WriteOnCon!

This month, I'm participating in WriteOnCon, a free online conference for children's writers, founded by seven lovely ladies: Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Lisa and Laura Roecker, and Jennifer Stayrook.  The conference will be from August 10-12, but forums are already open for participants to introduce themselves and post samples of their writing and queries for critique.

The best thing about this conference (apart from the fact that it's free) is that the topics will stay posted even after the conference, so there's no need to physically be there at the time the event takes place, apart from the evening panels and live workshops. I'll be at work, peeking whenever I have a chance, and saving the links for future reference.  Hopefully, I can participate in most of the evening sessions from home.

I'm already starting to see the benefits of this conference, and it hasn't officially started yet!  Apart from being a wonderful source of information, I see it as an excellent networking opportunity.  I've discovered great blogs, got feedback on the first five pages of my MG novel, made new friends (many of whom are on Twitter, so we can keep in touch), and enjoyed reading all the posts.  People can participate from anywhere in the world, which is awesome.

The schedule for August 10 (Tuesday) is already posted. All the topics are interesting, but I've highlighted the topics I really don't want to miss:

6:00 AM: Keynote Vlog Address by author Josh Berk
7:00 AM: Refining Your Craft with Each Book by author Janette Rallison
8:00 AM: Making the Most of Your Advance (no matter its size) by literary agent Michelle Wolfson
9:00 AM: Myths and Misconceptions by literary agent Holly Root, and editors Molly O’Neill and Martha Mihalick
10:00 AM: Illustrating Children’s Books by J.H. Everett and studio
11:00 AM: Bringing the Funny by author Rachel Hawkins
12:00 PM: Becoming a Career Author by literary agent Catherine Drayton
1:00 PM: Writing Middle Grade by author Jon Lewis
2:00 PM: Voice by literary agent Elana Roth
3:00 PM: Writing a Query Letter by author Jodi Meadows
4:00 PM: Author Branding by author Shelli Wells
5:00 PM: Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Revision by editor Kendra Levin
6:00 PM: Pizza in the Face (how characters react to situations) by author Rosemary Clement-Moore

9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals (Elana Roth, Kathleen Ortiz, Dan Ehrenhaft, Martha Mihalick)
TOPIC: Online platform

10:30 PM: Working with Agents and Editors, a live Workshop with literary agent Mark McVeigh

There will also be daily contests where participants can win books, personalized critiques from agents, and other prizes.

Can you tell I'm excited about this?

So don't look for me on August 10-12, I'll be hanging out with agents, publishers, authors, and a lot of other aspiring writers.  Hope to see you there!  Oh, and if you're on Twitter, the hashtag is #writeoncon.