2007 AML Conference Plenary Session: “Making Connections and Growing the Market”
By Patricia Karamesines | 4.17.07
Children and young adult lit author Rick Walton gave the plenary address at this year’s conference. Rick is a funny guy. He’s very straight-faced and physically still, even when giving a plenary address, but when he talks the words fly fast, laden with both humor and urgency.
Rick recounted how he was “discovered” in high school. He described himself as “not a good student.” Then one day he wrote a story for his English class and got it back with a note written on it: “This would make a good children’s book.”
He named his mentors, too quickly for me to write them down before he was on to his next point, which was “Without friends watching out for me I wouldn’t have had much of a career.” He deeply believes that connections are important, and that one of his missions is “to grow” Mormon literature.
Rick listed six ways artists can network to promote their own careers and also make friends for the church:
1) Attend writers’ workshops and conferences. These events carry with them implied solicitations for submissions. He named some: Writers at Work, the Children’s Lit. Conference held at UVSC, and BYU’s Writing and Illustrating Conference. One connection leads to another,” Walton said. “If you’re interested in making connections, consider going to workshops and conferences. If you’re an established writer, consider helping others get started in their careers.”
2) Hold retreats (small group workshops). He suggested arranging a Saturday get-together-for-the-day, which includes going out for lunch together, etc. Such informal retreats cost basically what it takes for people to drive to the meeting place and buy their lunches. A second, more formal kind of retreat might involve flying a New York editor out and picking her brain.
3) Take (and teach) BYU classes, such as creative writing and, in his case, children’s literature classes. He said illustration students take his children’s literature class because it expands their potential and doubles their income if in the course of taking his class they also learn to write stories and then illustrate their stories themselves.
As an aside, Walton mentioned he thought BYU needed an MFA in creative writing, as well as an emphasis on children’s writing.
4) Join a critique group. Critique groups offer moral support as well as honest feedback. Walton said that his “best connections, best feedback, and best friends” came out of a group he was a part of. He said that “a good critique group will help you rise above yourself.” It’s also a “great place to vent.” Walton advised that if you don’t belong to a group you ought to “grow one from scratch.”
5) Subscribe to or create e-mail list services. Walton said they’re free to set up, free to run, and easy to use. “Through them I get cutting edge information that helps,” he said. Also, such lists are another place to make friends. One that he subscribes to covers “everything important to children’s literature and nothing related to religion unless it’s related to children’s literature.” Founders of e-mail lists get naming rights, he said.
6) Involve yourself in mentoring. Walton said there is “great joy in helping other along.” His most important condition for mentoring others: That you “take their craft seriously.” He urged established writers to “see who you can help along” because “as artists, we have a responsibility to become the very best and help others become the best they can.”
Walton thinks one of the biggest things that Mormon artists are missing is information. As he wrapped up his presentation, he told us that he’d like to see at least one website where anybody LDS and in the arts could find out what’s going on. He’d also like to see an on-line magazine that explores Mormon arts and what it means to be a Mormon artist (you getting all this down, William?). On-line discussion groups who exist to help self-publishers would also be nice, he said. Finally, wouldn’t it be wonderful if an organization that promotes artists and critiquing pro bono made itself available to Mormon artists?
4.18.07 | 12:34 am | comment permalink |
Rather than one site, Patricia, I think a loose confederation of sites under the aegis of one umbrella organizaiton (perhaps the AML could change its mission to Mormon arts and culture of all forms/genres?) might be useful.
No one blog, forum, workshop, magazine, etc. is going to meet the needs of all artists, esp. since Mormon art encompasses so many types of art and artists who are connected by a common heritage and/or belief but may be fluent in very different artistic traditions and crafts.
But yeah, it would help if we weren’t all quite so spread out online (and in the physical world).
4.18.07 | 5:34 am | comment permalink |
Great recap, Patricia!
And William, you’re right. A clearinghouse website shouldn’t reinvent the wheel. Doesn’t make sense. Besides, you want different voices. But a clearinghouse, where you could find out about all of these resources, and maybe provide some content that no one else is providing, would be useful.
And just an aside, the straight face is a symptom of Parkinson’s, which I have. That I was physically still intrigues me, because that’s not a symptom. Though I might have been trying extra hard not to tremor. And talking fast–also sometimes a symptom, though in this case probably the result of nervousness. But it’s interesting, and helpful, to get an outside view of myself.
4.18.07 | 5:50 am | comment permalink |
By the way, this is a great site. If I’d been familiar with it earlier, I would have mentioned it in my talk. This site fills in part my call for a magazine that discusses Mormon Arts. I look forward to exploring and learning.
4.18.07 | 9:59 am | comment permalink |
I’m glad you swung by, Rick! I just met you, but one thing I especially appreciated about your presentation was how your obvious affection for people came through in your language, and that affection seemed to me to be a good part of what charges your artistic batteries. I believe such affection is what charges the best artists’ batteries.
That idea of artists caring for and helping each other was echoed in the “Purified by the Best Critics” session. I’ve been attending AML conferences for less than ten years, but I don’t remember hearing so much about artists trusting each other and fostering each other’s work before. This was one aspect of this conference that appealed deeply to me.
Thanks for caring about others so much.
As for your stillness punctuated with quick language, I thought it fascinating and wondered what it meant. Very thoughtful of you to explain, but rather than bringing all to light, as some explanations do, you’ve deepened my wonder.
4.18.07 | 12:54 pm | comment permalink |
Yes, thanks for taking the time to respond, Rick.
I understand what you are saying and think your formulation is a good one. I’ve been kicking around the idea of attempting to start a Mormon arts wiki with an initial focus on trying to capture the field of blogs, publishers, artists (including their Web sites), magazines/journals, galleries, etc.
I know that over the years various folks have gone to the trouble of creating Mormon publisher lists, but they tend to go stale.
4.18.07 | 1:09 pm | comment permalink |
I have to say this about Rick–he is the greatest example I know of mentoring others. He has a reputation among writers of children’s literature of being generous with his time, advice and knowledge in fostering new writers. I’m glad to have had a chance to learn from him and grateful for all he does for the community.
William, we at AML are interested in this “website clearinghouse” idea. There’s no doubt that it definitely fits under what we are trying to do. We’ve assigned Katherine to come with some ideas to our next board meeting (I hope you’ll participate in the brainstorm) so that we can begin to figure out how to pull such a thing off. The problem is that we need a new board member to head up such a project. Know anyone local you can recommend?
4.18.07 | 2:00 pm | comment permalink |
I don’t know anyone local. But I would like to point out that the entire Bloggernacle is not reliant on locality. That’s the beauty of the Web.
But, yes, I’ll e-mail Katherine. If you have any ideas that you’d like to bounce off me, I’d be happy to respond. I do think that it would better if something like this happens under the aegis of an organization like the AML — assuming, of course, that it happens in the right way (with sustainability being the single largest factor).
4.19.07 | 11:34 am | comment permalink |
Last night I printed out this recap and took it to my writing group here in SE Utah. I thought Rick’s address contained a lot of useful information for the group’s members, many of whom are just beginning to think about publishing. At any rate, Rick’s remarks, and AML’s providing a time and place for him to make them, gave my writing group friends more fodder for thought. A nice ripple effect, I think.