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Aiming at Excellence in Writing for Children and Teens
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THE 411 ON FURTHERING YOUR EDUCATION
By Kimberly M. Hutmacher
Writers enjoy stretching themselves, reaching for that next level. We’re never really satisfied. There is always another ring on the ladder to climb, a new dimension to discover. Whether we’re new to the field, looking to learn the basics or published professionals looking to learn more about the business end of the publishing world or maybe just a chance to be inspired creatively, there are numerous educational opportunities available in many forms. Over the next three months, I’ll share information on conferences, classes, MFA programs, and periodicals, books, and web sites that can provide exactly what it is each of us is looking for.
Part One: Conferences and Retreats
Time can be a huge factor in determining the best way to educate ourselves. After we put in forty plus hours a week at the jobs that are paying the bills until we can afford to write fulltime, finish running our children to after-school activities and helping them with their homework, and then finally squeezing out an hour or two of writing, we’re hard pressed to find the time to continue our professional development as writers. Conferences and retreats are one way to inspire and educate ourselves in a fairly short period of time.
Conferences and retreats can run anywhere from one day to one week, and they can cover almost any aspect of writing. There are programs that focus specifically on craft. These conferences and retreats can help you create believable characters, interesting settings, and multi-layered plots. They might also cover the basics of effective dialogue and help you find your voice as a writer. Whether you’re a beginner looking to learn about each of these areas or are more seasoned and have stumbled upon a roadblock in your current writing project and aren’t sure how to move forward, a craft retreat could be the answer.
There are also conferences and retreats that cover the market and provide us with opportunities to meet with leading editors and agents in the publishing world. These programs give us an up close and personal look into current publishing needs and trends and also learn what each individual speaker is looking for specifically. These programs often give attendees the opportunity for a critique by one of the speakers. Many of these conferences also give attendees the opportunity to submit to editors and/or agents who generally don’t read unsolicited materials.
There are programs that focus on the business side of publishing. One of these programs might discuss how to plan and execute a successful school visit or it might give an overview of contracts and a discussion on what is generally negotiable and what isn’t. Other topics for these types of programs might be the benefits/drawbacks of having an agent, web site design, and book promotion, among others.
Where are conferences, workshops, and retreats?
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) offers two large conferences each year- a summer conference in Los Angeles and a winter conference in New York. Over the course of four days, attendees are offered a host of workshops in all of the areas mentioned above. Contract Basics, Book Design: What Every Illustrator Should Know, Surfacing from the Slush Pile, and Compelling Cover Letters are a small sampling of the 15 keynote addresses and 77 workshops offered at the conference in L.A. last month.
If you need something a little closer to home, there is Children’s Authors’ Bootcamp. CBI publisher Laura Backes and author Linda Arms White travel to different areas of the country leading two-day intensive writing workshops that cover everything from plotting and character development to submitting to publishers. SCBWI also offers a large number of regional workshops and conferences. These conferences are often less expensive than the national conferences and may also give attendees the opportunity to visit one-on-one with visiting faculty. In the May-June 2006 issue of the SCBWI Bulletin there are twenty-six regions listed with different program offerings. You can also check their web site at www.scbwi.com under the Events section. Many regional SCBWI chapters offer newsletters with information and registration forms for upcoming events, as well.
Margot Finke posts a monthly column at Smart Writers Journal on upcoming conferences and retreats. The 2006 CWIM lists 20 pages on an array of conferences and retreats. Laura Backes keeps CBI readers up to date monthly on where the next Children’s Authors’ Bootcamp will be. You can also get Bootcamp information from www.WeMakeWriters.com. I recently attended an SCBWI regional conference in central Illinois. In one day, I was able to hear from an editor, an agent, an author successfully published in picture books, nonfiction and the education market and an illustrator whose focus was graphic novels. One day doesn’t seem like much, but I learned a tremendous amount in that short block of time.
How do I decide which conference is right for me?
Read the descriptions of all of the programs that are available. Ask yourself which topics interest you the most and what areas you feel you need the most help with. Look at the list of speakers for each program. Research them. What experience do they have? What books have they written, edited, or represented? Go to online writing message boards and ask for the opinions of those who have attended previous programs with the faculty. Two of the best children’s writer and illustrator boards that I have found are Write4Kids at http://write4kids.com/cgibin/discus/discus.cgi and another one hosted by Verla Kay at http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php. Your time and your money are valuable. You want to make sure neither is wasted.
How should I prepare for a conference?
Read the books that have been written, edited or represented by the teachers on the faculty. If you do get an opportunity to submit a manuscript for consideration, you don’t want to waste your time and their time by subbing something they obviously wouldn’t be interested in. Ask yourself these questions: What genres do they publish the most? Are their titles more literary or mass market? What are the subjects of the books on their lists? Is there a common trend or theme? This exercise can also be helpful if you get an opportunity to speak with anyone on the faculty personally. Positive comments on a recently published title by the speaker can be a great icebreaker. Your knowledge also shows your professionalism. You can ask conference organizers for background information on faculty ahead of time, or you can find a thorough listing of publishers and what books they’ve edited in the member’s only section of the SCBWI web site. You can also search by author and publisher at www.amazon.com.
Take some time to ask yourself what it is you want to learn from this conference. Jot down questions you want answers to in your notebook. If your questions aren’t answered during the speaker’s discussion, there is usually a brief Q&A period. Be prepared.
When packing your bag, don’t forget your notebook, pens, laptop, etc. As busy as many of these programs are, if you’re like me, you’ll be inspired with a host of new ideas. You want to be prepared to at least get an outline on paper. Don’t forget your camera. You’ll meet many new writing friends, and you’ll want to savor the memories. Be sure and pack any books you own that have been written or illustrated by anyone from the faculty. You’ll want to get them autographed.
What shouldn’t I do at a conference?
Don’t be a wallflower! Our Illinois SCBWI Regional Advisor, Esther Hershenhorn, often reminds us of the theory of Six Degrees of Separation that states that each of us is but six people away from the person we need to know. If you don’t put yourself out there, you aren’t going to meet the person that can help you further your writing journey.
Don’t accost the faculty in the bathroom! This is not the time to pitch your latest manuscript. Use common courtesy. There are often opportunities for critique by someone on the faculty. Sometimes there is even an opportunity to sit down and discuss the critique one on one with them. If this is available, use this route to discuss your current project and ask about their interest in other manuscripts that you’re working on.
Lastly, don’t go into a conference or retreat with the expectation that you will leave the conference or retreat ready to be published. A reasonable expectation would be that you’re going to learn something new to help you move forward in your writing journey and hopefully be inspired, as well.
Side Bar
How much does it cost?
There are conferences and retreats for every budget. I’ve spent as little as $25 for a half-day program on the submission process to as much as $250 for a weekend craft retreat. Sometimes there are a limited number of scholarships available for conference attendees and there are several grants that can be applied for that help to cover the cost of continuing education. Grants can be applied for with the National Endowment for the Arts. You can learn more by going to http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_source.asp?id=47&fid=1. You can also search for grants sponsored by your local arts councils by going tohttp://www.nasaa-arts.org/aoa/saadir.shtml. SCBWI also offers several grants. You can read the requirements and how to apply here http://www.scbwi.com/awards.htm. The 2007 issue of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (CWIM) published by Writer’s Digest, hosts over 20 pages of information on available contests, awards and grants.
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