Matty Dalrymple talks with Jessie Kwak about CREATING YOUR OWN COMMUNITY. Our conversation was triggered by the fact that Jessie recently hosted the first Author Alchemy Summit, and I wanted to find out what had made her decide to dive into this huge community-building undertaking. But even if organizing your own conference isn’t on your bucket list, the best practices she shares are generalizable to all sorts of other big projects that might be on your wish list: testing your commitment to a major undertaking, the importance of engaging a team of helpers, the challenge of delegation, battling imposter syndrome, gathering supporters and offering them opportunities (rather than asking for favors), achieving balance with the rest of your work, the importance of avoiding task-switching, and following the flow of your energy. I also think that hearing about what is involved in being a conference organizer can help us be better (and more empathetic) conference attendees, but Jessie also offers some great practical tips for us as attendees, including how to find the conferences that best meet our goals and networking for introverts.
If one of those topics piques your interest, you can easily jump to that section of the interview by clicking on the flagged timestamps below.
0:00 The background of Jessie's conference, the Author Alchemy Summit
02:14 What made Jessie decide to organize a new conference?
03:36 How can attendees find the conferences that best meet their goals?
05:24 Testing your commitment to a big undertaking
08:11 Engaging a team of helpers
09:56 The challenge of delegation
11:46 Battling imposter syndrome
15:01 Gathering speakers
17:33 Offering opportunities (not asking for favors)
20:03 Achieving balance with a huge project
21:40 Avoid task-switching
23:40 Following the flow of your energy
24:51 Networking for introverts
Show notes (including summary and transcript) at www.theindyauthor.com/podcast... and search for "237"
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Jessie Kwak is an author and business book ghostwriter living in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not writing, she can be found sewing, mountain biking, or out exploring new worlds both at home and abroad. She is the author of a supernatural thriller, two series of space scoundrel sci-fi crime novels, and a handful of productivity books including From Chaos to Creativity and From Big Idea to Book.
Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she’s learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer’s Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
SUMMARY:
The episode features a conversation between Matty Dalrymple, the host of The Indy Author Podcast, and Jessie Kwak, an author and conference organizer. Jessie discusses her experiences in organizing the Author Alchemy Summit, a conference focused on the business side of writing, particularly on connecting directly with readers. The summit was described as a small, intimate gathering in Portland, Oregon, designed to foster community and networking among writers.
Jessie's motivation for organizing her own conference stemmed from her dissatisfaction with existing events, which she found either too large and impersonal or too narrowly focused on craft rather than business. She aimed to fill this gap with a conference that balanced community, networking, and educational content, specifically tailored to authors interested in the business aspects of their career.
One key theme of the conversation is the importance of understanding your goals when selecting or creating a conference. Jessie emphasizes that knowing what you want to get out of a conference can guide you in choosing or organizing one that meets your needs. This clarity of purpose helps in creating a focused and valuable experience for attendees.
Jessie shares the challenges she faced in organizing the summit, including dealing with imposter syndrome, the difficulty of delegation, and the intricacies of marketing and logistics. She underscores the value of community support and feedback in refining her ideas and gaining the confidence to proceed. Jessie's narrative illustrates the iterative process of organizing a successful event, highlighting how each conversation and piece of feedback helped her to refine her vision and execution.