Last weekend, I attended my first writers’ conference in a while. Let me tell you, it was a good experience, and it taught me the value of meeting with other writers, as well as taking advantage of listening to and chatting with editors and agents, people who often seem so far away from my little neck of the woods in Oklahoma (okay, maybe it’s less woods here and more fields, but you get the picture).

Here’s a few reasons you should consider attending a writer’s conference (assuming writing is something you like to do)…

1. Editors and agents are nice people. Who knew, right?

2. You learn that everyone has recieved rejection. In fact, people are pretty proud of the drawers holding all their letters.

3. Some writers’ ideas are way crazy. So don’t be afraid to let your crazy out of the bag.

4. Writers are an eclectic bunch. So your degree is in electrical engineering and you want to write a picture book about a fastidious grasshopper? Go for it.

5. Hotel banquet food generally sucks, but the cookies are always awesome.

6. The projects that editors are working on are really exciting, but they’re always looking for more.

7. Editors and agents are nice people. Did I say that already?

8. Authors with big publishing houses work hard. Really, really hard. If you want to do this for a living, you better not expect a cakewalk.

So sign yourself up for your next writer’s conference (I recommend SCBWI if you write for the twenty and younger crowd). Worst case, you learn a little something, and best case, you come home inspired.