Thank Goodness, It was Fabulous!

The SCBWI Florida 2011 Mid-Year Workshop and Intensives were awesome! I'm pumped!

Friday, yesterday, I attended the Picture Book Intensive. It was led by author Lisa Wheeler and Alexandra Penfold, editor with Paula Wiseman Books at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. They gave lots of great tips for stengthening a manuscript, market tips and advice, and general children's publishing industry information. (I may go into greater detail in a future post.) It was fun and informative.

Today, I attended the Poetry Track. It was led by award-winning poet, writer, and editor Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Kristin Daly Rens, Senior Editor at Balzer & Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins. There were less than a dozen attendees, so it was an intimate, informative, very open time to learn, write, and share ideas. We had a "Poetry Idol" contest and I came in tied for second! Woohoo! (I got a free book of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson!) Both Lee and Kristin were great! I'm looking forward to revising some of my poems using insights I gained today.

I also had two manuscripts critiqued today. I had a picture book critiqued by Alison Jackson, whom I had met at this workshop in 2009. I also had nine poems from a book of poems critiqued by Lee Bennett Hopkins (I knew he was coming, so I sent some poetry and was lucky enough to get him as a critiquer!). I received great feedback on both manuscripts. Some things to add, some things to take out...and each critiquer thought my manuscript was marketable! However, they did both warn me that the market is pretty tough right now.

But I think I can do it. :)

So, lots of writing work for me to do to polish some manuscripts and send them out.

Well, keep writing (and reading)!

Thanks for stopping by.

Will

The Guest Interview Forthcoming!

I apologize. This isn't a full post. But I wanted to post about my progress on the interview...

Earlier today I sent off my list of interview questions to the picture book author I keep mentioning. So, in the near future, I hope to have the promised interview up!

I'm hoping it will be next week, but we'll have to see!

Keep writing!

Thanks for stopping by.

Will

Thank Goodness it's Finished!

So, the website is done and up!  Broms To You, Inc. is ready for business at http://www.bromstoyou.com/.

Now, as I wait for my million$ to roll in (I wish), I can get back to writing.  I have two weekends of craft shows at which I will be selling bromeliads, but I'm looking forward to the SCBWI Florida workshop the weekend after that!

I really want to get more writing projects done and sent out.  I submitted two manuscripts for critique at the workshop and am eager to hear/see that feedback.

Again, I want to remind you to check back for my author interview.  I know I keep promising it, but I'll be getting the questions out next week, hopefully, so I think I should have an interview up soon!

Keep writing (and get it finished)!

Thanks for stopping by.

Will