Networking Dinner

Tonight twelve SCBWI members met for dinner with Margery Cuyler – Publisher of Marshall Cavendish, Rachel Orr – Agent at Prospect Agency, Marietta Zacker – Agent at the Nancy Gallt Agency, and Carolyn Yoder – Editor, Calkins Creek Books & Senior Editor, History, HIGHLIGHTS. 

We started at 6:30 pm and I left at 10 pm and I wasn’t the last to leave.  During the three and a half hours, we all got to introduce ourselves and talk about what we were writing and working to acheive.  The conversation continued over a great dinner.  Questions were answered and everyone got to size up who would be a good fit for what they are doing.  We even had the Regional Advisor from Fort Worth Texas drop in for dessert.  I don’t want to give names, but I know for certain doors were opened.

Carolyn Yoder and I discussed doing a special one day Intensive Workshop that would focus on writing historical fiction and Non-fiction, which would include novels, picture books and biographies.  If you are someone who would be interested in this, please drop me a line.  Since this would be a hands-on workshop, we would want to keep it small.  So I think we could manage to fill 12 spaces.  I was thinking sometime end of Feb or beginning of March.  What do you think?

Margery Cuyler talked about how well picture books were doing at Marshall Cavendish, though she sees picture books contracting in general because of the economy.  She said that 2010 may be a tougher market for picture book, but she thought that it would pick up again.  Also, we talked about authors using Skype to do school visits, due to the economy.  Even though authors do not make the money doing a Skype visit that they would if they physically visited a school, authors will end up getting their books and name out to more people by doing these types of visits. 

On March 22, I had information on this blog about a free network for Skype visits.  You might want to check that out and also think about what you are doing to network yourself and your writing/illustrating.  I think everyone would agree that the editors/agents tonight were very generous with their time and interests in talking with everyone.  It was a great evening.

Kathy