Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

I’ve gotten so many great ideas, and some volunteer moderators to go with them! Thank you!

This is not the final roster, but we’re getting close. Now is the time for all of you who have ideas to send them to me so I can compile our final conference schedule.

Here are some of the topics people have asked to be featured (and have offered to moderate):

1. Kidlit Blogging 101: How to get started, how to get ARCs, how to do reviews, how to find time to blog (! I need this!), whether to notify authors and/or publishers of your review, what to do about negative reviews, is it okay to include spoilers, etc. Generally a chance for those who have been doing it for a while to pass along their wisdom to those just starting.

2. Advanced Kidlit Blogging, Part 1 (The business side): Brainstorming tips to improve your blog, attract more traffic and links, keep your blog (and yourself) fresh, and generally kick it up a notch.

3. Advanced Kidlit Blogging, Part 2 (The creative side): How to establish your own writing “voice,” how to maintain your writing quality, what makes for a good review, how to hone your reviewing skills. Generally a primer on reviewing–on GREAT reviewing.

4. Ethics of Reviewing: What do we do about all these personal relationships we’ve formed in the blogosphere? Does that/should that affect our reviews? Is it better to say nothing than say something negative? What are the other ethical considerations of reviews and blogging in the kidlit world? And what are the copyright issues we need to think about?

5. Podcasting 101: The how-to’s of creating and posting podcasts on your site.

6. Blogging for Authors: Yes, no, why, why on earth not? Is the time you’ll spend blogging worth the time away from your writing? On the other hand, can you ignore the 50,000+ Google searches that brought readers to one author’s poetry site? What are your motives for blogging, and do those affect reader reaction?

7. The Cybils: A chance for all you Cybil participants to actually talk in person. May I suggest no authors allowed?

8. Promotion Ideas for the Kidlitosphere: Brainstorming ideas for increased promotion of the kidlitosphere as a whole, as a resource for readers/parents/authors.

Doesn’t that sound AWESOME?! I’m so excited!

Here’s my thought in general: We’ll have two rooms going, with 50-minute discussions in each. Go from 9:00-noon, break for lunch, come back from 1:30-3:30. At 4:00 Esme Codell (Planet Esme) is hosting a Meet the Authors event in one of our conference rooms. Then we’ll all take naps and Advil and whatever else we need to be fresh and fun for the evening. Cocktails around 6:00, dinner at 7:00–sounds like a well-packed Saturday, if you ask me.

So look the list over, see if you think it needs refinements/additions/etc., and let me know. If there’s some topic you’re dying to chat with people about, tell me and let’s see if we can squeeze it in.

Won’t this be fun? And it’s almost here!

Oh, and don’t forget: the conference is just a month away, so order your T-shirt and/or coffee mug now! Thanks again, Herb, for that fabulous design!

[By the way, if you're reading this and saying, "What is she talking about? I must go! Why didn't anyone tell me?!" then you'd better look at this and contact me pronto!]

Technorati Tags: 1st Annual Kidlitosphere Conference, Kidlit Conference, Blogging Conferences, Writing Conferences

Posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 5:02 am under 1st Annual Kidlitosphere Conference . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.