Con Prep!

Eep! I looked at the schedule yesterday with an "Oh shit, don't forget to blog." Then what did I do? Completely forgot.

My only excuse is that I have con-brain. I leave in less than 72 hours for the Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention and I'm all mushy with the things I need to get done. Promo, packing, arranging stuff for the kids and dogs...

But I wouldn't change a thing. RT is my favorite con every year because there are sooooo many people I only get to see there. So all the stress and panic is well worth it.

The one thing I haven't really prepped is my liver, but it remembers what alcohol is like, so I should be okay. I hope.

Anyway, if you are going to be in the New Orleans area (or at RT specifically), please look me up (and remind me to eat and hydrate).

I’m actually arriving early in New Orleans, so feel free to say hi if  you are at the convention hotel. Unless I’m otherwise engaged, I’m available for drinks, chats, practice pitches, pretty much anything goes. (It is NOLA, after all.)

Official stuff:

Wednesday 2:30-4:45 — Entangled’s Candy & Spoons Event

Thursday 10:00-11:00–STEAMPUNK:Putting the “Steam” in “Steampunk”

Thursday 1:30-2:30–Clockwork Carnivale Tea

Thursday 6:30-8:30–RT Pub Crawl (I’ll be with Entangled Publishing at Bourbon Heat)

Friday 11:15-12:15–STEAMPUNK: From Aether to Zeppelin (Steampunk Basics)

Saturday 11:00-2:00–Giant Book Fair

Saturday 6:15-6:45--FanTastic Day Party

I will likely be at ALL of the last parties of the night, but that’s not official stuff, so…

One big reminder about book conventions and authors. Most of us are introverts, so we're as nervous about meeting you as you are about meeting us. We have to actively put on our "time to talk to live people" hats when we walk through the door. So, please, come up and say hi because if you don't, we're likely to just stick with our known people...and none of us wants to be seen as that author who ignores fans in favor of other authors. 

Temporary Insanity

I am shirking my duty a little bit this week. I'll be at Norwescon this weekend and my pre-con schedule is fairly frantic. So, I'm revitalizing and updating a post I did on my blog a whole lot of years ago. In honor of April becoming the new Camp Nanowrimo month and my continued, somewhat insane, participation.

Temporary Insanity

Too many years ago my good friend came to me, brimming with excitement over something she’d discovered. I poured the coffee, and she poured forth a tale so unbelievable that I feared for her sanity. It goes something like this: “Let’s write a 50 thousand word novel in thirty days.”

Imagine my horror. As I tried not to choke on my cookie, she waved a slim, tattered copy of a book in my face and beamed at me. Her chatter faded into the background, but I caught a few words, mainly “50,000” stuck out—and “one month.”  As the book flew back and forth I managed to catch the blurred title: No Plot, No Problem. Well, it sounded innocuous enough.

Still, I was a classic story-starter-and-never-finisher. This idea she was on about, this “finishing” disturbed me. I broke out in a sweat. Deadlines, frankly, gave me the heebie geebies. My comfort zone lay somewhere between: think a lot about it and never actually write it, and write like mad for a week and then get distracted by something shiny and change projects.

I guffawed in the face of her excitement. However, she can be relentless at times. Eventually, I caved and agreed to read the book, but I had no intentions of lending credence to this preposterous concept. Enter: No Plot? No Problem.

I began to read the book, shaking my head in disbelief. I chuckled. I gasped. I caught myself thinking, “maybe.” I came to my senses and kept reading. The book is written in quite the seductive manner. It’s ingenious; it’s hilarious. I thought--this just might be possible. Who said that?

 By the time I’d read the entire thing, I was game. I mean, it was only May and the ludicrous event didn’t even begin until November. I had plenty of time to come up with a reason to back out. Then the oddest thing happened. I got excited. I found myself pacing the floor and watching the calendar. Would November never get here? In early October, the website woke from it’s annual silence, and the message boards burst to life. The anticipation of thousands of authors waiting for Nano to start is infectious. I thought, I’m really going to do this. 

And just like that, I wrote 50,000 words in a month. Many, many times. Was it a torturous, insane, caffeine filled, blur of temporary insanity? Oh yes. What a ride.

Addendum: One week ago the same, nutty friend asked me to write a story in a weekend with her. Because I never learn, I mocked her again, waffled and then relented. In less than three days I churned out a 17K story that I'm pretty tickled with. Perhaps, I should start listening to her. 

But I probably won't. 

Come join us for campnanowrimo.org if you get the urge. 

Thanks,

Frances

Baby Evil Writers 101: Conventions

Baby Evil Writers 101: Conventions

Julie Butcher

There is a lot of information floating around out there about going to conventions in order to learn all of the professional writer things. Others tell you that you should go to meet agents and editors. These are both true in their way, but, depending where you are writing-wise, it makes a ton of difference in which convention you should choose to attend.

Right now I’m gearing this article to the baby evil writers. You’re in this category if you have completed at least one novel, if you are not published with a traditional publishing house, or if you are not represented by a literary agent.

You need to pick and choose your convention wisely. At this stage, you need to meet the scary agents and editors, learn to pitch your book, and go to workshops where you can learn craft.

My rule of thumb for this stage of writing is that you shouldn’t go farther than you can drive in a day. (Of course if you poop green money—this rule doesn’t apply.) You’ll be surprised how much area a day’s drive covers on a map.  Google Writer’s Conventions 2013 and figure out which events land in your area.

Now that you have a list, you need to focus on what you need to get for your convention dollars.

1.       Meeting other writers

2.       Workshops on craft

3.       Meeting agents or editors

4.       Learning the business end of writing

Guaranteed, all of the conventions will be fun. If you’ve never gone to a writer’s convention, start small. Pick one of the more inexpensive ones to get your feet wet. Convention etiquette is an art form in itself. If you pick one with plenty of workshops, and a few editors and agents, it will be a pleasant experience and you won’t end up hiding in your hotel room closet.

I do suggest that you attend one big enough that the workshops are in the same hotel where you stay. Networking opportunities with other writers are generally in the evening, after the workshops are finished. You’ll make friends and build a support community that you can continue online for years.

Avoid national conventions. They’re huge, overwhelming, and really won’t give a baby writer what they need. Don’t pick large fan-oriented conventions like Comic-con (which is awesome on a stick but won’t help your writing one smidge). Fan conventions are to be a fan—not to help you get published.

The reason you do want to attend conferences is to make new writer friends, learn craft, and to realize that editors and agents are real people who eat food and get sore feet just like you. I swear, just deep-down knowing this fact will take a ton of the angst out of sending queries. Plus, a publishing is a long road. You’ll need friends to make the journey seem faster.