Self Marketing--A New Writers "Elephant in the Corner"

I know. I've said it before.

Writing is a business like everything else.

Oh, not the actual coming up with a STORY part. That's fun.

But to be a successful (read: able to eat and stuff) writer, you have to get noticed. I've written about my hunt for the right agent that continues in earnest. But is there more one can do to self-promote? To get a 'message out there' that says "I'm a writer, damnit and you'll love my work!"

After all, it's book sales that make the scribe.

Well, there is. The internet has been a great 'awareness' source. I've found great information and people via Twitter. My blog is an ongoing (and occasionally rambling) sample of my work. Hell, I had someone from Tokyo and another someone from the Ukraine read this just a few days ago.

But what else?

Well cons, of course. ReaderCON was a great learning/networking experience. And as you know I prepped business cards for that.

But I also put together a little teaser post card (see below) that I left lying around. Did it work? I dunno. But it was fun to develop.

The next phase is one where I return to my roots as a tech-weenie. First, I want to boost my 'web presence' by developing a serious website (www.rbwood.com currently reroutes to this blog).

The next is more of a viral campaign. I want to start distributing the little teaser below around both physically and via the net. But I'm looking for suggestions on the best way to do that...so chime in folks!

The last component will be a movie-like trailer I want to distribute on YouTube. That's still in development hell at the moment.

Too much? Too little? I'd love your feedback!

Understanding the 'Acknowledgment Page' in Novels

Like many folks, I used to skip the Acknowledgment Page found in many novels out there.

As I matured, I began to read these pages as a curiosity took over. Who helped this author write this book? Why were there so many people involved?

It wasn't until I started to write again--and this time I'm not stopping until publication--that I began to see the answers for myself.

There is family and those close few friends that you trust to bounce your idea around with. In my case, my partner Tina, my immediate family (especially my sister--Dr. Lorrie Wood and my 86-year-old mother Ruth who has NEVER pulled punches with me or any of my siblings). Sean Develin and Chris Davis who have been bouncing story ideas around with me for over 20 years (usually over some really fine beer), etc. etc.

Then there are those folks who send words of encouragement and will read the early drafts (also helping with research)--my southern cousins Bette, Al, Dee and Steph. I'd put friend like Nicole, Coles, Tim and a dozen or so others in this category. I'd add Jim Morrow to the 'words of encouragement' list. And believe you me, a couple of kind words from an award winning writer go a LONG way. I should also mention folks I work with at my consulting job who quietly follow my progress and slip in words of encouragement (as long as my real work gets done).

Other folks are more critical (and are teaching me to look seriously and critically at my work) -- Leah Petersen is one (in fact she read the first 50 pages of my novel last night and sent out a boat load of comments--my favorite of which was one from her review of my query letter -- "No, sorry. You don’t get rhetorical questions. Never, uh-uh, no-no." She was right AND it was funny). My partner Tina who deals with my writing neurosis daily who is wicked with a red pen...so many more.

So I guess, dear reader, what I'm saying is that there are a lot of people who help out with writing a book. Spend a moment reading the credits and realize what a daunting task it is to finalize a work of fiction for submission. There are loads of unsung heros out there who gladly help for the price of a beer or a box of chocolate.

5MF Competition results and Writing Update

Last night I won my first writing competition!

Leah Petersen (who has written a really good SciFi love story called 'Mourn the Sun.' Excerpts can be found HERE.) runs a weekly 'quick and dirty' competition called "5 Minute Fiction." I blogged about it before as I entered for the first time last week and came in second.

This week I got the the prize! I couldn't feel more honored!

What did I win? you may be asking yourself.

Additional traffic to my site and via Twitter. And the knowledge that some people actually like what I write.

To us insecure writers, nothing is more precious then knowing what you love to do is enjoyed by someone other then ones' mom or partner.

The contacts I've made through this short, but thrilling competition have even helped with my query letter (I'm looking adoringly (but professionally) at Leah and Sessha) and others have provided constructive feedback on The Prodigal's Foole chapter posted off to the right.

Next up are a few short stories and magazine submissions. I have a hard target of 31 August to mail those out so I'd better get cracking!

Meanwhile, novel revisions, query revisions and a hunt for agent representation continues. it looks to be a busy rest-of-summer indeed.

Should you be interested in seeing my entry for 5MF, click HERE. I also recommend that you read the other entries. It's amazing what writers came up with in just five minutes--and they are all good. But also remember--when typing like a maniac--edits are a luxury!

UPDATE to Add: Just found out Jim Morrow's SHAMBLING TOWARDS HIROSHIMA just won the 2010 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award! Congrats Jim!!

ReaderCON - Wrap up and Day Three

I write this monday after the taxis have been paid, the luggage has been collected and most all have jetted or driven back the their respective Bat-caves.

I might just be a little depressed about that. More commentary after the Day Three synopsis.

Day Three

I have been to many conferences in my life and career as a technology executive and consultant. ReaderCON was my first real exposure to the professional writing community at large. Especially writers, editors, agents etc. in the genres I'm most interested in.

By Sunday I was physically and emotionally drain like I'd never been before at the myriad of technical conferences I've attended.

So, coffee in had I dragged myself through the lobby of the Burlington Marriott and made a beeline to my first panel I wanted a front seat and to sip my coffee in peace for a few moments. I checked the Twitter updates and commentary from the night before (Some really funny stuff from the 24th Kirk Poland Memorial Bad Prose competition which Yves Meynard won) and prepared myself for what I thought was going to be a very sad panel.

Absent Friends - Wolfe, Van Gelder, Schweitzer, Morrow (Kathy), and Clute. Lead by David G. Hartwell.

John Clute had prepared a list of ReaderCON favorites, attendees and people in the business who had passed on in the last year. What I expected was a somber view of lives and accomplishments. I really should have known better. Late children's author (and child abuser) William Mayne was discussed as was his fractured legacy. Artist Frank Frazetta, Editor Knox Burger, ReaderCON favorite and publisher Charles Brown and many, many more. The panel shared memories and personal stories. There was as much laughing as there were tears.

The Writing of Olaf Stapledon - Keller, Kessel, Sleight, and Swanger. Moderated by Walter H Hunt.

Olaf Stapleton was this years 'Memorial Guest of Honor.' Although having passed away in 1950, he's won awards as recent as nine years ago (The Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award). Along with his non-fiction philosophical works (A Modern Theory of Ethics is one) he is probably one of only two SF writers who influenced the field for his time (The other being H. G. Wells). Many of his works were discussed as was his influence. And I have to say I was glad Odd John was brought up as it is a fantastic super-man type story.

Kaffeeklatsche with James Morrow

Me & Jim

By now you've probably guessed that I'm a HUGE Jim Morrow fan. I've been reading his work since 1985 (starting with Is This the Way the World Ends published that year). And a dear friend of mine (Sean Develin) introduced us at Sean's wedding years ago. I met Jim and his wife Kathy while wearing a kilt. What could be more awesome then that?

I chatted with both Jim and Kathy through out the conference, trying not to take up too much of there time. After all--they were working.

We discussed my book and his upcoming project, which he expanded on during the kaffeeklatche. A few of us gathered to chat about the new project, and we ended up discussing Teleological points, Darwin (and Wilson), and why a perfectly good victorian ghost story now had to include 'steampunk' elements in it at the request of the editor.

Jim's brilliant and engaging...and we all had a great discussion that spilled into the hallway when the allotted time was up.

I spent the rest of the shortened day saying goodbye to new friends and listening to readings (Blake Charlton, Mary Robinette Kowel, and Charles Stross).

The Wrap Up

This is the part were I tell you what I learned and provide other tid-bits of info not quite in the main program. Never fear, fellow ReaderCONians, I will not divulge the 'Not So Secret' Secret Parties nor shall I venture to guess which marriages broke up this year!

However I will talk about a few things not included in this and the previous two postings. First off, one of the guests of honor for ReaderCON 21 was Nalo Hopkinson. Never a more witty, charming and all-around brilliant person have I meet. I attended a few of her panels, and spoke with her--albeit briefly as her time was at a premium. I've read, to great enjoyment, Skin Folk and So Long Been Dreaming. I've especially been studying her work as I've been developing a Jamaican character for later in my series and her books and short stories are a wealth of information for that culture. She also studied the works of Jim Morrow, so a total win in my book!!

I met a lot of people in the writing business. There wasn't a single person who didn't want to chat or (if they were running to a panel) wouldn't make time to meet me later for coffee. I could make an entire blog entry just listing names of everyone I met, spoke with, laughed with etc. But let me send out a general 'Thank you' to all of them, and I'm sure e-mails will fly about in the near future.

And last, and most important for my goal of becoming a published author, I LEARNED. So I'll be taking many techniques and thoughts back the The Prodigal's Foole and see if I can make it even better.

Bring on ReaderCON 22!

ReaderCON - Day Two Details

Day one was a marathon session. I got home around midnight the night before. So the next morning at 5 AM when the cats decided to serenade Tina and I for their breakfast was a raucous and hilarious affair.

Made back to the Burlington Marriott around 9-ish for Day two. There was a glorious shrine to the Starbucks god where--when I deposited the proper amount of Drachmas--a goddess poured me a large coffee-flavoured ambrosia.

The dealer room was already hopping and it is the scene of a serious credit card incident on my part. I bought a few of Caitlin Kiernan's latest books (The Red Tree and Daughter of Hounds), Deborah Noyes' The Ghosts of Kerfol and a dozen or so other paperbacks to replace those lost a few years ago when I moved up to Boston.

Finally, I drained the last of my coffee and went into my first panel.

Avatar and the Future of Planetary Romance - Anreadis, Slonczewski, Sturgeon, and Waldrop. Moderated by Kathy Morrow

I can hear you all groaning now. Stop it! It was fun and the first session of the morning that was a bit light--or so thought it would be. I have to say, the discussion around the sex scene in Avatar degraded rapidly into a discussion of James Cameron's writing style. And no, it wasn't pleasant. But yes, it was quite funny.

The best line of the day (and I paraphrase here): "It all has to do with the four 'F's' of biology: Feed, Fight, Flight and...Reproduction." It was from a later talk but I thought I'd mention it here before forgetting.

Starmaker My Destination: Teleological SF - Houghton, Keller, Morrow, and a jet-lagged but brilliant Graham Sleight. Lead by Jeffery A. Carver.

An interesting discussion (which was expanded on in my Kaffeeklatche with Jim on day three) of Science Fiction usurping the place of religion in olden times by creating some sort of wish fulfillment regarding a true ultimate destiny of the human race.

Folklore and its Discontents - Kornher-Stace, Ringal, Schweitzer, and Swanwick. Lead by Judith Berman.

Definitions of folklore were debated and discussed. How the evolution of folklore leads to re-interpretations, then mis-interpretations. This panel fed nicely into some of interpretations in my book The Prodigal's Foole which delves into the folklore surrounding the Catholic Church and will expand to urban folklore and ancient legends in books two and three.

The Fiction of the Unpleasant - Allen, Cramer, Reed, Straub, and the always fantastic Barry Malzberg. Lead by Adam Golanski.

"I'm not sure what this panel is supposed to be about!" - Barry Malzberg

The discussion was centered on Peter Straub's recent online essay comparing the best 'horror' and 'literary' fiction noting the only difference is that 'horror' acknowledges that life is filled with "crappy, low-rent feeling states." While fear and disgust dominate horror, other darker emotions such as shame, loss, envy, insecurity are used in Straub's argument. But this potential new genre wasn't discussed...leading to Malzberg's comment.

After this experience, I decided on listening to readings for the rest of the sessions. I heard Robert V. S. Redlick, Liz Bear, Alaya Dawn Johnson read Moonshine and Adam Golanski read Green (a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight).

By this time, it was time to head home. But the evening was far from over. I had a whole new set of books to dig into.

Next: Day Three

ReaderCON 21 - Day One Details

I've got one more day at ReaderCON. The rest of the afternoon will be a series of informal 'meet and greets' with a few of the many folks I've meet. I have about an hour before then so I'll try and type up all the Day One details.

Believe you-me...I'll be processing for a while.

I arrived about ten thirty after a hellish morning at the salt mines. I'd been looking forward to the convention (as many of you know) for months.

Anyway-- I arrived, hot and a little sweaty due to typical New England summer weather. I may have been a little cranky as well.

After grabbing a coffee I jumped on the pre-registration line. That's where I overheard a gentleman discussing a story about post Civil War Vampires in Tennessee.

I was definitely at ReaderCON.

I scoped out the Burlington Marriott, mapping out the panels/readings/kaffeeklatsches I wanted to attend

when I bumped into Allen Steele.

Yeah...the SciFi writer. We chatted for a few minutes when I asked another gentleman to take a picture.

Ten minutes later when the caffeine kicked in, I realized the man who took the photo was none other then Scott Edelman. Remind me to find him on Sunday and apologize!

Writers, readers, editors and agents poured into the conference. I made my way through the throng to my first panel.

Writing Realistic Speech (I Weaving You My Story, OUI?) - Gilman, Hopkinson, Menon and Meynard. Moderated by Krasnoff

A discussion about the representation of different voices in writing, how best to represent them and avoiding stereotypical patterns (think 'Fleur Delacour' in the Harry Potter series). Ms. Hopkinson may live in Canada now, but she was born Jamaican. Mr. Menon is of western asian decent. Mr. Meynard is French-Canadian. The discussion ranged from subtile ways to convey a character in a different culture (swearing in their native language, for example. Ms. Hopkinson rattled off a wonderful Jamaican curse that I wish I could repeat here!)

Mr. Meynard spoke about translation into the French language and how English conjunctions etc. have no real equivalent in French.

Mr. Menon discussed the unfortunate and stereotypical verbal 'abuse' the Indian characters experience in various works of fiction.

The discussion became even more interesting when Ms. Gilman expanded on the problem by discussing cultures completely created from the mind of an author.

The Scientific Mystery Story - D'Ammassa, McDevitt, Steele, Swanger. Lead by Walter Hunt

Who dunnit. HOW dunnit. The SciFi mystery. A lively comparison of 'normal' mystery stories-- such as the Sherlock Holmes series and comparing how SciFi handles the genre. Discussions of Asimov's Wendell Urth stories, Jack McDevitt's ownThe Engines of God and the pitfalls of using time travel as a 'convenient device.'

New England: At Home to the Unheimlich - Cox, Kiernan, Ringel, Tremblay, Valente. Moderated by Hand.

New England is old. Older then most parts of the country (as far as Western culture is concerned). A discussion around the old secrets and horrors of New England that lend itself to 'atmospheric' horror fiction. The discussion expanded to discussions of the old South courtesy of Caitlin R. Kiernan.

Is Anybody Out There? - DiFilipo, Morrow, Meynard. Editor Marty Halpern moderates.

A panel and readings from three of the authors in the "Is Anybody Out There?" anthology put together by Marty Halpern and Nick Gevers. Click on the picture above to read more at Amazon.

There are two possibilities. There are either other civilizations in the universe, or we're all alone. Both thoughts boggle the mind. The panel began with Mr. Halpern discussing the process to get the book to launch day. 'Process' doesn't seem to cover the (YEARS worth of) work to get the book to press. The rest of the event included readings by four of the ReaderCON attending authors: Paul DiFilipo, Yves Meynard, and a man I've know for years and is a wonderful mentor: James Morrow (seen to the right with a 'paradoxical brain').

I don't want to say more yet as I'd prefer to review the entire anthology in a later post. But it was a packed house and a fantastic launch for the book!

The Unknowable Character - Antosca, Cute, Dube, and Reed. Lead by Michael Cisco

A discussion of characters deliberately (and possibly more realistically) left unknowable to the reader. Examples include Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" -- the character of Seymour Glass.

Authoritativeness in Fiction - Dirda, Kiernan, Langan, Mirabelli, and Valenti. Lead by James Morrow

Discussions of use of 'nonexistent' facts to create a sense of authority. When is the use of 'creative facts' or a non-existant citation to create an authoritative narrative wrong? When is it appropriate? and does the modern reader 'catch on' to this technique (unlike the audience in Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar").

Brainstorming Inclusive Immersive Worlds - Workshop with N. K. Jemisin

Discussion of one of the failures in modern day fantasy 'other-world' creation: The natural tendency for a society to sub-divide in to groups based on race, beliefs etc. We developed an entire world as a group and all writers are allowed to develop there own immersive fiction based on this secondary shared-developed world. More on that perhaps later!

I spent the rest of the evening attending readings and socializing. I thoroughly enjoyed Alison Sinclar's Lightborn and John Langan's House of Windows.

Next up: Day two.

Evening- Day One

Exhausted.

Panels are done for the day. Had a great time, learned a lot. Fantastic discussions with Allen Steele and Jim Morrow among others.

I think I'm going to head in for some networking then off to sleep. Maybe I'll be able to type coherently in the morning and add details on each of the panels.

In the meantime, a book recommendation. An anthology edited by Nick Givers and Marty Halpern (The later of which I chatted with today). Excellent SCiFi writers and their take on the whole Fermi Paradox thing.

It's called "Is Anybody Out There?"

A few photos from the panel: