Do you write for children and/or young adults? If you do you can’t beat writers conferences for growing in your writing life.

Last weekend I attended the Online Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. The workshops I attended were super helpful to me. J.P. Robinson on “How to Write Men the Right Way” was practical and power-packed. I think every female author should attend that workshop.

Other workshops were inspirational. Speakers like Karynthia Phillips and Lisa Carter gave me renewed energy and determination.

The keynote speaker, Bob Hostetler, was on-target for almost everyone, I think. He has a way of speaking beautifully, directly and poignantly in a very short amount of time. If you ever see a writer’s conference with him as the keynote do not hesitate—register!

I think the biggest thing I gained from this year’s Online Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, however, was something practical. I learned a whole new attitude toward social media.

I’ve always dreaded being on Face Book and Twitter. I avoid Instagram. The only media I actually like is Pinterest. For years I’ve faced the time I spend on social media as a dreaded chore. Kind of like cleaning the refrigerator or baseboards.

But Hannah Conway’s workshop “The Alog-Mist: Pointers Not Potions for Navigating Social Media” was exceptional. She crammed a LOT of information into her 50 minutes. Mostly, though, she showed me clearly that social media is fun. It’s an opportunity to make REAL friends. She convinced me that people on Face Book really do want to share my everyday life. They really do want to know what I’ve prepared for dinner. They want to see it and have a peek into my life. And people on Face Book (and other platforms) want to respond. They want to answer questions about ME. After I’ve engaged with people and befriended people then I can ask to share my books with them. I can even ask them to buy my books. AFTER I’ve shared my life with them. I think I finally got the idea I’m supposed to make friends—not customers—and enjoy doing it.

Kenzi Nivens’ workshop “Social Media and Its Uses for Authors” added ice cream to the cake. She is truly knowledgeable about using the four main platforms and helped me decipher which ones are best for me to use in my situation. That took a lot of the mystery and the “Oh, no!” out of the process for me.

Maybe you already knew all this. But I didn’t. I honestly saw social media as a waste of my time and a dreaded marketing tool—something akin to going to the dentist. Now, I don’t.

I tried Hannah’s suggestions Sunday and every day this week. Every photo/post/question I’ve put up has receive ten times more comments than anything I’ve ever posted. Check out my posts about updating my living room/dining room and see for yourself. I’m Jean Matthew Hall on Face Book.Now I need to implement Hannah’s and Kenzi’s suggestions for using hashtags. Wow! I can’t believe I’m kind of excited to check my FB feed today!

When a writers conference is bathed in prayed by the team who manages it, and when my attendance at a conference is bathed in prayer that God will meet my needs and make me a blessing to other attendees, wonderful things happen. I come away from the conference with just the skill, or the inspiration, or the challenge I need to become all God wants me to be as a writer.

Jump at the next chance you get attend a writers conference live or online. It’s worth your investment of time and money.