Thanks from SCBWI Team Blog!

Pictured in the video Left to right: Alice Pope, Jolie Stekly, Sarah Stern, Lee Wind, Martha Brockenbrough, and Jaime Temairik.



Suzanne Young (in the still photo above) was hard at work blogging a different panel when we shot this video - that's how busy and how hard we all worked to share with you these tastes and sights and sounds of the 2010 SCBWI Summer Conference.

We invite you to go back through the more than 100 SCBWI Team Blog posts from the last four days. If you were forunate enough to be here with us, you can check out the sessions and keynotes you attended, to remember the high points. Look at the posts from the sessions you missed (unless you were able to clone yourself!)

If you weren't able to be here in Los Angeles, you can get a sample of the wealth of information the conference offered on the business, craft and inspiration of writing and illustrating for children!

We hope to see you in New York at the 2011 Winter Conference!

-- Team Blog

Loren Long- Creating Picture Books: My Process

The charming and talented Loren Long is imparting some wisdom about illustrating picture books. He tells the group to try to keep things simple. For him, that means keeping the technological interference in his process to a minimum.

He sketches, uses carbon paper to transfer his blown up sketch onto illustration board (therefore retaining that initial looseness and spontaneity), then paints, adding more detail as he goes on. Whether or not we as illustrators choose to use the computer—and in what way—is up to us, but it is always great advise to keep things simple and not get overwhelmed by the decisions we face when starting work on a book.

Loren advises us to simply start the sketches first, and worry about the format, exact pacing, shape and size of the illustrations once you have the first sketches done. This way you've dealt with the truly important decisions, like mood and tone, first.

An important element to master right at the beginning of the project is developing the character. Long says to give the character "as much heart as possible." This entails posture and mood.

We were lucky enough to get to view the sketches from Drummer Boy, and since Dan Santat was in the session with a copy of the book handy, we viewed the sketches and the final pieces side-by-side.

A great thing to remember when starting work on a picture book: The manuscript needs to resonate with you. And once you've chosen it, OWN IT! You are illustrating it, and you need to make it your own. Long says that an illustrator making a story their own is the highest compliment they can give a writer.

Spot Yourself! Autograph Party Photos Part 2

Author Jill S. Alexander and author/editorial director Diane Muldrow rock summer color

ARA for Western Washington Kim Baker is STILL full of vim and vigor after four days of conferencing

Author/illustrator Richard Jesse Watson, author Ann Whitford Paul and illustrator/author Jesse Joshua Watson are just like family. Wait, Richard and Jesse ARE family.

Our hero, SCBWI dude and debut author Aaron Hartzler, pop and locking in the LOBBY

Author and Utah RA Sydney Salter holds up titles from Gordon Korman and Carolyn Mackler

 Illustrator/Author/Graphic Novel Slayer Dan Santat and author Tammi Sauer are sad the conference is over. Don't worry, you guys, there's the winter conference in New York to look forward to!

That's better.

Spot Yourself! Autograph Party Photos Part 1

Right before the autograph party, Katy Betz and Lauren Gallegos show off their excellent sleuthing abilities. They found the conference CANDY STASH.

E.B. Lewis and E.B. fan/author/Southern Breeze Co-RA Jo Kittinger

Author and Western Washington Co-RA Joni Sensel waits for Loren Long to sign his lovely picture books

Cocoa & Kate author Erica Silverman, nonfiction powerhouse Melissa Stewart, and Simon Bloom author Michael Reisman

It is Mac Barnett. He always looks this happy to see someone. That's why we like him.

Conference Reviews: Award Winning Author Kathleen Duey

I ran into award-winning author Kathleen Duey (her book "Skin Hunger" was a National Book Award Finalist!) and asked her about her SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference experience...

Conference Reviews: Joey Spiotto

I caught up with illustrator and first time Conference Attendee Joey Spiotto outside the hotel just after the wrap-up of the SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference:

Conference Reviews: Annameekee Hesik

I caught up with Annameekee Hesik in the SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference bookstore on Saturday (the conference half-way point) and asked her about her experience. She's a teacher and a writer - wanna know what grade she gave the conference?

Conference Reviews: Attendee Emily Jiang

Find out why Emily Jiang called the SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference "life changing!"

Mac McCool Graphic Novel Premium Workshop

What's totally awesome?

 
Today was the last day of Mac's workshop. He spent the time critiquing each person's page of panels or page of a graphic novel script. For some, it was their first time drawing a comics page, but all felt it had been a great place to learn and experiment.

For readability, it's all about bubble placement, baby.

Mac critiqued story arc, text, pacing, as well as bubble design, inking, color, panel style, final art, and lettering. He took great care to translate art or comics terms that may be foreign to authors or even some illustrators.

Everyone put their art up and we all had a chance to check stuff out. These were some of my favorites:

Eric Sailer of New York

Elizabeth Oh of Hawaii

Lucy Mara Taylor of California

 

 

Brooke Boynton Hughes of Colorado

And here's Brooke holding another assignment about character silhouettes.

Please, please, let's do this again! And, HEY! Did you spot the celebrity in the first picture?

CLOSING KEY NOTE: Ashley Bryan--A Tender Bridge

Author and illutrator Ashely Bryan is offering the closing keynote. He started off by leading 1,000 plus people in reciting a poem (which was pretty awesome to witness):

"The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.
Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people"
~ Langston Hughes

As he speaks with young readers he helps open up the words for them by using poetry. Poetry, he says, opens up the voice--poetry needs performers. He thinks of the book as a replacement for the oral tradition.

Ahsley Bryan's hard to blog, dear readers.

He's performing.

He's reciting,

He's energetic.

He's AMAZING.

When was the last time you belted out a poem? Give it a try. PERFORM.

Greg Pincus and Alice Pope Hot Tip

Use the same profile photo of yourself across platforms - twitter, your blog, facebook... It makes you more recognizable.

Even at this conference, people have been coming up to Greg and to Alice because they recognized them from their social media profile photos!

What an easy, quick thing we can all do.

Thanks, Greg and Alice!

Alice Pope and Greg Pincus: Moving Your Career Forward With Social Networking & Blogging

Greg Pincus is a poet, author and social media guru who, through the wonders of social media (and his talent as a writer) got into the New York Times and landed a two book deal with Arthur A. Levine.

Alice Pope is the official blogger for SCBWI, Team Captain for SCBWI's Team Blog, and the former editor of the Children's Writers and Illustrator's Market Guide.



Here's a taste of their words of wisdom:

Greg: There's no one way - each person can follow their own path.

Alice: Just like getting published - it's the same with social networking.

Greg: Recognize that it's not always linear, but a good thing is a good thing. In advertising there's a rule of 7 times of being exposed to something before people buy it. If they see you 6 times via social media, and the 7th time they see your book is in a bookstore... that's good!

the effects are cumulative

You are what you say and do - think of ebay, if someone has a 99% rating, then we trust that seller. Similarly we are all building our reputations online.

Be careful not to hurt yourself - be smart. Greg quoted Jenn Bailey who said that "to get something off the internet is like getting pee out of a swimming pool."

Alice reminded us that in all our interactions we want to ADD VALUE - how can you help? how can you further the conversation?


They've started to share examples of how authors and illustrators have been using social media to further their careers, including:

Readergirlz, five authors who created a safe online community for teenage girls - they're offering virtual author visits and a place for girls to talk books.

Lisa Yee's blog has helped her success and the character of Peepy has become a fun funny extension of her personality.

And me, Lee Wind, with my blog "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" - which have given me an expertise in GLBTQ Kid Lit and a platform.

There are so many examples, great points and insights being offered.

Here's an amazing one!

Mitali Perkin's blog, where she talks about multicultural books for kids, even includes a post where she talks about and how through twitter she sold five of her books to India!

They're speaking about blog book tours now... Alice is sharing about author Holly Cupala's book blog tour that she recently hosted one stop for on her SCBWI Blog.

Someone asked how you get Twitter followers, and Alice gave this great advice:

If you participate, people will notice you.

In answering a question about Facebook Fan Pages versus Personal Facebook Pages, Greg says: Everything you say and do online is PUBLIC. And stay active - people want to connect.

Another example of someone doing it right is Cynthea Liu's recent book launch, where she raised money for a local school and adding that selfless focus was very successful for her.

As Greg says about his own 30 poets 30 days project, which highlighted poems of other people on his own poetry blog, you don't want to just talk about yourself all the time.

They're sharing so much beyond what I've been able to blog here - Greg and Alice really are Social Media Gurus!

I'll give Alice the final words here for us to remember:

Social Networking is not rocket science - it's just talking.

And as a bonus, Greg reads his poem "I'm pretty well connected" to the room's applause.

Jill Alexander and Michael Bourret: Your Manuscript is Ready, But are You?

I jumped at the chance to come to this breakout! First, I'm a huge fan of Jill Alexander who I met just this weekend. She is LOVELY.

But she's not a chicken. This is the cover of her fabulous book, The Sweetheart of Prosper County.

Then, to make the workshop even better, her agent, Michael Bourret is speaking too. He's okay, I guess.

Kidding! Michael is fantastic with three exclamation points!!!


Before they started, Aaron Hartzler spoke about how Jill and Michael met each other at a conference. The room was laughing and immediately drawn in to listen to these two charismatic speakers.

Jill's tips to prepare for publication:
*Have a web presence.
*Think about your office hours and how much time to dedicate to writing, whether you have an agent or not.
*Get a calendar system because you might need it for school visits, conferences, etc...

Michael says that writers have a lot of work to do even once the book is sold--and it isn't just to write. For example, think about the types of interview questions people will ask.

Jill shared a great story about a speaking engagement. She felt overwhelmed by the jumbotron, the microphone, and the sheer size of the crowd. Jill is so funny! The crowd is just cracking up!

They spoke about edits and how they'll be more than you might expect. You should prepare by studying up on copyediting symbols and get familiar with the process. Expect to read your manuscript ANOTHER 6 to 10 times.

Jill knew that Michael had repped Sara Zarr, so she knew she'd love to work with him. She says to find an agent whose client list is something you're interested in.

There was a great question from the audience, "What happens when it's time for the second book?"

Jill said that with her background as a creative writing major, she's always writing. Plus if she stopped now, her husband and son would throw pencils at her and make her get back to work. Michael said that it's different for every writer. "And for some, like the person in here blogging this, they already have 800 things ready to go." :-)

This was an amazing workshop!! Perfect mix of information and humor!

-Suzanne

Conference Reviews: Molly Hall and Dawn Simon

First-time confernece attendees, Molly Hall and Dawn Simon, share their conference highlights.

Conference Reviews: Jesse Joshua Watson

Author and illustrator Jesse Joshua Watson shares his conference highlight.

Gail Carson Levine - Infrequently Asked Questions About Writing Fiction

Gail Carson Levine has written 17 books for children. Her first book was "Ella Enchanted," which won a Newbery honor and was made into a movie. She blogs about writing here and wrote the nonfiction book, "Writing Magic" - with dozens of writing exercises for kids and the rest of us. She has a picture book and a mystery coming out, and she's sharing with us responses to questions she's had from writers and others...

WRITING FROM A MALE POV (If You're a Woman)
Try thinking of somebody in particular.

When she wrote a character who was trying to keep it's gender a secret, she had the character bow to a Count and then curtsy.

A bow and curtsy are shortcuts, and we need shortcuts because we don't have an eternity to establish a character - but shortcuts can tend towards stereotypes, so use them with care.

Establish your character's gender early - because it's jolting to be reading it wrong.

And she advises to get a guy to read it to make sure the character didn't act in a way that isn't credible.

NAMING CHARACTERS
Find a name that fits but isn't too obvious.

Think of what your character is like, and go to the thesaurus - look at the synonyms. If your character is Moody - Melancholy. Melody? Petulant. Petchula? What about nicknames? The name could be Michael, but his friends could call him "Mope." (He might not like that, and it would just make him mopier!)

SETTING
Be aware of the dangers of information dumps in the first chapter. (Though it worked in "Tuck Everlasting," she says in general to avoid it.)

Setting can be a tool for character development.

In an action scene, you don't necessarily want to stop to describe what the character is wearing. But if you drop in early that the hero dresses in his usual baggy pants, and then wham! It's a problem when he's riding his bike in that chase scene.

And for what happens:

If a fishtank is going to explode and you need to set up it's there first for the reader when the character enters the living room, think about the character NOT saying "Julia, I see your Dad still has his fishtank."

Consider the character saying "I always think those fish are staring at me."

Or the character thinking, "The room always felt heavy to him, two sofas, fish tank, leaden curtains..." - You drop it in there and when the fish tank explodes, the reader will be surprised but will also accept it.

CHARACTER/PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

She looks at pictures and art as inspiration for the details she uses for her characters.

She's also sharing writing prompts throughout this session. Like the idea of taking one of your characters with you when you go somewhere - what does your character notice? miss? react to emotionally? Write it down when you get back.

Lots of great advice!

Celebrity Sighting in the Lobby #2

Chris Rylander! Chris is not only the RA for the Dakotas, he's an author, too. And he's so cool, he can only be photographed with hip camera apps.

I first heard about Chris in one of Steve Malk's breakout sessions a few conferences ago. Steve used Chris as an example of why a good query letter actually matters. Steve might not have been swayed by Chris's particular manuscript submission, but Chris's query letter and emails were so funny, Steve told Chris if he wrote something in the voice of those letters that he'd be interested in reading more.

Chris's favorite band is called The Nevernudes. They are from Winnepeg. Which is surprisingly close to North Dakota. He also loves cheese. Learn more about Winnepeg, The Nevernudes, and Chris on his blog (which he should post on more.)

His debut novel, THE FOURTH STALL, comes out in early 2011 and has been described as 'THE GODFATHER meets middle school' or 'DIARY OF A WIMPY KID meets THE SOPRANOS.' I say yes to either and am so in love with this cover. If it doesn't remain my favorite cover of 2011, I will sleep with the fishes.

Arianne Lewin: Take a Tour of a Publishing House from Acquistion to Publication

Arianne Lewin is a Senior Editor at Disney Hyperion. She edits an eclectic list, that emphasizes YA novels and fantasy. She’s currently looking for new voices in all genres.

In acquisitions, she sends the pitch to all the departments. They will rarely take on a book that sales is not behind.

Part of the offer is based on sales projections and possible marketing plans. Sometimes Hyperion will buy books that they feel can win awards because it helps the overall list and also attracts other authors.

Placement is everything in sales. So when a book is to be acquired, they must envision where it will live on the shelf. Arianne also let us in on some secrets about the books that are face-out or on endcaps and tables in the bookstore.

Celebrity Sighting in the Lobby #1

Marla Frazee! Two Caldecott Honors under her fashionable belt and more to come, we know. Marla has been doing consultations/portfolio critiques for the conference.

Her latest book, THE BOSS BABY, comes out August 10th.

I asked Marla what she was working on right now. She's just finished sketches and is starting to paint the illustrations for a text written by poet Mary Lyn Ray. There's no set title yet, but Marla has been calling it "The Star Book." She LOVES it.

If you haven't checked out her site, you are a knucklehead. It's packed with loads of amazing tips under the STUDIO section.

Francesco Sedita: PANEL--A View from the Top: 4 Pulbishers Discuss Our Industry

Francesco Sedita is Publisher of Penguin imprints Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan as a writer himself (MISS POPULARITY, SPACEHEADZ with Jon Scieszka).

He went to his first job interview in platform shoes and a ruffled tuxedo shirt. "They took one look at me and said: You should work in publishing."

He thinks we're in a really exciting time in publishing. "Nothing is going to happen to to book. It's not going anywhere."

Grosset & Lunlap was known as a licenced publisher for many years. He's been focusing on a strong middle grade publishing program for age 0-10.

PSS is the original publisher of MAD LIBS. "I think of it as the obnoxious little brother of Grosset." He considers PSS as a laboratory to play with new formats (for example, a $9.99 picture book--they're done four so far and they've gone out well, he says).

Two Grosset series that launched this summer: FRANKLY FRANNIE by A,J. Stern about a little girl who thinks she should work in an office; and GEORGE BROWN CLASS CLOWN, by Nancy Krulik.

Fancesco was and is a reluctant reader. He wants to publish titles that will draw in reluctant readers.

He suggest writers don't submit more than on imprint at the same company. It's one big team, and they would share material with other editors at other imprints that if they think there's a fit.

He believes you need to know the rules before you can break the rules, but we're at a time when the rules are bending.

Penguin had become more profitable, he feels, because the president of the company encourages his editorial staff to take risks and innovate, and it pays off. "If you're not making mistakes, you're not taking risks," Francesco says.

The price points are very low at his imprints (usually not over $9.99; FRANKLY FRANNIE is $4.99). He likes to take risks on new voices. He loves the idea of someone starting out at Grosset and creating a great series. He feels there's a negative connotation to the term "mass market," and doesn't like to use that term to describe what he publishes.

Franceso is one of the team members at Penguin who is exploring what material they can produce on new digital platforms. He says that writers should not concern themselves with new platforms or app associated with their text unless it's absolutely essential to the concept of the story.

Parting words of advice: When you go home and write (after the conference), shut the door on what you've learned and write for yourself. Write the story that YOU want to write. If you create the right things, we'll throw all the rules out the window for you.