Peter E. Fenton Newsletter The Journey To The Next Release

In last week’s blog, I talked about the desire to start to meet my readers. The picture above is me at my very first conference. Lori Blantin, The publicist at Pride Publishing had said that one gathering in particular would be a good place to start. The Gay Romance Lit Conference, affectionately known as GRL. To qualify to attend, a writer had to have at least two books published and available, with good reviews and a following. I applied for the 2023 conference and was both excited and intimidated when I found out I got in.

While it is true that attending a conference like this SOUNDS exciting, it doesn’t come without a cost. Authors that are invited in are essentially representing themselves and their creative product (the books) to a targeted audience. Like any other trade show, the author pays a table fee, and the travel costs are not covered. Major literary festivals are different in that they pay for star authors to attend, but conferences … are just like any other sales trade show. And just like those events, the basics include a banner for your table, branded swag to give away, and of course, the books that you sell. All things you have to pay for yourself. The goal isn’t to make back your money on the actual trade show itself, but rather to meet with readers and super-bloggers who will talk about your work and help you connect with a larger audience.

The other most valuable element of these events, is that you get to talk to other authors, attend panels, learn more about your craft and discover the challenges other writers are facing. Needless to say AI is a hot topic these days. At that first conference, I was able to meet authors from around the world who were represented by my publisher. I had talked to them online, but it was heartening to hang out with them in person. I was part of the club of folks who had written a book and put it out into the world.

Over the next few years I would attend numerous conferences (mostly in Canada), and with each conference, the number of books I had on offer grew. Some of these conferences or opportunities were provided by the publisher, such as the Ontario Library Association Super Conference, where I attended to promote Not Not Normal. At these events I was a guest promoting the book, so it was nice to attend and not have to PAY for the privelege.

It was pretty exciting to have a long line-up of educators and librarians wanting to get a signed copy of the book to share with their students.

And over time, the number of books grew, as did the amount of swag I had, which evolved into postcards, and stickers and wrist bands … oh right … and books. And at conferences like the Northern Rainbow Readers conference and the Love & Romance conference, I connected with a larger segment of the industry.

They even let me speak on panels about my writing, allowing me to talk about my process. And as I was talking about my process, it was surprising how much I have gleaned over the past 5 years from the amazing community of authors around me, as well as the support of the publishers, and all of the many, many people who contribute to the publication of a book.

And of course the biggest conference of them all was in 2025 when I attended the RARE book conference in Melbourne, Australia.

So what surprised me the most when I went to the conferences?

The readers. Sometimes when you are writing at your desk, you live in a bit of a vacuum. But when you sit behind a table at a trade show and talk all day to people who have read your work, it brings meaning to the writing. Romance readers are PASSIONATE about their novels, and when they come to these conferences, they really want to talk about why your writing matters.

Some readers fall in love with the characters and want to know what is going to happen next. Some readers just want to meet an author and get a signature. Some readers simply want to talk about their own lives and how reading helps them escape from their daily woes and dive into a world of imagination.

No matter what, going to the conferences is definitely a motivating factor to keep writing. Since we had travelled so far last year, I took 2026 off from conferencing, but will be back at conferences in 2027 and I look forward to connecting once more with the audience. This is especially true because in only 36 days, The Attercop will be coming out, and I am really interested to see what people think of how the series wrapped up.

And that is what I am going to dive into in next week’s blog … the hardest part of writing a single arc relationship over a four book series. And maybe talk about some of the things that get cut!

Until then, thanks for reading.

Warmest Regards,

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