
J.S. Dewes
SFWA Nebula Conference 2019

Finally, my thoughts on the 2019 Nebula conference! š šāØ
First off, I just want to shout out the amazing people at SFWA and their volunteers for putting on a great conference. ForĀ someone whoās attended many poorly-run events over the years, it was refreshing to walk into one that was so well-organized. Not to mention so friendly, diverse, and accepting!Ā
(RandomĀ side note I learnedā¦apparently they pronounce SFWA as an acronym, so āsif-waā ?!? š¤·āāļø )
ā¹ļø All the Infos!
The seminars were incredibly informative and interesting. Iām used to more of a āhit or missā mentality when it comes to these kinds of seminars, but this one was literally 100% hit. I had so much new information to yammer about at the end of the day, I think my BFF (who graciously offered to chauffeur me) wanted to kill me š
This was very good timing for me, as far as: Iām at the point where Iām really hungry for industry knowledge, but not so early in my career that I donāt understand the basics, or have context for what the speakers are talking about. If youāre ~brand new~ to writing or publishing (and because of time and money need to be more strategic about what events you attend), then I ~might~ suggest holding off until youāve got your toes a little wetter, and you might be able to get more out of it the following year.
That said, I intentionally attended primarily career or professional development-oriented panels, so my perspective may be skewed. There were plenty of writing/craft panels that I wasnāt able to attend that would probably be great to digest during any stage of the process! And thereās definitely no āwrong timeā to attend!
š¬ Mentor Sessions!
This is a scheduled session where they pair you with a SFWA/Convention/Industry veteran and you sit down for an hour to talk to them about their prior experience at the Nebulas, their recommendations for navigating the conference or the industry in general, or anything you want!
My mentor was incredibly nice and had a lot of great information to share. We talked a lot about what his experience with his debut coming out was like, what the next couple years might look like for me as my debut approaches, and what kinds of marketing efforts I should be looking into to prepare.
You sign up to participate in this when you buy your badgeāI would definitely recommend for any newcomers, either new to the industry, new to attending conferences/conventions, or even just new to the SFWA Nebulas.
š¤ Business Cards!
I bought business cards years ago (a byproduct of my default āfake it till you make itā mentality), so I had plenty to hand around. But I heard a lot of, āOh no, I didnāt even think to bring business cards!ā, so I figured Iād mention it here!
In this digital age you wouldnāt think itād be a thing, but itās definitely easier (and less intrusive) to throw a business card quickly at someone than to write down information or fumble around with your phones. (*Please note that I do not recommend ~actually~ throwing a business card at someone.)
So if youāre planning to attend an industry event and you can spare the cash, Iād definitely recommend getting a few business cards to bring along! (Places like Vista Print have very reasonable prices and quick turn-aroundsāand almost always an online code to make it even cheaper!) If you have things like a release date, cover, etcāput all that on there too! I made generic ones so Iād have them for things like this, but you better believe once that cover comes, Iāll be remaking them š
š» After-hours!
As with most conferences, a lot happens after-hours! Iām not someone whoās really a fan of participating in those kinds of free-form things (and by the end of each day I was socially-exhausted enough for a lifetime, haha), so I didnāt try to attend any of the after-hours socializing that goes on. However, I think knowing that itās such a big part of the experience will help me prepare better for it next year, and I can go in knowing thatāll be part of what I should be trying to do, and reserve enough social-energy to accommodate. (Or more likely, I will try really hard to make myself and then chicken out. But hey, baby steps š )
š² Phone a Friend!
I had the opportunity to meet my āeditor siblingā Karen (pictured) for lunch. Sheās an awesome sci-fi writer whoās been attending conferences like this for years!
She was gracious enough to let me tag along with her, and introduced me to everyone she knows! (Which honestly it seemed like she knew basically everyone! š )
I didnāt have a chance to scour social media much in the weeks leading up to the conference, but if youāre able to, Iād definitely recommend getting online and seeing whoās attending, and making plans to meet up with anyone you āknowā via social media.
Thereās something to be said for going it solo (so you donāt have that āone friend I knowā security blanket to hide behind), but at the same time, when youāre new itās really nice to have a friendly face or two around!
š Office Hours!
This one I did not participate in, because I thought it was something else entirely š
Iād assumed it was a situation where people were just given an open space totally freely and socialize amongst themselves, and that youād have to go in and insert yourself into conversations, which is 100% something I do not do.
But itās ~actually~ a sign-up situation where you put your name down to attend a fifteen-minute slot with authors, editors, industry people to have a one-on-one chat about a specific, pre-determined topic. I definitely would have taken part if Iād known that, but thereās always next year!
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Speaking of, I also learned itās held in the same place two years in a row. So Iāll definitely be doing my best to attend next year, since itās so close to my friendās house that I can stay for free, and as a bonus I get to spend extra time with him! Fingers-crossed the Madison airport has that same weirdly cheap non-stop to LAX next year! š¤
Thereās probably so much Iām missing, it was definitely information overload. š But again, I would definitely recommend experiencing it yourself if you can. I canāt really say enough about how impressed I was with this conference from a debut-writer perspective, and I would highly recommend it to other writers out there who are new to the industry.
>>> If you have any questions or are considering attending next year, definitely let me know in the comments or DM! <<<
šŗšø Itās Memorial Day here in the US, where we honor those whoāve given their lives for our country. I just want to take this chance to say thank you to all the men and women in our armed forces, who selflessly serve our country every day.Ā Thank you so much for your service!Ā šŗšø