Do you talk at every WordCamp you go to?
Nope.
You probably wanted a longer answer. I suspect the real question is “If you apply to speak at a WordCamp, are you always accepted?”
Nope.
Looking at the numbers, I speak at just over half the WordCamps I attend. I apply to about 75% of them (yes, sometimes I intentionally do not apply, it’s nice to just go to a camp). I’ve been specifically asked to apply to a couple, and I’ve been requested to speak (no application) at two I think (one I did not manage to attend, sorry).
But I’ve applied to multiple WordCamps and not been selected to speak, like WordCamp San Francisco 2014.
It doesn’t bother me much.
Oh, it bothers me some, since I don’t often get to find out why. Sometimes I do. I like when I do. But looking at WCSF 2014, I assumed I was a long shot. I’d spoken at the last two, there were a high number of applicants, and lets be honest, we should get some new faces in there. I also don’t think I submitted the best application, but it was rather obligatory that I do submit, so I did.
Still, it’s good to get that rejection email, especially when they do tell me things like “We already had X number of speakers apply about Foo, and you’re not local.” I love hearing that one. Yes, pick local! The generic rejections, like from WCSF (I swear I’m not picking on it) makes sense when you consider the mountains of submissions. Same with WordCamp NYC. I submitted twice, once something I picked and once was something they posted as ‘Talks we’d like.’
That’s my magic sauce for speaking, by the way. I ask what kind of talks they’re looking for, or what the theme of the WordCamp is. A WordCamp based on security should have a security themed talk. A WordCamp with a high number of bloggers and community runners probably would benefit from a talk about dealing with the community. Not everyone has a wide range of topics they can talk about, of course, but it’s still good to broaden your own horizons and talk about what both makes you comfortable and what doesn’t.
The rejections I learn from. I try to ask what about it wasn’t right. What did people want and not get, what did they not want. This works well with my job, because I’m supposed to be keeping in tune with how people are using WordPress, and being rejected means I learn where I’m wrong.
Does it hurt? Of course. ‘Losing’ in any sense of the word is painful and uncomfortable, and all the time I tell you that you can learn from it doesn’t make that feel any better. But what will make you feel better is next time. Because if you do learn from it and become better at what you do, then you will speak at an event, or stand up and do a thing, or simply succeed, in whatever way you mean for that to be. And not much feels better than that.
My father told me once that you lose more than you win, and losing hurt worse than winning felt good. He’s right. And that hasn’t changed in my life one bit. What has changed is that I appreciate the winning a whole heck of a lot more, because I’ve lost.