MiG Writers: Meeting In Person For The First Time At The SCBWI Winter Conference

Only a couple of weeks left until the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC! I'm so looking forward to the event, not just because of the amazing faculty line-up and programming, but also because it will be the first time that all members of our MiG Writer group meet in person!

I've met Andrea Mack and Carmella Van Vleet once before and look forward to seeing them again, but I haven't yet met Christina Farley, Kate Fall or Susan Laidlaw in person.

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I started attending SCBWI conventions regularly in 2009. I was so nervous about not knowing anyone there, and about having to go up and introduce myself to strangers. I'm an introvert at heart (I suspect many creative types are), so I decided to do some prep ahead of time to make things easier at the event.

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This prep included:

1. Networking online ahead of time on the SCBWI message boards and other social media. I didn't hide the fact that I was a nervous newbie.

2. Doing some comics about being nervous.

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Turns out I wasn't the only nervous newbie! Plus the veterans were generous in offering advice on how make the conference more enjoyable. I also made plans ahead of time to get together with others:

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But not TOO many plans! I wanted to leave flexibility for hanging out with people I had met at the conference.

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I also read over posts people had written about conference etiquette and tips on how to meet (and how NOT to meet) others in the industry. But the most important piece of advice, I found, was to HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS:

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Also: to have a clear idea of what my goals were for the conference. And again, make those goals realistic. 

One of my goals for this conference coming up: To meet the other MiG Writers in person.

Can't wait. :-)

p.s. If you'd like to see all my SCBWI Newbie Comics, see this blog post.

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Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates for young people. She illustrated I'M BORED by Michael Ian Black (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers), which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Children's Book Of 2012. Debbie is currently working on two more books for S&S. Blog: Inkygirl.com. Twitter: @inkyelbows.