Serious about improving your craft? SCBWI's regional events provide opportunities for professional growth and help you connect with a supportive, creative community.
**What to Expect:** Interested in joining a meeting? Great! First, please register for your chosen month on our Open Ohio North Events page. The day before (or on the day of) the manuscript critique meeting, we will email you a Zoom link for the session. We typically limit attendance to 15 participants due to time constraints, but the average number of attendees is between 5 and 10. At the beginning of the meeting, we will determine how many members would like to share their manuscripts. This helps us allocate time appropriately for each person. If you plan to share a story, please have your document open on your computer and be ready to “share your screen” through Zoom. Once you select your document, everyone on Zoom will be able to see your screen and read along with you. Alternatively, if you prefer, someone else can read your manuscript for you. If you've had difficulties sharing your screen in the past, you can always email your story to one of our regional team members, and they will share your manuscript on the screen. After you’ve read your story, the members will have the opportunity to provide positive and constructive feedback. We’ll then move on to the next participant. **Please Note:** You do NOT have to share anything to attend a meeting, nor do you need to offer feedback if you don't have any. Feel free to join just to observe! The only guidelines are to be kind to everyone, remain open to suggestions, and most importantly, have fun!
Cheryl Klein, author of The Magic Words, will host a live verbal critique of 10 participants' first 1,000 words of a Middle Grade or Young Adult manuscript on December 9, from 7-9 pm on Zoom. Participants have the option to register for a paid critique or to come to the meeting for free to observe the critiques only. Participants' first 1,000 words are due to CJ Penko by Tuesday, November 26th at 9 pm. Cheryl will receive your manuscript and review it beforehand, but all feedback will be live. This is a FANTASTIC opportunity to hear from an expert on how to hook a reader (or agent!) from the very start! ABOUT CHERYL: Cheryl Klein is the editorial director at Workman Kids Trade, an imprint of Workman Publishing / Hachette Book Group, where she publishes books in all hardcover age categories. She is also the author of two adult books, including The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults, and five picture books, including the forthcoming It’s Hard to Be a Baby. Prior to her work at Workman Kids Trade, she spent five years as the editorial director of Lee & Low Books, and sixteen years as an editor at Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic. Find her online at cherylklein.com, @cherylklein.bsky.social on Bluesky, and @chavelaque on Instagram.
**What to Expect:** Interested in joining a meeting? Great! First, please register for your chosen month on our Open Ohio North Events page. The day before (or on the day of) the manuscript critique meeting, we will email you a Zoom link for the session. We typically limit attendance to 15 participants due to time constraints, but the average number of attendees is between 5 and 10. At the beginning of the meeting, we will determine how many members would like to share their manuscripts. This helps us allocate time appropriately for each person. If you plan to share a story, please have your document open on your computer and be ready to “share your screen” through Zoom. Once you select your document, everyone on Zoom will be able to see your screen and read along with you. Alternatively, if you prefer, someone else can read your manuscript for you. If you've had difficulties sharing your screen in the past, you can always email your story to one of our regional team members, and they will share your manuscript on the screen. After you’ve read your story, the members will have the opportunity to provide positive and constructive feedback. We’ll then move on to the next participant. **Please Note:** You do NOT have to share anything to attend a meeting, nor do you need to offer feedback if you don't have any. Feel free to join just to observe! The only guidelines are to be kind to everyone, remain open to suggestions, and most importantly, have fun!