SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference

There were soooooo many great sessions at this year's 2010 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, but my friend Martina Boone asked me to write about a couple of my favorites for her Adventures in Children's Publishing blog. The first entry is on author Deborah Halverson, author of HONK IF YOU HATE ME, BIG MOUTH, and the upcoming WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES.

Tomorrow, my post covering editor Claudia Gabel's session entitled Think Like a Packager should be up at Martina and Marissa's blog.

Another favorite session this year was given by Chris Eboch, on what she learned writing for the Nancy Drew series. Halfway through her workshop, I realized Chris was the author of one of my daughter's favorite books, The Ghost on the Stairs, which now has a sequel (sold out at the conference bookstore).

It never ceases to amaze me how the summer SCBWI conference is full of awesome from the its opening to closing keynotes, and this year was no exception. The last workshop I attended was co-taught by Michael Bourret, agent at Dystel & Goderich, and Jill S. Alexander, author of THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY. They spoke on what happens AFTER a manuscript is purchased by a publisher, taking time to cover such nuggets as what to do when people ask or expect you to give them free books (tell them the library has copies, since ARCs are expensive to produce, so your publisher will be forced to limit the number they distribute), the optimal size of school visit audiences (NOT the whole school at once, say in an auditorium--better to do a series of individual English class visits), and what happens if you happen to have the same name as someone who writes hardcore erotica and your profiles wind up linked on Amazon (call your agent; he or she will take care of it).

I wish I had time to write more about the conference, but it's one of those days when I need to rush all the kitties to their boarding houses, since I'll be offline for the rest of the week. Other posts about Chris, Michael, and Jill's talks can be found on the SCBWI conference blogs.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! : )