SO, YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER?

We Need to Talk about Writers’ Conferences

The 2022 Willamette Writers Conference in Portland is on, guaranteeing post-conference highs but no way out of the rat race.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

This month I will buy a new laptop, a device that, as a freelance writer, functions as my office. The Chromebook I’m using to write this “expired” a few weeks ago, meaning it no longer receives automatic updates. Google may be at the cutting edge of A.I., but they’re obviously not above a little old-fashioned planned obsolescence. So: Back-to-School sales means August is the month to buy. Hopefully I’ll find something for around $300, but that could easily run as high as $500–$600.

Also on the financial front, our car insurance is due this month, which — even though it’s something we plan for — is always an uncomfortably large check to write.

Finally, every quarter now, on the advice of my accountant (because I apparently now earn “enough”) I’ve started paying state and federal taxes throughout the year. Every three months, two more checks fly out the door.

All of which is to say: I will not be paying $549 to attend the 2022 Willamette Writers Conference in…