World Fantasy Con
Well, I went home for a few days to rendevous with TIm Powers at the World Fantasy Convention in Austin. 12 hour bus ride down there! (I also got to go home, veg, and relax.) Kind of a mixed bag of results.
First of all, I "ghosted", because it was like $150 just to come. No one was checking badges, tho, so I was able to get into places I technically wasn't allowed into. Lots of writers and agents and publishers there. Diane, who wrote "Shroedinger's Hummingbird", was there, and she introduced me to a lot of people. Tim Powers was very gracious, but it was pretty impossible to have uninterrupted conversation with him for more than 40 seconds.
I also kind of have a really hard time talking with strangers, and I also kind of felt like some folks were frowning a little at my sneaking it. (Sneaking is a relative termm; I walked in because I didn't know where the registration desk was at.) KD Wentworth was there, and I got scolded by Jay Lake for sitting by myself. Everyone acted like they were age old friends of high school days, when in reality they have probably spent less then a total of 10 minutes ever talking to each other. Introducing yourself to an agent or a publisher took 30 seconds, and then you moved on.
I also met HOLLY BLACK! She wrote Tithe and Valiant and The Spiderwick Chronicles. I was able to talk to her for a good 20 minutes. She's probably the top favorite author of mine right now, and to meet her made me feel like a squealing, nerdy fangirl. She asked what I was working on, and gave me her agent's name, but she looked a litlte blank when I tried to pitch Daemonfire to her. Le sigh.
It was kind of weird to get all of this pretension and false self-effacement crammed in your face. And you were surrounded by lots of folks who were reminding you how hard it is to break into print. Marketers are apprantly nuerotic, stupid people who will butcher your book with cliche and dumbing-down before it reaches the bookshelves. All I can think is someone saying "Yeah, we can't do a book with good demons; it'd just confuse people. This will never sell." And it's also hard for me to act like I had any "street cred" with one award under my belt.
For all the time I spent there, I think for all the names I got I could've spent half of it. We went to the Tor publisher's party on an upper floor, but it was so packed folks couldn't even hear themselves. I think I saw more of the industry than I think I wanted to, so I'm very relieved to scuttle back to my keyboard, where I can make reality instead of having to deal with it.
Tim Powers was very kind, and I'm sure I clung to him like a whimpering puppy. I have some names, so I'm going to try to send out Daemonfire to a few folks. I hope it was worth it to go.
First of all, I "ghosted", because it was like $150 just to come. No one was checking badges, tho, so I was able to get into places I technically wasn't allowed into. Lots of writers and agents and publishers there. Diane, who wrote "Shroedinger's Hummingbird", was there, and she introduced me to a lot of people. Tim Powers was very gracious, but it was pretty impossible to have uninterrupted conversation with him for more than 40 seconds.
I also kind of have a really hard time talking with strangers, and I also kind of felt like some folks were frowning a little at my sneaking it. (Sneaking is a relative termm; I walked in because I didn't know where the registration desk was at.) KD Wentworth was there, and I got scolded by Jay Lake for sitting by myself. Everyone acted like they were age old friends of high school days, when in reality they have probably spent less then a total of 10 minutes ever talking to each other. Introducing yourself to an agent or a publisher took 30 seconds, and then you moved on.
I also met HOLLY BLACK! She wrote Tithe and Valiant and The Spiderwick Chronicles. I was able to talk to her for a good 20 minutes. She's probably the top favorite author of mine right now, and to meet her made me feel like a squealing, nerdy fangirl. She asked what I was working on, and gave me her agent's name, but she looked a litlte blank when I tried to pitch Daemonfire to her. Le sigh.
It was kind of weird to get all of this pretension and false self-effacement crammed in your face. And you were surrounded by lots of folks who were reminding you how hard it is to break into print. Marketers are apprantly nuerotic, stupid people who will butcher your book with cliche and dumbing-down before it reaches the bookshelves. All I can think is someone saying "Yeah, we can't do a book with good demons; it'd just confuse people. This will never sell." And it's also hard for me to act like I had any "street cred" with one award under my belt.
For all the time I spent there, I think for all the names I got I could've spent half of it. We went to the Tor publisher's party on an upper floor, but it was so packed folks couldn't even hear themselves. I think I saw more of the industry than I think I wanted to, so I'm very relieved to scuttle back to my keyboard, where I can make reality instead of having to deal with it.
Tim Powers was very kind, and I'm sure I clung to him like a whimpering puppy. I have some names, so I'm going to try to send out Daemonfire to a few folks. I hope it was worth it to go.
posted by Droemar at
Sunday, November 05, 2006
3 Comments:
Of course it was worth it! You get a lotta respect from me for going down there in the first place. I believe hard work will always pay off, and you've shown you have the determination to get there, so it's only a matter of time. I think it's great when people "make it happen," and you are def doing it.
By
Ozzie, at 06 November, 2006
Sounds like you had a good experience. That's cool that you met Holly Black, I guess Tony D wasn't there or you'd be squealing all about him too. I can imagine it must be pretty hard to condense your complex stories into a synopsis that you can pitch to publishers. Eventually, someone will "get it" and they'll be all over your books. I have to wonder about someone like, say, Brian Jacques trying to pitch his books to a publisher. "It's about a bunch of mice that live in an abbey. No, but just listen, they have swords, and there's an army of rats and this big evil snake and everything.. no, trust me, it's really cool...."
By
LetterGhost, at 06 November, 2006
Laura, I think this makes you the bravest of the bunch. I'm stalling on going to conventions until there's one close to me, but I still feel like a nervous geek whenever I'm around our published betters. Just ask David Brin. Anyway, sounds like it was exhilarating, and I'm so envious!
By
Major Sheep, at 06 November, 2006
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