Tag Archives: SCBWI

Finding Keepers at an SCBWI Conference

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Last weekend, I attended Wik 2011, which is the SCBWI Southern Breeze’s fall conference in the Birmingham area.

You know what? That’s WAY too boring a beginning for the weekend I had. Let’s start again, shall we?

I will never be the same writer again after attending the SCBWI Writing and Illustrating for Kids conference! Thanks to all the speakers, I learned a heckuva lot about writing that I didn’t know before. Thanks to all the attendees, I found fun and games around coffee pots and cookies, down hallways and in elevators, sitting in high school classrooms and scrunched up in the backseat of a car. I can’t really share the fun and games (without incriminating certain friends),  but I can give you a glimpse into who (I know it should be “whom” but that sounds kinda stuffy, doesn’t it?) I met and what I learned.

From funny author, Lisa Yee, I learned to invest in my writer self. Now, honestly, I attend conferences and pay for critiques and keep up my dues in professional organizations. But every year, I lust over the Highlights Foundation workshops. I read the emails and visit the website and imagine myself hanging out with gifted writers and making small talk in the woods. But I’m done with imagining. It’s time to believe in my writing and go! (Hmmm…Lisa did not explain how I was to get over my fear of flying. )

From (also funny) SCBWI co-founder, Lin Oliver, I learned to do the work. I thought I was doing the work, but I can see now that I have more work to do. And no whining about it. She had lots of other lessons, but I think if you do the work, the other lessons will come along nicely.

From lovely agent, Linda Pratt, I learned to support my job of writing (marketing is important!), but to protect the flow of my work. Sheesh. It’s like she’d been hanging out in my office, watching me piddle around on Twitter all morning and never…quite…get…to my manuscript in progress.

From witty Chronicle editor, Melissa Manlove, I learned about using multiple hooks. I’ve put aside several picture book manuscripts, but I may give them a dust off and try, try again. Oh! And here’s something else she mentioned: Don’t put something gross in the middle of your manuscript. It seems like that would be fine, considering some of the gross titles and picture books out there, but if you’re writing a sweet bedtime story and throw in HUGE boogers, right in the middle of it all, you could pull the reader out of the story–and probably beddie-bye dreams, too.

From petite Senior Editor at Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, Alexandra Cooper, I learned to do your homework.  Go to Amazon and see what books are out there that might be similar to yours, and visit libraries and bookstores to check out the placement of books (popular books are front and center!) I also learned that the book you’ve written (and by “you”, I really mean “me”) may never make it into the marketplace if the marketplace is saturated with the subject.

I’m sure you can see now how after attending that conference, I’ll never be the same writer again. And you know what? I’m thinking that’s probably a good thing.

Finding A SCBWI Schmooze (And Why You Should GO!)

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Now, I know that as a children’s writer, you’re probably a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. (If you haven’t quite got round to joining, then off you go to pay your dues. We”ll wait.)

Okay, then. As you also know, with SCBWI, you’re getting a huge writing bang for your buck, what with all the online resources available to you. But there’s another resource for you, one that’s a ton of fun to attend, and where you’ll have the opportunity to meet and mingle with children’s writers just like you. Oh! And you’ll learn a ton about children’s writing, too! And did I mention it’s free?

I’m talking about a SCBWI schmooze, or maybe a workshop. They usually last a couple hours, and often, there will be a wonderful speaker (and refreshments!). There’s always time to ask questions, and if you’re lucky, there’s an opportunity for critique. And best of all, you’ll have a chance to meet with other writers that live close by.

You see, these events are brought to members by their Local Liaisons, people just like you who volunteered for the position. If you live in a large, metro area, there may be a dozen LL’s around you. A small, rural area may have only one LL. But whether there are 3 or 4 yearly events within an hour’s drive of you, or only one, I hope you’ll jump on the opportunity to go. Because that’s how you connect with SCBWI members, making friendships, making writing gains. When you finally get to a big conference, you’ll wave across a crowded room and say, “Hey! I know that person!” Or when you finish your manuscript, you may hear from a published friend, “Send this to my agent. Tell her I sent you!”

You may even meet someone at a schmooze who’ll become a mentor, a critique partner, or a lifelong friend. It could happen. So check out what’s happening in your SCBWI neighborhood and get your money’s worth!

(And if you live in the metro Atlanta area, join us Saturday, September 17th at the Collins Hill Library in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Vicky Shecter (CLEOPATRA’S MOON) will be our speaker, and we’ll have a First Pages mini-panel for critique. It’s 10:30 to 12:30 and rumor has it, the treats will be delicious! At least, that’s what my Co-Local Liaison Debra Mayhew reported. I’m just the LL in charge of ice!)