You’ve scoped out the schedule, prepped for your Client Connections meetings, and have your New York boarding pass or train ticket in hand. What can you expect when you touch down at #ASJA2016?
Get ready for an action-packed two days full of the tools and motivation you need to survive and thrive as an independent writer in today’s publishing world. Also, note these updates and details:
- Mornings—including breakfast: The conference kicks off bright and early, with opening sessions beginning at 8:30 a.m. Getting up and out will be well worth your time; each day starts with a message from a powerhouse speaker. You won’t want to miss Laura Vanderkam discussing the secrets of time management on Friday morning, or keynote speaker Josh Levs’ tale of fighting back against corporate America—and winning—on Saturday. Swing by a few minutes early and scoop up coffee and a continental breakfast beforehand (registration opens both days at 7:30 a.m.).
- New member meetups: If you’ve joined ASJA recently, consider this your invitation to an extra-special morning meetup on Friday. Gather in the State Suite at 8 a.m., 30 minutes before the morning welcome. You’ll have a chance to meet other new members, along with board and committee representatives, and learn more about the conference and the organization. At the lunch hour, new members will gather in the lobby, then head to a local restaurant.
- Networking lunches: The new member lunch represents just one of several opportunities to connect with like-minded attendees during the noontime hour. Sign up here http://bit.ly/ASJA2016lunches for volunteer-led group lunches focused on science, biography and history, the environment/outdoors, personal finance, peer-to-peer connections, and social media. There’s even a Saturday dinner group focusing on memoirs and ghostwriting.
- Pitch slams: The conference features three pitch slams this year—travel writing on Friday, and business writing and women’s magazines on Saturday. At each one, editors will give brief overviews of their publications and the types of stories they seek in general. Then the floor’s open—anyone who has a pitch can step up to the mic, give a one-minute pitch, and receive immediate feedback (and even, potentially, an assignment). You don’t have to pitch to attend and learn—but really, when else will you have three to five editors’ undivided attention to your ideas?
- Members lounge: Drop in, relax, and recharge in the members-only lounge, in the State Suite on Friday. The lounge is available to members only as a place to take a breather, grab a snack, catch up on emails, or simply digest everything you’ve learned so far. (On Saturday, many of the same perks will be available to all attendees in the same space.)
Please tweet about the conference using the hashtag #ASJA2016 (and if you can’t join us, use that tag to follow along from anywhere around the world). Also, you can purchase mp3 downloads of the conference, at a special discount if you do it in advance at the ASJA online store or at the table at the conference. This year, we’ll be recording 96 percent of the sessions, so you can visit almost any session you missed (or revisit those you loved).
And of course, please come say hello to me and to conference co-chair Lynn Freehill-Maye. We’re eager to reconnect with old friends, meet new ones, and share the wonderful work the outstanding ASJA staff and volunteers have put in to make this a can’t-miss event. Thanks to you all, and see you Friday!