Tuesday, May 21, 2013

NJ SCBWI Writing Conference Preparations- Part 1



When I signed up in March, it felt like it was ages in the future, but now the NJ SCBWI conference is only two and a half weeks away!
Sometimes, I sign up so far in advance for a writing conference, it’s easy to forget about it until it’s almost on top of me. But to get the most out of my conference, I know I need to be prepared. This is more than polishing the manuscript(s) one final time. Even if the manuscripts aren't what the editors and agents are looking for, I know I can have a "successful" conference.

  • The first part of my preparation was to be sure I met all the deadlines for manuscript submissions. The editors, agents and authors who are doing the critiques at these venues are busy people. The deadlines are there for a reason, to allow them to give the proper attention to everyone’s work. I don't want to be memorable for all the wrong reasons-- begging for an exception to the deadline. And while the workshops are wonderful, the personal feedback from individual critiques is invaluable.  I want to take advantage of every opportunity!

  • I signed up to do peer critiques at the conference, so I’m doing them now! The peer review time is a great opportunity to meet other conferees in a relaxed setting and I don’t want to ruin it for everyone else by showing up unprepared. It's easy for life to throw unexpected curve balls my way, I'm going to have these beauties done and in my file ready to go before this weekend.
  • My business cards are up-to-date, so I don't have to run out, or jump online to order more. While I don't think they're "necessary," they're nice to have if anyone asks.

  • What’s next on my list? Later this week I plan to review the names of the workshop leaders. In the internet age, there’s no excuse to show up not knowing anything about the presenters. I had a choice of workshops and chose the slots I did for a reason. But it’s been two months since I made those choices. I need to take a moment to review why I wanted to attend each and write down the goal I hope to achieve (in the future, I'm going to try to remember to do this when I sign up!). Was it just getting to meet a particular person? Is it learning about an area of the craft that I felt weak in? Perhaps I wanted to ask a specific question? I know I have to write it down--now! It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the frenetic pace of the actual event and forget to do the one thing I wanted to do—yup, that’s my voice of experience with a been there/done that, (“forgot that”) moment. 

Conferences are a big investment of time and money. Next week, Part 2 will cover the "final" preparations.
If you have conference advice you want to share below, I'd love to hear it!

14 comments:

  1. Excellent conference prep tips! Thank you! One of the things I do after signing up for a session with someone I'm not familiar with is to read some of their books.

    I will share this post with the Children's Book Hub Facebook Group!

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    1. Thanks, Beth! Reading their books is a wonderful help, too!

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  2. Nice information to file away for review when attending conferences. Thanks, Wendy!

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    1. Thanks, Penny. I hope your filing system is better than mine. I file so much and then can't find it when I need it.

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  3. These are great tips, Wendy, and you are so organized and prepared! I wanted to go to SCBWI NJ but not this year... now I'm even sadder to miss it since I could have met you! I LOVELOVELOVE your business cards! How did you make them so pretty?

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    1. The cards are from Vistaprint! They do a nice job.

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  4. Not that I attend a lot of conferences but I always bring my biz cards and the most I'd ever handed out was 3. Then this year, I must have given out 20 of them! Not sure if I got more out-going this year, or everyone else did. ;) I love your card!

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    1. Last time I brought my cards and forgot them in my room. I'm going to try to use them this time.

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  5. This is great. My conference is in August. I can just follow your steps to prepare for my conference. Thanks for the cheat sheet, Wendy! :o)

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    1. I wish I was going to LA, too! Maybe it will be in the cards for next year.

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  6. Great advice, Wendy. Wish I had read this before my first conference! I am ready to make some new cards, and this time around I shall add a photo, I think!

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    1. Hi, Joanna. You'll have to share the new cards with photo when you get them so we can all see. I've heard other people mention that, but I've never actually seen one.

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  7. Very comprehensive prep list. Have you picked out a couple of outfits and some COMFORTABLE shoes?

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    1. Ah, that's part 2! Haven't actually done the picking yet, but the closet awaits.

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