How to use this Page

We’ve been toiling away to get everything set up for this years New Jersey SCBWI Conference registration. We’ve got a lot of cooks in the kitchen trying to get this feast on the table. Since every detail of what is going to happen during the conference will be on the online registration form, it has brought things up to the beginning that we would have done in April and May. Thus, the heavy lifting started in November. It’s more than just putting in the schedule. Example: Lots of applications had to be filled out so you could pay as soon as you register. One of the hold ups is on the approval end of making this happen. Meanwhile, we are working on the set up.

You will be able to click a button and read the bios for each faculty member and see their likes and dislikes before clicking the button to sign up for one of the times still available.

Each workshop will have a detail button that will describe the session.

I have set up an email for everyone on the faculty doing critiques, so this year you will not have to spend money mailing in your manuscript, because you will be able to e-mail it anytime before the deadline to the e-mail provided on the registration form. In years past, some of you had made plans for a vacation with your family, which made it hard to submit your manuscript in on time. This method eliminates these problems and it also reduces the amount of manuscripts we have to juggle. I think we had close to 300 critiques last year, so many hands had to be available to get them out the door and in the right hands.

There have been corrections on the schedule from last week. I have made some of them, but check again on Friday. I should be able to check and correct what I put up, so you can get ready for opening day. Also, I made a few changes in the individual faculty schedules. This was made with an eye for trying to put as many critiques on the schedule that would not take you out of a workshop. There still are some, but many less than last year. Also check the individual schedules later this week. I am working to get more information about their likes and dislikes on each schedule.

If you sign up for an Intensive, the three critique option, take a consultation spot, register for a First Page Session, do a pitch, and sit with a different editor/agent at lunch on Saturday and Sunday, you will meet 9 different editors/agents without even counting the workshops, Pitch Critique Session, and other networking available.

We are including a box lunch with the Intensive Workshops on Friday. The editors and agents will be eating their lunches with you before the start of the workshop. This provides another opportunity to network. This year we have included a beginners level Children’s Book Writing 101 for all the new people starting out. There is so much to learn. Most of us have spent years learning all the things we need to know. You should be able to cut off a few years by attending this 4 hour session. Anita Nolan is teaching it and she does a great job. If you are new to the field, you will learn so much.

Last year we had our first Mix and Mingle with all the editors, agents, art directors and authors. It was a tremendous success. I personally introduced members to editors and agents. I know of two where I made a match, so you should try to attend. It is fun on top of providing a lot of time to talk with everyone.

You can sign up to do the Writer’s Critique Group on Saturday night after dinner. The only thing I ask is that you do not sign up if you do not plan to do the critiques for the other people in you group. It is very disappointing to the other member who have spent their precious time to critique your writing and then not show up.

I started thinking, what about the poor illustrators? Why haven’t I planned a group for them in

What the SCBWI Is and Is Not
by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe
  
The Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators — will it be one of the best things to happen to you or a huge disappointment? The answer may depend on what you bring to your membership.

Of course, you’re bringing with you excitement and enthusiasm. But are you also bringing expectations that lie beyond SCBWI’s scope? To get the most out of your membership, it’s helpful to know what the organization is and is not, and what it can and cannot do for you.  

SCBWI is a professional association. In almost every field, joining a professional association indicates your readiness to take your work to the next level.SCBWI is the best known and best respected group of children’s writers and illustrators in the country. It helps present us as a single voice, looking out for our general interests in such matters as contracts, copyrights, and so on. 

SCBWI is a means to educate yourself. The organization offers great how-to articles in its newsletter, as well as other helpful information in its brochures. It runs national conferences, while chapters run smaller conferences and workshops. Your chapter will also help you find a local critique group. All these tools are the grit and polish that can make your work publishable.

SCBWI is a competitive edge. Trying to leap out of the slush pile (or, in this post-anthrax world, just getting into a slush pile), an SCBWI member has the edge over the person who writes something on a whim. Editors know that a manuscript from an SCBWI member is usually correctly formatted, targeted to the right publisher, and competently written; therefore, an SCBWI manuscript receives serious attention. Some editors will look at queries and manuscripts from unagented writers only if they’re SCBWI members. Finally, the print and electronic newsletters provide members with inside market tips long before they become public knowledge.

SCBWI is a way to network. As doors to unagented, unsolicited material close, personal contact becomes the key to getting published. Meeting editors at conferences remains one of the best w