Some teachers themselves have criticized conferences because there isn't enough time to follow up on students' work. Betts doesn't agree with that either. There's something of a family feeling about it. Mitchell says writers get useful and practical advice on a poem or a story as well as learn ways to approach publishers and magazine editors. Besides, he says, the writing is what matters.
Editors make no effort to get to know writers who send in unsolicited manuscripts.
A poem or story has to declare itself without help. You don't want Hayden Carruth to like your poems just because he thinks you're a nice guy. Softball, a Beer and Some Laughs Bill Wilkins, a poet who has been to the Port Townsend Writers' Conference seven times in twelve years, thinks that the social life at a conference is vital importance. Socializing also gets people to trust each other. If you play a little softball, drink a little beer and laugh, it helps you relax in the workshops.