Category Archives: Conventions

Well, here we are: 2014. Normally this is the time of year to re-evaluate our objectives and set new goals—dare I say, make resolutions? In this context, “resolutions” has become a bit of a bad word, a trite one, and rightly so. Today’s post is not about resolutions so much as revolutions.

My revolution began in 2010, as I finally started to understand what it was going to take to become successful as a writer, as a professional. It goes without saying that blossoming into a successful writer requires a phenomenal grasp on the craft of writing—on character, on story, and yes, on grammar. Well, if it doesn’t go without saying, then at the very least it goes without me needing to devote a blog post to it. What doesn’t go without saying is that you need to think like a small business owner. You need to think like a publisher, like an agent, and perhaps even like a book store owner—all at the same time. You need to understand how the business of publishing functions—or perhaps more importantly, how it’s changing—and then conceive of how you can fit into that world and find your niche.

You are a writer, and thus a business owner. You have a lot of important considerations in addition to what you jot down on the printed page. You have resources, and you must apportion them in the best way possible. There are so many places to put your resources, so many competing demands fighting for your attention. January here at the Fictorians is all about helping you make good choices. This month, we’ll be talking about the very best cons and seminars, where you can learn from the professionals who have gone before you. These provide key, potentially career-changing opportunities to network. They are important.

When I talk about resources, I’m not just talking about money. Perhaps the greatest resource of all is time. How are you going to spend it? We’ll also be talking about productive ways to allocate your time, ways to get things done.

In short, what’s important to you in 2014? If you don’t have a firm plan for the next twelve months, then I’ve got good news: this is exactly where you need to be. The Fictorians have your back.

Let the revolution begin!

A Good Mentor is a Gift from the Gods

December 3, 2013

Kristin Luna

Kristin Luna Motivation Superstars Writing Seminars The Writing Life No Comments

I tend to be a stubborn person. When I think I have the right answer, or have a certain strategy planned out, it takes a lot of effort to get me to budge. But when I don’t have an answer, and have no idea which way to turn, I am all ears for suggestions and guidance. I ask those I love and respect what they would do and what they think I should do. Ultimately, I lay my own path, but it helps to know how others would handle something or have handled something before I make my move.

I’ve mostly gone to my father for advice. I consider him wise, knowledgeable of the world, caring, and kind. He is both ethical and moral, and not to mention understanding. In a lot of situations, Dad’s got the answer.

Except when it comes to becoming an author for the simple reason that he is not an author.

In most cultural pasts, apprenticeships were the chosen method of learning a specific craft. With the steady and knowledgeable hand of an expert, a young apprentice learned the skill by spending all day in the shadow of his mentor. Now, a more equatable term would be internship, although the learning is not quite as exhaustive (and “apprenticeship” sounds a bit more shiny, doesn’t it?).

When learning a specific craft now, we have a few options. We go to college or a trade school, intensive seminars, or procure an internship position. Or, we might be blessed with a gift from the heavens: a mentor.

A mentor is someone who has great knowledge of a specific item or skill and has accepted the responsibility of passing that information on (hopefully to you). Some famous mentor/mentoree relationships of note include: Mahatma Gandhi mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela; Ralph Waldo Emerson mentor to Henry David Thoreau; and probably the most famous, Socrates mentor to Plato. Some mentors have already passed, and their writings are used as a means to mentor others. One of my favorite accounts of a mentor/mentoree relationship is captured in the book Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

The best part of having a mentor, for me at least, is that I have someone in my life who is living the life that I want to eventually live. They have put in the hard work, and it is a truly inspiring thing to see. I met my mentor at Superstars Writing Seminar, knowing I needed a mentor but wasn’t actively seeking someone out for the role. Fate delivered (Thanks, fate!), and I met and connected with one of the instructors. He is not only my mentor in writing, but he is a best friend, a confidant, and someone with whom I look forward to sharing my successes, my failures, and my hopes and dreams.

There is a caveat. Oh yes, always a caveat. A mentor can only guide you and tell you where he or she has been. A mentor cannot tell you exactly what you need to do and where you need to go (that’s a dictator). While this is the caveat, let it also be your comfort. Your journey will not look like your mentor’s. There are many roads to success, and yours will not look like anyone else’s. However, it sure is nice having someone holding your hand along with way, giving advice and care when you need it most.

Happy Thanksgiving

November 28, 2013

Nancy

Nancy Greene Superstars Writing Seminars The Writing Life No Comments

It’s that time of year again in the United States, the start to the holiday season, Thanksgiving. It’s that time of year when we gather friends and family together to count our blessings. And, to fully disclose all relevant facts, to eat far too much turkey and trimmings and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and football. Okay. I don’t do that last one, but I get that others do.

What are we thankful for here at Fictorians? Well, I can’t answer for the group, but I can tell you a few things that I’m thankful for.

Wizard of Oz reruns. In fact, I’m watching the movie as I write this post. I’m not sure how The Wizard of Oz became associated with the lineup of more usual holiday specials – maybe because Dorothy learns to be grateful for home and what she has – but watching the movie has been a holiday tradition for as long as I can remember. I got to stay up late to watch it. Really, what more was needed to endear the movie to me? I’ve watched the movie over 40 times and it remains a favorite.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Growing up, I’d wake up to the smell of roasting turkey and know it was only a matter of time before Mom would take a break from cooking to watch the parade with us. The Parade was family time.

The Superstars Writing Seminar. Without the seminar there would be no Fictorians. The members probably wouldn’t know each other or have met so early in our writing careers. We’re more than friends, we’re tribe, we’re family.

Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta who invited me to be part of the Superstars staff and help them share the experience with others.

Flash Fiction Online for giving me the opportunity to hone my writing skills and give other writers a chance at publication.

The clients who stuck with me as I changed firms twice within a seven month period. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to serve.

My friends and all their support over the years. Their refusal to let me crawl into my shell and become a hermit crab.

My family.

– The many many sacrifices my parents made for my siblings and I and for the person they helped me become.

– I am eternally grateful to my brother for what he does for our parents, and his long-term employment with Disney so we can get into the parks for a lot less than we would otherwise. I am sure my sons echo that last point.

– My ever supportive sons and husband and the opportunity to return the favor for my husband as he works on a large appeal due on December 16.

– I’m grateful that my boys feel comfortable coming to me to ask those questions we all have when we start to grow up. I’m a romance writer, right? I should be able to field those questions. Right?

I am humbled by all of you who spend a little bit of your week with us on this blog.

So, while 2013 has been full of challenges there was a lot of good too. I hope life is kind to you and your family and your life is full of things to be thankful for. And thank you for spending your time with us.

Cultivating Fanaticism

November 26, 2013

fictorians

Business Conventions Guest Posts Publishing 1 Comment

A guest post by Sam Sykes.

The first rule of being a successful writer, as any author will tell you, is to write a good book.

Indeed, if you felt so inclined, you could call this the sole rule of being a successful writer. For if your book is even just pretty good, it will sell and your needs will be largely taken care of. And if your book is very good, it will likely sell very well and you’ll find yourself doing what all successful writers do, which is largely hiding in a dark room and weeping into a glass of whiskey as you struggle with the desperate self-conviction that you are a fraud.

While this is still technically possible, it’s much rarer than it used to be. Because it used to be quite common, with a fantasy author’s readership largely pre-defined as small, humble geeks who would buy whatever you put out because they were immensely starved for entertainment.

But it’s not quite the same anymore. There’s no shortage of absolutely thrilling fantasy authors these days and the audience is much, much broader. The geeks are louder, more outspoken, more eager to be open with their passions. You see this scrawled out in events such as Comicon, where movie geeks, comic geeks and video game geeks all brush shoulders with your readership, the book geek.

This is frequently the source of bemoaning the end to Comicon’s purity, but I view it as a good thing. To find a niche-specialized nerd these days is increasingly uncommon, as the more we brush against each other, the more our passions are shared. Suddenly, gamers are comparing the stories they play against the stories they read and comic book readers are keen to devour any story they can, be it illustrated or not.

This is the future. This is your audience. They are massive, they are multitalented and they are hungry.

And with a new, varied audience comes a new opportunity to draw in potential readers. While your book (undoubtedly very good) will be the thing to hold their attention and make them a fan, there are a number of ways you can draw people in.

One such means I found was in creating a comic book with the help of the tremendously talented artist, Ashley Cope, creator of the webcomic, Unsounded.

Set as a prologue to my newest book, The City Stained Red, due out in 2014 by Orbit Books, it’s a means of quickly and vividly conveying what my book is all about to an audience increasingly focused on absorbing information quickly through visual stimuli.

That all sounds dreadfully scientific, perhaps even a little coldly mercenary. I assure you, though, that any thought and study as to the practical effects of this were an afterthought.

Because I am one of the new nerds. And my first thought was for the simple fact that I freaking love comics and wanted to see my characters, my stories made into one.

Now, it’s certainly a good idea, from a business standpoint. It stretches across the medium to reach a new audience and it’s quick to be digested to hook new readers. So, if this sort of thing appeals to you, as an aspiring author, I’d like to offer you three tips as to how to make it work for you.

Let Enthusiasm Guide You

One of the big things you’ll learn about geeks is that they can smell crass corporate dictation. A lifetime on the internet has left them cynical and suspicious of anyone pretending to be like them. But this also means they are more easily infected by enthusiasm and passion.

Hence, be enthusiastic in all your side projects. Never do anything unless you’re excited about it. Never let yourself be dictated solely by business.

If you don’t understand comics and aren’t interested in them, it’ll seep through and alienate people. Likewise, if you’re absolutely mad about directing and cinematography, then putting together book trailers or short web videos to act as supplement to your books will draw people in.

Always Be a Professional

One of the biggest joys of this sort of thing is the creative collaboration between artists that occurs. I, for one, can’t draw with any great skill, and thus I sought out Ashley Cope (who can write with incredible vigor, how unfair is that). It was a tremendous joy working with her and learning how to let my thoughts be made into something illustrated.

I have an immense respect for artists. I’ve worked with several of them and I know, as I implore you now, that you must treat them well.

Always be respectful of their time; good artists are always in demand and have busy schedules. Always be prompt with payment; they work hard for you, you owe them the courtesy and the payment. Never be afraid to offer feedback; they’re interested in making the work come alive, not in having their butts kissed.

And never, ever, ever offer to “pay them in exposure.”

I will seriously kill you if you do.

Remember Rule One

Supplemental side projects are just that. They are only as strong as the story you’re going to write and it’s always going to be the story that holds the attention of your readers.

You can have the finest comic, the best trailers, the coolest web series around, but if it’s based on a crappy book, it’s not going to mean much.

Don’t get caught up in the excitement. Finish the book. Then make plans.

Good luck, and keep writing!

Sam Sykes Bio:

Sam Sykes is the author of The Aeons’ Gate trilogy, a vast and sprawling story of adventure, demons, madness and carnage. Suspected by many to be at least tangentially related to most causes of human suffering, Sam Sykes is also a force to be reckoned with beyond literature.At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome of the Undergates and Black Halo are currently published in nine countries. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.