Even bloggers go on vacation. Please enjoy a little interlude from our dear colleague, Tessa Elwood, that she sent by CELL PHONE. Because she never forgets anything, even a blog post:
Sunset, Yellowstone
Moonrise, Yellowstone
Yes, we all weep with envy.
(Photo from SCBWI LA 2011 “Sleepover” Theme Party)
Why? It’s all about the learning, the fun, the networking. It’s about like mindedness. The contagious writer’s spirit, the pure joy of sharing craft with fellow writers, illustrators, agents, editors, bloggers, & publishers.
Hear from more talented writerly folks- Why they love SCBWI conferences!
REUNITED
Connecting with a community of other writers.
Learning great stuff.
Connecting with a community of other writers!
GIVEAWAYS
To escape writing.
For me, writing becomes an obsessive love. I love putting words on paper; molding characters; revising and in the process making my words stronger. A weekend conference takes me away from the routine I’ve established. Sometimes I leave kicking and screaming, but most times I realize the benefit: this mini amount of fallow time renews me. I come home either with new enthusiasm or with the solution to an irksome writing issue.
To surround myself with like-minded people.
We write in cubbies; offices; barns; corners of bedrooms, wherever, but we write alone. Most of us live with loved ones who don’t write. They don’t fully understand the isolation of writing. Conferences bring together bunches of people who spend at least a good part of each day in an imaginary world peopled by imaginary friends. In writing for teens and kids, we up the ante considerably. We must think like kids so to capture the right voice of our young characters. At SCBWI conferences, I spend time with adults who share my love of kidlit! Whether strangers or friends, they get what I’m doing and why.
I don’t have a degree in writing. I use SCBWI conferences instead. Don’t misunderstand: would that I could go back to university and kudos to those who have. It’s simply not an option for me, so I research and select conferences that will teach me what I need to know. I listen and take copious notes and hand-outs. The masters in children’s literature, both authors and illustrators, have been my instructors over the years I’ve belonged to SCBWI. Where else can that happen? Only through SCBWI.
THE WIG IN THE WINDOW
Camaraderie
It’s tremendously rejuvenating to be surrounded by my fellow writers for three solid days! Those who aren’t writing and trying to publish are blissfully unaware of the challenges involved, so it’s lovely to spend time with people who understand. The children’s writing community is especially warm, open, enthusiastic, and fun.Inspiration
The line-up of authors, agents, and editors who come to share their words of encouragement and expertise is second to none. Last year I met Judy Blume, for crying out loud! It’s moving to hear professionals’ share their own writing woes and loves, and I always leave energized to write.Honing Craft
I always come away from an SCBWI session on writing with some new insight. More often than not, I learn something that really revolutionizes my thinking. Last year’s intensive with Nova Ren Suma and Julie Strauss-Gabel about the editorial process was eye-opening and helped prepare me for working with my own editors.
THE HEALING SPELL
Yes, it’s intimidating the first time you attend an SCBWI conference, but the energy and inspiration can’t be found anywhere else. Plus you’ll make new, life-long friends!! Or find a crit group! Or get solid feedback on a writing project!
You will laugh. You will cry. You will come away a better writer and a better person.
There is no other conference where you’ll find so many editors, agents, and your favorite writers in the same place at the same time.
CRACKED
Getting to meet fellow writers, many of whom are at the exact same stage of the publishing journey as you are. There’s nothing like commiserating and feeling like you’re not alone!
Hearing insider information from industry professionals. I always felt like I had an edge after an
SCBWI conference, like I was in the know.
They keynote speeches leave you reinvigorated, enthusiastic and ready to get back and WRITE!
THERE WAS AN OLD MAN WHO PAINTED THE SKY
My fist incentive to attend was Marilyn Sachs, who said if I didn’t go to New York and go to SCBWI National, I wasn’t doing my share of my job.
The second was wanting to hear speakers that I admired, and wanted to learn from. I wanted to know what other CB authors were like and how they worked (and how they put aside their fear of failure).
The third was that by that time I had met so many wonderful people on the speaking circuit, it was the one place in addition to when we were speaking to meet up and share.
PRETTY CROOKED
Sense of community. The conference may be huge, but there’s a very warm feeling of camaraderie. It’s impossible to walk away without having met lots of people at all different stages of their careers, even if you’re a shy, introverted type.
Fun! Maybe it’s the CA sunshine or the summertime vibe, but before I went for the first time, a number of different people likened the summer conference to camp, and it definitely rang true. Yes, we’re talking about craft and the painful ins and outs of publishing, but the mood is always lighthearted and playful.
Value. With so many workshops and incredible speakers, you WILL come away with wisdom that will change/support/improve your practice, give you greater perspective and inspire you to keep going.
GOOD READS WITH RONNA
To get that gem of a bit of advice that will resonate with me for years to come. Sometimes it’s a sentence, sometimes a philosophy or approach and other times it’s something completely new like the elevator pitch.
To reinforce what I already know, but hone it.
To network. I want to surround myself with writers in the same stage of their craft as I am and meet other writers in the next stage, too!
So there you have it! Tons of wonderful reasons to start networking! If it isn’t an SCBWI conference, let it be something educational, social and fun. Join writer’s groups. Learn. Grow. Write! I highly recommend SCBWI. Try it for yourself, just do it. Let me know what you think! And no matter what, keep those words coming. Keep on rocking your writing!
We’d love to hear why YOU love SCBWI! Leave your reasons in the comment box, and happy writing!
Because the “Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators” is an amazing group of multifaceted, creative, open-minded, share-and-share-some-more writerly wonders! If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times, writers write- But the most successful writers do loads of other things like Read, Take Courses, Watch, Listen and Network! There’s oodles of networking to be had at any SCBWI event, tons of learning, friends to make. A SCBWI event is an opportunity to learn from the best in the business, to chat on a personal, friendly level with authors, editors, agents, publishers and other folks wearing shoes just like yours.
As always, my favorite piece of writerly advice remains, “Surround yourself with people who know more than you and soak up knowledge like a sponge!”
SCBWI is one giant puddle, so jump in! Get your feet wet. See what all the hoopla is about! You’ll be very glad you did!
So read on. Say hello to some kidlit writers who know what a wonderful friend the SCBWI can be!
ABSOLUTELY MAYBE & Many Other Awesome Kitlit books!
Member SCBWI Board of Advisors
I began attending SCBWI Conferences before I was published. The world of books was so big and confusing to me. (It still is sometimes.) But the SCBWI taught me that it didn’t have to be scary, and that KidLit people were nice and they were willing to share what they knew. Now that I am published and on the SCBWI Board of Advisors, I try to give back to the organization that helped me get my start.
Listening to the incredible keynote speeches.
Seeing old friends and making new ones.
Learning — because I can always learn more about craft and our industry.
DIABOLICAL & more super cool reads.
Top Three Reasons for Attending SCBWI Conferences SCBWI conferences provide a chance for me to meet and reconnect with the local and national friends and colleagues. I love the social aspect, catching up on everyone’s news.
I like to welcome newcomers. When I got started, a lot of people offered me a hand up. I mentor. I make myself available to answer questions and field concerns. It’s my way of paying it forward.
This will sound weird because I’m a writer, but I love learning more about the illustration side of the business. I’m so in awe of the artist’s abilities and fascinated by the unique challenges they face.
CROAK & Reaper-wonderful sequels to come!
I’ve only been to one SCBWI Conference – and it was as a panelist, after I got published – but it really made me wish I had been going to them all along. Why?
I learned something new
I randomly signed up for a panel titled Book Design, thinking it might have something to do with covers and whatnot, but it turned out to be a glimpse into how picture books are laid out and made. I very nearly left to go find something that was closer to my area of expertise, but I stayed – and was so glad I did. I was enthralled, sitting there with my eyes wide and mouth open and drooling a little like a kid plopped down in front of their favorite Disney movie. So cool.
I got introduced to new authors
The panelists and keynote speakers at my conference were amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I plan on reading all of their books and stalking them on Twitter and following them home and…uh…you get the point.
I made new friends
I’m not one to get gushy or, you know, talk to people, but SCBWI is a great place to sit down at a table full of strangers and chat. I was blown away by how nice and supportive everyone was. Not even a single knife fight erupted! Imagine my surprise!
Note the key word in every one of those reasons: new. Attend a conference, and walk away with something new. It’s that simple.
BLINDSPOT
There is no doubt in my mind, I would not yet be published if not for SCBWI. Although I’d been writing for years before I ever attended a SCBWI conference — that first one I attended taught me how much of a beginner I was. I learned about the intricate web that is the submission process, the ins-and-the-outs, the dos and the do-nots — and as overwhelming as that was, I also learned something else: the value of networking. Don’t go to these conferences as a means to become published. Go as a way to network because networking truly is the key.
I have attended about 15 national conferences and I don’t even think I could count how many regional events, but in every single one I have met someone that has added to my writing career in some way. Through SCBWI I met my critique partners, my support group, my inspirations, and yes, even my agent. If not for the wonderful workshops and critiques I have attended through SCBWI, I can honestly say my writing would never have gone from ‘possibly’ to ‘published’. But the ‘published’ didn’t happen because I met that one person who said “wow, yes!” and signed me up (that RARELY happens!) but because every person I met at the conferences helped spin one more section of my web and it was this web of networking that finally got me there when my writing was ready.
My advice to a beginner who is contemplating SCBWI: Do it. If you can attend national conferences, great, but the real gems are at the regional level, so if you can only attend one thing, attend your local/regional event. Not only will you often get the opportunity to talk a little more freely with the authors, editors, and agents you meet there, but you will also meet the people who will become your support net forever.
DELROY IN THE MAROG KINGDOM & DELROY AND THE MAROG PRINCESS (available at Smashwords)!
Through the discussion boards on the SCBWI website, I found out about an online course in children’s writing at UCLA. As a result of taking this course, some of us formed a critique group, with three of us still meeting online weekly, eight years on. I would have got nowhere with my writing without the wonderful friends I have made in this group.
Through Expression Online, the SCBWI international online newsletter, I learned of Joanne Gail Johnson’s request for fantasy stories set in the Caribbean, with elements of folklore. My response to this request resulted in my story being published, along with five books by other authors in the Island Fiction Series.
Through the SCBWI Bulletin I learnt about so many aspects of children’s writing, including instructions on how to make a book trailer. Mine can now be seen on Youtube.
MERMAIDS ON PARADE & more beautifully illustrated books!
Getting educated – Juvenile publishing is a vast, vast business with many nuances. SCBWI brings the publishing world to conference students to explore and study how to get published and how to keep your books selling well.
Meeting the right people – Once the publishing formulas are structured the conference students will know how to professionally submit their book ideas to the publishing houses that best suits their projects. Or how to find an agent to help them do that.
Camaraderie – It’s a field where we work alone most of the time. And there are lots of questions when the nuances of running a business of being an author or illustrator come up. It’s good to have others who understand the lifestyle and learn from each other.
FRACTURE & HYSTERIA (coming soon)!
Meeting Other Writers
This was my #1 reason for attending my first conference. I didn’t know other writers when I wrote Fracture, and I joined SCBWI while deep in the revision trenches. It was amazing to meet and commiserate with other writers at all stages of the process.
Devoting Time
I have two small kids, and while I’d love to consistently devote more time to classes and courses, it’s really not feasible at this point. However, taking a weekend to devote to the craft? To talk writing and books and industry? It’s like a surge of adrenaline. I’m always recharged and reinvigorated when I get home.
Trying Something New
I tend to seek out articles and resources geared toward YA and the YA market—the stuff I write. But being at a conference gives me the opportunity to try something out of my comfort zone, which I think is good for any type of writing. One of the most memorable presentations I went to was for nonfiction writers, and I definitely implemented what I learned there into what I was currently working on.
WATCH OUT & loads of other groovy animal books!
Getting to have productive, random, on-the-fly meetings with editors and publishers you don’t get to see otherwise in a relaxed environment when they are having fun and open to brainstorming.
Having a great getaway where you can work and learn but also party and make new fabulous writer friends.
Connecting with other authors to share stories about our craft and business in a way that isn’t possible in our otherwise typically solitary pursuits.
So there you have it! Tons of wonderful reasons to start networking! If it isn’t an SCBWI conference, let it be something educational, social and fun. Join writer’s groups. Learn. Grow. Write! I highly recommend SCBWI. Try it for yourself, just do it. Let me know what you think! And no matter what, keep those words coming. Keep on rocking your writing!
Quick post today, my folk nation. Want to tell you about this fly app, Urban Dictionary by Slango. You are gonna go double rainbow when you install this on your smart phone. It’s got all the latest, hilarious language coined in the realm.
If the last time you smelled a high school locker or had post traumatic test syndrome was back when Britney Spears was still hot, Urban Dictionary can get you totes up on how your audience is talking.
Word of the day or surf the ABCs or search. Get your Kodak courage up, don’t let anybody spork you, and download this app. IT’S FREE.
kthxbie
