Yesterday I got back from the SCBWI Conference in Los Angeles. I returned with a pile of laundry, a pile of books and a pile of inspiration. Don’t worry; I’m only going to share the inspiration.
The conference kicked off with the always entertaining Bruce Coville. I love listening to Bruce as he is a master of the craft of writing. Here are a few of his great ideas.
-Take your art seriously.
-Learn to read your royalty statements.
-Learn to negotiate.
-Give yourself daily goals.
-The only thing that will make your work better is repetition – write, write, write!
-Don’t be afraid to show your heart on the page.
Erzsi Deak head of Hen and Ink Literary Agency
Erzsi burst onto the publishing scene only a few months ago but already she’s got a pocket full of deals and a hen house full of talented authors and illustrators.
Erzsi ran a super workshop on how to pitch your material. After a few warm-up exercises, we all tried pitching our projects to the workshop participants. It was a great exercise and a wonderful help for running into editors in the elevator!
Here are a few of her guidelines:
-The pitch should be a one or two sentence description of your book that tells us what it is.
-The pitch must contain:
>the hero
>the antagonist
>the hero’s primary goal
>core conflict
>what sets your book apart
By the end of Bruce’s keynote and Erzsi’s workshop by brain was mush – and it was time for lunch!
A big kiss goes out to the Houston RA Vicki Sansum for nominating me for a SCBWI Conference Scholarship. There is no way I would have been able to attend without her and the help of the SCBWI head office. You are all wonderlicious – THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Melissa Buron 