Tag Archives: Barry Goldblatt

2013 IA SCBWI Conference-Part II

Posted on by
Reply
Louise650

First Pages practice
On the pitcher’s mound: Louise Aamodt

If you’re a children’s book writer, one of the best ways to hone your craft is to attend your regional Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences. For instance: the 2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference offered a variety of hands-on manuscript development opportunities:

  • Roundtable Peer Critiques
  • First Page Readings
  • Manuscript Reviews

Roundtable Peer Critiques

Conference peer reviews provide fresh, unbiased feedback for our work-in-progress. Also, they widen our circle of writing friends, broaden our view of the world, and challenge us to write at a higher level.

For the peer critiques Iowa SCBWI Assistant Regional Advisor Lisa Morlock divided the manuscripts by genre, then she organized us into groups of four or five. Lisa emailed the manuscripts to each pertaining group member so we could review and print critiques (or bring them in e-form) before the conference.

Accomplished author Sharelle Byars Moranville facilitated my group, which consisted of three other chapter book and middle grade novelists. To top off the great advice we received from one another, she suggested we give all characters a crucible moment;  deliver the empathy-building essence of our protagonists; and strategically plan for pivotal stepping moments at the quarter point, the mid point, and the three-quarter point of our manuscripts before tying it up with that satisfying ending.

Elevator pitch practice Up to bat: Alicia Schwab

Elevator pitch practice
Up to bat: Alicia Schwab

First Page Readings

Michelle Poploff, Vice President and Executive Director of Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, led “Finding Your Voice”, a session where First Page participants received a wealth of feedback in minutes. Participant names were randomly drawn. They read the first 500 words of their manuscripts. After each reading, attendees in the audience provided anonymous  comments on notecards.

In our motel room the night before, my roommates and I took turns rehearsing and creating one-line elevator pitch synopses.  Not only did the pitch-writing exercise equip all four of us to create more impactful queries; but the extra preparation paid off in the performances. When my roommates names were drawn, they delivered self-assured readings preceded by convincing pitches.

Elise Hylden Up to bat

Elise Parsley up to bat, critiquing the pitch

Manuscript Critiques

Face-to-face manuscript critiques provided the best opportunity to have our most polished, unpublished manuscript critiqued by an editor, agent, or published author. We submitted our manuscripts three to four weeks prior to the conference to allow ample time for our advisor to review and write comments; then we received a ten-minute appointment for them to tell us what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve our work.

Thanks to Joanna Cardenas, Assistant Editor for Viking Children’s Books, for reviewing my manuscript. She devoted an impressive amount of thoughtful consideration, offering suggestions on character development, plot and structure, language and diction, voice, and marketability. Her advice differed substantially from input I had received from Barry Goldblatt, founder of BG Literary, at the 2013 Minnesota Conference. However, their foundational goals remained the same: to increase my protagonist’s likeability, which would increase the appeal of my manuscript, which would increase its chances of being published. I’m grateful to them both.

Next week I’ll share more 2013 IA Conference wisdom from Michelle Poploff; Allison Remcheck, Assistant Literary Agent of Rosemary Stimola Literary Studio; Joanna Cardenas; and Jennifer Black Reinhardt. See you then!

2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference Photos

2013 MN SCBWI Conference Tidbits

Posted on by
Reply
Quinette Cook, Regional Advisor, and Jessica Freeburg, Assistant Regional Advisor, of MN SCBWI

Thanks to the conference organizers: MN SCBWI Regional Advisor Quinette Cook and Assistant Regional Advisor Jessica Freeburg.

It’s been 16 days since the 2013 Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)  conference and my tiny brain is still smoking from over-stimulation.

 

Tidbits of wisdom:

  • William Alexander, keynote speaker and author of Goblin Secrets, reminded,”It’s not about you … It’s the story … How well do you serve the story?” Alexander  immersed himself in storytelling as an actor before he became an author. He started out romantically letting the story unfold,  but he discovered that method to be “wildly inefficient” because he would often have to change his beginning to match his new ending. Now he uses outlines, thinking of them as loose travel itineraries with a beginning and an end–and a few crazy side trips.
  • Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary, showered us with snippets of reality.
    Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary "Art is a terrible way to make a living."

    Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary “Art is a terrible way to make a living.”

    “Art is a terrible way to make a living … Name your favorite book and your best friend will hate that book. Art is subjective. People are going to hate what you do.” He advised us to reach into our souls and slap it on the page. For him to represent a book, it needs to scream, “This is a must have.”
    “Research to find the right agent,” he implored,  comparing the relationship to a marriage, because the agent will 1. mess with your babies; 2. control the purse strings; and 3. get into your legal matters.

     

  • Dan Yaccarino, keynote speaker and author/illustrator of Doug Unplugged, Oswald, The Backyardigans, and Willa’s Wild Life, first ripped marketing labels off of packaging to study and draw. Because of his astounding achievement rate, it was tempting to discount Mr. Yaccarino as a freak of nature who wouldn’t understand the plight of the struggling artist. But he won our approval when he disclosed that for every one success there are 12 failures. He says he owes his victories to organization, determination, and persistence. He urged artists to give themselves permission to do the work that makes them happy. “Be brave!
  • Nathan Gassman, art director for Capstone Press, advised illustrators to “think professionally … Seek consistency in your art, branding yourselves so that we (art directors) know we can go to you with a certain style. He recommended Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman and Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelo as examples where art and word mesh well. He warns that bunnies are cliché unless you turn the character upside down. Gassman’s non-cliché bunny reference: one haunted by mutant carrots (Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown ).
  • I wasn’t able to attend Minnesota illustrator Jennifer Bell‘s presentation, but we can learn more about her on her official website. She has Illustrated over a dozen children’s books, including, My Pen Pal, Santa and Little Dog, Lost.
  • Annie Stone, Assistant Editor, Harlequin Teen, has a special place in her heart for the Chronicles of Narnia. Stone said the appeal of a great story is power in humanity and protagonists who possess humility, innocence, faith, and flaws. “It’s hard to get behind someone who’s too perfect. It’s their failures– their overcoming of weaknesses that’ll make them heroes.” Clichés: female protagonists who aren’t pretty but everyone falls in love with them and the big reveal where the parents are of magical descent.
  • Marsha Qualey, a Hamline University MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults  program professor and author of several young adult novels, including Thin Ice, gave an intensive entitled Angles, Facets, and POV. It was my favorite part of the conference because she led us in hands-on group and individual writing exercises. “Editors can’t work with you like they used to,” Qualey commiserated. Lucky for us, we can take a class.
  • Marsha Wilson Chall also teaches for the Hamline MFA program and has authored eleven children’s books, including Pick a Pup. I wasn’t able to attend her presentation, but I intend to look into the Hamline program. Even an old dog like me can learn new tricks (like not writing clichés).

Thanks to organizers, Quinette Cook, Jessica Freeburg, Alicia Schwab, and Nina Crittenberg, and all volunteers for putting on a fabulous 2013 conference. Your devotion to the success of regional book writers and illustrators reaches far beyond the competitive marketing arena and into the minds of children everywhere. That’s profound, when you think about it.