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!

Paul Fleischman Hot Tip

Writing a book based in San Francisco (which he wasn't in), Paul used Google maps street view to see the street he had his character walk down. Was it hilly? Oh, there's a green awning. A tree...

How cool!

Rachel Vail Hot Tip

"Funny, like the devil, is in the details."

awesome advice.

Rubin Pfeffer Hot Tip

"Among the opportunities the future offers writers is the marketing opportunities of the internet."


That's things like understanding and harnessing the power of blogging and facebook and twitter - social media.

And you already something about the world of social media because you're reading this on the SCBWI Conference blog!

Great job!

M.T. Anderson Hot Tip #2

Okay, this session had so much good stuff I have to share one more great tip:

"I always read the book out loud before I turn it in to make sure it sounds right."

Really great advice.

Thanks, M.T.!

Christopher Cheng's Book Trailer Hot Tip

Christopher, in his Pro Track Session on Making Book Trailers, made the point about how book trailers share a lot with movie trailers - keep it short and don't try to tell the whole story.

"It's a teaser to get you in. Keep them really short. A minute and a half or even 30 seconds."

Great advice!

Gordon Korman Hot Tip

Find out what's cool about you want to write.

When Gordon was assigned the story of Mozart for his first book in the 39 Clues series, his challenge was to figure out what was cool about Mozart...

And he did, and that was "One False Note."




How cool is that?

Great Advice!

M.T. Anderson Keynote Hot Tip On World Building

"Literature restores the sense of the unknown to the known."

Here's the tip: Use etimology to take the familiar and twist it, to make it unknown. It will be more powerful than something completely made up.

And he's ending with a sung rendition of the State Song Of Delaware. Which he wrote. And has dance moves with it, too...

Awesome...

And the room bursts into applause!

Jane Yolen Keynote Hot Tip!

"The Assistant Editor of today is the Publisher of tomorrow."

-Jane Yolen

Agent Panel: Tina Wexler

Tina says: There's always going to room for a great story, but it's going to be hard for me to call an editor and say, "I know you have 10 vampire stories, but you really should take a look at this one." As a writer you need to be aware of what's out there, aware of the competition. Otherwise you're giving an editor a reason to reject you.

The novels she's sold in this market have come about because the writer had interests beyond their story. She suggest cultivating not only writing, but other hobbies or interests that can somehow inform your writing and making it richer.

About 75% of her authors are first-timers. She loves working new authors and she accepts e-queries.

Hot Tip: Tina Wexler is really into bee keeping. (If you have a manuscript involving bee keeping, work up that query.)