Cons: Better for Fans than Authors

This Week's Topic: Conventions (Cons): They're Morphing, But Do They Provide What Authors and/or Readers Want and Need?

Four years after the lockdowns of Covid, Cons are in full swing...though they might look a little different from their pre-Covid formats. Some are embracing virtual formats, either in their entirety or as special breakout sessions for those who can't attend in person. Some are scaling back their size to control costs, while others are expanding to lure more diverse audiences. 

Not being a Con girl, I don't have first-hand experience of the post-Covid landscape. The Cons I attended were all before the Great Plague. 'Bout the only advice I can give as an author is that unless you're a Big Name with a large fan base in the area where you're signing, don't expect to make a profit by attending in person. In fact, you're most likely to have a notable net loss when you factor in costs for transportation, lodging, staging, product, etc. Now, that loss may be deductible depending on your tax situation. If you're attending as a virtual panelist (from the comfort of your office), then your out-of-pocket costs are obviously less but don't dismiss the opportunity costs. Also, remember that "exposure" is not payment, particularly if you've been invited by a for-profit host. If you have to pay-to-play, don't go, then be realistic in your expectations and honest with your budget. Donating your time to a non-profit Con as a marketing tactic won't measurably move your sales and revenue, but it might fill a personal desire to contribute to your community (check with your tax professional to know if any costs are tax deductible).

If you're attending a Con as an author, do so because you love meeting new people or because you're really going as a fan of other attending artists. Heck, some authors attend because, for them, it's a vacation with their besties. 

A Change of Scenery

Happy Friday the 13th. Watch out for weirdos bearing knives. And chainsaws. And . . .

Listen. I haven't been to a conference in a very long time. I'm not likely to hit a conference for a very long time. Between Covid and cash, me traveling to conferences just isn't likely. So count me out on those. Networking with like-minded authors will have to happen some other way for the foreseeable future.

But writing retreats. Mmmmm. Let's chat about writing retreats. Here's my TLDR:

1. Writing retreats are best done solo.
2. Writing retreats are best done when you're the kind of person who needs a shot of the unfamiliar to jolt you - to put you in beginners mind where you wonder at all the things you've never seen before.
3. Writing retreats are *necessary* if you feel like you are in an environment in your home wherein you cannot fully inhabit your creative self without masking.

Here's my attempt to explain. Aka: The deep dive.

1. Writing retreats - go solo. Unless you are some titan of discipline, going on a writing retreat with other people means no writing will happen. I know going in when someone says 'let's go here and write' that what will actually happen will be lots and lots of talking, lots and lots of eating, and absolutely zero writing. We might talk about writing, but we won't actually put words on paper. The point of a writing retreat, for me, is to isolate long enough to begin hearing my own voice. Not everyone else's. Not my partner's. Not my parents'. Not my boss's. Not even my own set of 'shoulds' that I plague myself with on a daily basis. A retreat needs to present a place where I can exist without any responsibility to any other living thing other than myself for a few days. 

2. A retreat works best for me If there's something new and different to see or experience. A simple change of scenery can work magic. Going somewhere I don't know kicks me out of cognitive ruts and I can come to my stories with new vision. Beginners mind sees everything as if for the first time - without preconceived thoughts or ideas. That allows room for new approaches, if they're wanted.

3. We all wear masks. Most, we wear joyfully: parent, partner, friend, etc. Some are less joyful, but they are the sum of what helps make us acceptable to others. This is basic socialization and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that we live in community with other humans and should probably strive to work and play well with others. The trouble comes from not having a safe place to unmask. Some of us are lucky enough to be partnered with someone who values who we are when we're not masking. Some of us aren't. Because masking accrues a cost, it can contribute to burn out. So retreats are a lovely option for people who need a safe place to take off all the masks and remember who they are in and of themselves - not who they are as defined by anyone else. This may not be a universal experience. It may be a spectrum thing. Take it if it resonates for you. 

So yes. I love writing retreats. I love wandering off into isolation, to exist in silence for a space of time, speaking only to order food, if I want. I love spending all that silence listening to what's going on inside, writing as fast as I can, uncovering whatever needs to be heard or seen or perceived.  I often pick up new stories on retreats. I hope they can be as fertile for you. 

Thank You, 2022, for All the Fish

 As we wind down the last few days of 2022, looking forward to a new year and the waxing of the light, this week at the SFF Seven we're offering thoughts or blessings for the year that has been or the year to come. 

For me, 2022 delivered a kick of a ramp-up back to life closer to pre-pandemic levels. Though spring started slowly, with several in-person conferences canceled, I was able to return to hanging again with other writers in person in April at the Jack Williamson Lectureship. It was SO GOOD TO PEOPLE AGAIN. One of the great lessons of the pandemic for me has been how much of my social life depends on conferences and conventions. (Can I just call them both "cons" for short? What even is the difference?)

Seeing people in-person again meant I also made new friends this year, which has brought light into my life I didn't realize I was lacking. Not unlike as the days grow longer and sunshine returns, warming the earth, and you begin to realize just how long and dark the winter has been.

I had a less productive year, wordcount-wise - in fact, my lowest year ever for wordcount, though I'll give final numbers next week - but it looks like it will be my best income year ever. So, looking ahead at goals for next year, I'm considering decoupling my wordcount goals from my sense of success and focusing on what makes me most comfortable financially. 

{{Content Warning: eating and body image}}

I'm also completing a year of 16/8 intermittent fasting, where I fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window. I also vastly decreased added sugars from my diet. I'm thrilled with the results. I'm down 18 pounds since January 3, 2022, 16 pounds of that from body fat, and I'm down over 4" around my waist and hips. It feels like really healthy weight loss, like I'm no longer so insulin-resistant, and I just feel tons better overall. 

{{Content over}}

While in many ways, it's been a difficult year, the work I did at the end of 2021 to break the stress cycle has really paid off. While we're facing the loss of our senior cat Isabel, who is 17 and declining, we've also welcomed in a new life, with kitten Killian joining our household. So many wonderful things have happened to me this year - including wonderful people entering my life - that it feels truly miraculous.

I'm grateful for the blessings of 2022 and eagerly look forward to what 2023 will bring. 

The Year Ahead

 

This week's topic is Tell Us Your Future: What does your writing life look like for the upcoming year? (Events, signings, releases, etc.)

Book Releases: I have a new novel coming in August: book two in the Witch Walker trilogy, City of Ruin. I'm really excited for readers to continue Raina and Alexus's story. I also feel like I know more of what to expect this time with release frenzy, and to not schedule ANYTHING but promotional duties in August ;)

I'm also hoping to publish Silver Heart, my historical paranormal romance novella soon (2/15). It has a gorgeous new cover, and I'm expanding the story a little. This novella will act as a free lead magnet for The Witch Collector.

WIP's: I would LOVE to find time to work on a couple passion projects in 2022, though I still have A Gods' War (book three in the Witch Walker trilogy) to write. Still, I have three stories I'm itching to delve into. Two already have many chapters written, while the other is still stewing in my head, but I'm excited about all three.

Events/Signings/Cons/Writing Retreats: Honestly, I haven't gotten into the swing of things with public events yet. I have one book signing slated in Nashville for 2022, in June. That's UTOPiA Con. I'm still a little wary thanks to Covid. But, I might end up booking a few more signings, so we'll see. I think I'd like to focus more on 2023 events/signings/cons since I'll have the first two books of the trilogy out and the third will be on the way.

As for retreats, I sometimes head to the Smoky Mountains with a writing friend in the fall, and that might happen again this year. I also found a local retreat location, The Rockvale Writer's Colony here in Middle TN. They take applications for residencies, and it's a very affordable week or two away. I went there last year to finish The Witch Collector, and it was absolutely amazing. Having nothing else to think about except for writing was a game changer. It's a huge farm, with hiking trails and a big old house, along with separate cabins like The Granary. I hope to return this year. 

Author Endeavors:  I didn't expect, as an author, to need an Etsy store, but here we are ;) I get so many requests for signed books and swag, so I'm currently creating my store and hoping to have it stocked soon. It will be a work-in-progress as more items come in to the shop like art prints, magnetic bookmarks, candles, etc. And I'm excited. I love book swag so much, and knowing that readers want The Witch Collector swag is pretty epic.

Editor Projects: I've slowed down on editing tasks. I'm currently finishing the edit for On These Wicked Shores by Katherine Quinn, which releases in May. I have a couple other clients scheduled to turn in drafts for edits this year too, so we'll see how that goes!

I think that's it! It isn't much, but it will undoubtedly keep me extremely busy.

Are you attending any fun reader/bookish events this year? If you know of any in the Tennessee/mid-south area that I need to attend, let me know :)

For now, happy reading!

~ Charissa

The Care and Feeding of the Writer in Your LIfe

I was away at MileHi Con this weekend and missed posting yesterday, but since James is on leave, I thought I'd cross-post my podcast, First Cup of Coffee, here. I address this week's topic at the SFF Seven: the care and feeding of the writer in your life. 

About MileHi Con and more on success as the progressive realization of a goal. Also on the care and feeding of the writer in your life - and Exciting News on the Frolic Podcast Network! Article here. https://deadline.com/2019/10/frolic-podcast-network-romance-genre-launch-1202764475/

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts! 

Conference and Convention Love

Cons

I love me some cons. Comicons are my fav. Always have been. Maybe because they were my first experiences. There's nothing quite like wandering through the tables, flipping through someone's boxes of comics with your list nearby, trying to find those runs you're missing while the vendor helps search another box for the single titles you need. "I know I had some of them this morning!" Eventually, I graduated to sharing a table with some friends at a local con so I could unload parts of my own collection so I could focus in on specific artists and writers. 

Then I got to start going to RWA events. Local conferences. My first National conference where I wandered around wide-eyed and lost for most of the time, but I LOVED them. I got to listen to a few of my favorite authors in the world present classes. Thanks to Jeffe, I even got to have drinks with a few of them and to meet authors I'd never have otherwise met. Best of all, I made a bunch of new and great friends. I also trudged away laden with books. SO MANY BOOKS. I should have known I might be in trouble when there was a station set up specifically for conference-goers to ship boxes home. Yes. I did make use of it and still had to pay excess weight fees on my luggage going home. 

Eventually, I graduated to presenting a few classes of my own. And when conferences were local, I made a point of doing my damnedest to go. Still do.

I'm not to a place professionally where I get invited to speak or present at conferences. I'm working on changing it. One step at a time. The local conferences all comp a part of your conference fee if you present workshops and that works for me. If I succeed at rising from the ashes of my own publishing career, maybe I'll come up with a workshop about how to pull off a phoenix stunt of your own. Guess we'll see. 

On another note, if you'd like to enter for a chance to win one of two $25 gift cards, come give a few likes to a couple of PNR, Fantasy, and SFR authors. Yes. Many of them write shifters. So if that's your thing, c'mon down. You might find a new favorite author or three. Or four.

Stealing the Best and Leaving the Rest

A year or so ago, I went to a friend's house. We were making supper together, running our mouths and generally having a great time. Until she tried to clean a head of cauliflower. She had an itty bitty cutting board and a tiny, dangerously dull paring knife. I watched her hack away a green leaf or two for several seconds, my heart in my mouth, as she complained about how hard it is to cut up cauliflower.

Terrified that she was going to slice off a digit, I stopped her and asked if I could cut up the veggie while she moved on to other things. She gladly handed over the knife and the innocent head of cauliflower. I brought out the cutting board I'd brought - one at least three times the size of hers, and I brought out my 8 inch Shun knife. (Yes. When someone asks me over to help cook dinner, I do take my own tools.) I turned that cauliflower on its head, set my knife against the stem and sliced the whole thing in half like it was soft butter.  Within 120 seconds, I had the cauliflower cored and chopped, ready for the pan.

My hostess said bad words and demanded to know what she'd been doing wrong. The answer was simply: Wrong tools for the job.

Writing training, to me, is precisely the same. If you've never seen anyone take apart a book the way my hostess had never seen anyone take apart a big vegetable, you'll never know that your tools are inadequate to the job you're trying to do. So I'm always interested in how someone else approaches the task of building a novel and a career.

For me, as I take a writing class, I remind myself that I'm sorting through someone else's toolbox, just trying the tools on for size. Some don't fit my hand and never will. Others kinda sorta fit and might actually fit perfectly once I level up enough to need them. On rare occasions, I find a new tool - a new way of approaching story, a question for a character sketch that lays that person out for me. Whatever it is, I have zero compunction about picking up that tool and claiming it as my own.

My Zen attitude was hard won over several years, though. Used to be, I'd go to a workshop and come out convinced that I was doing writing all wrong. It would send me into a tailspin for weeks. I don't know when and how it changed, but I finally wised up. I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was simply doing things my way - and possibly with faulty tools. The people teaching workshops weren't there to judge my methods, they were merely sharing what worked for them in the off chance that someone else could use it, too. Now, it's all listening to presenters talk, picking up books on craft, and making sure I get words every day.

Where you go to learn depends entirely on what you're wanting to level up. I DO recommend pacing yourself. Work on one thing at once. Don't tackle deep POV the same month you're working on eliminating telling words. Trying to pay attention to everything at once is the road to perdition.

I go to Mary Buckham and will take just about any class she has to offer because I've learned that Mary speaks my language and has the unique ability to break down story, character, scene and sequel, and hooks in a way I can process. This is thick stuff, though. Light 'n fluffy it ain't.

Conferences - especially the conferences aimed at the business end of writing. If I were looking for an agent or a new editor, I'd go to RWA National. I'd go to workshops and I'd pitch. But those aren't my goals now so I save my pennies for the annual NINC conference. It is jammed full of workshops and presentations from various vendors who work with the indie published authors. It's the place where indie authors gossip and chat about business. I learn more in those three days than I do almost a year long.

The hard news, though? There aren't enough tools in the world will change it if you don't write the thing.

Learn craft, sure. But above all, learn yourself.

#MeToo

The ever-efficient KAK already grabbed this cover for the sidebar, but I thought I'd officially share here. THE SNOWS OF WINDROVEN, originally in the holiday anthology AMID THE WINTER SNOW, will be out March 12! If you didn't grab the anthology - or if you did, but want the standalone, too - you can preorder now. It's the same story, either way - the continuation of Amy and Ash's rocky romance in THE TEARS OF THE ROSE, and fitting in the timeline between THE EDGE OF THE BLADE and THE SHIFT OF THE TIDE.

This week at the SFF Seven is a topic of our choice - whatever is on our minds. So, I've decided to tell a story I haven't publicly told before. There's been a lot of conversation in publishing this last month about sexual harassment in the industry, largely springing from this article in the School Library Journal and the followup survey by Anne Ursu.

I spent some time yesterday catching up on the source materials - though I'd been reading lots of the ensuing conversations and fallout. Which included reading the comments, something I normally protect myself from but felt I should survey this time.

In talking with a friend about it, I said something about a parallel of when it happened to me. She immediately replied that she had no idea it happened to me.

Of course she didn't, because I never went public. There were good reasons for that, which I'll share.

It happened to me at a convention, only a few years ago. I was already an established author, with awards and a good record, bright future. My agent parked me with a male editor we hoped to dazzle. We were in the bar, with a bunch of people, drinking. And he started touching me. Knee, thigh, arm. And he wanted to talk about my writing! Oh, but he *really* wanted to know about the erotic stuff. By the third time he asked about my erotic writing, while touching my bare knee yet again, I became profoundly uncomfortable.

And I didn't know what to do.

For those of you who know me, that's pretty unusual. I'm not a shy person. In fact, "confident" is a word people often pick first to describe me. I have good boundaries and I'm firm and decisive in guarding them. I am not shy or at all hesitant to speak my mind.

But, sitting there in that bar, surrounded by people I knew - none of whom noticed anything - I felt suddenly powerless. Because this guy could influence my career. My agent wanted me to please this editor, not piss him off - though my agent had disappeared and was nowhere in sight.

For the first time in my entire life - at a fairly ripe middle age - I understood how this kind of thing happens.

I got up to go to the Ladies Room. On my way back I whispered in the ear of a female agent friend. I simply told her I needed to be extracted. Thirty seconds after I sat down, she got up, swept over and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry to interrupt your meeting, Jeffe, but I just found out [important person] is unexpectedly free - can you come meet her?"

And that was that.

I wanted to leave it at that, but my agent argued with me to report it, at least to the editor's boss. My agent offered to handle it and I accepted. The boss was livid, spoke to the editor. Days later the editor offered an apology via my agent, along with the news that he was on performance improvement and would no longer be drinking at conferences.

That satisfied me. I was ultimately glad we handled it that way, because - as my agent argued and convinced me - other female writers in that position would not necessarily have an agent friend nearby to rescue her. Or might not have the same confidence in her writing and career. It was important that I take action, not for myself, but so it wouldn't happen to someone else.

Because that's something I see a lot. Many guys who get pointed at are shocked that anyone saw them that way. Myke Cole was pointed to in the comments of that SLJ article and took a long, hard look at his behavior. I respect him for posting about it and taking decisive action to correct himself. I like to think that editor did, too.

This is why #metoo is important - because we have to bring these behaviors into the open, or they won't change. In reading those comments, I see a lot of people casting accusations of lying or attention-grabbing. I didn't go public with what happened to me because I didn't want to be that year's scandal at the conference. The conference organizers never knew, because we handled another way.

That's fine, because I had the personal power to handle it, and the strong backing of my agency. Not everyone has that. Not everyone has agent friends who happen to be sitting nearby and who can respond without question with such grace and effectiveness.

(That, by the way, is why I argue that harassment policies should include a provision for reporting to an industry friend to intervene. Firmly telling the person to stop never felt like an option for me, because of the power imbalance. Which is why it happened in the first place.)

One thing I'm leaving out is how shaken I felt at the time. With the buffer of years, I'm no longer bothered. But at the time, I wondered at how badly I'd handled that. I really felt I should have been able to tell him to knock it off. It was very instructive for me to be more compassionate when others tell their stories about feeling powerless in a situation.

I also thinks this speaks to the power of networks, friendships, and collegiality. We can all watch out for each other. And if you ever need to be extracted, just whisper in my ear.

Foolproof Networking

Networking. You already know it's good. You already know you need to be doing it. However. It is also true that money doesn't grow on trees. If, like me, you cannot get to conferences to do your networking in person (which is the ideal) all is not lost!

This is why Al Gore invented the internet.

Online memberships are networking opportunities. Any email list or group you belong to - networking. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, your social media du jour - all networking ops.

Even though this is a great 'spot the dork' photo, even class reunions can be networking opportunities:

A few of my fellow Cornish grads. When I finally manage to produce an audiobook, I'll have several perfect choices for voice actors.

What does networking mean anyway? Cultivating relationships. Bet you thought I was going to run on longer than that. Nope. It's supposed to be a simple task, but it is as fraught as your first date was - all that fear of rejection! And of wondering what they'll think of you!

Here's a trick for handling networking (wish I could tell you it was fool proof, but networking queen I am not) - networking is NOT the place to talk about you. It's for finding out what everyone else does. Likes. Thinks. Believes. Values. You DO get to talk about you, but that blend should be at least 60 them/40 you. You network by having something to offer someone else. Whether that be time, talent, or knowledge. Offer. When someone asks questions on social media and you can answer, give it a shot. You may not get responses initially. Eventually you will. And when you need something, ask! This is part of your 40% - other people feel good when they get to help someone.

A true story as case in point: I'm in the middle of a draft. The research is destroying me because Civil War. Let me explain the level of available detail. O_o  Anyway, I needed to know whether scent hounds could track someone who was inside a vehicle. Many long, frustrating hours trying to figure that out and I stumble across a blog written by a woman who trains bloodhounds for police work. She had incredible content and detail. So I emailed her cold, asking my question. But in return for her reply, I made darned sure to offer what tiny little bit I had to offer: mention in the acknowledgements and a link to her site. A day later, I had the most amazing and generous encyclopedic answer. Short answer: Yep. Those dogs CAN track someone who's inside a car. Kat Albrecht is her name. The scent hound website. And her newest venture: producing live mystery events.

So networking need not mean jetting (or road tripping) to conferences. There are distinct advantages to conferences - there's nothing quite like getting to meet people face to face, but also? Bar. So long as James' excellent advice is followed. No being THAT guy or gal.

Help people. You'll be surprised who turns around to want to help you, too.