SCBWI Conference-A Time to Connect

I'm finally getting around to posting about the SCBWI Carolinas conference I attended in September. Now, obviously, I can't give you details about what I learned in the classes offered because we've been asked not to do that, but I can tell you that I came away invigorated. Renewed. And ready to write.

The best thing about the conference was having a break from my kids meeting other people who are as obsessed with writing as I am. It is always amazing when you immediately connect with another person. I enjoyed meeting other writer moms who are trying to balance writing and mothering. We could definitely relate to each other!

Here I am pictured with some of the amazing women I met:

So fun!!

We had three agents and several editors attend this years conference. Unfortunately, I didn't sign up for a critique session, which I have now learned is a MUST! But I did take the opportunity to introduce myself to one of the agents. I was so scared. So nervous. I had to talk myself into it, but I'm so glad I swallowed my fear and just DID IT! I don't know how many of you know the lovely Christa Heschke, but she is truly the nicest person and so easy to talk to. I knew I wanted to meet her because of a blog post she wrote only days before the conference. Her words helped ease my anxiety of approaching a real, live agent. If you're nervous about talking to an agent at a conference, then you MUST read this post.

I also had the opportunity to meet authors in the Charlotte area. And I got to chat with the amazingly talented Carrie Ryan (NYT Bestselling author of the YA novel, Forest of Hands and Teeth, who I hope to interview in the coming months. *keeping fingers crossed*)

When I got home from the conference, my house was still intact, and my children had been fed and cared for (pretty much). Just kidding. My husband did a wonderful job taking care of the kids while I was gone. But they sure did give me BIG hugs when I got home. I think they might have missed me (just a little).

Oh, and this is my week on Unicorn Bell, so please stop by and say 'hi.' If you are in the process of querying right now, you may benefit from the info. Thanks!

How about you? Been to any writing conferences lately?

Elevator Pitch & Teaser Interview with Elizabeth Briggs

So, I'm headed to the SCBWI Carolinas Conference in TWO days!! Very excited and feeling a little nervous. 

Why nervous, you ask? 

Because of this darn elevator pitch that I need to have ready in case someone asks me what I'm working on. Thankfully, I have the BEST critique partner in the WORLD, and she helped me iron out the wrinkles, but I wanted to test it out on you guys. If it makes you want to read the book, then my work here is done. If it doesn't, then I guess it's back to the drawing board!

Here's what we came up with: (BTW, this is a Young Adult dystopian with romantic elements)

Long Pitch:

Eighteen-year-old Sienna Preston becomes involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse when her most recent liar-for-hire assignment—to steal an important computer chip from a genetic matchmaking facility—goes awry. Forced to flee her life as a Drifter she seeks protection from the young leader of the infamous terrorist organization, the Radicals.

Short pitch:

When an assignment to steal an important computer chip from the genetic matchmaking and modification facility goes awry, eighteen-year-old liar-for-hire Sienna Preston is forced to flee her life as a Drifter and seek protection from the young leader of the terrorist organization, the Radicals.

What do you think? Any suggestions?

**Updated Pitch: (Decided to change it a bit...what do you think? Better? Worse? Too long?)

In a society where the Government tries to force people to Conform, eighteen-year-old Sienna Preston clings to the one thing she knows she's good at—the art of lying. But when her liar-for-hire assignment to steal an important computer chip from the genetic matchmaking and modification facility goes awry, she's forced to abandon her free-spirit lifestyle and seek refuge in the underground Radical Compound.

**Most Recent Updated Pitch:

Eighteen-year-old Sienna Preston is a liar for hire.

But when her covert exchange is intercepted, she becomes entangled with a Government official hell-bent on taking her down. She now has two choices—kill the father of the genetically modified boy she’s falling for, or be sent to Solitary Seclusion for the rest of her life.

**********

Also, this is my week to host on Unicorn Bell, the writing and critique blog I'm honored to co-host with several other AMAZING writers and authors. I interviewed several authors this week and I've decided to give you a teaser interview to entice you to want to head over to UB to check out the full. Hope you stop by! 

And now, here's a teaser interview with New Adult author Elizabeth Briggs.

MORE THAN MUSIC blurb

Music major Maddie Taylor just finished her junior year of college and has a summer internship lined up with the LA Philharmonic, yet every night she practices guitar and secretly dreams of a louder life. But geeky girls like her don't get to be rock stars. That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition.

Once on the show, Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation – and that he’s just as big a geek as she is. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single they’re forced to keep their relationship secret.

As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Book Depository

Author bio:

Elizabeth Briggs is a full-time geek who writes books for teens and adults. She plays the guitar, mentors at-risk teens, and volunteers with a dog rescue group. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a pack of small, fluffy dogs.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter 

Even though you have an agent, you decided to self-publish MORE THAN MUSIC. What influenced that decision?

When I wrote MORE THAN MUSIC I’d already been on submission for years with my YA books and was pretty burnt out by it all. I decided MORE THAN MUSIC would be a perfect book to self-publish since New Adult generally does better in ebooks than print anyway. Also, the book has a lot of pop culture references in it and I wanted it to come out now instead of two years from now or more. I knew that by self-publishing I would have control over the content, the release date, the price, the cover, the interior format, and so forth – and I’d keep all the rights and the profits, too! Giving up all of that for a traditional deal didn’t seem worth it for this particular book.

*Sounds like a smart decision, especially considering the circumstances. -K.S.

What inspired you to write MORE THAN MUSIC?

I went to high school for a short time with Adam Levine and the other guys in Maroon 5, back when they were called Kara’s Flowers. They played at our school dances and I sat behind them in class and was completely in love with them. Of course, they had no idea I existed! Many years later I saw Adam Levine on The Voice, and had the idea of a geeky girl joining an up-and-coming rock band at her school and going on a show like The Voice, and MORE THAN MUSIC grew from that.

*Wow, such a cool inspiration and fun story! I wish I knew Adam Levine in high school... -K.S.

If you had to wear a T-shirt with one word on it for the rest of your life, which word would you choose? Why?

“Rawr!” This word just works for so many different situations.

*Lol. Great word! :) -K.S.

To read the rest of Elizabeth's interview, please head on over to Unicorn Bell. Thanks!

IWSG September—SCBWI Awesomeness

The first Wednesday of every month is reserved for the Insecure Writers Support Group (also known as the IWSG). If you are interested in joining this awesome group where we post our insecurities, triumphs, fears, and failures, as well as offer encouragement to fellow writers, you can sign up HERE. Created by the amazing Alex Cavanaugh, the IWSG is a wonderful group to be a part of.

I recently signed up for the SCBWI Carolinas Conference: To Tell a Tale which will be held in Charlotte in a couple weeks. And I'm so excited! Ever since I decided to switch genres and tackle Young Adult, I've been looking for the right conference for me. And wouldn't you know it...there's one close to home!

Since I registered, I've had tons of thoughts going through my head as well as a running list of things I need to do to get ready for the conference. Here's what I think I need to do before the conference... (All of you conference experts out there, let me know if I'm on the right track!)

• Make business cards with contact info to hand out to other writers at the conference.
• Have my elevator pitch ready in case someone asks me what I'm working on.
• Work on my query so when the conference is over, I can submit to the agents who attend. 
• Make sure I have appropriate business casual clothes to wear (hmm, I might need to go shopping for this one...)
• Have my first page polished and in appropriate format for the First Pages/First Impressions submission.
• Be ready to learn, immerse myself in writing, and meet other writers. (Sounds fun, right?!)

Can you think of anything else?