Day Two of WLT Conference: YA or MG?

I attended six sessions today and did my 10-minute pitch. Whew! What a day. Here are some of the notes I took and key points I learned:

• With queries: keep it short, relevant and get to the point
• If I'm going to write children's lit, I need to join the Austin SCBWI
• When doing a synopsis, pretend you are your biggest fan--how would you describe your story?
• Learn the psychology of the age group you're writing for
• If you have a series, make sure your first manuscript is a story that can stand on its own (in case you don't get to do books two, three and so on

The 10-minute pitch went well. Because of Jennifer's great advice on Friday night,

• I was able to remain calm and poised
• I talked about my story as if I was chatting with a friend
• I wasn't nervous at all
• I should stick with what I started with and write what I want to write...
• and that makes my story Middle Grade science fiction instead of YA (Now I know!)

Elena, the agent, made it so nice, too. She was really low-key and easy to talk to. Thank you, Elena!

All I can say is, if you're debating about going to a writer's conference, GO! Even if you only do it once, GO! It's so worth it.

P.S. And when the trend swings back to science fiction, I'll be ready!

Can't wait to see what I learn on Day Three.