Hi Spinning Golders,
This week the topic is ‘getting the most out of your conference.’
One of the most important activities you will be doing at the conference will be Talking!
Talking to your peers, editors, publishers, bookshop owners, librarians, agents, students etc
So what to bring to support this activity besides lozenges....business cards...copies of your work if published...(Illustrators check out your page for items of interest to you.)
If you are on the way to being published you can still bring a business card...It is a quick way to exchange contact information...also it’s a useful ticket for raffles and door prizes and displays and....Spinning Gold Convenor Maureen Crisp has a blog post on business cards that might be of interest.
The other activity that is important is to Get Involved....
Two weeks ago we posted a request from Maria Gill (scroll down to read it or click on the highlighted words.) Maria is an enthusiastic promoter of Kiwiwrite4kids. She is organising an event in Wellington the night before...which is all about promotion of your work.
Author promotion is a hot topic in the children’s lit world as authors and illustrators wrestle with learning how to promote their work themselves.
If you will be in Wellington the night before, get involved. If you know someone who would benefit from this event, tell them!
We are hoping that all the people coming to Spinning Gold will take advantage of this website to keep updated and to interact with others. It is not hard. Just click on the comments line at the bottom of the post...follow the instructions and join in the conversation.
Spinning Gold Team
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Conference networking...
Hi Spinning Golders...
We are moving into countdown mode to the Conference weekend and the team is busy with lots of little details to make the conference a great experience for you.
The conference blog will be updated at least once a week so make sure you check in regularly.
Don’t forget to check in on your specific pages in the sidebar. Specific Information and intensive group news will be posted there as well.
The following blog post was posted last week on Anna DeStefanos blog about attending conferences. It is well worth a read and a think about...
Below is a snippet from the post but you can go here to read the whole post.
Anna lists some great tips and ideas for writers and illustrators attending conferences.
Kind Regards
Spinning Gold Team
Conference/Networking In A Bottle…
Preparing for big events involves several rituals I’ve come to take for granted.I speak at events so frequently as a fiction author, and before that travelled at one time something like 90% of the year as an IT project manager and consultant. The whole “organize my life, pack it up, schedule the event, hop on a plane or drive, 1-2-3 immerse myself into a temporary other world” thing has honestly become something I can do in my sleep.
Except…It’s actually a lengthy, detailed process to pack up my tent and move my often introverted “business” onto a public stage for a week. I’m more efficient at it these days, have gotten better at getting the most out of each event, and rarely forget anything important now. But looking back over the last few days (weeks, actually) of prep for RWA’s National Convention in DC, the items I’ve mentally checked off my “fleeing my life” list can seem sizable (and exhausting) when viewed all together.
Wouldn’t it be nice to bottle all that work/energy? So next time I can just shake, uncork, pour, sit back and watch as the prep work takes care of itself since I do basically the same things for each event… Except each event, just like each day of my publishing life, is different even while it’s the same, so each new conference and day requires its own special attention and planning time.
Still, I’m endeavoring to make a list of the prep work to share (and to save for myself to help in the future). And also, while I’m thinking about it, to inspire those not venturing into another world this week to claim some of the same benefits by reaching out and doing a little conference/networking “work” in their stay-at-home lives. So, here’s to planning to get the most out of attending a writing conference AND the most out of staying home…
1) It’s all about networking–whether you go or you stay home. Some of the best things I’ve brought home from any event happened in the lobby of the event hotel. I hook up with peers and friends I only get to see once or twice a year. I stumble across new friendships and relationships I’ll nurture for the rest of my life. I hear about events I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t put on my “I don’t write alone in my office for days/weeks/months at a time, I am an extrovert when I choose to be” hat and mingled into the masses. Literally–masses of people. It pays to smile and be friendly, and when you see someone you think you know reach out your hand to shake and introduce yourself again–even if it’s someone you WORSHIP.
We are moving into countdown mode to the Conference weekend and the team is busy with lots of little details to make the conference a great experience for you.
The conference blog will be updated at least once a week so make sure you check in regularly.
Don’t forget to check in on your specific pages in the sidebar. Specific Information and intensive group news will be posted there as well.
The following blog post was posted last week on Anna DeStefanos blog about attending conferences. It is well worth a read and a think about...
Below is a snippet from the post but you can go here to read the whole post.
Anna lists some great tips and ideas for writers and illustrators attending conferences.
Kind Regards
Spinning Gold Team
Conference/Networking In A Bottle…
Preparing for big events involves several rituals I’ve come to take for granted.I speak at events so frequently as a fiction author, and before that travelled at one time something like 90% of the year as an IT project manager and consultant. The whole “organize my life, pack it up, schedule the event, hop on a plane or drive, 1-2-3 immerse myself into a temporary other world” thing has honestly become something I can do in my sleep.
Except…It’s actually a lengthy, detailed process to pack up my tent and move my often introverted “business” onto a public stage for a week. I’m more efficient at it these days, have gotten better at getting the most out of each event, and rarely forget anything important now. But looking back over the last few days (weeks, actually) of prep for RWA’s National Convention in DC, the items I’ve mentally checked off my “fleeing my life” list can seem sizable (and exhausting) when viewed all together.
Wouldn’t it be nice to bottle all that work/energy? So next time I can just shake, uncork, pour, sit back and watch as the prep work takes care of itself since I do basically the same things for each event… Except each event, just like each day of my publishing life, is different even while it’s the same, so each new conference and day requires its own special attention and planning time.
Still, I’m endeavoring to make a list of the prep work to share (and to save for myself to help in the future). And also, while I’m thinking about it, to inspire those not venturing into another world this week to claim some of the same benefits by reaching out and doing a little conference/networking “work” in their stay-at-home lives. So, here’s to planning to get the most out of attending a writing conference AND the most out of staying home…
1) It’s all about networking–whether you go or you stay home. Some of the best things I’ve brought home from any event happened in the lobby of the event hotel. I hook up with peers and friends I only get to see once or twice a year. I stumble across new friendships and relationships I’ll nurture for the rest of my life. I hear about events I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t put on my “I don’t write alone in my office for days/weeks/months at a time, I am an extrovert when I choose to be” hat and mingled into the masses. Literally–masses of people. It pays to smile and be friendly, and when you see someone you think you know reach out your hand to shake and introduce yourself again–even if it’s someone you WORSHIP.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
78 Days to Go...
And plans are afoot to capitalise on this gathering of the Children's Book Community.
Maria Gill of Kiwiwrite4kids has asked us to put the word out to all the conference attendees about an event being organised on the Thursday night before conference starts. (17th September)
Authors and Illustrators attending the conference and arriving a day early – how would you like the opportunity to speak for 5-10 minutes about your books to a captive audience of teachers and librarians? Time and venue to be confirmed but most likely early evening. It would be a golden opportunity to market your book to a target audience! If available, please contact: mariagill@ihug.co.nz In association with The Children’s Bookshop Wellington and New Zealand Book Council.
Spinning Gold Team
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