I recently had the opportunity to attend the American Library Association’s midwinter meeting held in Seattle, Washington. I had a great time and
learned so much. Here is a summary of my take-away’s from the experience.
Hopefully this will encourage others to attend in the future, and allow you to
participate with a little more experience under your belt than I had going into
it!
*The ALA has two major gatherings each year: The Midwinter
Meeting, and the Annual Conference, (which is held in the summer). Midwinter attracts fewer vendors and
participants than the conference (but it’s still HUGE). I was told over and
over again that midwinter is a less overwhelming introduction to ALA than the
conference. Midwinter is stocked full of committee meetings (i.e. this is where
esteemed librarians meet in closed-door meetings to hash out decisions re: the
Newbery, Caldecott, and other prestigious youth media awards), but there are
MANY other meetings (typically called “round tables”), about a myriad of
library-related topics (many of which are also relevant to those of us in the
kid lit community). Most of these round tables are “open meetings” that you can
sit in on. There are also “Book Buzz” meetings where publishers share brief
promos about their upcoming books. Sometimes these are delivered by the sales
team, sometimes by the editor, and sometimes by the author (as a guest of their
publisher). There were so many different things going on at one time that it
was difficult to choose what to do when, but each choice offered valuable
information and networking opportunities. Next time I will do a better job of
reviewing these opportunities ahead of time, and use the ALA’s available
“scheduling tool” to build an electronic schedule for myself (with three or
four options selected for each time frame, so I can make quick adjustments on
the fly).
*You can register for the full meeting, single day, or just
exhibit hall access. Honestly, the exhibit hall was an experience unto itself,
and would have been well worth my $35, had I not been there for a book signing with my publisher, the wonderful ABDO Publishing Group. I used my time in the exhibit hall to visit
publisher’s booths to get a really good sense (or at least a better sense) of the
unique look/feel of each publisher’s list. I took lots of notes and engaged the
sales reps to learn more about the publisher. It was very enlightening to have so
many publishers represented under one roof. Although I do a lot of research in
bookstores, libraries and online, it was helpful to see the books organized “by
publisher” so I could get a feel for each publisher’s vibe. I could also ask
the reps to give me their elevator speech re: who they are in the marketplace,
so I could take good notes and then consider if I had something in my inventory
of ready work that was a good fit for them. Although I have additional educational projects
that are suitable for my existing publisher, I have other work that is geared for the trade market. Since I have several diverse projects that are submission-ready,
it was helpful that I had taken the time prior to the conference to closely
review my inventory. Next time I might carry a clipboard and create some type
of a spreadsheet to note my projects, to enable me to easily check boxes and
make notes to document which publishers are a good fit for each mss, and why.
*For smaller publishers, it was not uncommon that the
publisher, key editors, or other top decision makers staffed the booth, or at
least were in the booth from time to time. I let people know that I was an
author using the opportunity to research the market to more effectively target
my future submissions, and people seemed generally pleased that I was making
that sort of an effort. Some booth staff
were more friendly than others, but that too gave me insight into the “feel” of
the operation. (There was one guy who immediately took out his phone and made a
call as soon as I introduced myself . . . I suspect he and I won’t be working
together in the near future. In contrast, there were several people who engaged
me in conversation about what I types of books I write, and even gave me
cards/contact info for their colleagues back at the office). It did help, I
think, to have name familiarity with some of the staff at the publishing houses
on my watch list (i.e. “I met your colleague, editor XYZ, at the SCBWI
conference a couple of years ago and she and I have corresponded about my mss ZYX…I
wanted to look at your current list to see if any of my projects are more in
alignment with what you’re doing…”). This often led to conversations such as,
“Oh, what are you working on now…” or, “XYZ is not with us anymore, but so and
so took her place. Here, let me give you so and so’s contact info…” So,
although it was not a time or place to formally pitch manuscripts, I did open
several doors for future submissions, particularly at the smaller houses. Also,
there were many top editors and agents milling about the exhibit hall,
particularly on Sunday and Monday (re: they were there to hear the award
announcements, meet with their authors/illustrators, meet with other
editors/agents, etc).
*Another big part of the midwinter meeting is for publishers
to unveil their forthcoming lists, and they do this by hosting book signings, giving
away ARCs, inviting people to sign up for give-aways, etc. As a result, I was
able to pick up ARCs for several forthcoming books that interested me. NOTE: My
back is still sore from carrying things around (and I did not pick up very much
as compared to most of the librarians!). More experienced attendees carried
empty backpacks (that they filled along the way), and some even rolled small
suitcases around (I will bring a backpack next time, even if it is less attractive
than my leather handbag). Also, I did try to be respectful about taking ARCs
re: librarians need these early/pre-releases to help them make purchasing
decisions. But as I talked with publishers, I realized they want the ARCs to
get in the hands of a variety of book fans to help create buzz around their new
books. My plan is to read the ARCs (and invite my kids to read them), and then
pass them along to my librarian friends here at home, that may not have been able
to attend the ALA meeting.
*I was so glad I printed a large supply of bookmarks to take
with me to ALA. My intent was to give those away at my book signing, but I also
kept a stack of them at my publisher’s booth before/after the book signing (re:
although my publisher has their own marketing materials, my bookmarks have my contact information on them, in
addition to my publisher’s contact information, which ideally brings traffic to
my own website and blog). I routinely use my bookmarks as business cards, and
there were many opportunities to give them out, so I was glad to have an ample
supply. For example, there were several occasions when I was walking between
meetings, or eating a meal when another attendee struck up a conversation (i.e.
“What library are you from...”). That gave me the opportunity to say I was not
a librarian, but an author, which typically resulted in questions about the books
I’ve written. It was helpful to be able to quickly hand someone a bookmark to
give them a visual reference about my books (and I can’t tell you how much fun
it was when different librarians said, “Oh, I know your books…,” or “The kids
in our school love your books,” or even,
“Oh I can’t wait to see your books. What booth number is your publisher
exhibiting?). NOTE to self: Learn your
publisher’s booth number right away, and have a pen handy to jot that number
down on your bookmark/card, etc. Most of
these, “I know your books” ah ha moments were due to the visual recall from the
wonderful cover art on my bookmarks (thank you, Stephanie Bauer!), however, bookmarks
are more awkward to carry around than business cards (for both me and for the
person I’m handing them too). In the future, I plan to bring business cards and bookmarks (and I will likely have
two sets of business cards—one with cover art worked into the design, and one that’s
more generic). There were some occasions when I wanted to leave my contact
information with someone (for example, an editor), and I wanted that moment to
be connected to a future submission we had discussed, vs. my past work. I also like the
idea of being able to stow my business cards in the back of my name tag holder
(vs. fishing them out of my purse or pocket).
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| Available at ABDO Publishing Group |
*I also learned that even if your publisher will be at the
event, and even if they will have a supply of your books at the event, it is
beneficial to have a few copies of your own books on hand. My book signing was
very well attended. Every last book went out the door—including the display
copies my publisher intended to remain in the booth. Oops. That meant that
after my signing was over, there was not a single copy of any of my 16 books
anywhere on site. Big Bummer. In the future I will always pack a few copies of
my books along with me; just in case.
*This conference really cemented for me the importance of
having a solid elevator speech / pitch on the tip of your tongue for each of
your ready projects. When I sat in on the “Book Buzz” presentations by the
various publishers, the quick blurbs given for each of their forthcoming books
were essentially pitches/elevator speeches. When I eavesdropped on agents
pitching books to editors (yes, this happened within my ear shot several
times), it was the pitch/elevator speech. When I heard editors talking amongst
themselves (publishing house to publishing house) bragging about their current list or what they were
working on now, again, the pitch/elevator speech. When I heard sales reps talking
to librarians about the books on their new list, it was, you guessed it, the
pitch/elevator speech. And, when I was asked what I was working on, I needed to
have a quick pitch/elevator speech on the ready (re: even those interested in
what you are doing have time to listen beyond a sentence or two). Although I’ve
got a pretty good one or two line summary for each of my works down on paper,
next time I will practice saying those words out loud several times before I
arrive at the conference so it feels easy and natural. Also, I’m going to
re-evaluate each of these pitches/elevator speeches in light of how I saw them
used at so many levels during the process, to make sure I have mine down just
right. And, I’m going to suggest that this is something my critique group
practices out loud with each other at some of our meetings, so we routinely
critique each others’ pitches/elevator speeches in addition to our manuscripts,
synopses, queries, and cover letters.
* I noticed how much more intrigued I was about different
authors’ current or forthcoming projects based on the level of enthusiasm in
their own voices when they told me about their books (i.e. some folks were
crazy excited about their books, and their enthusiasm was contagious; others
were more shy and low key, which made it harder to jump on the band wagon). This
conference also conveyed to me how excited publishers are about the books (and
authors/illustrators) on their lists, and how excited librarians are about the
work that we all do. Seriously, sales reps and editors gushed to librarians
about their books. Editors gushed to each other about how proud they were of
their lists. Agents gushed to editors about new projects they were marketing
for their clients and about how great the finished products by their clients
looked on the shelves. Librarians cheered for books that won awards, and
mourned the books that were overlooked. I got to hear from my own publisher’s
reps how excited they continued to be about my books, and people who came to my
book signing each had stories to tell about how they loved my earlier books
and/or how they couldn’t wait to share my books with the kids in their schools
and libraries. This was repeated for many others in attendance, in booth after
booth, signing after signing. It was such a positive, high-energy experience to
be a part of.
*I made new friends at the conference and I caught up with
old friends. I was glad I had taken the time to reach out to old friends ahead
of time so I had the comfort of having some friendly meet-ups planned, and I
was glad that I joined in on some of the “newbie” programs and casual social
gatherings with librarians. I also very much enjoyed attending the kidlit meet
up hosted by the SCBWI-WA folks the first night I was in town. I now have
several new kidlit friends from the SCBWI-WA chapter. There are also advantages
to choosing housing associated with the conference to maximize informal
networking opportunities, and next time I think it would be fun to room and/or
coordinate transportation with a buddy (or future buddy).
*One last tip that was really useful for me is that prior to
attending ALA I made a list of things I wanted to learn, and things I wanted to
convey while I was at the conference. I had questions in mind to ask librarians
when I had the opportunity to chat with them at length. I also had questions in
mind for my publisher’s rep that I was able to ask when we had dinner together.
Lastly, I had questions in mind for the publishers’ reps I met in the exhibit
hall, and I had talking points in mind with respect to my current books and the
manuscripts I’m currently marketing. This advanced prep helped me focus my
attention and efforts to make the very most of the conference experience.
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