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WriteOnCon - The Big Reveal!

If you follow Elana Johnson, Jamie Harrington, Shannon Messenger, Lisa and Laura Roecker, and/or me on Twitter, you've probably seen tweets about a Secret Project and (oh yes!) a VLOG we've been working on. Well, the day has come to unleash the epic and bring you in on the secret. BEHOLD! virtual embarrassment and revelation!



My first vlog, people! I know! I'm sorry! *DEEP BREATH*

Anyway! to recap for those of you at work, the six of us (linked above) and the website goddess Jen Stayroot are organizing a free online writer's conference for kidlit writers!

We’ve all heard friends and fellow writers remark on their inability to attend writer's conferences for one reason or another, and since we’re all about paying it forward, we decided to create our own and to bring it to YOU using the amazing capabilities of the web. And so, WriteOnCon was born—and rated MC-18 (main characters 18 and under).

When? August 10-12, 2010
Where? http://writeoncon.com/
How? Various forms of social media.

I can't even tell you how amazing it's going to be. No, really! We have a ton of great stuff planned and just look at the names already involved: Catherine Drayton, Steven Malk, Michelle Andelman, Suzie Townsend, Mark McVeigh, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, Kathleen Ortiz, Lindsay Eland, Dan Ehrenhaft, Mandy Hubbard, Daisy Whitney, Lindsey Leavitt, Josh Berk, Anica Rissi, Jodi Meadows—with more to come!

I know, right?! *swoon*

PLEASE bookmark the website, subscribe to the blog feed, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook! There are some details available on the site but we'll be leaking more as we draw near the big date.

But before you go, let's have a spread-the-word-GIVEAWAY! All you have to do is spread the word someway, somehow (the more ways and hows the better) by Friday at 12 pm EST (leave a link, if possible) and comment on this post with a way to reach you. The prize is a WINNER'S CHOICE kidlit book sent right to his/her doorstep. I know, I know, I'm so lax! But please, spread the word however you prefer and put the widget on your blog, if you can.

I'm very excited to see what you all think! More details will follow, I promise. Registration opens July 1st! And make sure you stop by my fellow organizers' blogs for more contests and giveaway opportunities!

80 comments:

Martina Boone said...

Oh. My. Goodness!!!! This is so generous and awesome and... too many things I could say! Thanks for all of your efforts toward putting this together! Can. Not. Wait!!!!

Marissa

Buffy Andrews said...

What a really neat idea! I'm so upset I will be on vaca at that time. I'm going to miss the big event of the summer. Good luck to everyone involved.

Buffy Andrews said...

Oh, and P.S. So looooved the video. Thanks for making my morning:)

Janet Johnson said...

You guys are awesome! The widget is now on my blog. :)

janetsumnerjohnson.blogspot.com

rjljohnson(dot)janet(at) gmail(dot)com

Christina Farley said...

Such a fabulous idea! You are so inspirational!

Erinn said...

YAY what a great idea! You're a rock star. Thank you!

Laura Pauling said...

What an awesome idea! And what a great way to pay it forward!

Jonathon Arntson said...

Casey, I'll admit I had no idea what you were up to. I know about the video, but the rest surprised me! I am so excited!!

Amie McCracken said...

You guys are all so frickin awesome! And hilarious. Can't wait.

Unknown said...

This is the best! You have so many amazing people that will be there! I can't wait!!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I am soooo awed by you guys. Incredible event and I will eagerly join in. Thanks!

Cambria Dillon said...

FAB idea! You ladies are awesome!
I tweeted about WriteOnCon but not sure what the link is for the actual tweet itself: http://twitter.com/CambriaDillon. Now I just have to figure out the widget thing...

B Mari Landgrebe said...

Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou! Love this idea! And thanks for the contest!

Facebooked: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000367330976&v=wall&story_fbid=129720117048009

Tweeted: http://twitter.com/BLandgrebe/status/16149987795

Widgeted: http://brittanylandgrebe.com/

brittany[at]brittanylandgrebe[dot]com

Wendy Swore said...

This is a great idea!

I've Tweeted,
Facebooked,
Posted the link on my blog,
and added the widget.

THanks for doing this!

My email is (sub . for the DOT's ) mrsDOTfarmgirlATgmailDOTcom

Anonymous said...

Very excited! Tweeting now!

Thanks,
Courtney
stilettostorytime(at)gmail(dot)com

Corey Schwartz said...

Wow! Sounds so awesome, Casey!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Awesome idea!

readingkidsbooks said...

What a great idea. I love going to conferences for networking, inspiration, and industry insight, but just can't afford to go as often as I'd like (especially the SCBWI annual in LA which is utterly fantastic!) I've posted the info and links on my various blogs as I'm sure a ton of others have done. You have such a cool lineup, especially great agents including my own wonderful, spectacular, super-supportive Suzie Townsend.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I saw the vlog around 6:00 am this morning. It made my day. I am so excited. Thanks for organizing this super wonderful event. I'll check out the website tonight after work & post a notice on Facebook & the Michigan SCBWI e-mail list and post another comment with the links. Thanks again. This is super awesome.

Margo Berendsen said...

Wow - our choice of a kidlit book? And this conference idea is SOOO COOL. FREE. FREE. FREE.

Love it.

Posted it on my blog http://margoberendsen.blogspot.com and posted the widget.

And yeah I'm finally "with it" in the kidlit blogging world - I am already a follower of all these blogs!

Unknown said...

This is incredibly awesome. Really. <3 you guys.

Widget's up on my left sidebar: http://acjblogger.blogspot.com

Tahereh said...

woo hoo!! you guys are AWESOME!!

Sherrie Petersen said...

This is so cool! You guys are amazing to pull this off. And the vlog is great :)

Alicia Gregoire said...

This is just a totally awesome idea. I stuck the widget on my blog. aliciagregoire.blogspot.com

Larissa said...

This is so super duper awesome!

I blogged: http://lchardesty.blogspot.com/2010/06/monday-mayhem-and-winners.html

and tweeted:
@lchardesty

lchardesty at yahoo dot com

You rock!

SJ Stone said...

that was very cute!

Unknown said...

You guys are awesome! :)

BJas said...

Hey -- way to go! I'm in. Gotta try that whole vlog thing on my blog. Nice work.

Tara McClendon said...

This rocks. So super excited. And loved the vlog.

Taffy said...

I blogged:
http://taffyscandy.blogspot.com/2010/06/online-writers-conference-free.html
And twitted.
And FB.
And Myspace.
:)

Sajidah said...

Thanks so much! :)

Julie Musil said...

thank you thank you thank you

RaShelle Workman said...

Way cute glasses!!!

Unknown said...

This is *so* on my blog: http://skyledavis.blogspot.com/

Also tweeted, for what it's worth.

This is such a cool idea. Way to go guys!

Haste yee back ;-) said...

I think this is a good idea. Huck Finn and me fish that time of year, so he's at my house and he told me he stole Judge Thatcher's wig and Becky Thatcher's diary! (Becky's mad but we seen them fits before. Huck says she jerks n' twitches now when she fits, but we ain't afraid).

Haste yee back ;-)

Alyssa Kirk said...

Sounds great! It's on my blog! Can't wait!

http://demonicattractions.blogspot.com/2010/06/free-online-kidlit-writers-conference.html

Natalie Aguirre said...

Here's my links.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/home.php?sk=lf and the Michigan SCBWI e-mail list. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichKids/post

I'm also going to let my writer friends know. I'm excited. I just hope I can attend after work.

Riv Re said...

I'm soooo sad that I'm going to miss this! I stuck the widget on my blog anyways, though!

Riv Re said...

Whoops! Forgot to leave a link:
fantasticfantasyfan.blogspot.com (It's on the right side)

Anonymous said...

Great job with the vlog!!!! Can't wait!

Carrie said...

Excellent work! Looking forward to getting more details!

Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Maker said...

Too cool! I plan to be there.

Kathryn Packer Roberts said...

Alrighty, I just blogged about your super amazing news. Check it out at http://kathrynpackerroberts.blogspot.com/

I have the countdowner up and counting down. =) THanks for your awesomeness!

Stina said...

I'm so excited about this. You girls are amazing. And I loved the Vlog.

Okay, I've tweated about it @stinall

And it's mentioned on my blog (the widget's there, too) (www.stinalindenblatt.com).

It's also been posted on the Canada West (that's half of Canada) forum. You can't access it, so just consider this a FYI. :)

I can't wait for the fun to begin!

Kelly Polark said...

You all totally rock!
This is amazing and I am so in!

Jo Schaffer Layton said...

Brilliant.

Michael G-G said...

You look to the v-log born, Casey. And this sort of thing is an answer to prayer as I can only afford one conference a year--and the budget's already blown.

I'm blogging about this @ theyearofwritingdangerously.blogspot.com

Lisa_Gibson said...

Can't wait. Oh and awesome vlog. You guys are rock stars!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Super vloggers! Superb idea! Well done, ladies. Promises to be quite successful! I'm making mention in tomorrow's blog post!

Gayle C. Krause said...

Fantastic effort. Very much appreciated by all of us out here in Writerland.

Your widget is now on my blog. http://thestorytellersscroll.blogspot.com

See you there.

Heather Kelly said...

Can I say, that I love seeing all of you in the flesh, with VOICES and everything?? I'm so excited!!

Thermocline said...

This is very cool. I can't wait to be part of it.

Unknown said...

Brilliant! I think this is great. I've got it on my twitter and announced it on a listserve for children's writers.

Unknown said...

Lol! Man Casey, that video was hilarious! I didn't get a chance to watch it yesterday. Way to brighten my morning!

middle grade ninja said...

I already linked today before I knew about this contest, but I do like free books, so please consider giving me one. Here is my link to your link:

http://middlegradeninja.blogspot.com/2010/06/authorillustrator-teams-and-online.html

Kristin said...

Casey, I've already linked to my blog, but I have to say your video is adorable. And, um, I'm really digging your black/white kitchen tiles. :)

Christine said...

This idea wins the internet.

http://twitter.com/christinepuddin/status/16257294277

Lindsay said...

This is the greatest idea ever! I've already added the widget on my blog and put the date in my diary. :)

Chantee Hale said...

Totally awesome - I posted this on FB (it'll hit my blog & twitter soon) and am already getting love from my writer pals for the link! We can't wait!

Nata Cynthia Artistadonna said...

You guys are AWESOME!!!!!! I have been wanting to go to a writers conference for ever! but can't afford and can't travel to one.......you guys are angels sent from the writers heaven!!!

Nata Cynthia Artistadonna said...

forgot to say I am spreading the word on facebook http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1371402324816#!/nata.romeo

Nata Cynthia Artistadonna said...

and I have your widget on my blog
http://aritistadonna.blogspot.com/

Casey McCormick said...

Thank you so much for the comments, everyone. I'm so glad you're all excited. WE'RE very excited!

And I'm glad you like the vlog. There were a million things I wanted to say about it, but I managed not to color your view of it beforehand. : p Go me!

I hope you're all following WriteOnCon on Twitter, which is the best way to keep up with news and new faculty additions.

We're gearing up for registration and can't wait to see you all there!

Marsha Sigman said...

So I posted all about this on my blog, linked to all of you (because you are all awesome!) and put up the widget!

I am soooo excited!

http://marshasmusing.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Wow,how super exciting. I want to be an attendee. I am going to pass the word.

Selestial said...

Very excited about this! I retweeted your contest announcement :)

Aaron Craig said...

I blogged about this. I even opened a twitter account so I can tweet about it. But I cannot figure out how to make the widget work for my Windows Live Blog.

Aaron Craig said...

Oh I forgot to tell you can reach me at portalwriter@live.ca.

Kelly Polark said...

Woo hoo! The awesome conference is on my blog tomorrow and on my sidebar!

Claire Dawn said...

Blogged and sidebarred and blogged again!

This is awesome! Thanxxx! :)

Lisa Nowak said...

This sounds totally cool. I put it on my calendar so I won't forget.

Jess Capelle said...

I'm SO excited about the conference! I tweeted about it (@jessicacapelle) and have emailed practically everyone I know that has any inclination to write!

you can find me at jessicacapelle (at) gmail (dot) com if I win- thanks!!

GM said...

Love the vlog and I'm very excited about the conference!

I blogged about it: http://ghenetwrites.blogspot.com/2010/06/listen-up-word-lovers.html

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

This is so awesome. I thought I'd left a comment but I don't see it, anyway, I did blog at http://triciajobrien.blogspot.com

Can't wait to see what else you have in store--but how much more awesome can it get???

Jill Wheeler said...

Hi, Casey! I blogged about WriteOnCon, posted the countdown widget on my blog, and tweeted about it several times this week.

Such a great idea. You guys rock!

jillewheeler (at) hotmail.com

Faith E. Hough said...

This is awesome!
I blogged about WriteOnCon and put the widget on my sidebar.
You're a genius.

Joseph Miller said...

Doh! I missed the 12pm deadline, but I did tweet and FB about this... Awesome idea!

Many blessings on this endeavor,
Joseph Miller

Ann Marie Wraight said...

OK - I'm LATE but I put this on my FACEBOOK and definitely plan on being there!!!! You are ALL so PHOTOGENIC and CASEY - you should be a film star - you are a NATURAL ACTRESS!

B Jas said...

Fantastic -- however every time I try and access the website, Explorer crashes (and only this website). Are you having technical issues, I can't seem to access it?! (and really want to!)

Casey McCormick said...

Hi B Jas!

I just had several people test the site in IE and we didn't have any issues. Our web person said it's often an issue of a spyware or malware on your computer shutting it down.

Hope you're able to get on and check it out!