conventions

I’d noticed that reserving a table at the Northwest Book Fest was around 100 bucks. So I asked some other people if they would be interested in sharing a table and enough of us clubbed in that it ended up being very reasonable. We had Brenda Cooper, Louise Marley, Vicki Saunders, Jeanine Southard, Django Wexler, and myself as well as books from Hydra House, including the new Clarion West anthology, Telling Tales, and KC Ball’s short story collection.

As far as selling goes, the first day was not particularly successful and on that day 50% of the book sold were to each other. The second day was more of the same, although we didn’t sell as many to each other. Overall, doing a group thing was definitely a good idea: it made for a table packed with attractive, professionally done books along with some table display stuff like a robot, a war-elephant, and some fantasy stuffed animals (including plushie Chtulhu). It also meant we had people to chat with and the livelier appearance of our table helped pull people in, I think. (Plus we had candy.) We might have done better on the first floor than the second, and there were some lighting issues.

I presented a workshop on podcasting, which was well attended, and I ran them through some whys and whats of recording your own podcast as well as ranting a bit about rights and not paying to publish. A number of them signed up to get advance notice of the Building an Online Presence for Writers book.

Overall, it was fun, and there was some decent networking, plus I passed out some postcards on my classes. On the other hand, did we sell many books? Not at all. However, the cost of the $100 table, split between all of us, was pretty darn reasonable, and it meant we could attend workshops. We didn’t have a formal name, so I’d put “Seattle Speculative Fiction Writers” down. So many people asked about our group the first day that Django ended up putting out a sign-up sheet for news of group activities and gathering two pages of e-mail addresses. I look forward to the first wine and chat party.

If I ran an effort like this again, I’d focus more on selling: perhaps do book bundles, make a sign letting people know the books were priced at special rates for the book festival, maybe have some lower-priced items or stocking-stuffer type trinkets, and would have a signup sheet for other mailing lists, like each author’s. However, the location was so difficult to get to that there was no foot traffic and some people had difficulty finding the place — if they do it in the same location next year, I’ll pass and spend that time writing instead, but as Brenda noted, if they move it back downtown, it might be worthwhile.

Lisa Mantchev described it best when she Tweeted: I’ve never actually been run over by a Zamboni full of glitter, but that’s what it feels like after a really great convention.

That’s how SteamCon was. I arrived Friday afternoon for the Steampunk Reimagines Fairy Tales. This was a writing-focused panel, and I’d like to see future SteamCons make a wider space for a writing track, since this was jam-packed with attendees. Lisa Mantchev was our excellent moderator, and J.R. Boyett, a fellow participant in the FairyPunk project, was another panelist. We talked about how to create stories that best take advantage of the steampunk setting, without making it seem as though you’re just gluing a gear on it.

Later that evening, I had the first of my three panels on Victorian explorers. This was the best of them, because it focused on women explorers, and that’s an area I am reasonably well-read in, because I love some of those stories so much. That session included moderator Carmen Beaudry, Lori Edwards and another exquisitely garbed woman whose name, unfortunately, I didn’t catch. It was AWESOME and we all had a lovely time. I’ll mention some of the names we touched on, and urge you to go look these ladies and their amazing stories up: Harriet Chalmers Adams, Gertrude Bell, Isabelle Eberhardt, Mary Kingsley, Annie Smith Peck, May French Sheldon, and Lady Hester Stanhope, among many others.

Saturday was two more panels on expeditions, first one with Joshua Merrill-Nach on Great Quests of the 19th Century and later one on cryptozooological expeditions with a last minute substitute panelist whose name I know only as “Sean,” unfortunately, but who was terrific. Both panels were pretty full, the second one standing room only.

Sunday morning, I read from “Her Windowed Eyes, Her Chambered Heart” to a small but select audience that included the fabulous Sandra M. Odell. And then I made one last pass through the wonders of the dealer’s room and retreated home. Adieu glitter and goggles!

I’m off to Worldcon tomorrow! I’m reading on Friday at 11. Stop in to listen and you may win a fabulous prize, since I’ll have a bunch of the Near+Far pendants with me. Right now I’m doing laundry and figuring out exactly how many pens I need to take with me.

If you’re trying a con for the first time, here’s some necessities:

• Food. I always have some protein bars with me, even though I know I’ll be able to swing past the con suite, the green room, and the SFWA suite and probably find something to nosh on there. Along the same lines, I’ll have a small waterbottle with me, which goes in my carryon so I don’t have to buy expensive airport drinks.
• Speaking of carryons, I’ve learned by now that certain things should go in there: change of clothing, toothbrush, all medications, and anything else that I would severely miss if my checked baggage should turn up missing.
• Layers. While it’ll be hot in San Antonio, conference rooms can be awfully chilly, so I usually have a shawl in my bag. And a fan for times when the AC is broken.
• Big envelope. All receipts get shoved in there for sorting out post-con, along with business cards I collect. In the meantime, I’ve put all my flight/hotel info and the story I’ll be reading from in it.
• Emergency reading. Well, of course.
• Notebook and multiple pens. Margaret Atwood suggests a pencil for airplane travel; I just make sure I’ve got plenty of pens. And the notebook has my name and contact info written in BIG LETTERS in case it goes astray and someone finds it.
• Small purse that holds just my cell phone and room key, for evenings when I want to go to parties and not worry about toting my usual bag.
• Business cards and some postcards advertising my classes.
• A first aid kit that includes aspirin, decongestant, antacids, etc.
• Charging cables! For both phone and the ipad which, with a wireless keyboard, serves all my laptop needs.
• Extra book bag that rolls up. Just in case.
• Ear plugs and sleep mask. Sleep is precious.
• Moisturizer. Because hotels are always way too dry.
• Comfortable shoes. Life’s too short not to wear comfortable shoes.

I’m headed to LoneStarCon3 at the end of August and here’s some of what I’m looking forward to:

• Participating in a couple of group readings
• The chance to pick up my copy of Beyond the Sun from Bryan Thomas Schmidt
• The Glitter and Mayhem party. I want to do something worthy of it, so I’ve decided to add a couple more colors to my usual pink (explained in The Pink Hair Manifesto) just for WorldCon and let YOU decide the color. Just vote in the comments. The top three colors will get at least a streak’s worth of hair. If you are supporting me in the Clarion West Write-a-thon, even by just a dollar (which also gets you a bonus stack of fine fiction), your vote counts ten times as much. Everyone who votes gets entered to win a copy of the book or a piece of the Near + Far jewelry.

Here’s your options, all Manic Panic colors:

After Midnight
Atomic Turquoise (currently at 4 votes)
Bad Boy Blue
Blue Moon (currently at 10 votes)
Electric Amethyst
Electric Banana
Electric Lava
Electric Lizard (currently at 1 vote)
Electric Tiger Lily (currently at 1.5 votes)
Enchanted Forest
Fuchsia Shock
Green Envy
Infra Red (currently at 10 votes)
Lie Locks
Mystic Heather (currently at 21 votes)
New Rose
Pillarbox Red
Pretty Flamingo (currently at .5 votes)
Psychedelic Sunset
Purple Haze (currently at 31 votes)
Raven
Red Passion
Rockabilly Blue
Rock and Roll Red
Shocking Blue (currently at .5 votes)
Sunshine
Ultra Violet
Vampire Red
Vampire’s Kiss
Venus Envy
Violet Knight (currently at .5 votes)
Voodoo Blue (currently at 12 votes)
Wildfire (currently at 1.5 votes)

Surviving the Slush Pile
Thursday 4:00pm-5:00pm Cascade 2
If the editor doesn’t read past the first page, it doesn’t matter how good the rest is. How to quickly capture and hold a slush reader’s attention.
Cat Rambo, Gardner Dozois, Jenna M. Pitman, Keffy R.M. Kehrli

Steampunk: What Is It and Why Is It So Popular?
Thursday 5:00pm-6:00pm Cascade 3&4
Steampunk has been referred to as “the Future Trend of Science Fiction” but is the subgenre merely a return to the classics as spun by Verne and Wells? Join our panelists as they look at recent works of Steampunk, share their opinions of what makes Steampunk different from the work of the founding fathers of Science Fiction, and why the genre is so appealing.
Cat Rambo, Chelsea M. Campbell, Corry L. Lee, Karen Kincy

Writing What You Don’t Know
Friday 11:00am-Noon Cascade 7
Many writers have heard the advice to “write what you know”. But, have you really met any dragons, or robots, or zombies, or vampires? How do you write about something that you haven’t experienced personally? Tips for how to (and how not to) use research and common sense to improve your writing.
Stina Leicht, Cat Rambo, Corry L. Lee, Michaelbrent Collings

Cat Rambo reads A Cavern Ripe With Dreams
Friday 2:00pm-2:30pm Cascade 1
An excerpt from the novella. Rated G
Cat Rambo

Your Anti-Procrastination First Aid Kit
Friday 5:00pm-6:00pm Cascade 2
Do you love to write but don’t get as much writing done as you’d like to? Conquer your fears… and your rough draft.
Cat Rambo, Dennis R. Upkins, Ellen Forney, Marta Murvosh

The Comeback Genre: Sword & Sorcery
Sunday 2:00pm-3:00pm Cascade 7
Sword and Sorcery has a rich history, going back to at least Howard and Smith. And it’s making a comeback. Our panelists talk about its rich history and why it’s back and better than ever.
Bart Kemper, Cat Rambo

Reasons to Leave Your Cave
Sunday Noon-1:00pm Cascade 6
Should writing be a solitary profession? How can authors banding together improve their careers? Or is the writing community a distraction from work?
Cat Rambo, Chelsea M. Campbell, Jack Skillingstead, Kevin J. Anderson

Panel description: Explore the overlap among Magical Realism and contemporary, urban, and traditional fantasy–and even horror.
Participants: Lillian Cauldwell, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Nick Mamatas, Cat Rambo, Kat Richardson (M)

I don’t know that we said too much that was insightful about the division between magic realism and fantasy, but we did arrive at a decent and interesting booklist, which I present here for your pleasure.

Ambrose Bierce – An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (free on the Kindle)
Mikhail Bulgakov – The Master and Margarita
Paola Corso – Giovanna’s 86 Circles, The Laundress Catches Her Breath (poetry)
Andy Duncan – Beluthahatchie and Other Stories
Laura Esquival – Like Water for Chocolate
Barbara Howes – Eye of the Heart
Natsuki Ikezawa – The Navidad Incident: The Downfall of Matías Guili
Franz Kafka – anything (I like the stories.)
Stephen King – The Green Mile (opinions differed on whether this should be counted)
Yann Martell – Life of Pi
Haruki Murakami – anything
Salman Rushdie – Midnight’s Children
Elif Shafak – The Bastard of Istanbul, Flea Palace
Latif Tekin – Dear Shameless Death
Ngugi wa Thiongo – The Wizard of the Crow
Amos Tutuola – The Palm-Wine Drunkard
T.H. White – Mrs. Masham’s Repose
Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Prisoner of Heaven (Cemetery of Forgotten Books), The Shadow of the Wind

Margin Magazine

So I got up this morning and discovered five bajillion Facebook notifications, so I figured SOMETHING must have happened. And, to my surprise, I found out the something was that I’m on the WFC award ballot for my work with Fantasy Magazine. I really loved my time with the magazine, and so that was a huge and lovely validation.

Many, many congrats to everyone on the ballot, and particularly Clarkesworld Magazine, whose amazing staff better deserves to win the category I’m in, as does Charles Tan, who’s done an awesome job with the Bibliophile Stalker website. There’s lots and lots of names whose presence is well-deserved, but particular shouts out to Lily Yu, the inimitable Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, Karen Joy Fowler, and Ken Liu. 🙂

I hadn’t been planning on attending WFC this year, but now I’m thinking Wayne and I will be there.

We were talking about cons on a board I frequent, and I thought this was worth re-blogging:

Cons and their pros:
Chance to connect with people. To make the most of this, do a little legwork beforehand and contact the people you want to make sure to connect with, try to have coffee or lunch or whatever. Sometimes people buy me lunches or drinks at cons in return for asking advice; if you plan on really pumping someone for info, this is a graceful gesture, and one I need to be better about.

Chance to build some recognition. To make the most of this – participate in panels and be a good participant who comes with some interesting things to say and has done a little thinking and/or research beforehand. Also, be good at public speaking. If you want to do this and are bad at it, it might be worth investing some time into practice. Connie Willis told me Toastmasters participation is very good for this. If you really want to make the most of panel participation, take notes to use as blog post fodder (and then remember to post them, I always think I will and manage it about 1 time out of 3.)

Chance to sell things. Have promotional material and think about how you’re going to use it. In my experience, stacks of postcards dumped on a table yield little return; it’s much better to be passing them out yourself and talking them up a little. Here again – be a good guest first and a sales rep second.

And they can be fun!

Cons and their cons:
They’re expensive! Be aware some of that may be tax deductible and if so, keep your receipts scrupulously. Ways to save at a con – get a roommate, bring a box of granola bars so you can skip the inevitably expensive hotel breakfast, learn where the sources of free food at a con usually are (con suite and green room are usually a good place to start for that, also parties).

They take time away from writing. Take a notebook with you and spend some time doing it, but also remember that con time is work-time for you, and treat yourself accordingly.

I just came back from a GoH stint at MidSouthCon. While I was there, I tried to be a good guest — I participated in everything asked of me, I spent time mingling, I was friendly and approachable for fans, and I made sure I knew what was expected of me. (Which made a great con experience even greater!)

I should have spent more time researching the dealer’s room and making sure the dealers had my books if I’d wanted to be even better about things. I did take a number of books, but mainly I swapped them or gave them away as thank yous while there.

And hey, I’m reading there tomorrow at 11, come see me! It’ll be the story from Apex, “So Glad We Had This Time Together,” which I think most of you haven’t heard. Talk to me while you’re there, and I’ll give you a coupon for $50 off an upcoming online class! (To see what’s coming up, click on “Upcoming Classes” up above.

Enjoy this advice on writers and conventions and want more content like it? Check out the classes Cat gives via the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, which offers both on-demand and live online writing classes for fantasy and science fiction writers from Cat and other authors, including Ann Leckie, Seanan McGuire, Fran Wilde and other talents! All classes include three free slots.

Prefer to opt for weekly interaction, advice, opportunities to ask questions, and access to the Chez Rambo Discord community and critique group? Check out Cat’s Patreon. Or sample her writing here.

This will be the first blog post ever done on the iPad, so excuse both brevity and typos.

MidSouthCon is great and everyone is super friendly. Yesterday I had a panel on con etiquette (really, it all just boils down to Wil Wheaton’s law – Don’t be a dick.) then opening ceremonies and a meet the guest event. The con is small but fun, and this is its 30th year, which is nifty. And I got a swell gift basket and got to sit next to Mark Goddard, who Lost In Space fans will recognize as Major Don West.

Today, among other things, I’m giving a talk on electronic publishing where I fear I’ll be just saying more of the same stuff everyone else does, but we’ll see. I do want to talk about it in terms of the various sectors: readers, authors, publishers, agents, and editors, because I think everyone’s got a different horse in this race.

Tomorrow more con, and then I’m flying back Monday and fleeing this strange and frightening day star. Back to Seattle gray!

Some panel ideas, which any convention organizer is welcome to grab.

(Writing) Making the Transition from Short Story to Novel
What are the pitfalls and what should the writer know before starting? Is it easier to do it in reverse and go from novel to short story? What’s similar and what’s different? Does it help to think of chapters as mini-stories?

(This seems to me to be harder than anyone acknowledges it to be, and I know there’s several basics I wish I’d known before I’d begun blindly floundering in the much deeper waters of a novel. I’m also pretty sure this is not a new idea for a panel, but I haven’t seen it at recent cons I’ve been at.)

(Editing or Publishing) The Architecture of the Country of the Blind
Reading blind, so you see just the story and not the name of the author with its info about gender, is something many editors and publishers agree is a good idea. What are the practical aspects of setting up such a system? What do you do if editors or slush readers recognize the story? Is it true you can tell gender by how someone writes? What about the fact that such a system removes the “name recognition” that some widely published authors hold?

(Let’s just start with the assumption it’s a good idea for once. For the love of Pete. Thx.)

(Writing) What the F*** is Flash Fiction?
Some people say flash fiction has a minimum length, such as 1000, 500, even 250 words, while others say Hemingway’s famous “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.” is a complete story. Who’s right? Where does prose poetry fit? Why are flash magazines so popular and what are the ones doing interesting things in the field? Who are the flash authors to watch out for?

(Flash seems like such a great place for new writers to start. They can get stuff out there and in circulation while the magazines constantly need new stuff. At the same time, there’s some great writing happening in this area. I’m teaching a flash fiction workshop called Sudden Fiction this Saturday at Bellevue College, so obviously I’ve got strong opinions about some things mentioned above.)