Friday, September 18, 2015

SCBWI OKLAHOMA FALL RETREAT


SCBWI OKLAHOMA FALL RETREAT
October 9-10, 2015
 FanTheSpark
BEST WESTERN MOTOR LODGE, STROUD, OKLAHOMA
BETWEEN OKC AND TULSA
 
Register On- Line:
  –  https://oklahoma.scbwi.org/events/scbwi-oklahoma-fall-retreat/
  OR Download Registration Form: OK 2015 FALL RETREAT

FRIDAY, October 9, 2015
Daytime Program:9:00 AM — 4:00 PM
 
bulletpurpleIllustrator Track
- Tim Jessell  www.timjessell.com
Full day of technique instruction, hands-on practice, and group critique.
Stacks Image 43
bulletpurplePicture Book Track
- Janee Trasler www.trasler.com
Successful picture book writer.
Morning workshop.
bulletpurpleNovel Track
- Anna Myers www.annamyers.info
- with Pati Hailey  & Ginny Sain

Novel writing/editing workshop including drama techniques for character development.
 
Afternoon for Picture Book/Novel Tracks
First Pages and Panel Discussion



   
FRIDAY Evening Program
 6:30 PM — 8:00 PM
 
bulletpurpleFan  The Spark of Creativity
- Keynote Address

- Linda Urban www.lindaurbanbooks.com
Successful author of picture books and novels.
Linda Urban



SATURDAY, October 10, 2015
9:00 AM — 5:00 PM
 
bulletpurpleEditing Workship – (Part 1)
- Linda Urban
9:00 – 12:00
bulletpurpleLunch Break12:00 – 1:30
bulletpurpleEditing Workship – (Part 2)
- Linda Urban
1:30 – 4:30
bulletpurpleClosing Remarks4:30 – 5:00

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Expand Your Horizons with Twitter Contests

First thing you need to do before you read any more of this post is start a Twitter account. I know, it’s the last thing you want to do. I hated it at first and was so confused and intimidated about tweeting, but if you’re serious about getting your book published, you really should create an online presence. Here’s why:


  • You meet other writers. Just using #amwriting when I tweeted brought me in contact with other writers from around the world and I started to build a following.
  • You gather a growing fan base. The writing community champions fellow writers, so your good news will be retweeted and the more followers you have the more their followers might be seeing the be announcements about your book release (Dream big…you will one day have a book release date!)
  • You learn about contests. There are so many writers online that want to help fellow writers. It’s amazing the free time people put into organizing contests and then reading all the entries. Besides getting amazing feedback, you also get info about your book in front of many more agent eyes than just sending a query through their email.

So now I want to focus on contests. I’ve done a few different kinds and here are my opinions about each. If you have a completed manuscript, query, and synopsis, then you really should be putting it out there in these contests. Yes, there might be a little rejection, but the encouragement far outweighs it. Plus, people are donating their time to share with you about how to improve your book.




This is a semiannual contest that is organized by L.L. Mickinney @ElleOnWords. You didn’t have to have a Twitter account for this one, but it helps to keep up with what’s going on. There are four rounds where you submit your pitch and first 250 words and receive feedback from a team of writers and editors. Then you have a chance to polish your work before the final choices are made about which submissions will be presented to agents. Best thing about this contest is it has guaranteed feedback! Next one is coming up in October. Check the website for exact dates.




This is an annual contest hosted by Amy Trueblood @atrueblood5 and Michelle Hauck @Michelle4Laughs. Usually held in January, the above link is for this past year’s contest, but keep tabs on the site for when the new dates will be posted. It’s similar to #PitchSlam in that you do get feedback before agents see your submission.

Organized by Brenda Drake @brendadrake, this contest includes a full day of tweeting your pitch over and over, getting it on the feed so agents might see it and request more from you. Best thing about it is Twitter won’t let you tweet the exact same thing twice, so I had to think hard about how to write multiple pitches that fit only into 140 characters. I felt like they kept getting better the more I worked on them. Next one is December 4th, so I encourage you to do it!




This was by far the most stressful, but exciting contest I entered, and Brenda Drake is a champion for running it every year. You submit a query letter and the first chapter of your book to five prospective mentors (agented and/or published authors). Then they spend two weeks reading and debating who gets to mentor which manuscripts. Initially, I had three of the five I submitted to request to read more, then it was silent for two whole weeks! That was the stressful part. 

So I was ecstatic when I saw my name on the mentee list! So now I get to spend two months editing my whole manuscript with my mentor Tom Torre @CopernicusNerd before agents take a look at it. This is a huge benefit to any writer, and I’m so grateful for the time and interest these mentors give to all the mentees.

But, even if I didn’t make it, the contest would have been totally worth it. Many of the mentors write back to everyone who submitted to them, giving them a bit of feedback. Also, I learned so much just from people tweeting encouragement to keep writing and giving tidbits of advice. I also have a new bunch of followers and writers I feel confident to call upon when I have questions.

Unfortunately, this contest will not happen until next year, but there are many others coming up if you just keep an eye out on Twitter.


So I hope to see you on Twitter soon! My handle is @Kaup_Novel