterwards! The most inspirational talk I attended was by Christopher Paolini when he was 20 years old and had published Eragon. The main thing besides his youthful enthusiasm that I took away was that he was rejected by traditional publishers. He ended up self publishing and he and his family toured and marketed the book. Then after his book was out there and people liked it, a traditional publisher picked it up. So YAY indie authors. You are an inspiration to me Toby, and your blog is a breath of fresh air!
Yes, I suspect that, with things the way they are in the industry, its those with proven track records who will be picked up. thanks so much for the encouragement, we’ve both come a long way since 2005~
Toby, I’ve been waiting on a critique of the conference. Like Melanie I was a volunteer at Maui Writers, only in 2006 and in the Honolulu version. I was able to find cheaper housing for both conferences. Expense is not something come easily for writers. I was surprised to hear that they didn’t cover indie publishing. Last year, I represented at the Pacific NW Writers and was excited to go to talks on various aspects of publishing, book clubs, marketing indie books right in with traditional. There are many ways to publish.
It’s so rare to read such a thoughtful, honest critique on a writers conference. Brava, Toby. The best thing about conferences for writers is that, as you say here, you’re in an environment where words matter, and where people really care about the craft of writing. It’s a small bubble in an otherwise uncaring world, where the journey of making art is honored and respected. I am puzzled and appalled about the lack of attention paid to self-publishing. They have to know that many, many authors are doing this, either because they find they can make it on their own, as you have, or as a way of creating a platform that may lead to being picked up by a traditional publisher, as many have done (I’m writing an article about that now for IndieReader). The lines between indie and traditional publishing are increasingly blurred for writers, readers, and publicists. Unfortunately, not so much for the mainstream publishing houses. But it is all changing, so the better informed we are as writers about every aspect of the industry, the better able we’ll be to write good books and get them into the hands of readers, which is the reason we do what we do.