Great time had at the SCBWI conference on Saturday! And a big hello to my friends from that conference who've hopefully joined us here. Lots to cover, so I'm going to split it up this week to give you an overview of what I've learned.
First of all, for those who may not know, SCBWI stands for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and it's a GREAT organization to belong to if you're into writing for kids - YA, Middle Grade, or picture book. Twice a year the Eastern PA chapter has a get together with editors, agents and authors presenting to the group. Once a year the entire Eastern region gets together in New York or something.
This fall's event took place at a Country Club that could've easily been a stand-in for Bushwood in the movie Caddyshack. I wanted to jump into the pool but was afraid I'd find a floating Baby Ruth bar. However, the list of presenters was impressive, and they all did a great job with their content:
First up was Lindsay Barrett George, an author/illustrator who was written and illustrated several picture books (her realism and attention to detail were stunning) talked about the publishing business
Then a trio of authors, Jeannine Norris, Nan Marino, and Jennifer R. Hubbard, spoke about first time out writers in YA, Middle Grade and Picture Book genres
Wendy Mass followed them with a great overview of her history, including an option on her book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (she's my new hero. She's written over 10 middle grade books and had one made into a movie! She's also incredibly nice and down to earth. Very approachable.)
Then Harold Underdown gave a great talk about the present state of publishing. Harold is a children's book editor and maintains one of the most comprehensive children's book publishing sites on the web (I've added it to the side bar). Check it out if you're in this genre!
And finally, Erica Rand Silverman, a beautiful agent with the prestigious Sterling Lord agency, gave tips and answered questions on getting an agent.
So there was a lot to do there, and I had a great time meeting fellow authors and also volunteering for a demonstration of the travails of writing (a check for $1.95 as an advance! Ok, it was a pretend check for $5000, but I had some fun with it!) Can't wait for the spring get together!
More this week about the details.
One final note: I've GOTTEN A JOB! YEAH!
C'mon! Say it with me! OH YEAH! OH YEAH! DO THE DANCE! DO THE DANCE!
Ok, if you could see me now I'd be frightfully embarrassed. Anyway, this will affect my blogging time somewhat, so I may have to hit it up later in the evening when I set aside my writing hour. More on that to come.
Have a great day!
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