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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.)

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 EVENTS
If 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!):

@lkblackburne Last year, w/ no blog, no twitter account, and no clue, I took @alicepope 's Children's writing seminar. So worth it.

You can get more information and register here.

6 Comments on , last added: 2/4/2010

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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!

• Note that we have an Editors Intensive coming up in March at our WD HQ. Click here for info on the WD Editors Intensive. (Registration will be open soon.)
  7 Comments on , last added: 1/17/2010
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  Alice said, on 1/15/2010 8:05:00 AM
  

  I've got one: don't be shy. Talk to people in the hallways and a lunches and attend all the networking/mingling events and networt/mingle. (And if you see me, come over and say hello.)

  Jean Reidy said, on 1/15/2010 8:09:00 AM
  

  Great tips! I would also suggest not always talking about your book or manuscripts - especially at lunch. Strike up a conversation about the city you're in, hobbies, great bookstores, etc. which will allow you to connect with people on a more comfortable and personal level.

  Gregory K. said, on 1/15/2010 9:25:00 AM
  

  I'd follow up on your tip, Alice, by saying "talk to anyone and everyone" - you never know what might come from it, but you know from the start that you're talking with someone who shares your love of children's literature. You've got something in common - a great place to start.
  
  I'd also say that if you're at a multiday event with breakout sessions, try to find a mix of topics... and include one that just sounds interesting even if it's not exactly on "your" specialty area. I've found inspiration and knowledge that way many times.

  Cuppa Jolie said, on 1/15/2010 11:50:00 AM
  

  I give a third nod to Alice and Greg's tip, don't be shy.
  
  I would also suggest making a realistic goal (or setting an intention) for the weekend, not the thought that this one conference will make it all happen. But if you go in weekend wanting to make one new writing/illustrating friend, to take home one new craft technique, or learn something about your process/work etc. it will be a successful and wonderful conference. AND, sometimes those more realistic successes lead to big ones!

  Sean Ingvard Ashby said, on 1/15/2010 3:35:00 PM
  

  Developing the pitch in 30 second and 2 minutes versions is definitely a must (not just for conferences, but for a lot of reasons I've found!)
  
  And for printing, BTW, I use GotPrint and they're even cheaper but still really good.
  
  http://gotprint.net/

  Vodka Mom said, on 1/15/2010 8:08:00 PM
  

  those were excellent comments!! I love the pitch comments. :-)
  
  
  wish I were going..........

  Jan Markley said, on 1/17/2010 12:28:00 PM
  

  Good advice. My advice is to be prepared and network your asterisk off!
  
  I'll be at the SCBWI winter conference in New York and hope to meet Alice, Jane and lots of other SCBWIers!
  
  Cheers, Jan

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Upcoming Writer's Digest Conferences...

While I'm still enjoying an nice buzz from the LA SCBWI conference (visit the conference blog if you haven't already), I thought I'd mention a few upcoming Writer's Digest events that will get me high on publishing once again.



First up is the Writer's Digest Conference: The Business of Getting Published which takes place in New York September 18-20 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. This conference focuses on marketing and promotion, career building, and social networking, and also includes a poetry slam, manuscript critiques, breakfast discussions, a great lineup of speakers (including WD editors), and a smashing location in New York City. (I'll be heading there straight from the beach, so look for the darker pink, well-rested version of me.)

Next up is our latest Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive which takes place October 3-4 at our Writer's Digest HQ here in the Nati and features a day of informational sessions and panels offered by WD editors (including yours truly), an evening mingling event, and a day of manuscript critiques.
I always feel like attending a conference is like playing while you're working hard. You spend a few days taking in endless amounts of useful information, but also enjoying the networking and social aspect of being in a room full of like-minded people. I think it's glorious.

• Click here for more information and to register for The Business of Getting Published.
• Click here for more information and to register for the Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive.
• Those working in the publishing industry may also be interested in Digital Book World taking place in New York January 26-27. Click here for more info and to sign up for email updates.

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Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive
March 21-22...

In just a few weeks we have a great event coming up at the Writer's Digest HQ here in the Nati--a Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive.

Late last year when we came up with the idea to do an event for writers here in our offices, I admit I was a little worried. Don't get me wrong--I thought it was an excellent idea. (We've got an amazing amount of writing and publishing knowledge in our collective WD brain and we're all about sharing it with writers.) But we didn't have a lot of time to promote it and we were asking people to come to Cincinnati in winter two weeks before Christmas. (I didn't really want to be in Cincinnati in the winter two weeks before Christmas.)

I was so excited when the event quickly sold out (people came from all over!) and even more excited to feel the energy in the room the first day of our event. The writers who attended asked great questions and gave us such positive feedback. I really felt like we were giving them what they needed and helping them. And it was limited to just over 50 attendees, so our event really had a more intimate feel than many others.

Because the response to our first event was to tremendous, we've schedule four more Editors Intensives for 2009, the first on March 21-22. Besides a full day of presentations and Q&A (on topics like revision, networking, and pitching), attendees get a 30-minute one-on-one critique of the first 50 pages of a manuscript, a free sub to WritersMarket.com, and a CD featuring Writer's Digest interviews. And (since our December attendees told us they would have liked more time to hang out with us and each other) there will also be informal Saturday night mingling.

You can click here to get all the information on our Editors' Intensive. (It's cheaper if you register by next Wednesday.) Note that although I'm on the list of editors presenting, I actually will not be--I couldn't pass up the chance to attend the NYC Teen Author Festival (which you will certainly be hearing about on my blog and my Twitter account.) I'll be presenting at the June and the October Intensives. Rest assured, however, that my co-workers handling the March event are awesome.

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