Kidlit Blogger Conference--Part 2

I posted the night before the Second Annual Kidlit Blogger Conference, wondering if I would ever post again after spending an ENTIRE day with a whole lot of people who’ve been doing this thing a whole lot longer than I have. But, when you’re welcomed by these two lovely conference organizers…

Laini Taylor and Jone MacCulloch

…the day could only be great, right?

Well, after a day of travel home and thinking on it, I'm here to tell you...it was! How could it not be? It was informative and there were tons of great people, the perfect conference combination.

Here are some photos, highlights, and take-aways from the day.

Alice Pope chats with a front row of talent from the Seattle area. (I wish I would have captured Alice's too cute shoes in this pic.)

Here they are, many of the wonderful ladies from Washington in attendance. From left to right: Laurie Thompson, Dana Arnim (followed by 3 of the Readergirlz divas) Holly Cupala, Lorie Ann Grover, and Dia Calhoun.

The first panel had me creating an account on Twitter right then and there, thanks to Mark Belvis of Just One More Book. However, if you too twitter, you will probably find cuppajolie still looking for kidlit08.

Pam Coughlan (aka Mother Reader) told us how to Kick Our Blogs Up a Notch. Just like a great mother does, she explained with authority and tenderness, ways in which we could make our blogs better and bigger (but only if we wanted them to be). With her suggestions in mind, Cuppa Jolie may go from a single shot blog to a quadruple shot. Whoa! That makes my heart race.

Sarah Stevenson (Finding Wonderland), Jackie Parker (Interactive Reader), and Jen Robinson spoke about the CYBILS (The Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards). Be sure to check out the past two years' winners.

And, mark your calendars! The nomination period is quickly approaching and has been shortened this year. Be sure to make your nominations between October 1-15, 2008.

Greg Pincus (aka Gregory K) of Gottabook, spoke about promotion using social networking tools. I have to say, Greg is an incredibly knowledgeable and dynamic speaker. If you ever want to know about blogging or any other ways to reach a world-wide audience, search for Greg and soak up every bit from him you can. And, if you blog, twitter, Facebook, etc. you MUST read this poem written by Greg.

Ah, then there was Sara Zarr of The Stories of a Girl (author of two amazing books, Story of Girl and Sweethearts)! Sara gave us all balance (so very needed) and told us how to juggle the professional and the personal while existing in the blog world. A strong piece of advice from Sara? Don't get too personal. This coming at me while I was thinking, OMG, I'm listening to Sara Zarr. How can I ingest, inhale, consume some of her talent while I'm in the same room with her?

Ooh, was that too personal?

So, so much happen in this one day of conferencing! I plan to post MORE. But, if you can't wait, go here to link to others posts about the conference.

But don't miss Part 3 which will likely be titled: The Many Dangers of Conference Attendance--Especially at the Kidlit Blogger Conference!

Until then, here's a pic of the happy crew!