It's conference month for various writers.  Thrillerfest kicks off in New York City this Wednesday.  At the end of July on the 30th, Romance Writers of America holds its annual conference in San Francisco.  (I'm going, as are most of the other Babes and I can't wait!)

I don't know about the thriller writers, but we romance writers go full tilt at the national conference every year.  Workshops start early in the day and the publisher parties and cocktail lounge gab fests run late. 

 As a friend once told me, "We won't trash the hotel, but we will close the bar."

Publisher spotlights, author chats, editor/agent appointments, book giveaways, annual general meeting.  Wow, what an itinerary.

It can be a little intimidating for a first timer.  Hell, it can intimidate anybody unless you're a confirmed extrovert.    If you counted up all of the conferences attended over the years by all of the Babes, I'm sure the number would run into dozens and dozens.  We're veterans, for sure, so this week we're offering up tips for making the most, or at the very least surviving, your conference experience.  Even if you never plan to attend a writing related event, the hints should serve you well at almost any professional gathering.

You're going to meet a lot of people at a conference.  This is a good thing.  Writers can be pretty entertaining conversationalists.  You can also network like crazy and make a lot of terrific contacts on all levels -- editors, agents, other writers, potential readers, someone to design your website or help you with promotion. 

There are endless opportunities to make a memorable impression.

It's your job to make sure that people remember you with a smile and not a groan and exaggerated eye-roll.

Here's my number one tip:  Be friendly and be nice.

You'd think that would go without saying, but I've seen people behave with almost complete lack of manners and common sense.

Greet people politely.  Engage strangers in conversation.  If you see someone who needs a hand, offer to help.  Invite someone to join your table at lunch.  Hold the elevator for the person rushing to get in. 

Don't bulldoze through a crowd of people to launch into conversation with a big name author, even if she is your number favorite of all time.  Those people have as much right as you to stand there and you might just have knocked the author's mother, editor, agent and two best friends on their butts.

Don't cut in front of people waiting in line at one of the free book giveaways.

Don't talk about yourself as if you are the most talented author to walk the earth since Nora Roberts.  Nora doesn't talk about herself that way, so you have no business doing so.

Don't trash another author's book while you're sitting at the bar, or anywhere for that matter.  The person next to you might be her editor, critique partner, or good friend, and she just read your name on your name tag and commited it to memory.

Don't complain about your publishing house, editor or agent at the bar either.  If you aren't yet published, don't complain that this or that editor or agent just can't appreciate your talent and that's why he/she didn't sign you.  Trust me, the complaining will come back to bite you on your butt.

This is a professional conference.  You're supposed to be a professional.  Act like one.  That's a given.  Act like the nice, pleasant, friendly person you are.  That's a plus.

Enjoy yourself!