What I Learned From the Publishing in Color Event
Hurrah! I got the opportunity to attend the Publishing in Color writers conference at Drew 
University June 13th and 14th and it was awesome. I met great people and left with some great tips on writing, personal style and networking. What I liked about this conference was that it was very hands on. There were classes on writing, networking and publishing trends. The chance to meet one-on-one with professional writers, editors and members of publishing houses and magazine without added cost was a huge bonus.
I was blessed with a scholarship to attend this conference. I would highly recommend that if you get the opportunity to attend a writing/publishing conference that you go. Keep reading to get the great tips.
#1 Tip from Lisa Crayton; Write a Letter of Introduction to Magazines
Lisa is a well-established writer and editor. She has gotten a ton of assignments and gave me some unconventional wisdom. She told me to write a letter highlighting my experience, what stories I like to write and ask to be on the freelancing team. I had never thought to do this before. Her reasoning is that when you send a pitch an editor may or may not like it. If they don’t like it they will pass you on. A freelancers needs to let an editor know that they are eager to write any stories the editor needs. She told me to write from what is already around me. She also helped me develop a great pitch. I will keep you posted on the outcome.
#2 Tip from Sophfronia Scott; Find Your Style When Doing Broadcast Interviews
Sophfronia is
a true journalist having written for Time and People magazines. She was a journalist before social media influenced news. She has a weekly video blog and has written several books including one with her son. She had great tips about looking good in front of the camera. I was telling her about my opportunity to get interviewed on News 12 New Jersey. {You can read about that experience in my post Lessons From My First Television Interview} and that I was nervous about what to wear. Sophfronia told me to stick with flattering colors, make sure that that my makeup highlighted my best features and be genuine. I was happily surprised to learn that she and I share the same idea about clothes and that idea is if you find an outfit that looks good get it in multiple colors.
#3 Tip from Karin Valentin; Be Your Authentic Self
K
aren has had a rollercoaster career with her being at the top and then suddenly things leveled. You can read her amazing story of strength and courage as a single mother in her book, The Mother God Made Me to Be. Karen details her poignant story of marrying and then suddenly becoming a single parents to her sons that were 1 and 2 years old at the time. I was moved by her honesty and openness about her situation in publishing. Karen won a prestigous award but her book didn’t sell the way the publisher wanted. This forced her to take a different direction in her writing. She has a Facebook page to help mothers. I learned from Karen that it is okay to be my authentic self even if it is not flattering and often painful as people will connect to your truth.
#4 Tip from Rod Colon; Use Networking to Your Advantage
Rod Colon is a master at using LinkedIn and gives great career advice. He says doesn’t have a personal website because of an unfortun
ate hacking incidents and does most of his online networking on LinkedIn. His tip is to make connections with people before networking. The best networking is getting referrals from people that we know. He used the acronym FORM (Family, Occupation, Recreation and Motivation) and role played how we should use these different avenues to connect with people. What I learned from his presentation was to start from where I am and then reach out to people that have a common interest and not be afraid to ask for referrals and also refer others.