I attended a couple of conferences many years ago. I came to realize that there is a downside in that, when one spends that kind of time and money, they think they've accomplished something by going. But have they?

One great thing I learned about pitches is that you'd better have more in your bag of tricks than one novel or screenplay. An agent or producer may like your pitch, but they will invariably say, "What else have you got?" If the answer is "nothing else yet," that's a great opportunity blown. The agents don't want to sell one book or screenplay. They want to acquire clients that have a lot of them.

The more product you've got, the greater the chance that you'll make a meaningful connection. Most conference attendees would be better off staying home to write.