SCBWI Recap 2

Tip of the Snow: there's a very strong possibility tomorrow there will be a snow day here. That makes me very happy!

Just to continue on with my post last week about the SCBWI conference, here's some more information I learned.



Francesco Sedita, Vice President & Publisher at Grosset & Dunlap and an author of the Miss Popularity series:

1.) If you are writing a series, it's important to focus on writing a character that a child wants to return to. And make sure they are as 3-dimensial as possible.

2.) To get a handle on what kids want try to stay up-to-date on pop culture and know the celebrities the age range you are writing for likes and why they like them.

3.) They take submissions that usually fall into 3 categories: young middle-grade (1st, 2nd, 3rd grade), middle middle-grade (4th and 5th grade), and older middle-grade (6th and 7th grade)

Ben Schrank, Publisher at Razorbill:

1.) Common mistakes writers make include: writing for the market, trying to talk like a teen and not creating your own voice and language, windmilling (using lots of words with nothing happening), starting a story at the wrong place instead of in the middle of something, and not telling a story in a unique enough way that it stands out from all the other submissions.

Libba Bray, Author Extraordinaire:

1.) Make characters less than perfect and allow them to make mistakes. Allow for growth. And don't fall in love with characters, because you will miss their faults and maybe their strengths.

2.) Make the work matter to yourself!

3.) That Libba is hilarious and really sweet to talk to, and she has great picture ideas!


Susan Raab of Raab Associates, Inc. talked about "What's Selling, What's Not?"

1.) Types of books that publishers currently want: books like The Wimpy Kid series, fantasy is still selling, mystery & ghost stories are growing, inspirational or uplifting books are also growing in popularity, and funny books.

Suzanne Young, Author:

1.) She's completely charming and her new book series The Naughty List looks incredibly fun. Plus, she and her team at the SCBWI Team blog have way more in-depth and excellent information about the conference. You should definitely check it out.



If you get a chance to go to a conference, I highly recommend it!

--Emily, Miss Querylicious