Over the past few years the number of online writing conferences, classes and pitch opportunities for writers have exploded. From Twitter pitch contests to complete writing courses there is almost any kind of online activity to help you grow your writing career. Some though, are better than others and today I want to talk about a few of my favorites that are targeted specifically to picture book through to New Adult writers.
First up is one that begins this week. Write On Con is one of my absolute favorite online writing conferences. They offer blog posts, forums, contests, vlogs, Google Hangouts and more to help writers of PB through NA hone their craft. One great opportunity WriteOnCon offers participants is a chance to interact directly with agents and editors who might be interested in working with them at some point. This year I’m participating in one of these events by being a part of one of the Google Hangouts where writers will be able to Twitter pitch their books using the hashtag #WriteOnCon and get feedback directly from me via webcam.
Another fantastic event is Pitch Madness. This event is geared specifically toward those ready to pitch their completed novels and books. It features a variety of genres and age ranges as well as a number of skilled editors and agents. In addition to being able to submit your pitch to be featured on the blog, writers also have the opportunity to try their hand at Twitter pitches. The submission window for Pitch Madness is coming up quickly, August 24th to be exact, so get those pitches and manuscripts ready!
Side note, I signed my client Jason A. Rust through a Pitch Madness Twitter pitch he sent out during the event! It can be done, you can definitely find an agent through these excellent opportunities!
In terms of writing classes and focused craft building organizations, there are dozens, but one of my favorite is the 12 x 12 program run by Julie Hedlund. A number of my clients have participated in this program and can’t recommend it more highly. Aimed specifically at picture book writers, this program provides feedback from other writers and authors as well as from agents that are featured on a monthly basis. The primary goals is to produce one complete draft of a picture book each month for twelve months with guidance and forums to help writers along their way. There’s so much more to this program, but having met Julie at the recent SCBWI Annual conference I have absolutely no reservations about recommending this fantastic program.
Along those same lines is the challenge that inspired the creation of Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 program, PiBoIdMo. Run by the fabulous author, Tara Lazar, this challenge began some time ago and has blossomed into a huge success. For a full month participants are challenged to write a new picture book idea each day and are greeted with fantastic blog posts from authors and editors offering advice and encouragement. This is definitely one of those challenges picture book writers can’t afford to skip out on.
One last great site I’ll mention is Writer’s Digest. This outstanding resource provides courses, webinars, books and more to help writers become great writers. Recently we taught a fantastic webinar that provided critiques as part of the course. Next week I’ll be teaching a webinar called “Making Your Children’s Book Shine and Standout Above the Rest” and also providing a 750 word critique per registration. This should be a fun opportunity to learn a bit more about putting the finishing touches on your manuscript while also providing some feedback. I hope to see everyone there!
As I stated at the beginning of this post, there are a number of great online conferences and pitch opportunities out there. I’m certain I’ve left quite a few out of the mix and so I’d love to know if you have a favorite you’ve participated in or one you’re looking forward to?
