Bring Your Career into Sharper Focus with wik2020: On Beginnings, Resolutions, and VOLUNTEERING

It was a dark and stormy night...No. Strike that.

Once upon a time, there was a writer, a conference, and a volunteer coordinator. I'm the volunteer coordinator, desperately seeking, well, volunteers; WIK 20 is the totally awesome conference; and you, my sweet one, are the writer that I and the conference are after.

All of you who have attended a Southern Breeze conference know it takes a village of volunteers to pull the conference together. And we all know that writers are sometimes solitary people. It takes solitude to write, and it takes loving that solitude to make the magic happen. But then comes conference time -- and that is when we kiss our solitude goodbye for two precious days.

"BUT WAIT!" you say. "I may have to kiss my solitude goodbye for a day or two, but no one said I actually had to, um, talk to people." Here is where I must lovingly disagree. In fact, I not only want you to talk to people, I want you to put yourself into a position where you have to help them in some way! Think of this as one of your new year's resolutions: You volunteer for the conference, which makes you talk to people, and that means you meet new people, which then leads to new critique partners, and that, of course, makes you write more, and we all made a resolution to write more, right? Right! (See what I did there?)

So. Volunteering. You can do this! There are all types of things to do, from manning the registration desk, helping with book sales, helping with food, assisting with book signing, and more.

Email me, Valerie Nelan, at vmnelan@gmail.com with your interest. In addition to my undying love and affection, you'll also get a snazzy bio in the conference hand-outs (infamy!), and you're guaranteed to meet new people.

(Register for wik'20 today so you can get just the intensives, sessions, and volunteering jobs you want! See the Southern Breeze website here and sign up now!)

Big thanks to our Southern Breeze Conference Volunteer Coordinator, Valerie Nelan! You'll find her in Birmingham, where she writes very funny Middle Grade (when she's not running around, relentlessly pursuing volunteers).

Spring to Success with SpringMingle'19 and VOLUNTEERING (AND A WHALE!)

Valerie Nelan is the Southern Breeze Volunteer Coordinator and she wrote up something special and um...whale-y for you. So here's Valerie:

Okay, there’s no whale. But like any good writer, I went with the first thing that came to mind and decided to see where it went.

Wait! I got it! If you volunteer at the SCBWI Spring Mingle, you’ll have a WHALE OF A TIME!!

No? It was a terrible joke? Okay, you’re right. It was pitiful. And painful. So let’s move on.

One of the best ways to get involved in SCBWI is to volunteer. Writing can be such a solitary pursuit, and by volunteering, you’re basically forced into meeting people. And here’s the thing: the writers and artists you’ll meet at Spring Mingle are bound to be among the best you’ve ever laid eyes on.

I knew absolutely no one my first Spring Mingle, and even though I can chat up just about anyone (hello, outgoing personality!), it was hard at first. Thankfully, by the end of that Spring Mingle, I’d met a whole bunch of people and was invited to be in a local critique group. By the time the next conference came around, I was ready to volunteer, and it was an incredible experience. I met all the conference organizers, and even though that first year my contributions were small, I felt like I’d really made a difference. Even better: I made friends and critique partners who have made me a better writer.

So, are you ready to make a difference? We need volunteers! Roles for our volunteers include working the registration desk, helping with book sales, helping with food (who doesn’t love food?), timing the one-on-one meetings, and more.

Email me, Valerie Nelan, at vmnelan@gmail.com with your interest. You’ll get my undying love and affection, plus a snazzy little bio in the conference hand-outs! Ready? Go!

(I guarantee you and all the volunteers are going to get along swimmingly--and yeah, Valerie Nelan's going to get me back for that one--but first you have to register for SpringMingle'19. So CLICK HERE AND REGISTER TODAY!)