Keeping Up with the Competiton: 5 Ways to Find Out Who's Writing What

     Though it's been said many times before in these very blog pages, 'butt in chair' is the most effective way to get some writing done.  I would have to add, however, that an effective way to find out what all the other butts are doing is to practice 'body in bookstore.' In other words, I like to keep up with the Writing Joneses and see what's out there.  I have found five ways to check out the competition :
1) Peruse the children's shelves in Barnes and Noble, or any other bookseller near you.  Even though we know that publishers pay for prominent shelf space, it still helps to see who is populating those shelves.  Movie-tie-ins? Seasonal stuff? Classics? The latest release in a series? And always look at who is publishing what.
2) SCBWI Newletter...check out the editions that showcase newly published works - they even include the genre so you get a little more information.
3) Publishers Weekly.  Not all bookstores carry this but I have been able to find the spring and fall editions which showcase all the new children's publications.  It's $12 but maybe you can check it out without buying it, or sometimes SCBWI offers a discount on just these two issues.
4) Horn Book.  A delightful publication about books for children and young adults which is also available online and includes other features- sometimes even Newbury/Caldecott acceptance speeches.
5) New York Times Book Review.  Granted, you have to buy the Sunday NY Times and children's books aren't always reviewed, but often they are themed seasonally or topically.

During my most recent review of the competition I was impressed by something I already had heard - everyone is writing about dinosaurs!  Time to get back home and put my butt in a Jurassic chair...

In the Conference Mood

courtesy of: wiki/New_York_City

I know many of you are still recovering from the New York SCBWI conference last weekend. The writers who I’ve talked to that attended said the conference was both informative and inspirational. Publishers Weekly published an interesting article about the current view of the industry with thoughts from four industry professionals: Nancy Paulsen, Jean Feiwel, Barbara Marcus, and Ruben Pfeffer. See the link below: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/50487-four-industry-veterans-lay-out-advice-at

scbwi.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+Children%27s+Bookshelf&utm_campaign=5bb51f7aea-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

In the article written by Diane Roback, panelists were asked to give the audience one piece of advice regarding writing. “Your content should touch the ear, the soul, or the funnybone, however you write it,” Pfeffer said. Marcus advised, “Stick with your network first. Keep getting feedback and keep talking to people. It’s the person that I never expect who gives me the best advice.” Their advice was right on, and I thought worth mentioning in this post.

You can find highlights from the New York SCBWI conference at: http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/.

If you weren’t able to make it to the conference, don’t fret. Registration is now open for the annual New Jersey SCBWI conference. Kitty and I attended it last year, and we were blown away. It was that awesome. Check out our article from last year. http://www.rt19writers.blogspot.com/2011/06/hot-hot-hot.html.

Regional advisors Kathy Temean and Laurie Wallmark work endless hours with their team of volunteers to put together one of the best conferences on the east coast. Early bird registration is through March 1^st. Click here for details: http://www.newjerseyscbwi.com/allevents.shtml. They have 32 editors, agents, and art directors, plus 27 authors doing workshops and critiques. And best of all, our very own Kitty Griffin is on faculty this year. Yipee!

We hope to see you in New Jersey June 8-10^th!