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Conventions, Workshops, etc.


fireflyz

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Hey all,

I wanted to put up a section where we could discuss conventions and writing workshops. This was a huge step in my evolution as a writer. World Fantasy gave me a lot of contacts and really opened my eyes to the business side of writing. I'd like to see this as a resource for new authors looking to find conventions near them. Also, we can share experiences, tips, etc. And if anyone's heading to a con they can see if others are going as well. Always nice to know a few people there :-)

@Akoebel, I don't know if you saw my post on TWG before it went down in your convention thread. I'm going to Worldcon in Chicago next year so if you do decide to cross the pond let me know.

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Anyone going to NYC Comicon in October? I wanted to go last year to see some agents as well as Brandon, Joe Abercrombie, and Jim Butcher. World Fantasy won out. I'm considering going this year, but I'm not sure what authors will be there (if any). If anyone is going, lemme know. I'm still on the fence, so we'll see.

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Thanks! I think I know what you're referring to. One of the early Writing Excuses focused on conventions. I used a lot of their advice when I went to World Fantasy last year. If you do find it though I'd love to look at it just to compare with the podcast. I agree, Worldcon and World Fantasy have a significantly larger population of agents and editors. Unfortunately, I can't attend any of those conventions this year due to work. I know a few agents last year that went to Comiccon and one advantage is that there appears to be less competition for their time. I do have other motives for wanting to go though. One is that I'm hoping they have some good authors there that I can geek out over and the other is that I think I might be grabbing lunch with one of the agents who has taken an interest in my manuscript. Still very much in the air at this point but we'll see.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all,

I'm definitely going to NYC Comiccon this year. Brandon's going to be on a panel with PVBrett and others October 15th (Saturday night). Unfortunately, I will probably be going by myself. My fiance will be traveling home from a convention trip (work related) that weekend so she's out. One of my good friends was planning on going but forgot that he had agreed to perform a wedding on Saturday so he's out as well. I have a few other options but I'm not sure that they will pan out. The area I live in is depressingly short of sci fi and fantasy lovers. I live about 3 hours from NYC so I'll probably do a park and ride, but I'm sure I'll be starving after the panel. So if anyone is going definitely let me know if you'd like to grab dinner or something.

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  • 3 weeks later...

If only the NYC Comic Con wasn't always in the middle of October. Between school and the Jewish holidays I've never been able to go even though it's a quick subway ride away.

On an unrelated note though, is anyone here planning to go to JordanCon in April? While it's not necessarily geared toward writing, and there is not likely to be an editor presence there (apart from Harriet, of course) it is, in my opinion, a great first convention for people to go to-it's small and the people are nice-, and there is a good writing track, which includes a workshop session. The only thing that hurts the workshop is everyone is reading each other's work for the first time, so there isn't much chance to get a lot of feedback. It would be cool though if several Reading Excuses members attend, to have maybe a separate, in-person workshop, as we're more likely to have read each other's work before.

And, of course, there are writers there. Unfortunately Brandon Sanderson isn't attending this time, but Mary Robinette-Kowal is, and I would assume they would invite at least one other author.

As this may lead you to believe, I really enjoyed it when I went, and I'm likely going to attend again this year. And if anyone else is planning to go, it can only help to make it known in advance. :)

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Luckily my fiance was able to get her boss to let her leave her convention early so she's going with me and my brother on Saturday. Haha, so lucky to have her. She's really not into fantasy too much. Her main loves are Rowling and King. For all that she went with me to World Fantasy last year even thought it was her birthday weekend. Due to deployments I'd missed the last two of hers and she still followed me to Ohio. So NYC is still on :-)

@Yados/anyone interested: We'll be at the con most of the day, but after Brandon's panel (6:30) we'll be looking to get something to eat. If you're free/interested let me know and maybe we can try to meet up. I may be meeting with an agent, but it's still up in the air. That aside, should be a fun time to meet fellow fans!

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And, of course, there are writers there. Unfortunately Brandon Sanderson isn't attending this time, but Mary Robinette-Kowal is, and I would assume they would invite at least one other author.

A small con like this doesn't need to have more than one writer guest, and typically won't. Though Brandon may send me since he can't go.

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Just wanted to provide an update on my NYCC experience. First off, a lot of fun. If you've never been to a Comic Con it's worth going just to see the crazy outfits. We got there right as it opened at 10am. First stop was the TOR booth to try to score some AoL posters. Unfortunately, they were already out of them. I did pick up a couple of the newspaper pieces that Brandon made. Very cool, btw. NYCC is not really the place to try to find and pitch to agents/editors because there are a million people crammed into one convention center. It wasn't too crowded at first, but by the time 2pm rolled around it was elbow to elbow.

Brandon had two signings. I showed up at the first about 30 min early. I was talking with my fiance and not paying attention and somehow a line formed 15 minutes before the signing and I ended up being in the middle. Brandon was a little late (couldn't help thinking of that WoT moment where Rand is late to appear in Tear and Moiraine says he's learned the first rule of kings: making people wait). Once he showed up the signing got underway. There was a couple in front of us with Mistborn cloaks and he took their picture with his phone. I had guessed that he would spend more time at the TOR signing so I didn't want to take up too much of his time. I chatted with him about Writing Excuses and shared with him how much the podcast has advanced my writing. He commented (positively) on a few of the agents that are looking my MS. Unfortunately, I went a little fanboy and froze when he asked me if I had any writing questions.

I completely underestimated the second signing. Apparently, even if fans don't follow Brandon on Twitter they do follow TOR. We showed up 30 min. early again, but this time there was a huge line. I was number 45 and I think it went back to 75. Brandon showed up early this time and got right down to business. TOR was giving away a lot of free books from some great authors. They gave away 50 copies of Mistborn (paperback) to the first 50 people. I already have a hardcover copy and I'd purchased a paperback for the first signing so I passed my copy back to some first timers and decided to get the newspapers signed for some friends back home. They also raffled off 3 copies of AoL and one audiobook. This time I was prepared and asked Brandon how he was able to portray the atheist character in WoK so well as he is LDS. Honestly, when reading that character I've always wondered if there were parts that Brandon believed because it was THAT convincing. He explained that he actually went out and interviewed atheists as well as studying several popular atheist blogs to understand their world view. We chatted for a few more minutes and that was that.

Brandon offerred to play MAGIC afterwards for an hour before his panel. I was sorely tempted, but my fiance hates MAGIC and it was already a long day. All told, we went through 3 states using 3 forms of transportation and took 15 hours to get there and back, so she had had enough. Now, where were the agents and editors in all of this? Well, I follow a lot of agents on twitter and last year it seemed like a lot showed up to NYCC. This year they either didn't go or didn't tweet about it. I discovered a few days afterwards that one of the women behind the TOR booth was in fact an editor. She was an editor I had searched for at World Fantasy last year and couldn't find. Well, she was there but her picture looks nothing like she does and I never connected the dots. It's a shame because I've never pitched to an editor before and was looking forward to trying. Ah well.

Moral of the story? NYCC is great for seeing cool things and getting writing advice from your favorite authors. Networking and meeting agents/editors? Stick to World Fantasy and WorldCon. Pics are available on my Twitter account from my meeting with Brandon if you're interested. He wore a suit jacket and everyone kept asking him why he was so dressed up. He explained that his wife dressed him and my fiance said he was a wise man. Great author, great times.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I can't imagine it being more, or even as crowded as the ToM signing. Of course, that was the only signing of his I've been to (excepting the one he did at JordanCon) so I really have no idea what to expect.

It is the last stop before he goes to the UK, so unless he's leaving for the UK immediately afterward, it is possible that he might have some time to talk afterward, depending on how crowded it is of course.

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Hi all,

Just wanted to say that I'm meeting a well known north-Irish SF writer this Sunday (you might have seen his name on a ballot some place this year).

I'll be asking him questions about the state of publication in general and in the UK in particular.

If you have questions you'd like answered, feel free to post here.

Back to nanowrimo...

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Just a quick post while I'm still at the con. I spent a full hour talking with Ian McDonald about the business of publishing.

He described in great detail all the elements of the submission package. Here are some elements, besides the well known things we've learned from WE.

- work on the tagline. Make it snappy.

- the query must include the intended audience : age group, ethnicity, ... If possible, include things like 'people who read xxx or yyy will love this'

- the short synopsis must include descriptions for each main character. The best form for this is a noun followed by a contradictory adjective (ex:a compassionate Nazi) this shows the potential for conflict very fast.

- short synopsis must answer who/where/when/what/why

- long synopsis should be about 10 pages

- do your research about agents

- never ask for a follow-up before at least 6 weeks

- trends of SF, fantasy, and horror are linked. Right now, SF is at the lowest, but expected to rise again. It's best to submit when your genre is on the rise. To do this, he advises to watch the number of book sells in each genre each month (he suggested looking at Locus for this). this way, shifts in the industry are much easier to spot, and you can submit at the right time.

- the 3 chapters in e submission package must kick chull. To do this, it's best to end the third chapter in the submission in 'a dramatic beat'. If the current manuscript doesn't include such a scene in the end of chapter 3, don't be afraid to reshuffle the chapters a little for the query package. Yes, the partial can be a little bit different from the complete manuscript, so you're allowed to play a little bit.

- have a career plan

Doing all this work is necessary not only to submit, but also to be able to pitch the book to editors while at a con.

We covered much more, but right now, these stand foremost in my mind. I need some time to reorder things before I make a proper post.

I hope you find these useful.

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