skateboardmom

NEW YORK---God I love New York.

The lights. The sights. The double-espresso energy pulsating through your brain like a bad case of pins and needles. New York is a knock-out. A shock to the synapses. New York is like a pair of frighteningly expensive new shoes.

Don't ask me what I'm talking about because I don't have a clue. I'm a jet-lagged bumblebrain right now thanks to zero sleep, three flight delays, and way too much bad coffee.

I'm on American Airlines Flight XYZ-something-or-other, departing for Chicago some time this century. The captain just said we're 44th in line for takeoff. Forty-fourth. And he sounded so pleased.

Dude, just fly the plane!!!

Now, if you're still with me (and personally, I can't see why you would be) here's the deal:

I'm about to reveal the juicy, little details that made the 2001 New York SCBWI Conference the place to be this past weekend (that's Feb. 17-18 for those of you following along at home). All I ask from you is

Heck. Let's just get to it.

New York Conference Insight #2

Christopher Paul Curtis is worth every cent of his (rumored) $5,000 speaking fee.

The man wrote two books--and won two Newberys. I don't care if he uses the same speech each time he speaks. I don't care if he shows up in his pajamas. Retired NBA coaches get 25 grand for lame pep talks at sales conventions. Curtis is one of our brightest stars, an entertaining speaker, and people grumble about his fee. Oh don't get me started.

New York Conference Insight #3

If there was one thing you shouldn't feel bad about missing--and I'm digging deep to come up with something--it was the UFO (Unidentified Food Offering) intended as a side dish during Saturday's luncheon. Round and green, stringy yet squishy... I'm thinking the chef went a little nuts and brought in a Play-Doh Fun Factory for that one.

What's that? You expected SERIOUS info here? Oh, all right.

The most helpful session, IMHO, was the panel on revision featuring Curtis, Sharon Creech and Karen Cushman and moderated by the impressive Wendy Lamb.

Lamb, recently awarded her own imprint at Random House, said her main objective is to grasp the writer's vision so she can better encourage it, then help to develop language, character and overall voice.

She quoted legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, who said: "Just get it down on paper then we'll decide what to do with it."

The three Cs took over from there. A sampling:

"I'm one of those people who like to revise. Typically my first draft [comes in at] 60 pages long. Then I say, 'Oh my god, what am I going to do to make this into a book?'" (Cushman)

"From teaching, reading and grading student essays every week, I realized I could do that too. I also found out what is boring." (Creech)

"I don't know what's going to happen when I write." (Curtis)

The most useful thing an editor ever told you?

Curtis: "Wendy [Lamb] taught me to learn to listen to my own voice. You have to learn to trust yourself, though it's hard when you're [a rookie]."

Creech: "[When editor Joanna Cotler asked,] 'OK, what is this book about? I was horrified. My stomach just dropped to my feet. Then I realized the question was meant to get ME to articulate it so she could help me fulfill the vision of what it's all about."

Cushman, on why she no longer gets stressed out about getting stressed out: "Dinah [Stevenson, of Clarion] said 'Your process is your process--honor it!'"

How do you know when a book is finished?

Creech: "There comes a point where I'm so sick of it, then I know I have to say to Joanna, 'I think I'm done. What do you think?' hoping to God she'll say yes."

Cushman: "I'm never finished. I hate to do readings at bookstores because I'll edit as I go."

Advice on revision in general?

Curtis: "Be patient with yourself. Don't think you have to make the changes. Keep your options open."

Creech: "It never hurts to try [to act on revision suggestions] especially in this computer age where you can [make changes so easily]."

Cushman: "I think it's important to stop thinking that you're doing it for your editor. It's your book and you're doing it for yourself."

Asked if they were in a critique group, all three Cs said no.

Curtis gets most of his input from his son. He said he was in a couple groups, but he didn't feel it helped much. "Too many axes to grind."

Creech asks for input from her grown daughter. And Cushman?

"I've never taken a class; I've never been in a critique group," Cushman said, adding with a laugh: "I didn't want to because I only wanted to talk about MY stuff."

Cushman then added what was perhaps the most heart-warming comment of the weekend:

"My husband's my first reader because he wants so badly to be."

I don't know about the rest of the audience, but that quote made me want to run home and hug my husband. Then I remembered my husband secretly wishes I'd go back to journalism so I could make money instead of spending it on writers' conferences.

But I digress.

The rest of the conference rolled along smoothly, aside from some slide projector problems suffered by the fun-loving Simon & Schuster team who came to act out a mock sales and marketing meeting.

I bring this up because without that 15-minute long glitch, we never would have had an impromptu Q&A session, meaning we never would have heard S&S chief Brenda Bowen utter one of the most fabulous, life-changing pieces of advice spoken at any conference, past, present or future. Bowen said that the real secret to getting published is

Oops! The flight attendent just told me to put my tray table up, so I gotta shut down the laptop here. Ciao!