How I Spent Last Weekend (or In a New York Minute*)

*With apologies to The Eagles

Tip of the Day: For more notes on my whole SCBWI NYC weekend, check out my LiveJournal entry.

So much fabness was had in NYC with Miss Querylicious this weekend that I can't post it all here. What I will do is post the bits of information, the "A-ha!" moments that I gained from the weekend's fantastic lineup of speakers. Enjoy and feel free to ask questions!

1. Don't use the first idea that comes to you bc that will also be the first idea that comes to your reader and will therefore make your work less surprising/more predictable. (Libba Bray, author)


(Emily, Libba, me)

2. The chance of a book doing as well in the market as 13 REASONS WHY by Jay Asher is about 1 in 100,000. (Ben Schrank, Razorbill Publisher)

3. Fantasy is aspirational for readers. Instead of reading a contemporary realistic fiction story and thinking, "I wish I could also be a star basketball player," readers read fantasy and think, "I wish I could also have psychic powers." (Ari Lewin, Disney/Hyperion editor)

4. Publishers will package a book. (cover, title, blurb, etc) to make a novel more or less "literary." (Alvina Ling, Little Brown BFYR editor)

5. Kidlit sales increased 11% in 2009 over 2008. (Susan Raab, marketer)

6. Switch the age group you write for if you are prolific so your books don't compete with yourself. (Sheldon Fogelman, agent)

7. If you're writing a novel that takes place in any year except the present, is there a REAL REASON? Play around with other ideas to make it an easier sell. (George Nicholson, agent)

8. Consider subbing less-commercial works to smaller publishers. (Jane Yolen, author)

9. When writing on the sentence level, take the time to find the "right" word. (Jane Yolen)

10. Regarding how much self-promo to do, do as much as you comfortably have time for; that is the "right" amount. (Sheldon Fogelman)

If you can make it to this conferece, I highly recommend it. It was totally well-organized and well-attended. And if you can meet a writing friend there, even better! So, who's coming out my way next year? :)

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing