Category Archives: Making Progress as a Writer

Earlier this month, I talked about SLC comicon, which I have attended multiple times. In the past, I attended as one of the authors participating with the Bard’s Tower. Those experiences were awesome. I not only learned a ton about how to run a successful vendor booth, but I loved meeting and networking with all the other authors and cross-selling each others’ books.

I just returned from yet another SLC comicon, and for the first time I was an official vendor. I shared a booth with author and friend, Gama Ray Martinez. (check out his books – they’re great).

I had actually planned to just join the Bard’s Tower group again, but they’re so popular, they had too many authors already signed up. Gama mentioned that he was interested in going as a vendor, and it made a ton of sense to split the cost of a 10×10 booth, share the space, and sell our books there.

How did it go?

Extremely well. We both sold a lot of books, covered our booth costs, and had a great time. I can’t say I made a profit, but I came closer than ever before. Besides the direct booth expenses, I have to factor in the cost of the books, hotels for myself and my family (Yes, I brought my own minions to help out), gas, food, etc.

What worked well?

There are several benefits to sharing a booth. Besides the obvious benefit of splitting the cost, you’ve got someone to chat with, cross-sell with, and brainstorm the best way to make the booth work. We got more space on the table than we would have if we joined a larger group. Additionally, we were both panelists at the convention, and it was easy for one of us to cover the booth while the other one headed out to a panel. Or, if we needed a restroom or food break, we didn’t have to leave the booth unattended. All that stress was gone.

And of course the best benefit is getting to meet so many people. Here are a few who posed with one of my books. The Assassins always choose Memory Hunter because that series is described as Mission Impossible meets Assassin’s Creed. Fun stuff.

What could have been a problem?

Gama and I didn’t have any major issues, but it’s important to recognize that there are potential hazards with sharing a booth like we did. Make sure you’re a good fit with your partner and that the agreement is clear.

Money. How to collect and track sales? We could have each handled our sales separately, but what if someone wanted to buy books from both of us? This actually happened more than once. We decided that we would use Gama’s Square account. That way only one of us had to apply for a Utah state tax license and we could sell all of our books through the same account. That meant all sales had to be tracked, both cash and credit. Gama will pay the tax and send me my net profit. I have access to the account, so there’s no question of trustworthiness, not that I would ever doubt Gama, but this way there’s no chance for the problem to come up.
Stealing each other’s sales. Our books target similar audiences, so we could have run into issues with each of us trying to sell over the other and in effect stealing the other’s sales. We didn’t have that problem because we both acted like professionals. We did have an instance where one of my over-eager kids interrupted Gama’s pitch to pitch one of my books too, but we discussed that and made sure everyone understood the importance of giving each of us the necessary space to work. We actually ended up cross-selling each other’s books quite a bit. The goal is always to find the book that best fits the reader’s tastes. We both made sales, and readers are happy. They’ll buy again.
There are certainly other potential issues, like personality conflicts, issues with sharing the table space equally, etc, but we didn’t run into those. Most potential issues can be resolved with open communication and bilateral respect, but it’s important to consider them when considering a vendor partner.

Will I share a booth again?

Absolutely. Gama and I are already discussing next year’s SLC comicon. I might do something similar at other cons, although I’m still very happy to participate with Bard’s Tower again if a particular situation would work out better that way. Be flexible, and there are ways to work the conventions as a vendor without going broke.

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Working the floor…

September 8, 2017

Sean Golden

Business Conventions Day Jobs Interacting With Fans Interacting With Professionals Making Progress as a Writer Marketing Networking Sean Golden Superstars Writing Seminars The Writing Life 1 Comment

This month I’m afraid I don’t have much experience to draw on for my blog post. I’ve attended exactly one writing related convention in my life. And that was Denver ComicCon in 2015. I was invited to participate because of my Superstars Writing Seminars attendance in February of 2015, and at the time I was living on a separation package from being laid off, so I had time to kill. I agreed, even though I had no books to sell and would mostly be doing the grunt work of hauling books, selling other author’s books and trying to get the public to buy books.

It was also a chance to network with some actual published authors, which is valuable in itself.

There is some work to do pre-convention to set up the booth, but that’s about as interesting as it sounds. So I’ll focus instead on the activities on the actual convention floor.

The first thing I was asked to do was to distribute leaflets directing people to the booth itself. The meant walking the line of incoming attendees as they waited to get inside, and handing out the leaflets. For a natural introvert like me, that was stressful enough, but I managed to get through it.

Then I was back behind the booth, using an iPad with a card-reading device to take orders. That wasn’t too bad either. Then I was asked if I would be willing to “work the floor.” Which meant moving out from behind the booth, into the milling mass of feverish fandom. Right there with the cosplayers and the hardcore fan base.

So I waded in. Again, my natural introversion makes this sort of thing very difficult for me. On top of that, I tend to dislike being approached myself in such situations, so I felt more than a little hypocritical even attempting to engage with the public.

But I try my best to fulfill my obligations, so I buckled down and did my best.

“Excuse me, ma’am, I couldn’t help but notice your Star Wars T-shirt. Are you a fan? You are? That’s great, I remember standing in line for the first one back in 1977. Say, if you like Star Wars, you would probably really enjoy these books set in the Star Wars universe…”

“Hi there, that’s an awesome steampunk outfit you’ve got there. Do you like steampunk novels? You do? Well, come on over here, because I think you’ll like this.”

Over and over, for hours. Sometimes you get the cold shoulder. Sometimes you get the “are you flirting with me” gaze, but mostly people are willing to check things out and over time, the sales accumulated. It was amazing to see how well it worked. But that’s mostly because the product I was selling, was a solid product. In many cases the author of the books I was directing people toward were behind the booth, so I could increase the effectiveness of the pitch with:

“Oh, you like the look of this one? Well, if you have any questions, the author happens to be right here, and I’ll be glad to introduce you.”

That leads to signed versions of books being sold, and that usually makes everyone happier.

I’d like to do more convention work. I’d like to sell my own books at a convention. Unfortunately I still haven’t been able to get away from the reality of a day job that is still paying the bills.

But someday. Hopefully soon. 🙂

I Work Out

August 31, 2017

Jace Killan

Balancing Acts Day Jobs Dealing With Personal Calamities Goals Making Progress as a Writer Reflection Self-Awareness Self-Motivation The Writing Life Work-Life Balance No Comments

For the last decade, with life after college and kids and long hours of building a career, I put some other things on the back burner, like my health. Occasionally, I’d get sick of fast food and energy drinks and commit to a diet. But they were always short lived. More recently, I faced the music. I got a gym membership and a gym bag and changed my lifestyle. Now, I work out.

At first it sucked. I hated it. I told myself that i didn’t have to do much, just show up. It was okay to even just get in the pool and float. Every day I added a little more to the routine. After a week I started making it hurt. Then I got a personal trainer and things really started to hurt.

Now, two months later, it’s every day. I’ve got my routine. My stays of 15 minutes before now extend to an hour or more. And it’s shown. I’ve lost 30 pounds. I’ve put on some muscle. And I’ve got plans to lose a bit more. I’ve got momentum. I enjoy my mornings. If I miss my routine, it nags at me the rest of the day.

Writing isn’t any different other than it is undoubtedly more enjoyable than lifting weights. Just about every article this month, (and there have been many wonderful articles) have mentioned the importance of writing daily. Start off slow, just a few words. Join the 100 club: 100 words for 100 days. Reality is, that more often you write the easier it gets to tap into your muse. 100 words isn’t anything.

Many can write 1000 words in an hour. Do that every day and after 3 months, you’ve got a novel. That’s one hour a day for 3 months. Easy peasy.

While working out I struggled to write. It was difficult to find the time where I’d spend an hour at the gym nearly every day. I listened to several novels through Audible, but couldn’t find time to write. Until a couple weeks ago I started with just a few minutes everyday after my workout session, writing while eating breakfast. That has expanded now and soon I expect to produce at least 1000 words a day. So check back in with me in a few months to see when that novel will be finished. I’ve got me some momentum.

I live in Arizona with my family, wife and five kids and a little dog. I write fiction, thrillers and soft sci-fi with a little short horror on the side. I hold an MBA and work in finance for a biotechnology firm.

I volunteer with the Boy Scouts, play and write music, and enjoy everything outdoors. I’m also a novice photographer.

You can read some of my works by visiting my Wattpad page and learn more at www.jacekillan.com.

Momentum Leads to Success

August 28, 2017

Scott Eder

Self-Motivation Successes The Writing Life The Writing Process Write Whenever You Can No Comments

Momentum lead to success. Errr, no, wait. Success enhances momentum. No, ugh. Momentum feeds—hmmm…

Yeah. That’s it. Momentum can lead to success and success builds momentum. Now that I’ve got that straight in my head, I can talk to you about it. Hi there. As we go through this together, know that I’m talking to myself about building momentum as much as I’m talking to you.

Momentum is great when we have it. The words pour out and page after page zips by beneath our fingertips. We finish projects and move on to the next. Each completion feeds our passion, goads us on, pushes us farther. And when that sale happens, holy monkey, it’s like we hit the after-burners. Zoom!

At some point, the glow from the sale begins to fade and though we are still moving forward, our pace slows. Words come harder. It takes longer to finish, if we finish at all. We hit that uphill slog in the manuscript and feel our momentum grinding to a halt like that old, wood-paneled Buick station wagon stalled in the intersection during rush hour.

Have you been there? Drivers navigating around you and showing their appreciation for your delay with a single-finger salute while you desperately crank the key, hoping for a spark to catch. Sometimes it does and, by some automotive miracle, after the tenth crank as the battery is slowly whirring down – ignition! The words come, slowly at first, but they come and we’re on the move again without too much drag on our momentum.

Other times, though, you turn that key, breath held, teeth clenched, and pray to the Buick pantheon for a miracle. Clickclickclick. <insert bad word here>. Dead. Deep breaths. Count to ten. Okay. Gotta get moving again. The ultimate destination of Atlanta sinks beneath the immediate need to get the car to the service station across the intersection.

It’s that change in perspective that’s the key. While we need to keep our ultimate goal in mind, when our momentum slows or stops, we need to set our immediate sights on short-term wins to get moving again. In our unfortunate case here, we need to get out and push this beast out of the traffic flow. Now, a big-ass station wagon doesn’t just move with a body lean. It’s going to take some serious effort to get this thing moving. Feet set, right hand on the steering wheel, left braced against the doorframe, you push. The car leans forward then settles back. Rest for a second. Ready? Eyes on the service station, muscles straining, feet pumping like they did when attacking the sled in high school football practice, the car leans further. Harder. Pushpushpush. The wheel turns. Success! Don’t let up. Pushpushpush. Cross over one lane. Success! The car is rolling freely now. Pushpushpush. Another lane. Steer into the station’s driveway. One final push to get over the storm drain. Pushpushpush. And…success! Now on to the next challenge.

Writing works the same way. We need to plant out butts in the chair and write. It’s going to be hard at first, but stick with it. As we move forward, we need to define our successes in terms that will lift us up and keep us moving forward. As the successes pile up and our progress mounts, we close in on our bigger goals. And when we hit those bigger goals, boom, after-burners.

If your goal is to write a novel. Don’t focus on that one thing, break the effort down into achievable milestones (the first page, the first chapter, the first act, the second act, etc.) and acknowledge the completion of each one. Let that accomplishment propel you toward the next one.

Even backed by a tsunami of momentum, we still have to put our butts in chairs and write. So do it and and use your words to propel your success.