SCBWI L.A. Conference – Wow!

The Los Angeles SCBWI (Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators) Conference was packed with over 1200 people. Like a conference in any industry, you need to have a plan to tackle getting the information you need. I introduced Melissa Manlove, editor with Chronicle Books, as one of my regional advisor  (RA) duties. She was terrific. Check out Chronicle’s site for submission guidelines. They take un-agented work, although 80% of their publications are agented.

My other  RA duty was to be the official PAL (Published and Listed) reception schmooze. This was a great job. I visited all the authors and chatted with them when they didn’t have someone around them ready to buy their book. I definitely stopped in to chat with member Corina Vacco, as she sold out her debut book, My Chemical Mountain.

I also attended Steve Sheinkin‘s (wrote the The Bomb) workshop on Research Techniques for Writers. Outstanding. Then on to Peter Lerangis about writing a series. He had super tips on how to approach publishers and get your thinking straight!

Brodi Ashton, the delightful YA author of Everneath, held a workshop on World Building. Her 10 questions to ask yourself were great to help you build a world for a young reader or a teenage reader. The amazing woman, speaker, best-selling author and Scholastic editor, Andrea Pinkney, stole the show. She could laser in on how to improve your writing and find your “twinkle”.

Now to get writing!!!!