Five Things I Took Away from the 17th Annual GCLC Conference

This past July I attended the 17^th Annual Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) Conference: Virtually Everywhere. It was originally planned as an in-person conference but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GCLS board of directors ultimately went digital for a second year. Last year, after the pandemic forced them to cancel their in-person conference, they put on a set of free panels. This year with more time to plan a digital conference they could offer over over fifty events, including two special guests (Emma Donoghue and Renée Bess). There was an admission fee this year, which was less than an in-person ticket would have been. 

Like last year, the conference occurred over a series of weekends. I could not attend all the panels, although I intend to catch up on some I missed once they release the recordings. I took away five things from the conference, some new and some the same as last year.

1) There is a welcoming WLW writing community out there

I loved having the chance to see all the wonderful and diverse writers that make up the Women Who Love Women (WLW) writing community. (For this blog I will use the term WLW literature since it is the language GCLS uses).

During the conference, writers talked a great deal about the importance of community. Several pioneers and founders of WLW fiction, including Katherine V. Forrest, talked about the role women’s book shops once played as a gathering place for writers and readers to find community. (Sadly, many of these shops are gone now, including the one in my community). Many writers discussed how their mentors and editors helped shape and guide them. Others talked about the support they have found in writing groups. What stuck with me most was how many writers talked about how much alpha and beta readers were a part of their writing process. It was inspiring to see how the writers on the panels talked, joked, and interacted. 

I hope that an in-person conference is possible next year so I can have the chance to meet these writers face to face. Until then, I’m going to keep trying to get out of my shell more and reach out online. 

2) There is no right way to be a writer

The diversity of writers present amazed me, including age, background, religion, race, identity, genre, nationality, and other ways. What most fascinated me were the different paths and approaches writers took. Some began late in life, some later in life. The majority had a day job and wrote on the side. A few made a living solely from their writing, although usually, that meant writing multiple books a year. Many balanced raising a family and writing at the same time. Several of my favorite writers either started their own publishing company or worked as an editor at one, while also writing. 

Some were traditionally published, while others were self-published. Some stayed within one or two genres and focused heavily on creating marketable books, while others wrote what interested them, regardless of marketability. This division primarily fell somewhat along the lines of whether a writer was supporting themselves solely through writing vs writing on the side but not entirely. During her talk, Emma Donoghue said that she always just wrote what she wanted before even showing it to her editor. 

The overarching theme, I gathered, was that each writer has to decide what works best for themself. However, regardless of if a writer is simply writing for fun or to make a living, most agreed it was important to take joy in what they were doing or there wasn’t much point. There are plenty of easier ways to make money than writing.

I think for myself, especially as I am just at the start of my writing career, I will continue to focus first on writing what interests and excites me (mostly science fiction/fantasy romances and erotica) rather than worry about if I can sell it. I’d love to someday quit my day job and be a writer or editor full time, but that is still pretty far in the future.

3) There are a lot of ways to market your writing

One of the most useful panels I listened to was Marketing for Success moderated by Clare Ashton with Tammy Bird, Carolyn Elizabeth, Anne Hagan, KC Luck, Amanda Radley as panelists.

They were an interesting mix of self-published and traditionally published authors. Some focused on creating marketable works in a handful of genres, while others simply wrote what they want and hopped genres.

All authors on the panel agreed on several important promotional tools including getting a logo, being active on social media, and creating a mailing list. 

I am going to set aside some time to work on a logo with my somewhat limited graphic design skills. I’m thinking maybe a bird sitting on top of a cage with the letters CY in it. In a future blog, I’ll share some options.

Social media is a bit more challenging for me since I’m not a fan of social media, to begin with, and don’t enjoy promoting myself. The two platforms most advised were Facebook and Tiktoc. Making a Catherine Young Facebook account at least sounds doable. I’m less sure about Tiktoc, I thought it was mostly a thing teenagers use for short videos. I hate being on camera, so it may not be a good option for me. I’ll make an account and see what other writers do.

As for a mailing list and a newsletter, that is something I think I can do. Once I finally get a book or short story to the promotion phase, I’ll make an account with a service like constant contact and start sending out a quarterly newsletter. 

4) We stand on the shoulders of giants

My favorite panel during the conference was Trailblazer Sound-Off moderated by Fay Jacobs with Katherine V. Forrest, Ellen Hart, Karin Kallmaker, Lee Lynch, Marianne K. Martin as panelists. I haven’t seen that many badass women in one place in a long time. Living where and when I do now, it can sometimes be easy for me to forget just how far we’ve come, as well as perhaps how far we have to go. 

I came of age reading these writers and in so many ways they shaped who I am as a person and as a writer. Looking back, when I was a teenager and shyly buying their books at second-hand shops, I don’t think I ever realized how much courage it took them to write. Lee Lynch talked about how she began as a writer when she was a teacher and had to be closeted at work.

They created stories where WLW had room to exist and breathe when most of them came of age with little but the Well of Loneliness to look to.

It was interesting to listen to them talk about early publishing houses, like Naiad Press, that I have only encountered in old tattered books. They and so many other writers and editors made the literary world I know possible. 

5) The Future is Bright

The conclusion I drew from the conference is that the future of WLW publishing is bright. There are more presses now than ever before and they are growing. Whatever path I ultimately take with my writing, whatever I write, and however I choose to publish, there is room for me. 

I came away from this conference inspired to keep again try to push through my shyness and anxiety and keep reaching out to other writers. I have a better sense now of where I’m going and what I want. On a cheerful note, I also came away from the conference with a long list of books to get started reading and I’m looking forward to reviewing them here.