Three Things I Learned in Wimberley, TX

This past month I packed up my little bag, tucked my insecurity into the glove box and drove south to Wimberley, TX to participate in the Serious Writer Tour conference.

The sun shone, the chickens clucked and y’all, I’m here to tell you, it was a great day.

Carpets of Texas bluebells added beauty to my journey.

Here’s some of the conference highlights:

1. Children’s writers are eight times more likely to be published in nonfiction. Wendy Lanier shared this fantastic statistic, plus a slew of information on the various types of nonfiction that are published (hint: it ain’t just biographies).

From trade to literary, commercial to persuasive, there’s plenty of flavors within the nonfiction realm to explore. Until this point, I hadn’t considered writing nonfiction. I think I (incorrectly) imagined the process being very similar to writing an encyclopedia. But I like researching. And in the middle grade arena, tapping this market first could help build your credibility.

2. Contests. One of the many info nuggets dispensed by Michelle Medlock Adams was that contests matter. Why? Because agents and editors who are on the hunt often look specifically at – you guessed it – contest winners. And you can’t win if you don’t enter.

3. Always be ready to pitch. I wasn’t expecting to have one-on-one time with acquisitions editor Rachel Lamonica Pellegrino from Little Lamb Books. But guess what? I got it. And when she asked what I was working on, friends, it wasn’t pretty. I messed up in every possible way.

After I stopped chewing on my feet, Ms. Pellegrino gracefully gave me constructive, actionable feedback. Even though it was ultimately a positive experience, I fumbled into an important life lesson. So let me serve as a cautionary tale: Do your prep work. Create a concise, thoughtful pitch. Rehearse it. Because you never know what kind of opportunities you’ll have. You want to put your best foot forward instead of shoving it firmly into your mouth.

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4. Get out of your comfort zone. If you’ve read along and thought “This is all well and good, but I could never go to anything like this. I’m ______,” allow me to gently and kindly take you by the shoulder and say “Yes you can.”  Not only can you, if you’re serious about writing, you should invest time and energy in learning new things about your craft.

At a writing workshop or conference, you’ll meet other writers. Confession: this intimidates me sometimes. But I remind myself that writers are my people. For every writer in the room, there’s a unique path that led them there. I don’t have to worry whether or not my path is like theirs. There’s room at the table for all of us.

What do you think? Are you planning to attend any conferences or workshops this year? Which ones?

Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.