Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Conference Re-Cap - Part 1: Funding the Passion Takes Work

I survived my first national writing conference! I know that sounds dramatic but it was a big deal to be among so many like-minded, passionate illustrators and writers of children's literature. I don't often get to spend time with people who navigate this world on a regular basis. One of the things I found most fascinating (and daunting) is how hard these writers work. 

Being a writer for children's books is often glamorized with images of a writer smiling at a computer, creativity spewing out her fingertips from Once upon a time to happily ever after. That is very far from the reality of the writers I know. I've posted about how writing itself is hard work, but when you're trying to make a name for yourself as an author, it's a lot more than getting words on the page.

Many published writers spend hours and money promoting themselves and their books. From creating interactive websites that can cost thousands, to buying swag to create buzz around their new book, to spending hours corresponding with readers via social media. Many do school visits - some paid, most unpaid, to talk about their books and experience as a writer. They sometimes have to travel to these schools and in some cases, many purchase copies of their books to give to students because the quantities needed at a school visit goes above and beyond the copies allocated to them by their publishers (Note: Authors do not get unlimited quantities of their published books. They get a few and must purchase the rest. Keep this in mind the next time you contact an author and request a free copy of their book - that's what libraries are for). They attend and present at conferences across the globe, and apply for writing sabbaticals to hone their craft.

When authors aren't self-promoting, they are meeting with their editors and revising manuscripts, or pitching new ideas to their agents. Those who have multiple books coming out must juggle the promotion of each book, which can be with different editors and publishing houses, each of whom have their own expectations of how the author should be spending her time on the specific book they are working on. Some of the debut authors I talked to said they write articles for various publications and websites, and are guest bloggers or do blog tours. Established authors write reviews of other writer's work, provide blurbs for other authors, and participate in video interviews and podcasts. It's an exhausting line of work. At the end of the day, even writers who do not have full time jobs (most do), don't spend the majority of their day writing.

But not a single author I spoke to could imagine their life without writing. It's something of a calling, a special kind of blood that forces you to seep words onto a page and create worlds different from your own. With this desire comes the ability to deal with rejection. That's the side of the business everyone tries to gloss over, but it is also the part that sometimes sparks a fire in those writers who know that some kid out there needs their book.
Kwame Alexander delivers a keynote
at the 2015 SCBWI conference, NYC
One such example is Kwame Alexander. In January his book, The Crossover won the John Newbery Medal, an award that is given annually for: the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children (This goes beyond ROCK STAR status in my book, but that's just me). When he was writing love poems, he took a job in an inner city school that would allow him to teach poetry because he was a poet. He had studied under the amazing Nikki Giovanni for three years and wanted to devote his life to his learning. What he found wasn't surprising: There wasn't much out there that allowed poets to make a living. In order to fund his passion he worked whatever jobs came his way while he not only wrote and taught, but he self-published, took himself on a nationwide tour to sell his books of poetry, and he started several writing initiatives that he felt were lacking. He didn't let closed doors stop him. When he wasn't selected for an international writing retreat, he created one himself. When he was asked if he'd write poetry for children, he learned all he could about what was available, and what was lacking and wrote his first rhyming picture book. He is a testament to working hard and saying yes when unexpected doors open - even when those doors mean more work.

James Dashner and his plethora of books
James Dashner, author of many books, including The Maze Runner series (also a major motion picture) spent eight years working on that manuscript. He had many books before that series that had low print runs, and horrendous covers that led them to go out of print almost immediately upon publication. He went through several agents and heard so many rejections for The Maze Runner that he put it away for more than a year, thinking that it would never see the light of day. But it wore on him. It was a story that wouldn't leave him. He couldn't let it go and I'm sure his fans are grateful that he kept at it, working, writing, revising and submitting that story until it found a home.

The moral of this blog is that no matter what your passion is, whether it's arts-related or not, it will not come to you. You will have to work for it. There will be snags along the way. You will face rejection. Don't let it define you. When you feel like you're getting nowhere, work harder, find new ways of linking your passion to your life. Remember that your passion isn't something that can be easily kept at bay, so don't allow it to fester there. It deserves your time and sacrifice. You deserve to see your passion lead you where it may. Take it from these great writers and get to work. Dreams don't fulfill themselves.

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