Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference August 4-8, 2005
Los Angeles, California

Friends:

Friday, August 5, 2005
I attended, for the first time, the SCBWI conference in L.A. at the Westin Century Plaza Hotel. The first item on my agenda was to meet my friend, author Verla Kay. She and I had been corresponding by email for years but had never actually met face to face. I found her at the bookstore serving as the greeter/checker at the entrance. It was such a joyful meeting. I felt like I had known her forever. She became my conference liaison and buddy! In addition, I met Linda Joy Singleton, the YA author of “The Seer” series. Linda and I had also met online. She is so pretty and personable. I also met their roommate, Connie Rico, who is so much fun and a joy to be around. The girls became my “crew” and guided me through the conference and made me an honorary roomie, allowing me to hang out in their room after hours. What fun! The only thing I am bummed about is that I didn’t take a picture with my “girls!” What was I thinking? Oh, I know. I was having too much fun to remember…

Lin Oliver, one of SCBWI’s founders, is the perfect emcee. She is funny and really runs a tight conference. Stephen Mooser, her fellow founder, is the epitome of a gentleman. I really enjoyed getting to know him. The first keynote of the day was Rosemary Wells. She shared her journey into publishing as well as her art techniques. She also challenged writers to join in the fight to get kids to read. Rosemary said, “The child who is read to regularly and often will develop a healthy imagination. That child is getting a big dose of love.”

Next was Graham Salisbury with his keynote, “Diamonds are a Writer’s Best Friend.” He said that “diamonds” are the lessons we learn in life. Graham said, “Diamonds can be found everywhere. It not the experience but your reaction to them.” He shared experiences from his life and others’ lives, which he channeled into his writing. Graham was funny and moving.

The workshop I chose to attend was Tim Travaglini’s “Self-Promotion for Published Authors.” Tim is the Senior Editor of G.P. Putnam & Sons. He is so off-the-cuff funny and charming. His big message was, “What you do can ensure the success and life of your books. The proactive authors are going to succeed and their books will stand the test of time.” He encouraged authors to begin a grassroots approach in winning interest in their books, which would create a “pond ripple effect.”

I stood in line for 45 minutes in the sandwich line for lunch. By the time I met Verla Kay at our designated place, she and her friends were already finished eating. Verla was kind enough to stay with me while I gulped down my lunch.

The next general session was “4 Editors, 4 Lists, 4 Views.” The editors were Julie Strauss-Gabel with Dutton, Krista Marino with Delacorte Press, Tim Travaglini with G.P. Putnam & Sons, and Bonnie Bader with Grossett & Dunlap. Each editor gave their background in publishing and discussed what types of books that comprised their lists and what they were looking for in new work. It was interesting to learn that each editor’s personal tastes directly affects what works they purchase for their lists.

The next workshop I attended was Sid Fleishman’s “Writing the Middle Grade Novel.” Sid had terrific advice including:

Make a professional habit of writing.
You must give up something to be a writer.
You must find the time to write
Leave the previous day's work in mid-sentence. It gets you back into the book.
Don't leave a big immediate problem. It makes a good excuse not to write. Solve it before you quit.
Don't keep track of how many pages you write per day as long as you are advancing the story every day.

My 15 year old daughter, Soleil, adores Carolyn Mackler! Soleil made me promise to hand-deliver a letter to Carolyn, who had the last keynote of the day, “Revenge of the Wallflower: Getting Published and Making a Career Out of Your Teen Years.” She talked about her foray into publishing and how she stays in touch with her teen readership. It was interesting to hear how she started. She is a delightful speaker and so personable. After her session, I felt like a stalker because I jumped up and was the first person to pounce on her after her speech. I delivered the letter and told her about my daughter. She promised to read it and write back to her. I asked her to take a picture with the letter, picture & jewelry Soleil sent and Carolyn did, saying that I was a “good mom.” Needless to say, Soleil was ecstatic when I showed her the picture… Score brownie points!

After Carolyn Mackler’s address, I rushed to change for the VIP Wine & Cheese Reception honoring published authors and illustrator attendees. I shared a table with Linda Joy Singleton and set up my promotional display materials, along with my CDs, Jambalalaya and World Fiesta, which have been reviewed in Booklist, School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and AudioFile Magazine. It was great to meet and greet. I made more new friends and invited people to see me perform at the preliminary round of the SCBWIdol competition. I was unable to stay for the duration of the reception as I had to report to my room for the competition.

Throughout the day, I had made many friends including Marilyn Scott-Waters, an illustrator whose website I have adored for years and Marci Hersel, another illustrator. I had a roomful of friends who all cheered for me when it was my turn to perform. In SCBWIdol, contestants were to perform three minutes of their school presentation. I performed my “Rockin’ Three Billy Goats.” I was the second one to perform and I had so much fun rockin’ the room with my highly participatory story. Lin Oliver, SCBWI founder, and Mark Waxman, a T.V. and film producer, were the judges. There were so many fantastic contestants. In the end, I was floored to find out I was one of the two finalists chosen to present on the main stage on the last day of the conference. It was really cool to see the variety of school presentations and I was so honored to be an “Idol” finalist.

I didn’t have time to eat dinner so I went to dinner with Marilyn Scott-Waters and Marci Hersel. We ate in the lounge and had a terrible dining experience but had so much fun chatting and laughing that it almost didn’t matter. Almost. Marilyn and I spoke with the manager and he apologized, offering us complimentary wine and dessert. Yum! I stayed up late talking into the wee hours with many new friends.

Saturday, August 6, 2005
The first session of the morning was “How’s the Weather? The Current Climate for Children’s Books.” Panelists were Steven Chudney, Literary Agent; Deborah Murphy, Sales Representative for Harper Collins; Christina A. Tugeau, Artist Agent; and Harold Underdown, Children’s Book Expert and Creator of The Purple Crayon website. In addition to discussing their observations about the children’s book market, they advised authors that:

Middle grade novels are core of publishing
Middle grade novel is a competitive genre
Editors are asking for more mysteries
Looking for talent and experiences about ethnicity and cultures
Editors are looking for more author-illustrator combos

Harold Underdown said, “This is the golden age of picture books. With digital technology, much more is possible.”

Christopher Paul Curtis delivered an outstanding keynote called, “The Journey: A Flintstone’s Love Affair with Writing.” The Newberry Award-winner of Bud, Not Buddy is charming and engaging. It was so encouraging to hear his story. He obviously loves his wife and children and spoke of how they inspired him in various ways. His wife recognized his writing talent and actually encouraged him to take a year off work to write. Imagine that! He wrote The Watsons Go to Birmingham and entered it in a contest. While it didn’t win, Random House decided to publish it. When he won the Newberry, he confessed that he lost his work ethic after taking off five years from writing. Christopher said, “Writing is like a physical activity - once you fall out of it, it's hard to get back into it.” His speech left everyone breathless and inspired.

I chose the “ABCs of School Visits” with Steve Swinburne, the author of many non-fiction titles including Safe, Warm & Snug and Unbeatable Beaks. He had so much great advice for authors wanting to do school visits. He demonstrated some of the techniques he uses in his assembly programs and passed around various props. His well-organized workshop gave advice on what to do before and during the school visit. I would say his top three pieces of advice were: 1) Maintain a website for self-promotion, 2) Master techniques to focus the kids and control the audience, and 3) Never lecture - entertain and educate.

After lunch with Marilyn Scott-Waters, I went to the general session, “Painting with Words,” featuring author and illustrator, Hudson Talbott. Hudson confessed that he was a slow reader as a child. After attending art school in Rome, he went to New York and fell into illustration. An editor saw his illustration work in a calendar featuring dinosaurs and encouraged him to try writing. Hudson said, “I had to figure out how to transfer art into words.” He believes the best books are the ones that have a respect for the art and text. His advised writers, “Don't get attached to your words - you need to let go. Tell the best story in the economy of space.”

The next session, “I Hated to Read Until I Found Your Book: How to Write Stories that Teens Looove,” featured a panel of teen authors: Julia DeVillers, Carolyn Mackler, Megan McCafferty, and Sonya Sones. They shared fan letters of reluctant readers, including those of teen male fans. It’s awe-inspiring to hear how an author’s words can really change lives. They advised:

What Not to Do When Writing for Teens:
Never call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
Never shoehorn morals in your books
Never linger too much on their parents and their parents' back story
Don't fake it
Don't dumb it down
Don't be preachy
Never let adult solve problem

What You Should Do When Writing for Teens:
Always get to the point
Recognize when something not working
Write from your own childhood
Don't forget to care about your reader - authors can be a teen's best advocate
Trust your instincts - let it flow
Don't forget to thank your teen self
Have fun!
Capture the feelings of being a teen in your books
Be honest
Temper your writing with humor
Leave readers with feeling of hope

For my afternoon workshop, I attended “The Business Side of Audio Books: How to Increase Sales of Your Book and Audio Book” with Bruce Coville, author and founder of Full Cast Audio and Tim Ditlow, Vice President and Publisher for Random House Listening Library. It was an incredible workshop with great advice. Tim explained the intricacies of digital distribution. They also discussed how to promote your audio books alongside your books. It was an educational peek behind yet another side to children’s book publishing. Audio books is an ever-growing medium and the Internet and digital downloading will make it even more relevant in the future.

Bruce Hale, author of the Chet Gecko series, gave the last session, “10 Secrets of Crafting a Successful Story.” I loved when he said, “Humans are storytelling animals. Storytelling is a marriage of craft and inspiration.” He began delineating his 10 secrets of story crafting. Unfortunately, I left early because a friend wasn’t feeling well and needed to some food in her belly. I only heard up to number three. Bruce Hale is so comfortable on stage and a wonderful speaker. I later found out he has a Fulbright scholarship in storytelling. He is so impressive.

Early evening treated attendees to the art portfolio display and reception. The art portfolios were nothing short of breathtaking. They were being judged. I know I wouldn’t want to be a judge – that must have been a difficult decision! My friend, Marilyn Scott-Waters, had a gorgeous portfolio entered. If you want to see more of Marilyn’s awesome work, visit http://www.thetoymaker.com and make some of her cool paper toys.

The Beach Bash Gala was incredible! The food was delicious and the band was wicked! The band jammed for hours, playing cover tunes that everyone loved. They kept the entire crowd rockin’ on the dance floor. I finally had to give up wearing my heels so I could dance. I had a blast. There was a costume contest for the most creative beach hat and the most creative costume. My friends, Connie Rico and Marilyn Churchill, won a gift certificate to the bookstore for their forties style bathing beauties costume. They were so adorable. Top prize went to three mermaids (two girls and a guy dressed as mermaids) – they were so much fun. It was a fabulous end to the day. I danced until the band said goodnight. Afterwards, I hung out with Verla Kay and Linda Joy Singleton in their room. Needless to say, sleep was not high priority for me at this conference!

Sunday, August 7, 2005
I didn’t forget that it was my 12th wedding anniversary. I called my husband to let him know that I was thinking of him (and rushing to a workshop!). I missed the first sessions, “Developing and Evolving Your Marketing Voice” and “Fire Away: Questions for Editors That Can Only Be Answered Here,” choosing instead to take my time and have breakfast with a friend.

I attended the workshop “Marketing 202” with Melanie Hope Greenberg, an illustrator from New York. She is so on top of her marketing game and gave some great advice to authors. She went over what publishers do to promote books and what authors can do to promote their books. In addition, she gave some great resources including http://www.reviewerschecklist.com and http://www.bookwire.com.

Next was the Golden Kite Luncheon. I sat with my “crew” and some new friends including Stephanie Ruble, a talented illustrator, and Megan Atwood, an editor with Llewellyn Publishing. Lunch was good but the chocolate dessert was heavenly. I was putting my lipstick on and had my open makeup bag in my lap when they announced the winners of the portfolio contest. When Marilyn Scott-Water’s name was called as the winner of an illustrated cover, I yelled, “Woo hoo, Marilyn!” jumping up, startling everyone at my table, and spilling my entire makeup bag on the floor. When she won, I felt like I won! New Orleans, Louisiana illustrator, Jean Cassels, won a Golden Kite for her work in The Mysterious Collection of Dr. David Harleyson. Unfortunately, it became so cold in the room that I had to leave and stand outside the door to warm up. Several other people began streaming out of the room for the same reason.

After the luncheon, I attended Steven Chudney’s workshop “After the Contract, Then What? What You Can Expect from Sales and Marketing.” Steven is an agent and former editor with Simon & Schuster. It was an educational look at how publishers decide which books to promote and what goes into promotional efforts. He spoke about “Big Mouth” lists, marketing budgets, book conferences, advertising, reviews, sales, and subsidiary rights. He also gave authors advice about school visits and book signings. He advised authors to read It’s a Bunny Eat Bunny World by Olga Litowinsky.

The last session was “What You Need to Know About Audio Books” with Bruce Coville and Tim Ditlow. Though I love Bruce and Tim, by this point, I was feeling a little sensory overloaded. I opted, instead, to have dinner with friends. The rest of the night, I hung out with my friends and had a blast. What I really enjoyed about this conference is how I felt like part of a family. There was such a wonderful community atmosphere at this conference. Every night, my bedtime kept getting later and later and later…

Monday, August 8, 2005
I stayed out so late the night before that I opted to skip the first morning session with Connie Epstein “The Current Market for Children’s Books: A Complete Survey.” I caught only the very end of “Creating Books for Boys” with Arthur A. Levine and Mark McVeigh.

For the last workshop of the day, I attended the Q&A with Kevin Lewis, Executive Editor at Simon & Schuster. My favorite thing he said in his session was, “I publish books but I also publish people.” He gave “the editor” a very human face. He was so funny and sincere, immediately likeable. I listened intently as people around the room asked questions. He answered all the questions completely and honestly. Following the session, I felt like I really knew him as a person.

After the workshop, I browsed the bookstore and decided not to eat lunch because the SCBWIdol contest was after lunch. I didn’t want to perform with food sloshing around in my stomach. Along with the other contestants, I gathered in the ballroom for a debriefing by Lin Oliver. I chose to use a lapel mike. There were 11 contestants in all with fantastic performances. In three minutes, you can really get a picture of these school presentations. Tommie dePaola, Bruce Coville, and Bruce Hale were the judges. I had so much fun involving the audience in my “Rockin’ Three Billy Goats.” In the end, I didn’t place but I felt like I won anyway. I went to the conference unknown but afterwards, I made new friends and fans. Chamber Stevens was the afternoon’s big winner, winning a trip to New York to present his show at a school. Alexus Rhone was runner-up, winning a full-tuition scholarship to another SCBWI conference.

Lee Bennett Hopkins was the closing keynote, inspiring everyone with his “Just the FAQ’s: The Writer/Illustrator as a Human Bean.” He is such a kind man who exudes such warmth. After he came off stage, he told me he was my fan (referring to the Idol contest)! Imagine that!

The autograph party was lots of fun. It was the last chance to schmooze. I spoke and took pictures with Tomie dePaola, Bruce Coville, Stephen Mooser, and Kevin Lewis. I really enjoyed talking to Bruce Hale and Lee Bennett Hopkins. I loved the conference and can’t wait to return next year! (I’ll have to miss my anniversary again – how will I break it to my husband? Oh well, I still have a year to plan…)

I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with my friends in their room. I met and bonded with Ellen Hopkins, YA author of Crank. What a talented writer! I didn’t want the conference to end but Verla Kay had to leave at 4 a.m. to catch a flight out. So I had to say goodbye… I can’t wait until next year’s conference!

Until next time…

Warmly,
Dianne de Las Casas