Hello dear readers! It’s been so long since we’ve chatted. I’ve missed you. But as we’ve discussed–I have no intention of filling up your inbox with random chatter. Although I am super capable of doing it.
Instead I’ve promised to only blog when I had something relevant to add to the conversation. And here I am with a brief recap of the 2017 Silver Bay Falling Leaves Eastern Upstate NY SCBWI Retreat. I have to share this SCBWI event with you for a number of reasons–I met amazing people, learned fabulous things and I think you’d love to come to this event next year! So let me tempt you.
The weather was beautiful when I arrived at Silver Bay and I took advantage and walked around a bit. I was happy that I’d brought my good camera.
After checking in and getting my bearings, it was time for dinner and our first round of workshops.
*WORKSHOP #1 Gestalt: or 1+1=More Words and Pictures in Picturebooks by Rotem Moscovich (Executive Editor at Disney-Hyperion)
And if you look closely at Rotem’s display of fabulous picture books, in the middle of the bottom row you’ll see my forever friend and editor for TOUCHING THE SURFACE, Anica Rissi’s THE TEACHER’S PET. Rotem told everyone all about Anica’s art note perfection and the magic that ensued because of it. Interested in finding out more about The Teacher’s Pet? Have Anica come and visit your class and tell you the story herself <3
And I don’t want to forget to tell you some of Rotem’s best words of wisdom…
*Gestalt=more than the sum of it’s parts.
*The best picture books are composite texts that combine the text, the illustrations and the input of the reader.
A great example of this is ONE SPECIAL DAY by Lola M Schaefer and Jessica Meserve
*WORKSHOP #2 The Body Electric by Katherine Jacobs (Senior Editor, Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)
And here are Kate’s best bits…
*Characters are the best way to engage your reader. Follow the characters–>sing the body electric!
*Resist the urge to over describe your characters, but be sure to KNOW those characters.
*Flat characters vs Round Characters. Round characters are surprising, unique and multi-dimensional.
*Motivation: What does your character want?
*Conflict: you need a problem that can be solved.
And then it was back to the main building. Want to take a peek?
The inside is great too. 
And if you’r anything like me and thinking of heading here next year for the first time, you might like to know what the rooms look like. So, let’s head upstairs…
Yes, we had real keys and wooden doors. And the most adorable, clean and cozy rooms…
On Saturday, we spent the morning broken up into critique groups. I brought five pages of my current YA work in progress and my group was super helpful. I also want them to finish writing all their projects and get them published–so I can read them! In the afternoon we had our one-on-one critiques with our editor/agent mentor. I brought a chapter book project for that and got an insanely amazing amount of help from Grace Kendall. More from her later. <3
In between lunch, critiques, and dinner we had some glorious free time for writing, sharing, hiking or whatever else you wanted to do.
I planted my butt at that round table and got in several hours of work. It was fun to shove a pair of ear plugs in my ears and enjoy being “alone” around so many writers. And productive!
Then it was time for evening workshops. And my apologies–my pictures from these workshops went missing. *grrrr* WAIT!!!! I FOUND THEM> ADDING THEM IN BELOW.
*Workshop #3 Non-Fiction Proposal Writing with Hilary Van Dusen (Executive Editor, Candlewick Press)
Here are some of the things Hilary is looking for in a Non-Fiction Proposal…
*Demonstrates passion
*Proof that the author has done their research
*A summary
*Outline
*Sample chapter or two
*A sense of the author–who they are and what they are about
Workshop #4 It’s Not A Race: How to Find and Build the Perfect Pacing for Your Manuscript with Grace Kendall (Editor, Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers/Macmillian)
Here’s what Grace thinks you need to know about pacing…
*What is pacing? Character + Plot + Purpose = Pacing
*Your sense of pacing is different for each purpose.
*Why is pacing a problem? Too slow = bored reader and too fast = reader loses empathy. Additionally, bad craft creates distrust in the reader.
*You can use pacing like any of your other creative tools. (character, voice, diction etc…)
*You can look at pacing at the book, scene, paragraph and sentence level.
And then it was time for the Big Falling Leaves Birthday Bash!!! It’s the 10th Anniversary of this retreat and we celebrated at the Boat House…
On the mantle are book covers of Falling Leaves success stories. <3 More are preparing for their book birthdays in 2018 and beyond…
Our fearless leader, Nancy Castaldo and her Left hand Lois, Lois Miner Huey and her Right hand man, Greg Matusic. Thanks for EVERYTHING guys!
And here is our fabulous faculty from left to right: Hilary, Rotem, Kendra, Grace, Kate and Jennifer
On Sunday morning we packed up our suitcases, but we still had a half day of awesomeness. We even get to have a toasty fire…
*Workshop #5 Be the Hero of Your Own Writing Process with Kendra Levin (Executive Editor at Viking Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House)
Here’s some tips on how to be a hero…
*There is a universality to the creative process.
*The happiest people can find a way to extra meaning from anything that happens to them.
*Heroes: Protect, Serve and Make Sacrifices.
*Having a step-by-step plan and having goals is key to being a writer.
*Know your strengths and weaknesses. Actively address the areas where you need the most work.
*Writing for young people REALLY DOES MATTER!
Want to find out more about how to be the hero of your own writing process?
The Hero is You by Kendra Levin (Life Coach for Writers)
Next we jumped to the Editor/Agent Roundtable for an intimate Q & A Session before our last speaker of the conference.
*Workshop #6 Best Practices for Maximizing Your Books’ Success with Jennifer Laughran (Senior Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency and Bookseller)
What to do to increase your success…
*Website–think of it as your business card. (contact info, links to social media, blog if you have one)
*On your website have a pre-order page/book page (include ISBN, links to buy the book including Indie options, Skype/school visit info and curriculum guide if you have it.)
*Have a Press Kit on your website.
*Present yourself the way you want to be perceived.
*Never vent business or rant like a crazy person on line.
*Give to the writer community–don’t just be a taker.
*Introduce yourself to local booksellers.
*Figure out what your niche is and lean into it.
*Find out what about you is unique that you can share with readers. Find ways to add value to what you are doing.
*Publicists and Marketing: other people are more likely to help you if you are helping yourself.
Want more of this fabulous advice? Check out Jenn’s Podcast–the link is on her website.
And then it was time to go home–and work! I’m still so energized. Falling Leaves gave me so many new friends and an incredible amount of insight into my projects–particularly one I was very stuck on. Sometimes all it takes is a trust fall with your tribe. <3
Any questions about the retreat? I’ll happily answer what I can or point you in the right direction. And I have one more question before you go… This question is inspired by the book DEVOTED by Jennifer Mathieu. We used it as a learning text in Kate’s presentation.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver
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What a beautiful setting!
It was gorgeous!
Kim, thanks for another thorough and excellent conference recap! Your pictures are wonderful – Silver Bay looks like such a beautiful and inspiring place. Makes me wish I was there, too! I can tell the workshops/speakers were great, and that you got a lot insight, encouragement and motivation from them. I’m glad you were able to take workshops for all of your genres/age groups of your writing! And it’s cool that you got to be there for the 10th anniversary and the celebration! Thanks again for sharing – you are the eyes and ears for those of us who couldn’t attend; the next best thing to being there!