I’m not sure what enticed me more, learning more about the business of writing for magazines, or the chance to meet one-on-one with the editors of several outdoor magazines. With the setting in Boulder, CO and featured speaker Pam Houston, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with the Magazine Writer’s Workshop put on by my favorite magazine, Women’s Adventure. My instincts held true as I walked away from the weekend feeling prepared to launch my career from a hobbyist writer to a full-time freelancer.

The workshop consisted of a packed schedule of speakers and classes. Attendees had the option of registering on Friday night with an informal cocktail party to meet and greet other participants and some of the editors. Saturday was a full day, going from 8:30 in the morning to 9 at night. Backpacker Magazine senior editor Tracy Ross kicked off the morning talking about what makes great writing, why we write, and how to make our writing interesting. It was a real treat for me to hear workshop headliner Pam Houston speak next. As one of my favorite writers, getting insight into how she writes and how she develops ideas was both fascinating and helpful for enhancing my own writing.

After a brief lunch break we split up into smaller classroom groups lead by the different editors and freelance writers. All groups had the same outline to follow for the 5 hour session, with each group leader having their own valuable experiences and knowledge to share. Freelance writer Jodi Helmer lead my group and I couldn’t have asked for a better instructor on the business of writing. Her open and frank discussions of how to solicit work, how she follows up and interacts with editors, what type of pay to expect from different types of work, and how to generate successful ideas kept me riveted for the entire session. Throughout the entire conference there were plenty of snacks and drinks around making it easier to concentrate and stay focused.

Pam Houston gave her keynote speech after the dinner break, giving us another glimpse into her creative mind as well as the nuts and bolts of her illustrious career. Hearing Pam read some of her recent writing was like her opening a window into her soul while standing right there in front of us, making it all come alive despite the fact that she was standing at a podium, demonstrating how writing for her happens as a purging of her senses of their lust for the physical world into the written word. It was both thoroughly enjoyable and inspirational. Despite the long hours, the day felt like it flew by, with so much incredibly useful information being absorbed.

Sunday started off the same way with a couple of great speakers. Freelance writers Christie Aschwanden and Jodi Helmer both spoke about the business of writing, and gave detailed information about how to get work as a writer. I loved how Christie emphasized that writers can benefit more from working together and networking than viewing each other as competition and behaving defensively. Their openness and honesty about their business and how they have achieved success as well as step-by-step instructions of how we could do the same added incredible value to the workshop.

The last portion of the conference was comprised of one-on-one “speed dating” sessions with the editors in attendance. Each participant was assigned 3-6 sessions based on their requests of who they wanted to meet and on scheduling availability. I meet with editors from Women’s Adventure, Skiing, Velo News and Natural Solutions. Rather than present them with formal queries for story ideas, I used the time to get to know their ideas of the voice and readership of their magazines and peppered them with story ideas I had come up with. Hearing what they liked and didn’t like about an idea, what different angles could make the ideas work, and their ideas about what I could bring to their magazine with my background as an athlete was worth the cost of the entire workshop alone! It was like getting an insiders view to each and every magazine, with a free consultation on how to make my proposals successful.

This is the first workshop of this kind I have ever attended, but it certainly won’t be the last. The amount of information that was packed into a couple of days was fantastic without being overwhelming. Michelle Theall did a great job of keeping us on schedule and adding her own insight to the speakers’ information. Because it was put on by an outdoor magazine, the types of editors that were there as well as the specific examples of writing covered were inline with the type of writing I want to do. The overall feel of the speakers was that they really wanted us to be good writers and succeed in the business of writing, instead of just having the workshop as another means for them to make money. You can check out their other workshops at www.magazineconference.com.