On Being a Midlife "Mid-career" Writer at a Writers Conference

as a participant. (tl;dr - it's not fun.)

Summer writers conferences have always been a great way to meet new people, gather in community with other writers, get mentored by some established writers, get some feedback on your work, and for some conferences, make connections with editors and agents. That is, until a certain point.

I’ve been writing and have considered myself a poet and writer sin…