Monday, August 07, 2006

Blogging the SCBWI Summer Conference (pt. 6)

It's over. Done. Fini. I am officially home. If I had to pick a single word to use to describe the Conference, I'd fail. But me? I'd say "tired." Like bone-weary tired.

I don't think I can sum up all the seminars and sessions and information since the last time I tried. We all got to watch a mock negotiation between an agent and editor that demystified they "whys" of contracts and of the process an editor goes through to acquire a manuscript. We heard market info and details that truly let you understand the business (and SCBWI members will get a detailed market report in mid-Aug, I believe, on the website).

Oh yeah... and I spoke at Lisa Yee's blogging panel (along with the funny, eloquent Disco Mermaids) and lived to tell about it. Better than that, it was a lot of fun. Mine is a story that does give a fine example of why one might bother to blog, so it was a hoot to share.

I know I keep mentioning this, but to me it's the community that exists at the Conference -- 800 people who share a passionate interest -- that makes it such a remarkable experience, and it's hard to encapsulate what the weekend was like. I guess I can just say that it was great for me to meet so many new friends, see old friends, and remember that writing doesn't have to be such a lonely journey.

I hope to find some more good quotes from the various panels tomorrow, but I've simply GottaSleep. G'night, y'all.

3 comments:

alvinaling said...

Hi Greg--great to meet you, and I'm having fun catching up on your blog. In fact, today is my first day back in the office, I have emails up to the wazoo (including many queries from conference-goers already), I have a meeting in 5 minutes, and I'm trying to scarf down lunch. But of course I'm writing this comment anyway.

All I was going to say was, YES! Community. The children's book community is the best ever, and I'm so happy to be part of it. We rule.

Greg Pincus said...

And great meeting you, too, Alvina. It is good to see you've kept your priorities straight: blogosphere THEN work. But I think that just kinda proves the whole community thing in yet another way. It sounds corny, no doubt, to those who haven't been part of it, but so be it. We do rule.

PS: Did you get my query about my 32,541 word picture book (might need to be 33 pages, of course) about the firebombing of Dresden told from the point of view of a child's stuffed aardvark? If not, I'll re-send. Huh. Email blocked. Odd. Very odd.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Gregory K -

Thanks for helping me end a pretty stupendous conference on such a high note, with a personal guided tour of the city. Seeing the sites of LA and the Hollywood Hills was all pretty exotic for this lowly author from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. You're a grand friend.


David LaRochelle