There's Something in the Air

I've got that twitchy, antsy feeling coming over me again. The flowers are in bloom, the trees are blossoming with foliage and there's the sweet scent of . . . something on the horizon. It's the aroma of art and crafty people gathering for that special season of . . . writer's conferences.

Yep, it's that conference time of year again.

If you live in Portland it's time to sign up for the SCBWI spring conference. Check this out and get in gear before it's too late.

And if you know of more conferences in our area, please share. If not, tell me what conferences you like to attend and why.

Maybe we can all learn a little something before the big event(s).

Abigail Samoun of Tricycle Press

Abigail Samoun of Tricycle Press was a guest speaker at our SCBWI Conference here in Portland, Oregon.

And she talked about the 12-steps of writing.

She had a great sense of humor and imparted a good deal of information.

She said that the first step to writing is admitting that you need to revise.

She was talking about picture books and the 12 steps to writing a picture book.

She said some people think writing a picture book is easy but that’s not the case. Each word has to carry its weight in the story and when you have so few words the weight is a heavy one to bear.

Some of the questions you need to ask yourself are: 1) Does this book need illustrations, 2) Does it stand up to multiple readings, 3) Is it too short for a 32 page picture book format – or perhaps too long. 4) Would a parent or librarian pay $14.95 for this story?

Elana Roth at the Caren Johnson Literary Agency

(Elana's the one on the left)

I spent part of the weekend at the SCBWI conference here in Portland, Oregon, where Elana Roth was a guest speaker.

Elana is building her list. She is with the Caren Johnson Literary Agency. She accepts no snail mail submissions. She spoke about the Author-Agent relationship at the SCBWI Oregon Spring Conference.

She made a great comparison between looking for an agent and looking for a lasting relationship. Relationships begin with dating then it can progress—if you’re lucky enough to find a great match—to marriage. And if things don’t work out so well, there’s the breakup or the dreaded D word: Divorce.

This is like querying an agent, signing with the agent, and sometimes - yes - breaking up and moving on.

Elana added a lot of humor to her talk, dispersing words of wisdom along with a few giggles and smiles along the way.

She also talked a little bit about query letters and the three separate paragraphs each author should include:

1) The book
2) The hook
3) The cook

She explained, every query should tell something about your book, what makes it special and end with a bit about yourself as the author.

Miriam Hees - Blooming Tree Press

Fabulous Swedish Chef, Miriam Hees from Austin, Texas was a guest speaker at the SCBWI Oregon Step in the Write Direction conference on Saturday, May 16th.

She talked about having a great opening sentence. She also said, "Don't write about what's hot now." She warned us that audiences want what's new and what's hot right now won't be by the time new acquisitions are published.

She said always check out an agent's or publisher's website to make sure you are submitting the right materials. And you can read her blog here.

But most important she said to always Hope and Dream. Don't stop hoping and don't ever stop dreaming!

A STEP IN THE WRITE DIRECTION with Noa Wheeler and Elana Roth

Noa Wheeler from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and Elana Roth from Caren Johnson Literary Agency shared their words of wisdom with us at the Shilo Inn near the Portland Airport.

I spent Friday at the SCBWI conference in Portland, Oregon.

We were soooo lucky to have an editor, Noa Wheeler, and an agent, Elana Roth, in attendance.

This was a WOW Them With Words session: or a large-group critique session.

Each author brought 30 copies of the first page of their manuscript to share. Each conference attendee took a copy to write their comments and notes on it.

The author got up in front of the podium and read the page for the audience. All of us in the audience wrote our own comments, while Noa and Elana took turns giving their verbal comments for everyone to hear.

I learned a lot.

One of the most common comments was Show don’t Tell—easier said than done.

I can’t wait to go back tomorrow for more.