If you're not in proximity to a large town, writers' conferences are probably few and far between in your area. So why don't you host your own? Nancy Julien Kopp has some tips on pulling one off:

DO:

1. Allow plenty of time for planning. A full year or more is recommended.

2. Assemble a core committee. Decide what kind of people would best serve on the committee. Include those with computer knowledge and website programmers, local authors, someone with financial expertise, anyone with publishing experience or other writing-related experience.

3. Check the community calendar before setting the date. Locking in a date immediately is important. Everything else revolves around the date selected.

DON'T:

1. Try to plan a full conference in a short amount of time. A hurriedly put-together conference will appear amateurish.

2. Make last minute decisions. Plan far ahead and plan carefully.

3. Skip the details. Small details not attended to show up as big problems.