Advantages of a Writers Conference

I have just returned from the three-day Eastern NY SCBWI Writers Conference known as Falling Leaves (do all autumn events contain the word "leaves?" And given that this was an attempt by authors and illustrators to get work from editors, shouldn't it have been What Color Is My Leaf? Too obscure?). It was held at the lovely Silver Bay YMCA retreat in Hague, and even had one celebrity author in attendance. More on that in a moment.

The one real advantage in this conference came two-fold:

1. The Saturday AM Critique Group: Authors reviewed each others' work of choice. Unlike the GFWG approach, the work was read and immediate feedback given. Nonetheless, it was great to have strange eyes on it, and some very good suggestions given. Our group contained Marileta (pronounced Mari-leeta) Robinson, a longtime editor at Highlights for Children. Veteran, seasoned eyes are good.
2. The Saturday Afternoon Critique: Done by an professional editor with a major house who received our manuscripts more than a month before. Rotem Moscovich of Cartwheeel/Scholastic offered some very helpful advice and I greatly appreciate her time and veteran stewardship. I will be sending her the revised ms since it fits several of the categories she is looking for in a picture book.

OK, pet peeve time. The Friday and Saturday evening workshops were very helpful, particularly the one by Alexandra Cooper of Simon & Schuster, who offered an in-depth overview of story structure, and Ruta Rimas of Balzer+Bray, whose writing exercises help wordy and wayward mss fit Cooper's framework. Here's my peeve -- All the authors who suddenly said "Those workshops inspired me to write!" Why? They are very helpful, but you should have been inspired before you arrived. You coughed up cold, hard cash to attend. Very little in our culture says dedication like money. If you're that dedicated to improving your craft, I would hope you were already motivated. Perhaps a better phrase would be, "Now I have direction!" Like Dorothy leaving Oz. She always had motivation, but no direction...

And our celebrity author? Martin Kratt, host of the PBS programs Kratt's Creatures and Zoboomafoo. He was nice, pleasant, and I think, unlike too many celebrity authors, talented. He is also dedicated to the children's market, as his shows attest. I'm sure his animal-centered picture books will be on the market soon.

Just remember, the real value in this conference was professional feedback from people with no vested interest in your story, life, or feelings. It was about the work. Write, critique, edit, publish. A nice format. Now for steps two and three, through both SCBWI and the GFWG.

--John Briggs