Back from Left Coast Crime
Terry Odell
As I mentioned in my last post, Left Coast Crime is a reader conference, where the goal for authors is to make reader connections. There’s very little how to and a lot of this is how I handle (insert panel topic) in my book.
But, before I recap the conference, I want to point out that a gentleman approached me, introduced himself as CR Foster, and said he wanted me to know how much The Kill Zone had helped his writing, and he’d just published his first novel, Dead by Monday. He thanked TKZ, and notably Sue Coletta, who critiqued his first page, in his acknowledgments. Always good to hear that we’re helping writers. 
(If you’re reading this, CR, my husband is enjoying the book.)
And on with my experiences.
I arrived a day early because … travel unpredictability. Actually, a evening and a day early, but I always prefer to have time to settle in before needed to have my brain fully engaged. I took time on that pre-conference day to wander around the hotel and the nearby streets around the Ferry Building. I didn’t bring my camera, just my phone, but I enjoyed taking pictures. If you’d like to take a look, you can find my gallery here.
(Note: someday I’ll learn to take pictures of the conference, but I took very few during the sessions.)
The first panel I was on got off to an interesting start. The moderator’s latest book had released the day before, and things were understandably hectic. She’d already broken one of my moderator “rules” which is not to use the program bio as an introduction to the panelists. Her “reasoning” was that since it was the first day of the conference, attendees wouldn’t have read the program yet.
However, when she got to me (the last one at the table), she was giving information about a book I’d never heard of, calling my writing humorous, at which point I interrupted saying “That’s not me.”
She apologized, and let me introduce myself, which was probably a better marketing ploy. I was now memorable, and I could talk about my two new releases, neither of which was mentioned in my program bio.
Our panel was called “Perils of Small Towns.” Since I don’t write thrillers or anything dark, my small town’s perils are all on the author’s end. Avoiding Cabot Cove/Jessica Fletcher syndrome. Being realistic about crime. (Another pet peeve is why when you say “mystery” everyone inserts “murder” in front of it.) There are other crimes, and in a small town, where everyone probably knows everyone else, they can be just as interesting. Mapleton, my made-up small town is patterned after the one I live in where the entire county has investigated a total of three homicides since 2008: one in 2013 and one in 2011. I’m sure the moderator was frustrated that my answer to many of her “peril-focused” questions was “I don’t deal with that.”
For me, the moderator I actually walked out on was bouncy, peppy, singing, and said, “We’re not going to clap in this panel. We’re going to chant the author’s names as I introduce them.” More than I could take.
My next panel, the one where I was the moderator, wasn’t until the last day, so I was more or less free to choose my panels, mingle, and, as has been pointed out by others here at TKZ, hang out at the bar. Not to meet agents and publishers, but to meet readers.
Then there’s the promotional materials table. It’s filled with swag from just about every author in attendance. I talked about good and not so good swag in another post. My offerings were gone before the last day. I brought lip balm (none left; sorry JSB), post-it notes and some copies of my short story collection, Seeing Red. All of those were gone, too, which left room in my suitcase to bring home books (they give away a lot of these) and swag.
The panels I attended included:
- Rural Settings
- Knives, Swords, and how to use them
- Getting the Details Right (lots of tips on things writers get wrong by using television as a reference. Also per DP Lyle, “You can’t kill a drunk.”)
- Importance of Setting
- Challenges of Rural Settings (which would have been a better spot for me)
- Law Enforcement
- Lawyers, which served as a reminder that the Supreme Court can’t go after cases; they have to be brought to the court.
- Labels: Cozy, Traditional, Suspense, or Thriller?
- Liar’s Panel, where author panelists told stories about things that happened to them, and the audience had to choose which one was telling the truth.
“My” panel, Romance, Love, Sex, & Crime was the last panel of the conference. It was Sunday morning, the morning after the awards banquet, and I was pleased that there were more than a dozen people in the room. I followed my own rules, we kept things casual, and based on comments afterward, we did a good job.
Overall takeaways. I still need to work on getting out of my introverted self, but I did manage to meet and mingle at least as much as I retreated to my hotel room.
I like Left Coast Crime. It’s small enough so you don’t feel lost. I’ve already signed up for next year, which will be in Santa Fe—an added perk is that it’s driveable, so I’ll be able to bring more swag, and donate something to the silent auction where the proceeds go to a literacy charity. This year it was the Literacy and Learning Fund, administered by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.
Your turn. Any conference tales to share?
Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings
Deadly Ambitions
Peace in Mapleton doesn’t last. Police Chief Gordon Hepler is already juggling a bitter ex-mayoral candidate who refuses to accept election results and a new council member determined to cut police department’s funding.
Meanwhile, Angie’s long-delayed diner remodel uncovers an old journal, sparking her curiosity about the girl who wrote it. But as she digs for answers, is she uncovering more than she bargained for?
Now, Gordon must untangle political maneuvering, personal grudges, and hidden agendas before danger closes in on the people he loves most.
Deadly Ambitions delivers small-town intrigue, political tension, and page-turning suspense rooted in both history and today’s ambitions.
Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”
Interesting article. Raises a bunch of questions in my mind. I’ve attended a couple of conferences, but have not presented or been part of a panel, nor have I had my book (will be two books May 13th when the second in the series comes out) available for purchase. However, my publisher has encouraged me to attend conferences and continue to build my ‘platform’ (whatever that is). So, one of my questions is – If I had a table at a conference, or heck, even a local book signing, what ‘swag’ would you suggest I have to entice people to buy my book(s), visit my website, signup for my newsletter, etc.? Thanks to anyone who would email their thoughts to HenryJamesKaye@gmail.com. You help will certainly be appreciated.
Henry – the kinds of conferences I attend don’t have individual author tables. The closest you might come would be if you’re on a panel and the conference has author signings for those on the panel, and you could have some of your swag out. (Chocolate is often a good attraction.)
Bookmarks are good there, but I should have taken a picture of the conference swag table (where all authors can put their stuff out) on the last day to see how much isn’t picked up. Paper goods, such as bookmarks, tend to be the most “leftovers.”
There were a lot of cozy authors/readers at this conference, so bookmarks and postcards with recipes tended to get picked up.
I give away lip balm and post-it notes.
But … the bottom line is none of this swag sells books. It puts your name in front of readers, and marketing gurus say a person has to see your name seven times (I’ve seen ten) before it ‘sticks.’
Terry, thanks for an enlightening recap of LCC. Except for one Bouchercon I attended many years ago, my conference experience has been craft focused rather than reader focused.
Were there any unusual audience questions that stood out?
What a nice story about C.R. Foster.
I don’t go to many conferences anymore, Debbie. There are two local ones that are craft oriented, but they have to have great keynotes/presenters (shout out to JSB and John Gilstrap). I’ve found that most of the time, those two don’t offer enough to make it worth my time and money. When I’m sitting in sessions and my brain is saying “I could do a better job than that speaker” I’m not motivated to go back.
Now you have me trying to think about questions. None come to mind now, but it’s early, and if I think of any gems, I’ll be back.
I’ve been to one reader conference—the Romantic Times Booklovers and would have gone to more but they stopped having them. It’s certainly a different atmosphere, for sure.
Agreed, Patricia. I went to one RT when it was in my hometown at the time. Definitely a different atmosphere!
I hope you get to critique the moderators. I know you did your homework ahead of your gig, but clearly so e others didn’t !
Some conferences have evaluation slips they want you to fill out, but I haven’t seen them at reader-based conferences. I did hear some people stop by the registration desk and tell the conference organizers that they thought a moderator had done an excellent job, but I don’t know if anyone gave negative comments. I could have, but decided that since I didn’t see a mass exodus at the chanting instructions, I’d keep my mouth shut. Maybe some people like that kind of ‘variety’.
I try to attend a conference or two a year. It has been a minute, but I used to present every year at a state wide conference.
I am an IT guy. They are IT conferences. When someone wants you to buy a $50,000 a year software package, the swag can get outrageous. One company has their name on kitchen utensils. A different one each year. In a few years you can end up with a spatula, tongs, and pot holders. T-Shirts are popular.
Look at what you have from past conferences. I have two big bins of drawstring bags. I don’t need any more. Socks were big for a few years.
One of my favorite presenters is Kevin from Secure Ideas. Their tag line is Professionally Evil. It is computer security. They deal with protecting you from bad people. Two years ago, as Kevin was giving his introduction, he said, “And I say F**k a lot.” I counted. His one hour speech had 87 F bombs. I emailed him. He introduced me the next year.
https://www.secureideas.com/our-team
Thanks for sharing a different kind of conference. My husband was/is a marine mammal biologist, and I used to go to his conferences. Very different, and not as much swag, because it was science, not marketing, but vendors did have some giveaways.
Thanks for the recap on the conference, Terry. I’ve never been to a readers’ conference, but if there’s ever one close by where they chant the authors’ names, I’ll have to attend. 🙂
Seriously, I’ve talked to the local library about their hosting a writers’ panel some day so readers can have a chance to question the authors. If we do it, I’ll post about it.
My local library, and one not-quite-so-local do have author events, which I’ve attended. (With swag)
Great rundown of Left Coast Crime, Terry.
I enjoyed the heck out of LCC 2024 in Seattle, moderating a panel on biblio mysteries and being on a panel about research. I attended a number of terrific panels as an audience member I was in the meet the new author event (since my first mystery was just published), and met several awesome readers, signed a few books, and also made some writing friends.
The past two years LCC has conflicted with my annual Rainforest writers retreat but I see its in April in 2027, like it was in 2024, so I may be able to attend.
I’ve already registered for LCC 2027, so I hope to meet you there. 2024 was one of the few I had to miss for travel conflicts.
Hi Terry,
Thanks for the shout-out. One of the conference highlights for me was meeting you in person. I’m glad your husband is enjoying the book (That’s kind of, you know, the whole point of the thing)
I, too, enjoyed LCC. It was just big enough. If I were to describe the vibe in one word, it would be ‘welcoming.’ Whether one was finishing their first, first-draft or publishing their fifty-first epic they were greeted with equal enthusiasm. I have attended one Thrillerfest and one Bouchercon. I didn’t get as much out of them as I could because I felt like a guppy in the Pacific Ocean. One I attended that was extremely worthwhile from a craft standpoint was the Santa Barbera Writers’ Conference (writers helping writers write better).
Interesting you should mention SWAG. A group of us were discussing that one evening and if it really makes a difference. The consensus was stick with a bookmark. But don’t just lay it on a table. We felt that might send the message that you don’t believe your product has value so you’re just throwing it out there to get rid of it. The group thought the bast way was to hand it to a person, look them in the eye and say, “If you like , let me tell you about a book I think you’ll like. . Let me give you this bookmark to make it easier to remember.” As far as attaching clever amendments to coax them into buying the book, probably won’t make a difference (unless it’s the keys to a new Jaguar). If you want to give an item that they will value and that they will look at frequently, I would suggest buying a basket of medium capacity USB drives imprinted with your name and maybe a book title or contact info. That’s what we came up with.
Thanks for your insights. I agree about bookmarks; the issue becomes the limited number of people you will be able to interact with, but they are definitely “openings.”
Interesting about the USB drives. I had some done for free when the company offered a number of them as a marketing gig for their company. The issue becomes measuring ROI on any swag.
Late to the party…
Aww… Thank you, CR! I’m so glad I could help. Congratulations on your debut!
What a superb breakdown of Left Coast Crime, Terry. I’ve always wanted to attend. Perhaps I’ll get there one day.
Thanks, Sue. LCC 2027 is going to be in Santa Fe. I’m planning to get there a day or so early and do some photography. And have some great food!
Very sorry to all for the confusion but I go by Chuck. When you have a very common name like Charles Robert, every permutation is already in use when you need a unique name for something like a book. I’m just Chuck from the block. Oh, darn. I think that’s been used also.