How to Be an Author: ATTENDING A WRITER’S CONFERENCE

It’s been more than a week since my final seminar at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Summer Spectacular. It was their first ever virtual conference. The pandemic has limited the opportunity to meet face-to-face and turned our lives into one teleconference after another. On the upside, the semi-annual conference, which would have taken place in Los Angeles with twelve hundred people in attendance, found nearly five thousand participants from all fifty states and forty-eight countries. Saving the cost of travel and lodging, as well as keeping the entrance fee to only one hundred dollars for members contributed to this phenomenon.

It was only my second writer’s conference and my first SCBWI conference. The orientation helped set me up for what would turn out to be five inspirational and insightful days. The kickoff on the first evening was by an author with whom I was unfamiliar. Phillip Pullman is a British author, best known for his fantasy series, His Dark Materials. It soon became clear he was more than a young adult fantasy writer, and he left me with a theme I’d hear over and over again. There are three things every author must have: talent, persistence and luck. The only one we have control over is persistence. The word might shift to endurance, resilience, determination, or some other synonym, but the idea remained the same.

Judy Blume, the famed author of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret said it’s “all about determination.” When asked if she ever felt insecure, she answered with a question of her own, “Do you know any writer who isn’t insecure?” She said writers must be in a place without fear–“silence the critic and censor in your head.”

Kwame Alexander said that the first review he read for Crossover was only three words long, “This book sucks.” A later review declared it, “beautiful, dazzling.” The book, a novel in verse, won the Newberry Award, considered by many the highest honor for a children’s, middle grade or young adult book. He said he quickly realized a writer, “can’t let others define you.”

Six editors made up an intriguing panel that provided numerous insights into the inner workings of the publishing industry. They emphasized the importance of the relationship, especially the trust, between authors and editors. A couple of times the art of patience was mentioned. Books are meant to be around for a long time, so they need to be “well-crafted, have a hook, and touch the reader’s heart.” Another constant among them urged a “search for truth, make good art, make art only you can, and focus on your heart.” They noted that they could not work on a book they didn’t love, but told writers to find someone who does love it.

A loving and respectful relationship showed through the screen when Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming and numerous books ranging from children’s picture books to adult novels, shared a conversation with her editor, Nancy Paulson. According to Woodson, she is a character-driven author who sees her task as figuring out what the character wants and how he is going to get it. To assist her in her quest, Paulson will often ask, “Who are his people?”

Jason Reynolds and Nic Stone, two of my favorite young adult authors, contrasted their style of writing. Reynolds is a pantser, while Stone is a plotter. The difference between a writer who has only a limited idea of where the plot will take him and a writer who plans out the steps in the plot before beginning to write.

Reynolds said his inspiration came from James Baldwin, who insisted on being authentic. He drew the comparison between writing and music. While technical performance is required, it’s the unique tone of musicians, such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, that makes their work memorable. As a method, though, he noted how inefficient his way was compared to his colleague and friend’s plotting technique.

Laurie Halse Anderson, the acclaimed author of Speak, said she wrote out a sign to reminder her to keep going when working on a first draft. The sign reads, “It’s supposed to suck.” I consider that one of the most valuable lessons of the entire conference.

Jeff Kinney, whose Diary of a Wimpy Kid books have sold over two hundred million copies worldwide, said it took him eight years during which time he wrote thirteen hundred pages before he was ready for success. He said he credits Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers with making him aware that most people require ten thousand hours or about eight years of preparation to become good at what they do.

His conversation with famed television actor Henry Winkler, who along with Lin Oliver has co-authored the Hank Zitser series, discussed their mutual triumph over attention deficit disorder. Kinney credited systematic inventive thinking with helping him. One of the more amazing parts of his methodology is to sit in his car in a cemetery and write seven to eight hundred jokes. He uses about two hundred of them in his next book.

The final session featured four outstanding agents, who revealed backgrounds in aerospace engineering, academia, Peace Corps, and being an author. Key concepts to keep in mind when seeking representation is to find someone with whom you want to work. There needs to be trust and a certain level of chemistry.

Let me know if you were at the SCBWI Summer Spectacular, and what were your impressions. If you’ve been to SCBWI conferences, how did this one compare with those? Or, if you’ve been to other writers conferences share your thoughts on how they did or did not help your career.