DBW, SCBWI, My Webinar & WD Intensives...
I've been gone for more than a week, so I've got so much to talk about!
DBW & SCBWI
I got back from New York last night after attending both Digital Book World and the SCBWI Annual Winter conference. I hope you all were following the tweets (#dbw, #scbwiny10) and the SCBWI Conference Blog. (Mega kudos for my amazing TEAM BLOGgers Jaime, Jolie, Lee and Suzanne.)
TEAM BLOG, l to r: Lee Wind, Suzanne Young, Jaime Temairik, me, Jolie Stekly One of the sessions I attended at DBW was on Digital Content and Marketing for the Born-Digital Generation.
I wrote about it for DBW so click over to read about the cool and successful things Simon & Schuster, Harper and Scholastic are doing to reach out to their young, tech-savvy audience. Agent
Holly Root of
Waxman Literary also participated in the panel. She offered this advice to writers: "Reach readers, navigate the changing review landscape, use social media to its fullest."
UPCOMING EVENTSIf all the DBW and SCBWI conference coverage has you in the mood for an informative event (and you'd like some tips that can help you better follow Holly Root's advice), I've got a couple things coming up that might interest you.
First, I'm presenting an hour-long
webinar focused on children's publishing called
Get Your Children's Writing Published. I gave a similar webinar last year and I was thrilled to see a tweet about it the other day (YAY!):
@Last year, w/ no blog, no twitter account, and no clue, I took @ 's Children's writing seminar. So worth it.
You can get more information and register here.
Conference Tips (Especially for the Less Experience Conference-Goer):
A Guest Post by Jane Makuch...
As a follow-up to my recent post on upcoming events, today I offer some tips for attending conferences. What follows are some lessons learned by a relatively new conference-goer Jane Makuch who I met at our Writer's Digest Editor's Intensive in September. Jane will also be attending the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference and the pre-conference Writers Intensive. She's currently revising a YA manuscript.
JANE'S CONFERENCE TIPS
So many of us spend lots of money and want to do the "right" thing at conferences, but we're so often on the outside looking in. I've spent countless hours looking for do's and don't and know I still have so much to learn. Some things I have learned that I think will be helpful are:
- Develop a 30-second pitch. Not just for agents and editors, but also the dozens of times other attendees ask, "What's your book about?"
- Develop a 2-minute pitch for one-on-ones. So many new conference goers seem to think they need to spend the 10 or 15 precious minutes talking instead of interacting, answering questions and listening.
- This might be elementary, but be presentable. Fit the part--show up showered and well dressed. I've been rather surprised by the lack of hygiene, sweatpants, and dirty toenails sticking out of the end of sandals...eewww! Clean and pressed doesn't have to mean expensive, but it does show professionalism.
- No answering cell phones during classes. (Turn them off, or at least mute them.)
- No talking to neighbors during a sessions because you're bored or scared or overwhelmed. They paid to be there also.
- Have calling/business cards. Vistaprints.com has very inexpensive cards with quick delivery. Put blog and twitter addresses on them and use a nice size, readable font.
- Ask people you meet at conference for their business cards. (Jot notes on the back so you can remember where/when you met them.)
- Research the speakers ahead of time. Do you know of an agent who would be great to meet? If you have a polished manuscript, be ready to ask if you could query them. Then mention in your query that you met them at the conference.
- Don't be bossy or rude. Never ambush an agent or editor. No knocking on bathroom stalls or hotel rooms!
- You can't go wrong with a more formal etiquette. Kindness and respect will most likely get you noticed when presenting yourself with confidence and professionalism.
What's your best advice for getting the most out of a conference? Leave a comment!
Upcoming Events (Where You'll Find Me!)...
I always think of January as being nothing but dull dull dull and cold cold cold. January 2010, however, is shaping up to rather exciting (and yet...still cold cold cold). Here's what's coming up:
WRITER'S DIGEST 90th ANNIVERSARY PARYT, January 20th
This takes place at the very cool Northside Tavern in Cincinnati. Join us for networking, give-aways, cake and various other anniversary fun. Here's my recent post about the party. No RSVP needed--just show up.
DIGITAL BOOK WORLD, January 26-27
This two-day industry event in New York City is a big ol discussion of current and future strategies, tools, and best practices for consumer publishers big and small in the age of eBook and e-readers. And pretty much everyone will be there. Registration is still open. (I will be tweeting and blogging.)
Click here to follow DBW on Twitter.
ALICE RESTS, January 28
SCBWI ANNUAL WINTER CONFERENCE, January 29-31
You can still register for the biggest and best event for children's writers and illustrators there is (besides the SCBWI Summer Conference). If you can't attend, don't fret--you can follow the conference as it happens on The Official SCBWI Conference Blog manned by SCBWI TEAM BLOG (Jaime, Jolie, Lee, Suzanne and me.)
Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: Ben Schrank...
Visit Suzanne Young's Blog for the first in our series of exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG pre-conference interviews with SCBWI Winter Conference speakers and keynoters.
To kick us off, Suzanne interviewed Ben Schrank, president of super cool Penguin imprint Razorbill.
I'll direct you to more pre-conference interviews in the weeks to come--and you'll find a few in this space.
To register for the SCBWI conference, click here.
To read more from Ben Schrank, click here for my 2007 interview with him.
Jane Yolen is Added to the SCBWI Winter Conference Lineup...
The 11th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference already has a terrific lineup--and it just got a little better. SCBWI announced yesterday that author Jane Yolen has been added to the roster.
Jane, who's been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century, and is the award-wining author of numerous children's books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, will offer the closing keynote address.
I remember seeing Jane speak from a wheelchair at the 2006 SCBWI LA conference after a night in the emergency room. She still knocked our socks off!
There's still time to register for the SCBWI event--click here. Early registration rates apply until January 4th.
If you can't make it, you can follow the conference as it's happening with full SCBWI TEAM BLOG coverage on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.
And if you'd like some Jane Yolen wisdom you can carry around in your bag, check out her wonderful book Take Joy.
Team Blog rocks!
You guys did an amazing job. Even as an attendee, the blog was great for catching what I missed.
Yes! I agree with Kim. The team blog made all us SCBWI members stuck in dreary Chicago feel like we were there too!
Great job to TEAM BLOG!!!!
xoxo -- Hilary
A great team needs a fab leader, and we had that in you, Alice. Once again, it was a pure treat to be part of such a wonderful team. I loved every minute of it.
Thanks for everything, Alice!! Miss you all already. xoxo
Thanks Jaime and Jolie for rockin the blog, and thanks Kim, Hilary and everyone else--conference-goer or not--who read it.
Thanks for providing such great resources within your blog. I look forward to following you.