Hello Kidlit Peeps! I have LOTS of amazing news
to share very soon, but first…
If you know anything about
SCBWI, you know that the rockin’est party of the year is the Summer Conference,
which takes place in July or August each year in Los Angeles, CA. That’s right…
Ain’t no party like a KID LIT PARTY ‘cause the KID LIT PARTY don’t stoooooooop!
Now that we’ve established
the importance of attending this fabulous party… errr…. conference each year,
I’d like to touch on something that is not often talked about on discussion
boards and blogs; budget. For those of
you who are new to writing or even those who are established writers but have
never attended this conference, I’m sure money is an issue when considering a
trek out to L.A. So I’ve decided to
dedicate this post to help you determine a monthly savings goal for the next 10
months that will help you attend the 2013 SCBWI Summer Conference.
Ready?
Before we start, consider if
you are on a low, medium, or high budget.
This will be determined by your actual monetary availability and your
personal preferences (lodging priorities, what you eat and drink -- and how
much, and if you are interested in the “extras” at the conference, like a
manuscript or portfolio submission, or adding the extra day of intensives.
Additionally, you might choose to check in on Thursday or Friday and check out
on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.
Everyone has their own wants
and needs, so in order to generalize I’ve broken things down into three
levels; Low Budget, Mid Budget, and the affectionately named “Party On”
Budget. Of course, these are only
estimates, but they’re pretty close since they’re based on my experience attending the past 4 years. The one line item that will be most
“personal” will be the food/drinks. And to be honest, I’m not a big food/drinks
person, so you may be better off determining how much you’ll spend each day and
plug in your own numbers. Also, I’ve
included airfare (and estiate) and shuttle cost, so if you live locally, you can remove
those from your total.
Keep in mind, the monthly
savings goal is based on a 10 month plan (October through July) so you can
start saving right now for next year. Of course, if you plan ahead or have
some money throw into the pot to begin with, you can decrease your monthly
savings amount if you base your plan on a 12 month cycle. Just take your total
and divide by 12 instead of the 10 like I did.
Confused yet? OK. Here
goes...
Oh, and remember, if you have any
questions or comments at all please post them here.
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I hope to see you there next year!
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I have never imagined that a writer can be so organized and motivated – you win a prize if there were one for super aspirant attendee for SCBWI, at least in my book!