Monday, March 21, 2016

SCBWINY16 Top 10 List by Jim Hill

I had the good fortune to attend the SCBWI Conference in New York City last month. This list is a quickie, shorthand review of my favorite moments.

1. Gary Schmidt's Keynote – He speaks like he writes. Heartfelt, honest, and spare with emotional truths that strike like a punch in the gut. I wish you could've heard it too. It was kind of life-changing. For the next best thing, check out his appearance on the Yarn podcast.

2. Connecting In Person – Conferences are where the internet comes alive. All of those little avatars you chat with on Facebook and Twitter have actual human beings behind them. It's true! And you can meet them in real life! Amazing.

3. Cheryl Klein's Revision Session – If you've read Second Sight or listen to the Narrative Breakdown podcast, you know of Cheryl's insightfulness. This workshop was exactly what I needed as I was in the middle of revisions on my novel (and maybe, just maybe stumbling through said revisions like a bear drunk on fermented berries). She offered a concrete approach toward revision that I will carry with me forever. Her new book, The Magic Words comes out in September. Read it and become a better writer.

4. Funky Downtown Dining – The food was cheap and delicious. And then there was this.

A video posted by @heyjimhill on


5. DIY Writing Intensive – Friday was the intensive day at the conference, and there were many outstanding workshops to be had. Was I registered for any of them? No. Instead, I met classmate Bonnie Pipkin at Grounded for a self-made writing intensive (1.3K words, thank you very much) followed by drinks at the White Horse Tavern to soak up the literary mojo. And book deal celebration. Hers, not mine.
Not the Whitehorse Tavern, but this a better photo than the one I took of my meal there. 
6. VCFA ReunionsVermont College of Fine Arts has a vibrant community of writers *cough* cult-like *cough* who love to get together at conferences, book launches, and the occasional bar fight (just kidding, Tom Greene). Ann Cardinal, Chief Herder of Cats, knows how to bring us together for casual chat, industry talk, and craft discussions. She's basically a floating cocktail party wearing an "Ask Me About VCFA" pin. Even when there aren't any cocktails to be had.

7. Double Rainbow – Not one, but two interview sessions with Rainbow Rowell! You guys, at one point I was close enough that I could have touched her hair! (To be clear, I didn't because that would be creepy and wrong.) These were both excellent Q&A sessions. Rainbow comes across like you think she would if you've read her books: intelligent, funny, charming, and slyly subversive. If you haven't read her work, do yourself a favor and rectify that mistake. Read her for the dialogue, the graceful character descriptions, and read her for the stories themselves. Not quite like being there in person, but this interview on the aforementioned Narrative Breakdown is worth a listen.

8. Mentoring/Being Mentored – Conferences give you ample opportunities for one of my core beliefs: wherever you are in your publishing journey, you can help someone else with theirs. There will always be someone ahead of you (however you define that), and there will always be people working through things you have experienced. Reach out. Lift up. Repeat.

My thanks to Carrie Firestone for doing her part to lift me up. We share an agent, and Carrie took me under her wing to talk through some of the expectations invloved with the whirlwind-publishing-machine. Her book, The Loose Ends List, drops on June 7th. Look for it; it sounds great.

9. The Publisher's Panel – We often hear that houses have a voice, and this panel did a nice job of embodying that idea. It was fascinating to listen to the publishers talk about the strengths and motivations of their lists. There were two takeaways of note for me. One, the children's arms of the large publishing houses are now given a lot more respect as the financial models point to stability within our market. That opens a lot of opportunities, and clears some of the clouds away from the doom-and-gloom prognostications we hear so often.

The second, a point made by moderator Ruben Pfeffer was a huge relief to my anxious artist brain. He assured us that if a manuscript makes it to an acquisition meeting but gets turned down, it's not because the writing was flawed, it's because the business case for that particular book couldn't be made at the time.

Why is this relief? Well, I can't control business decisions, but I can control the quality of my writing, so this lets me off the hook as an artist. Right? Now, I'm far from an acquisition meeting, but I have my hopes, and I know from my colleagues experiences that not every book gets picked up even when it makes it that far. I'm sure if/when that day comes it will hurt like hell, but at least now I know it won't be because I'm a bad writer. I'm just bad business!

10. Autographs – Maybe I'm a fanboy at heart, but I love the autograph sessions. Sure, the lines are long, but the conversations in those lines can be fun. And you get to have your favorite authors sign books to YOU. Or someone you love. Or maybe a frenemy. You do you. All I know is that I am super excited to have autograph copies of The Game of Love and Death, Last Stop on Market Place, and Whatever-Book-I-Bought-So-William-Joyce-Could-Sign-It-Alas-I-Had-To-Leave-But-Linda-Camacho-Is-Holding-It-For-Me-Right-Linda?

18 comments:

  1. Great top 10! You brought the whole experience alive. And I'm sure you could never be either a "bad writer" or "bad business." You're too dang funny!

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  2. Now that is some real enjoyment right there.

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    1. Thank you. I had fun there, and while writing this. Win-win.

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  3. Thanks for including my photo in your post, Jim! Great list. And it was so great seeing you IN PERSON. :-D

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    1. Great seeing you, too. There's never enough time to hang around as much we'd all like, is there?

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  4. Maligned? Lord no. You got me! :) SO glad to have had the chance to hang with you there, Jim Hill!

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    1. Well then I hope to see that description on your LinkedIn profile. ;-) Always wonderful to be with you too.

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  5. Jim, this is such a great story on the event! I love your comments on the Publishers Panel. So much goes on behind the scenes that writers don't know about, so this is awesome insight!

    I wish I could have been there, but I was here freezing in Chicago! :)

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    1. Thanks, Hillary, that panel was great. I was freezing in NYC. Hopefully Spring has arrived for real.

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  6. Jim, what a fun and excellent recap! Love the pics too. Sounds like it was an amazing time. Multi-benefits to attending an SCBWI conf. and sounds like you took advantage of all. I'll be presenting at the annual NJ SCBWI this June and super excited to head there again. Will have to give the NY one a whirl one of these days! And will check out the Gary Schmidt podcast -thanks! Would have loved to sit in on that Publisher's Panel.

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    1. NJ in June. Sounds like a Cole Porter tune. Have fun!

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  7. Jim, what a fun and excellent recap! Love the pics too. Sounds like it was an amazing time. Multi-benefits to attending an SCBWI conf. and sounds like you took advantage of all. I'll be presenting at the annual NJ SCBWI this June and super excited to head there again. Will have to give the NY one a whirl one of these days! And will check out the Gary Schmidt podcast -thanks! Would have loved to sit in on that Publisher's Panel.

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    1. Dont know why this posted twice! Silly Blogger :)

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  8. Sounds like it was a wonderful conference, the kind that leaves you still glowing a month later . . . . I'll be hoping to get there NEXT year!

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  9. Sounds like it was a wonderful conference indeed :)

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!