Monday, April 23, 2012

I'm Back!

Thank you, everyone, for all the birthday wishes and hello to all my new bloggy friends! I am floored by how many people are actually entering my little contest for a critique. Thank you! And everyone who attempted to guess my age ... you did a great job. Some of you got it and everyone else was close. ;)

I'm back from the conference and just have to say how much

I LOVE SCBWI!

If you're a children's book writer of any variety (picture book, middle grade, young adult or anything in between) I hope you know about the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators.

I learned so much this weekend.

It was actually guilt-inducingly amazing to be away from my kids, to actually dress in professional-ish clothes (rather than my daily uniform of jeans and t-shirt), to carry on adult conversations for longer than two-minute intervals, and to be able to totally focus on a speaker or a presentation without distractions.

But the part of the conference I most enjoyed was that I met my personal goals while I was there.

I decided I wasn't going to be shy, that I was going to get out there and talk to the faculty and not hold back.

And I did it!

I ate lunch with agent Jenny Bent (she was so nice!) and introduced myself to agent Chris Richman (he was so nice!). I said hi to agent Tricia Lawrence (she was so nice!) from her clients who are my bloggy friends, Melodie and Adam.

I introduced myself to editors from Dial and Carolrhoda books. (They were awesome!) 

I approached Matt de la Pena (I'm a fan girl!) and told him how his book MEXICAN WHITEBOY had fooled my subconscious into thinking main character Danny was a real person. (My review >>here<<)

And I saw old friends and made new friends with fellow aspiring writers.

It was all such a treat.

How about you? Do you enjoy conferences? What's your favorite part?

19 comments:

  1. Well done to you! You certainly made the most of the weekend and the opportunities it brought.
    I used to love getting to dress up when my kids were little, just once in a while. I think every mother needs that now and again.
    Glad it all went so well.

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  2. Holy moly! What a great experience for you!!! Lunch with Jenny Bent! How cool! Congrats on putting yourself out there (I'm a wimp when it comes to that stuff, and TLA last week just about took me down haha). I can't wait to hear more about it! :)

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  3. Sounds like you had a great time- that's wonderful.

    I've only been to one conference and hope to do another one.

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  4. I love hanging out with writers. Anywhere!

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  5. I have never been to a writers' conference, but I'm looking forward to my first one, someday.

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  6. How awesome! So glad you had a good time...I'm going to my first writer's conference in June and I'm both thrilled and terrified! :)

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  7. Like Sam, I've never been to a writer's conference, either, but I'd love to go. Someday.

    Kudos to you, Amy, for getting out of your comfort zone and talking up all those people! That would be my favorite part. (Of course, I was also the girl who faked a (horrible) British accent while waiting in line for a workshop as a teenager, so I'm not exactly the shy, retiring type:) )

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  8. You did something I've never done. Sounds like a lot of fun. :-)

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  9. It was a great weekend, wasn't it? Great to meet you (again) and I can't believe you say you are shy - I would never have known... by the way, I was terrified of having lunch with Jenny Bent! But she was so nice, she made it easy.

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  11. Glad you had a great time and met your goals.
    I've never gone, but when that day comes you know I'll be emailing you asking for tips. ;)

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  12. SCBWI is the best, isn't it? I'm so glad that you enjoyed your conference! I just had a wonderful time at the Poconos conference for the same reason as you-- meeting some of my writing heroes. Can't wait to hear more about your experience this weekend!

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  13. SCBWI is the best, isn't it? I'm so glad that you enjoyed your conference! I just had a wonderful time at the Poconos conference for the same reason as you-- meeting some of my writing heroes. Can't wait to hear more about your experience this weekend!

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  14. You're so bold and brave ... my first conference, some very nice writers sat with me at lunch and coaxed words out of me.

    You met Jenny Bent?!! I listened to her a while back, and thought, someday, I'll talk to her.

    So happy you had a good time. The WWa region is tops.

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  15. Good for you! The last couple of conferences I've attended, I've done the same thing, and I'm always amazed at how nice everyone is. Getting past the fangirl is hard, but worth it!

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  16. Going to OCHEC (Ontario Christian Home Educators Conference) on Friday and Saturday!

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  17. Going to OCHEC (Ontario Christian Home Educators Conference) on Friday and Saturday!

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  18. A lot of my friends from my city went at that conference. They tried to convince me to go, but I'm going to the RWA nationals in July.

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