So I was faculty at the WIFYR (Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers) conference outside Salt Lake City this month, and yes, it’s exactly the kind of experience OPB readers are likely to appreciate.
When I’m teaching at an event, I never get as many photos as I want or attend as many sessions as I’d like, but I still came home with a few things worth sharing along with some fair-to-middling photos to prove I was there.
My 4th floor hotel room had a nice view of mountains.
Spoiler: there are mountains all around SLC! Who knew?
I’m not a breakfast person. At all. But when I travel for work, I generally partake of the free breakfasts when they’re available.
Speaking of food, I ate at VIA313 Pizzeria twice because it was super convenient to where my hotel was, and Detroit-style pizza is pretty darn good (it’s an understudy to Chicago pizza, though).
I also ate at Legends, which had local root beer on tap. The server told me it was Beehive, but later confirmed that it was from Moab Brewery. Either way, it was a solid 7.25 out of 10. Just enough bite and a good foamy mouthfeel.
For those of you who run your own writing workshops/events, don’t forget Sharpies to sign your books, batteries to power your PowerPoint clicker, and snackies for the attendees. Otherwise, you’ll have to walk all the way to the local Target to fix that issue, like I did.
During one of her talks to the group, literary agent Heidi Gordon explained the importance of knowing the market in which you aspire to publish, and how social media is one way to do that. A woman in the audience asked, “But what if I’m not on social media at all?” Heidi replied: “Get on there, sister!”
This is Smiling Ryan. Why am I smiling? Because in my plenary talk, I’m praising Capstone Press and one of my favorite editors–Christianne Jones. Publishing just works better when you’re partnering with terrific people.
This is my new friend, Janet! She gave a great talk on how to create effective settings and she demystified the editorial process by sharing the step-by-step approach to finishing her Help Wanted: Must Love Books picture book (coincidentally edited by Christianne Jones–the publishing world is a very small world, indeed).
This is the big room where all the full-group talks were held. That’s Scott Rhoades at the front, getting the tech together. Heidi Gordon offered him representation, so he’s now got an agent. Good things happen to good people who stick with it, folks.
The large multipurpose room at the American Preparatory Academy had musical instruments and stands tucked in all the corners. Seeing those always makes me feel at home.
That’s me taking a photo of myself in the mirror of one of the odd bathrooms throughout the building. You can use the toilets in the back with privacy, but the handwashing and mirror-checking? Totally open to the world.
This is the group that took my weeklong morning session about writing kidlit nonfiction. What a great bunch of writers.
Here’s one of the key concepts I shared with the group about information layering. Does the info belong NOW (in the main text), LATER (in sidebars, footnotes, annotations, or back matter), or NEVER (as in “not in this book”)?
And yes, they soon realized the way to my heart–and stomach–was bringing me root beer. Did anyone else know that SLC has The Root Beer Store?
And…more root beer!
One of the best things about doing live events is that I get to spend so much time with the other faculty, like (bottom to top) Jennifer Adams, Erin Stewart, Celesta Rimington, and Janet Sumner Johnson. So lovely to meet them all f2f!
What writing conference is complete without air guitar and dancing to 1980s-era Van Halen, right? Ernest and Scott nailed it here.
The SLC airport has cup holders. And the seats aren’t all messed up. Love it.
Spoiler: Yes, that’s a razzmatazz Jamba Juice. It’s a beverage I only drink when traveling for work.
Thanks to Carol Williams and the entire team for bringing me to WIFYR this year. I’m grateful for the chance to share a few of my strategies, secrets, and hard-earned lessons with writers who are serious about getting better.
Were you at WIFYR this year? If so, drop a favorite moment in the comments. And if you’ve been to a writing conference lately, I’d love to hear what made it useful, memorable, or wonderfully weird.
Robin and the Stick
