Now that I’ve had some time, I wanted to talk a bit more about the Japan Writers Conference. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon their website back in the spring, but I was extremely excited once I did. Even more excited when I saw they were accepting proposals for presentations.
Immediately, I put together two presentations I had ideas for. One was on self-publishing and the other was on New Pulp, two subjects that I have a lot to talk about. I sent both proposals in and finally heard back from the organizers, John Gribble and Bern Mulvey, that my presentation on self-publishing was accepted. Then later, a few months before the conference, I received another email asking them if I could also prepare my New Pulp presentation, as they had an additional open slot.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the conference, but as the date grew closer, I started to receive a lot more retweets from the JWC and also from JETWit. Already I was seeing some positive response to my participation in this conference.
When the actual weekend came, I hopped a flight from Kagoshima down to Okinawa, and man was that a whirlwind of a morning. My flight landed just before noon, my first presentation was scheduled for 2 pm, and I had to get from the airport in Naha to the Okinawa Christian University, roughly half an hour by car. I wasn’t sure what the buses were like that afternoon, so I decided to bite the bullet and rent a car. Traffic on the streets of Naha is pretty intense, but fortunately I managed to make it to the conference about twenty minutes before my presentation.
My first presentation was the one on New Pulp, and I was extremely nervous. You’d think after teaching classes of screaming kids for over five years that a roomful of calm adults who understood my native language would be no challenge. Sure enough, that’s what I thought, but damn was I ever nervous. I felt like a total amateur in that moment, and I was so convinced that everyone in the audience thought I was wasting their time. I was almost afraid to ask if there were any questions at the end of my presentation. I was worried the questions would be in the vein of, “this was completely pointless, can I get my thirty minutes back?” But quite the opposite, there were a number of questions, and they were all great. After the presentation was over, a number of people came up to me and there was much handing off of business cards and discussions to be had about writing.
The convention was only two days and this was the first time I’d met any of these people. Normally, when I’m thrust into a strange environment with people I don’t know, I’m really nervous and find it difficult to interact with other people. But there’s something about being around other writers, people who think like you, that helps alleviate that. I ended up making a number of great contacts while I was there, and having a lot of fun interactions with everyone.
The Japan Writers Conference is a great place for English writers in Japan, both established and aspiring, to find a place to network and communicate, and learn about ways to expand your influence and learn a lot about writing, making connections, and marketing.
If you’re a writer in Japan, there really isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t try to attend if you have the time. It’s well worth the trip. Visit the JWC website and Twitter feed to stay up to date on the announcement. Also check out Tokyo Tom Baker’s site for a video featuring various people (including me) who attended the JWC and what they had to say about it.