Here’s my recap of the New England SCBWI Conference for the second time. I got this half done for Friday when my oldest son’s school transportation had the drivers go on strike and then my other two kids came down with strep. I decided to postpone the post and finish it over the weekend. I saved it and and then the gremlins that live in my computer erased only the part I’d finished. *head thunk*
I arrived at the conference at around noon on Friday and did all of the standard checking-in and hugging friends things. Then it was off to the first sessions.
Friday 5/3/13
A Intensive–KEYWORD BY WORD: CREATE A PLAND TO BRAND. SELL, AND PROMOTE YOUR NOVEL with AC Gaughen and Hilary Weisman Graham
I love attending events by my Apocalypsies and Class of 2k12 siblings. So much fun!
Favorite take-aways…
*Everyone IS buying bookmarks and everyone WANTS bookmarks for swag, whether you like it or not LOL!
*Twitter is the most popular place (debut author questionnaire) to focus your social media push, but tumblr is where the teens are.
* * *
Workshop B–MANAGING YOUR WRITING; MANAGING YOUR LIFE WITH PEGGY DEITZ SHEA AND JANET DOUCETTE
This session started off with some relaxation and focusing techniques. I became so relaxed I forgot to take a picture and may have almost fallen asleep at one point LOL!
Favorite take-aways…
*Are you here?
*Women are great multi-tasks but being a multi-tasker is not in your best interest. You can get stuck on the bridge between the right brain and the left brain.
*Requests (received or given) should always include the right to decline and a clear expectation of fulfillment.
Keynote–PANEL DISCUSSION: AN UNCENSORED DISCUSSION ON EDGY YA
Favorite take-aways…
*Be true to the work.
*Should the parent be the gate-keeper or do children effectively police their own reading material?
Saturday 5/4/13
Keynote–THE WORDS WE CHOOSE TO SAY by Sharon Creech
A HUGE fan-girl moment for me!!!! Yes, she really glows in real life. <3
Favorite take-aways…
*Find your own voice, your own rhythms–it makes you a better writer.
*Use it all (great ideas) when you’re writing. New stuff will grow. Words generate words.
*Don’t be in such a hurry to publish your story. Time may allow you to deepen it. There could be something profound under there.
C Intensive–REAL REVISION: BIG PICTURE AND LINE BY LINE with Kate Messner
I LOVE Kate! That’s all.
Best take-aways…
*Revision is finding and strengthening the heart of your story.
*You can’t revise, to bring about the heart of your story if you don’t know what the heart is.
*Writing off-draft can help you understand things.
*Trying something you’re not great at can free you up.
*Use a mentor text to guide your way.
*Make what you need to explore and fix your book. (Charts, maps, timelines and outlines)
If you want to learn more about Kate’s amazing revision tips–check out her book REAL REVISION.
Time for lunch and another amazing Keynote with author/illustrator Grace Lin
Stephanie, Megan and Kendra
Annie, Me, Jodi and Eileen
Best take-away from Grace Lin’s keynote (sorry I don’t have a picture)…
You’ll be your best self when you are yourself in you writing and art. <3
Workshop G–THE ART OF THE OUTLINE with Elisabeth Papdemetriou
Best take-aways…
*Don’t confuse learning the skill (of outlining) with the act of outlining.
*Plot and character are inseparable.
*Outlines should include every single scene in your book.
*Have your closing scene echo your opening scene.
And I FINALLY got to meet Jo Knowles. I’ve participated in JoNoWriMo for years and Jo was one of those warm and giving authors who mentors those around her–plus I love the books she writes. Check out her latest, PEARL which won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award!
Workshop H–THE POWER OF POINT OF VIEW with Linda Urban
She is hilarious by the way.
Best take-aways…
*I believe we are living in an increasingly 1st person world. 1st person is only going to grow. Writing in 3rd person may allow you to stand out.
Saturday’s Autograph Party!!!!!
Katie chatting up the awesome Nova Ren Suma.
Sharon Creech signing for my friend’s daughter who is her BIGGEST FAN!!!!!
Of course I’m I HUGE fan too!!!!!
Jodi chatting with Jodi.
Kate Messner signing a book for the Fishkill Frogs!
Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of the MG novel ONE FOR THE MURPHYS, signing and making friends.
Greg Fishbone (Class of 2k7) and AC GaugheBrendan (Class of 2k12) hanging out
REVISING A CAREER: TIMING, TRUST & TEAMWORK with Brenda Reeves Sturgis, Emma Dryden and Karen Grenick
Favorite take-aways…
*Don’t quit–ever. <3
Some down time in the Sheraton while waiting for the Ballroom to open up.
The Books for Boston collection bin.
Check out some of the inspirational messages written in the books going to Boston.
Sunday 5/5/13
Panel Discusion–SCULPTING STORIES FROM FACT: FOUR WRITERS OF HISTORICAL FICTION SHARE STRATEGIES
Sarah Lamstein, Jeannine Atkins, Padma Venkatraman and Pat Lowery Collins (Boo my picture didn’t come out!)
Favorite take-aways…
*I tried to pack Padma in my suitcase. All four authors were great, but she stole the show. LOVE her!
*When story and history collide–story always wins. (PV)
*The attitudes of the times plays a role in the story/plot. (SL)
*The reasons writers aren’t diagnosed as schizophrenic is that we listen to the voices in our head instead of conversing with them. (PV)
*Create a LOVELY FILE to put all the darlings you cut–then you will always have them. (PV)
I Intensive–ADVANCED PLOTTING with Chris Eboch
I was very busy in this small, pro-track class and you guessed it–I forgot to take a picture. *smacks own hand*
Favorite take-aways…
*If your main problem can’t be introduced early, find a way in, something that gives a hint.
*Be careful not to open too fast. Give the reader a little time to get acclimated.
*Action without context is not a good thing.
*Likable character plus a bad situation makes the best story.
*Real life drama needs to be set up correctly to be believable to the reader.
You can find our more about Chris Eboch and advanced plotting HERE.
Workshop N–THE YIN AND YANG OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT with Kami Kinard
More Apocalypsie love!!!!! And yes, I was too busy meeting Kami in person for the first time that I…didn’t take a picture. Should have gotten one of us together. Drat!
Favorite take-aways…
*Add believable traits to your characters.
*Characters with both good and bad motives and traits naturally create much desired tension.
*Books are about physical, emotional and spiritual journeys.
Kami posted some stuff on humor from another of her sessions on her blog. You can catch it HERE!
And because I always have to buy one more book LOL! Hanging with the AWESOME Padma Venkatraman, author of CLIMBING THE STAIRS. <3
Me, Padma, Jodi and Megan
And then it was time to say goodbye and drive home. NESCBWI was an amazing conference and I’m so glad I got the chance to grow. It truly had the feel of an International SCBWI Event but with the intimacy of a smaller conference. Lots of fun and I hope to be able to attend again next year too! Have any of you been to NESCBWI before? Any new authors that you’ve now got to put into your TBR pile?
Tags: #NESCBWI13, AC Gaughen, Apocalypsies, Books for Boston, Brenda Reeves Sturgis, Chris Eboch, Climbing the Stairs, Greg Fishbone, Hilary Weisman Graham, Jo Knowles, JoNoWriMO, Kami Kinard, Kate Messner, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Linda Urban, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, New England SCBWI, Nova Ren Suma, Padma Venkatraman, Pearl, Real Revision, Sharon Creech, The Class of 2k12
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Yesterday I Rocked the Drop!!!!
Rock the Drop 2012
Once again, Readergirlz and Figment did ROCK THE DROP in honor of Support Teen Lit Day on Thursday, April 12th. All I had to do was find some YA books that I wanted to share with the world and then
* Snag a bookplate, created by the uber-talented David Ostow (who blogs hilarious cartoons here), and then proclaim that I will ROCK THE DROP! I love proclaiming things so this was already gonna be fun.
* Print a copy of the bookplate and insert it into a book (or 10!) to drop on April 12th. The goal is to drop a book in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, restaurant counter?) Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP!
* Snap a photo of your drop and post it at the readergirlz Facebook page. Then tweet the drop at #rockthedropwith all the other lovers of YA books.
You can visit the readergirlz blog for more news and pictures before, during, and after the event!
Here’s how it went down…
I picked three books that I had on hand. Class of 2k12‘s Megan Bostic— NEVER EIGHTEEN, from YA Outside the Lines I had THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer Hubbard and I had an ARC from of IMAGINARY GIRLS from Nova Ren Suma.
In each book I included a class of 2k12 bookmark and a TOUCHING THE SURFACE bookmark.
I also added in the readergirlz Rock The Drop bookplate.
Since I planned on getting out of the house and doing some writing (in addition to wanting to try to catch the finder of the book) I decided to take all three books with me to Panera.
So I planted to books and waited–going through my emails with one eye on the lookout. I was in between the breakfast and lunch crowd so I figured I needed to get a little writing done while it was slow. I got lost in my manuscript and when I looked up…all the books were done. For a moment I felt some panic. I’m usually very careful to screen perspective new parents of books that I loved. What if…
But I decided that when you Rock the Drop you’re moving outside your box and you never know what’s going to happen.
Do you like to give books as gifts? Do you have one go to book that you give everyone? Any great stories of book gifting? Planning on Rocking the Drop next year? You know I am–I’ll have my own book to leave too. <3
Tags: Class of 2k12, Imaginary Girls, Jennifer Hubbard, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Megan Bostic, Never Eighteen, Nova Ren Suma, Readergirlz, Rock The Drop, The Secret Year, YA Outside the Lines
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Today I’m going to talk a little bit about how to market your book before you get a publishing deal or possibly before you even finish writing it. It’s a little like preparing for the birth of an unborn child but without the shower. There are a ton of great similarities but not everything is sugar and spice or puppy dog tails. You are going to get the same funny looks from people when you start marketing yourself as a “pre-published” author, as you will when you announce that your top baby name choices are Petunia and Atlas.
But, if you’re serious about being a professional writer, you have to develop your platform at the same rate that you are developing your writing. This is not you being vain. It’s a vital component to being a successful writer in today’s day and age. You work to improve your writing without a guarantee of publication–you must also grow your knowledge and presence in social media the same way.
A lot of people cringe at the thought. I know, it seems pretentious. But I promise, it’s only awkward if you’re attempting to act like you’re JK Rowling or Stephanie Meyer. Yes, this will be a turn off to–everyone. What I’m asking you to do is to build a platform a group of friends, peers and resources. You are working to become a vital part of a community of your peers, your future employers, your friends and your potential readers. The way that you go about this is actually by being a genuine friend to people. Here is a real life example of what I mean.
Several years ago I attended a SCBWI Conference and met the uber amazing
Molly O’Neill from Harper Collins. I really wanted to submit
TOUCHING THE SURFACE to her, so I came home and immediately started to
stalk follow her on FB. In the process of watching and listening to the information that Molly provided to her followers, I noticed that a colleague of hers was a debut MG novelist. Molly raved about this author and her book. So I bought it. I loved the book and became a fan. Then this author had a second book come out. Just a tiny little book called…
I was already a fan and a cyber friend. I talked to Nova across multiple forms of on-line media. I was excited for her next book and shared my excitement with my friends and family. I loved the book when I read it and continued to support Nova. Then I got a chance to attend my very first LA SCBWI Conference. Guess who I got to meet in person…
That’s Mike Dangerpants Jung, Nova and myself. Mike is another one of my amazing cyber friendships, but I’ll save that story for another day. And by the way–it was awesome to meet them both. I now consider them “real” friends, not just cyber friends.
Right after I got home from the conference, Nova was scheduled to have an IMAGINARY GIRLS book signing at one of my local indie bookstores–Oblong Books. I packed up the hubby and the kids and we went up for the book signing. I was so excited to let my family meet Nova. It was such a wonderful experience. One giant love fest–books, author, friends, family, indie and mini-cupcakes.
I continue to support Nova because I’m a fan and because I’m a friend. I can’t say if or how Nova will support me and my book in the future. And I can honestly say it doesn’t matter. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time with her. I learned a ton, enjoyed myself and felt great along the way. I didn’t do it to get something out of it. I did it to get someone out of it. And she was worth the time and effort it took to build the friendship.
What I will tell you is that when my editor at Simon Pulse, Anica Rissi, officially announced my book in her Fall 2012 line-up, Nova tweeted to Anica and myself that she was so excited to read it. And that felt like winning a million bucks.
Have I spent years marketing my unborn book? Absolutely. But, I’d like to think I’ve gone about it in a way that has been not only painless for everyone involved, but beneficial and even fun. You don’t have to be a spam bot to market your book. You have to be the same kind of emotionally connected person that it took to write the book in the first place.
I’m going to take back my earlier statement about an unborn book not getting a shower. If you are the kind of person who is a good friend to those around you, I have a feeling you will get showered with love, attention and support. And really, there is no better way to bring your new “baby” into the world.
I’d also like to draw your attention to two books by Kristen Lamb. They are WE ARE NOT ALONE THE WRITERS GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA EBOOK and ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, WRITER. They give you an amazing step-by step break down on how to go about marketing yourself in this very effective fashion. Plus a ton of other information. I highly recommend both books and subscribing to Kristen’s blog.
If you have any specific questions I’d be more than happy to try and answer them. And if you have any great tips on marketing your book that you’d love to share I would love to hear them. Success stories and marketing bloopers welcome. :o)
Tags: Anica Rissi, Imaginary Girls, Kimberly Sabatini, Kristin Lamb, Mike Jung, Molly O' Neill, Nova Ren Suma, Oblong Books, Simon and Schuster, Simon Pulse
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