In less than twenty-four hours I will kiss the hubs and children goodbye and head off to Los Angeles to attend one of my favorite writing events of the year, The Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators Summer conference. I’m so excited that I can hardly think straight! ACK! It’s been four long years since I last attended this mega event. So many events and fabulous speakers – I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to be in two , sometimes three places at once during some of the break out sessions, even with the handy dandy conference phone app they’ve given us this year.(How cool is that, folks? I’ve been uber geeking out for weeks!) With keynotes from Arthur Levine, Tony DiTerlizzi, Ruta Sepetys, Dan Gutman, Clare Vanderpool, and Gary Schmidt, not to mention all the other fabulous editors and agents and authors on the faculty.
I’ve done a lot of pre-reading for the conference and have some more for the plane ride. I have my business cards ready to exchange this time. 
Pencils sharpened, notebooks ready. I signed up for a one-on-one critique, which is always nerve-wracking and yet very helpful. I have some prepared questions for my interviewer in case we have some extra time after the critique. I’ve gone over all the conference dos and don’ts in my mind a thousand times.
(DO talk with authors when you bump into them in the elevator or in the Starbucks line and mention how much you enjoyed their presentation, book, etc. DON’T follow Jay Asher up to his room, telling him what a big fan you are. He WILL think that’s creepy.)
Gah! So excited! Did I mention that? I’ve even got my wardrobe planned out for the Hippie Hop Dance and I’ve been practicing my moves for the, oh! shh!…almost gave away the surprise. Yes, I have been unbearable to live with for a few days, now.
What do you do to get ready for a big conference? Are you going to any big writing events this summer?
Don’t despair if you are watching your budget this year or your schedule just won’t allow for a cross-country trips to attend any of the distance conferences. There is another fabulous conference coming up that everyone can attend in their PJ’s and it is absolutely free! Yes, FREE!
WriteOn Con is two day online conference event that starts August 14th. To sign up for the conference or to learn more about the scheduled events, check out the website here. They have a faculty of 56 industry professionals participating, including many editors and agents! They even have a convenient Twitter list of the entire faculty that you can subscribe to. The best thing about it is that most of the content stays posted after the scheduled event times, so if you can’t make it to one of the live chats, you can still view the information at your own convenience – wearing whatever you want. Not a bad perk!
Some of the fantastic events they have planned include blog posts, vlogs, live web chats, live forum events with opportunities to show off your queries, pitches, and first pages and even have them reviewed. Also, be on the look out for ninja agents! There’s also a writing contest with a $1000 prize! See details for the contest here.
I will be soaking up the California rays and the invaluable knowledge of the book sages for the next week. See you all back here then!
valerie r lawson 
The conference sounds amazing! Have a great time!
i …shall…try. 😀
Oh, wow – I’m so, so jealous that you got to go. I hope it was a blast. Every year I contemplate going, but it’s just so expensive. One of these days…..
And I do love writeoncon – I’ve learned so much the last two years that I can’t wait for this one!
i did indeed have a blast. and i know it is quite the monetary investment. i don’t get to go every year. looking forward to the more pocketbook accommodating writeon con coming up. which should give me just enough time to recuperate from the last one!