Writing conferences…an energy rush from new ideas, the opportunity to connect with industry professionals, the chance to workshop and get feedback…they’re wonderful, right? But it can be challenging to get away, and they’re often rather hard on the bank account, too!

A few years ago I discovered WriteOnCon–

–and have found it to be a great compromise! A way to get many of the conference benefits, without the disruption and expense. True, you don’t get the deeper face-to-face time with peers, but it doesn’t have to replace in person conferences–it can be an excellent addition. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a kidlit focused online conference that is super cheap, and runs for several days. They just recently wrapped up for this year, but you can follow this link to learn more–and don’t worry, I’m not affiliated with them! However, I am scheming to be a panelist one day soon, so there is that. 😉

As a kidlit-focused conference for writers, they have quite a few kidlit-interested agents in attendance who give feedback on pitches and discuss queries, as well as chatting in other panels and live sessions. Additionally, there are craft focused blog posts, live sessions and live workshops with editors and authors, as well as info sessions focused on writing life.

I mostly focused on the later, since I felt I could use some tips on how to juggle two careers, what the best approach to branding is, and how to take care of myself as I push forward on my writing goals. I was blown away by how helpful the sessions were! Here are a few of the take away points–but remember, when I say a few I mean it! These are just the highlights I couldn’t bear not to share. I’m barely scratching the surface here!

Okay, so first from the highly squee-worthy live session with Ella Enchanted author Gail Carson Levine:

• She doesn’t write every day, and doesn’t even set strict word count goals. Instead, she works on writing (researching, getting new words on paper, revising, etc.) for 2-3 hours every single day. If she messes up and doesn’t make it one day, she forgives herself and tries again the next.
• She is a big believer in revising, and has rewritten a book so many times most writers would have thrown in the towel less than halfway there.
• She also loves lists. Lists to deepen world building, lists to find your character’s best motivation, lists to help you create twists in your story, and so on.
• She is super delightful as a human being, and was lovely to listen to!

What was just as welcome was to learn that Gail has a really useful blog, here, chock full of writing advice. I’ve read and reread her books for years and adored her writing, but never knew! Now I’m catching up on lost time.

Another highlight was the discussion of branding, in author Jess Keating’s live session:

• In discussing how to find your people on social media, she used the analogy of fireflies who signal potential mates with their light pattern. We’re not looking for mates, but we can find like-minded people if we set aside concerns about what everyone else is doing, and focus on our message and what we have to share–our light pattern.
• In discussing branding as a part of our platform, she points out that anyone who is online in any way already has a platform–because who you are online is your platform. People are already interacting with ‘you’ when you’re not there, and getting that first crucial impression of you. So she recommends being authentic and you, but being deliberate in choosing what impression you’re leaving.
• She talked about timing, and what to have ready as you countdown to a release, and talked about ways to ramp up social media before a book comes out without spamming people to buy your book. For example, in the month prior to her release of Shark Lady, she did a roundup of all the cool sharks around the world. Not spammy, but still connected, and kept her and sharks at the front of people’s minds.
• She talked about how challenging it can be to come up with fabulous content, and says ‘if you can’t be interesting, be interested,’ which I loved! This means during lull times or tired times when it’s hard to come up with fresh content, share cool stuff which you can show genuine enthusiasm for.

Honestly though, one of the best things about Jess’s session was how relaxed she was about branding, and how she made it seem accessible and possible! Her focus was on sharing the best of you…deliberately. I love that! I was also thrilled to learn that she has a super useful website, here.

Finally, I hope I won’t be overloading you if I share just a couple tips from Kendra Levin’s live session. She’s an editor at Viking Childen’s Books, and also a life coach.

• Four things people who achieved their goals had in common (from a cool study she referenced):
  • set manageable daily or smaller goals, in which the big dream goal is broken down
  • reward yourself reaching these small goals–don’t hold out for the big one
  • focus on the positive outcome that is hoped for, rather than fears if your goal isn’t reached
  • share your goals with someone who can act as a cheerleader, and provide accountability
• She recommended picking one social media outlet that you love and can do well, rather than trying to do them all and spreading yourself too thin.
• Finally, she provided lovely advice on writing during difficult times, when emotional burdens and outside noise (like politics) threaten to steal our creativity. She suggested possibly reserving social media and news until after writing time, or in some other way protecting that creative time and head space from immediate influx of negativity. She also talked about how we’re not alone in this–many of the great writers we honor now wrote during extremely difficult times. They pushed through, and we can too. Finally, I loved the way she encouraged us to pull back and find what meaningful thing we had to say, something that would matter deeply to our ideal reader even when the world at large is in turmoil.

And, perhaps not surprisingly, Ms. Levin also has a website with excellent writer resources! You can find that here.

I feel like I’m risking this post being too long, so I’ll wrap this up. But first, an obligatory cat picture.

She’s not impressed with all the time I’m spending on my computer of late, and believes she is owed a new fluffy chair by way of compensation. This one is getting small. I believe I’ll refrain from asking her why exactly the chair is shrinking, and also refrain from checking the dog’s dish to see how much of his food she’s stolen.

Much love to you all, in your writing endeavors and life goals! I’m looking forward to hopping around, and seeing what books you’ve been reading. Starting with the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday round up on Greg’s blog, of course!

Happy writing, and happy reading. 😀

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