Conferences are fantastic. These are chances for you to grow and learn so much as a writer. You get a chance to hear from specialists (theoretically). You might get a chance to participate in workshopping sessions. Most of all, you get to network. This is awesome.
HOWEVER...
Just going to conferences is not enough. You have to actually put all of that work into motion with your career. In other words, finish the darn book!
What I see often are authors who just keep going to conferences, learning the craft but never really moving forward with their book. Sometimes, they spend so much time just going back and revising what they have done because they just learned something new that they had not thought of before.
This approach really leads to a spiraling decline in your career. Eventually, you have editing that story so much that it is probably not what you had intended. Even worse, each chapter or each section has a new feel to it or a new voice because you implemented a new strategy instead of working for consistency.
Now, with that said, does that mean you rush through that book. NO! You have to be ready to move to sending that story to an editor or agent. If you are not ready, then you are not ready. However, if you are ready, quit making those conferences and "what you just learned" an excuse for not moving forward.
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