It's time for
another multi-month edition of SCBWI meeting summaries! 2018 has been a
flurry of activity and fun for Central & Southern Ohio SCBWI. The
meetings in Columbus included...
FEBRUARY
The
February SCBWI meeting featured nonfiction author Tracy Vonder Brink.
Tracy discussed writing for magazines--a part of children's publishing
that many authors overlook. With articles published in Highlights, Spider, and Ask,
Tracy offered great insight on the pros and cons of magazine writing,
and gave tons of tips for writers dipping their toes into the industry.
These included:
-Magazine publishing is a good
way to build up your writing resume. It shows you can research and write
professionally, work with editors, and see a project through
completion.
-It's the perfect format for puzzles, games, recipes, and those ideas you have that don't lend themselves to a full book.
-It
gives you the freedom to write on a wide variety of topics, so it's a
good match for writers with a lot of interests, or people who get bored
writing longer pieces.
-You'll get to see your work in print more quickly since magazine publishing is (usually) faster than book publishing!
Tracy
cautioned that just because articles are short doesn't mean they're
easy, though. They still take time to research and write, and must be
submitted to magazine publishers following the proper guidelines and formats. She reminded everyone to put their best professional foot
forward, but to also have fun in this bite-size, creative field!
MARCH
The
March SCBWI meeting featured author-illustrator Aiko Ikegami. Aiko gave
a presentation on her road to publication, including a
behind-the-scenes look at the release of her new book, Seed Man. Like
many aspiring authors and illustrators, it took Aiko a number of years
to break into the field, and she had a lot of hardships and trials along
the way. She offered tips for navigating this bumpy road, such as:
-Identify
the steps that will help you on your journey. Aiko made a
"Muscle Building" list of skills and milestones that she wanted to
tackle to help her reach her end-goal of publication. These included
elements such as "create a website" and "improve art skills." By
breaking her big goal down into smaller ones, the list didn't seem so
overwhelming--and each accomplishment brought her closer to publication!
-Don't
forget that there are tons of resources available online and in-person
that provide a wealth of opportunities! Aiko took the online course
"Make Your Marks and Splashes" (http://howtobeachildrensbooki
APRIL
The
April SCBWI meeting featured YA author Debbie Rigaud. Known for writing "comedy with conscience," Debbie spoke on
the topic of using humor to bring out the heart in your writing. She
credits her sense of humor as a family trait passed down through
generations of funny women, and led the group in a Haitian chant of
merrymaking. Because humor is universal, Debbie explained that it can be
used in numerous ways in writing, including:
-Breaking tension
-Making tough topics more accessible
-Acting as social commentary
-Translating secrets (who doesn't love finding out that a big, burly man is afraid to squish spiders?)
By skillfully incorporating and balancing humor, you can make your writing more memorable and meaningful. (And don't worry if you don't consider yourself a funny person. Debbie reminded everyone that you can observe humor everywhere--from TV and books to the conversations at your local coffee shop!) So if humor is something you've shied away from, consider giving it a try in your writing project!
The May SCBWI meeting featured YA author Lisa Klein. To our chapter's excitement, Lisa's book, Ophelia, has been turned into a movie! Lisa shared her fascinating (and lengthy!) journey that took Ophelia
from paper to the big screen. It took over a decade for all the pieces
to fall into place, starting with an option/purchase agreement back in
2007. Lisa explained that an option/purchase agreement is no guarantee
that a book will actually be made into a movie. There are a lot of
moving pieces,
including:
-a screenplay
-actors
-location(s)
-set pieces/props
-$$$
-all of the above convening at the same time--and within the budget!
When
these things don't come together, the "option" can be renewed
annually until if/when they do. Fortunately, the stars finally aligned
for Ophelia, and filming began in 2017. The producer invited Lisa
to attend some of the filming in Prague, which she happily did last
summer. Lisa pointed out that all of the movie-making details are
usually out of an author's hands, so she feels very lucky that the
producer kept her updated along the way and included her at all. Production and filming are both finished and now the movie is awaiting
distribution. Hopefully a release date will be announced soon--we're
all eager to see it!
BONUS EVENT
May
also featured a bonus event for members: our first Postcard & Query
Party! Members came together for a casual evening of researching
agents, editors, and art directors, working on query letters, and
addressing illustrator postcards. It was a casual evening where members
could share submission tips, ask questions, and get some work done--all
while snacking and socializing with fellow writers and illustrators. It
was tons of fun and something we hope to do again!
And that sums up the past few months of SCBWI awesomeness! A big thank you to all of these great speakers for sharing their time and wisdom with our chapter!
If you want to learn more
about SCBWI, be sure to visit the website at https://ohiocensouth.scbwi.org
(P.S. Until my schedule lightens a bit,
I'll probably keep to this multi-month format. I'm trying to keep a
better balance between blogging, writing, illustrating, and making sure I
have clean socks to wear. ;))
Tracy Vonder Brink- https://tracyvonderbrink.com/blog/
Aiko Ikegami- http://www.aikoikegami.com/
Debbie Rigaud- http://www.debbierigaud.com/
Lisa Klein- http://www.authorlisaklein.com/index.html
Book cover images in this post are from the authors' websites or Amazon.
