I know it’s the month for being Con-Fabulous, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you about Superstars Writing Seminar (SSWS) now, before the submission window closes for the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship. Wow, lots of new things in that one sentence. Focus, Scott, focus. Okay. Let’s break it down.

SSWS is a drink-from-the-firehose master class on how to be a professional writer. First and foremost, it’s a business seminar taught by international best-selling authors like Kevin J. Anderson, David Farland, and Brandon Sanderson. You know, the people we want to be like someday. They bring along with them a supporting cast of heavy-hitting guest lecturers (agents, editors, publishers) to provide deeper insight into their areas of expertise. Again, this is a business seminar. The focus is on treating your writing as a business and providing guidance on how to make your dream a reality.

But there is so much more than the incredible information. The instructors and guest speakers are there with you the entire time. They don’t run off. They don’t avoid you. They hang out. They go to lunch, dinner, and even out for a beer later on. They answer questions and talk and laugh and drink and exist in the moment.

And at Superstars, those moments are intense and wonderful. The atmosphere is so charged with creative possibility and hope, it’s contagious. Attendees refer to themselves as a member of the Tribe—a supportive collective of like-minded creatives looking to build their writing careers—and leave with a soul full of energy and a brain crammed with exciting new thought patterns and opportunities.

Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship

If you’re new to Superstars and find the costs out of reach, there’s hope—the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship. Here are the deets from the Superstars website:

This seminar can be a life-changing experience, and our scholarship program makes it possible for writers to attend who would not be financially able otherwise.

We fund our scholarships through direct donations to the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship Fund, as well as through the sale of anthologies. One Horn to Rule Them All: A Purple Unicorn Anthology galloped onto the scene in 2015. In 2016 we added A Game of Horns: A Red Unicorn Anthology. Last year, the Dragon Writers Anthology joined the herd.

Based on the success of previous anthologies, WordFire Press has again teamed with editor extraordinaire Lisa Mangum from Shadow Mountain Publishing, the inimitable artist and author James A. Owen, and an eclectic menagerie of Superstars writers, to publish Undercurrents: An Anthology of What Lies Beneath (available in 2018). Proceeds from all four anthologies are applied to the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship Fund. The number of scholarships awarded varies based on the quality of the applications and the amount of funds on hand. We hope to continue awarding multiple scholarships to deserving writers each year.

The scholarship covers the cost of the seminar, including the Advanced Writing Craft Day. The scholarship does not cover travel, accommodations, meals, VIP seating, the VIP Dinner, or any other add-ons that may be available.

Scholarships are intended for:

First-time Superstars attendees only (sorry alumni).
Serious writers who want to learn how to kick-start their careers or build upon their existing platforms.
Writers with financial challenges. If you can afford this seminar, skip the scholarship application and register now. It’ll be one of the best investments you’ll ever make in your career. If you can’t afford it but know deep down in your soul that you NEED it, read on.

You can download the scholarship application from the scholarship webpage, but you gotta hurry on this one. The application window closes on 9/10.

I can’t put into words how much this seminar has meant to me and changed the way I approach my writing career. I know it’s not a Con, but if you are budgeting for next year’s travel, please make Superstars one of your primary destinations. It’ll transform you.

The Importance of Conventions by T. Allen Diaz

September 5, 2017

fictorians

I’m preparing this week for my first, I hope of many, Labor Day journeys to Dragon Con in Atlanta. Dragon Con is a huge convention and the largest venue I’ve ever attended. I’m lucky, now. I’ve snagged my first writing contract and WordFire Press and Bard’s Tower do most of the heavy logistics for me, but it wasn’t always that way. Only a few short years ago I was scraping together the money I needed to pay for a booth and buying stock to put on the shelves in the hope to make enough to at least pay for my room and meals. So, it’s a pretty good time for someone to ask me about the con circuit, whether or not it’s worth all the sacrifice, and to weigh its pros and cons. The conventions are amazing experiences that have been indispensable to my career and are too important not to do. I’m not just talking about the big shows. To paraphrase a favorite movie character “Judge them not by their size”. The commercial success I’ve had to-date can be traced directly to the smallest con in sales and attendance at which I’ve ever appeared.

The 2015 Necronomicon here in Tampa only expected a paltry twelve hundred or so, but I was already experienced enough to know that every opportunity to get out and mingle among potential fans and colleagues was one to be taken, especially if it was affordable and meant no traveling. Every time I go to these things, great or small, I take something away: a business tip or story idea or that ever-elusive serial reader. So, I went to Necro with the same excitement with which I go to every con. I didn’t make a ton that weekend, though I do recall a vendor next to me that still likes my Facebook page and follows my work, but I did make the acquaintance of a certain You Tuber/author interviewing artists and other folks at the con. My interview was a short affair, just ten minutes or so, but this You Tuber/author and I really hit it off and became friends and mutual business contacts.

Two months later, Garrett Pomichicter gave me a guest spot on his on-line interview with Alan Dean Foster. A month after that, he introduced me to this fantastic publishing company out of Colorado called WordFire Press. I volunteered for them and met the great Kevin J. Anderson, Dave Butler, and Alexi Vandenburg. I did as many shows as I could with them. I learned the importance of being a good salesman and how to pitch a book. I was able to pick their brains about the business and made some friends along the way. I also put my books in people’s hands.

Today, one of those books, Lunatic City, is a WordFire Press release that sold out at its debut at Tampa Bay Comicon 2017. I’m working diligently on edits and rewrites for its sequel in the hopes of a 2018 release. One of my WordFire colleagues and friends, Dave Butler, talked me up to another publisher, Chris Kennedy of Seventh Seal Press, looking for military sci-fi writers interested in contributing to one of his Four Horsemen Anthologies. My ten-thousand word short story, Hero of Styx is unofficially slated to be released in a book titled The Good, the Bad, and the Merc later this year. And, I’m about to go to Dragon Con, one of the largest, most prestigious conventions in the Southeast. Who knows who I may meet or what opportunities await there?

So, when fledgling writers ask me: “Is it really worth it to go to all those cons?” I ask them, “Can you afford not to go?” Cons are tough, they’re a lot of work, and, if you do it right, you go home sore, mentally exhausted, and without a voice. But, every handshake, every interview, every person you meet is an opportunity, an opportunity you will never get sequestered up waiting for someone to trip over your manuscript, no matter how good it is.

T. Allen Diaz is the author of speculative fiction, including the dark space epic series the Proceena Trilogy and his gritty, moon-based noir, Lunatic City. He lives in the Tampa Bay area with his wife and three kids where he has lived for his entire life. Follow him on Twitter as @Proceenawriter and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/T.AllenDiaz where you can stay up-to-date on all of his latest news and events.

Amazon Link

September is Con-Fabulous!

September 1, 2017

Scott Eder

Conventions Interacting With Fans Interacting With Professionals Marketing Networking Professional Behavior Superstars Writing Seminars The Writing Life No Comments

Welcome to September on The Fictorians! This month is all about Cons, or Conventions to you non-Con-goers who don’t spreckidy the same lingidy as us cool kids. I love Cons. I love the noise. I love the topics. I love the vendors and celebrity guests and…I love the smell of Fandom in the morning, but not in the afternoon. As an author, I love working a table or booth and talking to people and books and writing and publishing and whatever. Bonus if they happen to be wearing a Queensryche t-shirt because then we talk about music too. For me, though, it’s not all about the sale. Sure, selling books is important. We writers need to cover the expense of the Con plus travel and hopefully walk away with a little extra.

But beyond the sale, I want to connect with readers and I believe many other Con-attending/working writers will agree with me.

As we near the end of the Con season, I thought it would helpful to run down some of the events we’ve attended this year to assist in planning for next year. The more information you have about an event, especially a new one you’re considering, the better.

Now, we’re not just going to say, “Hey this Con was cool. You should go.” Oh no. I mean, we might use those words, but we’ll back them up with super neato factoids from a writer’s perspective. Cost and attendance are easy to look up on the Con’s website. What you won’t get from the site is the writer’s perspective on how the con “went”. How were sales? Were the attendees into books/reading? What was the atmosphere – cool and laid back, edgy, frenzied? How was the Con run? Was the Con staff friendly and supportive? Can Indy writers get on or host panels? Does the Con even allow panels on writing topics? You know, the good stuff…the stuff not typically covered in the marketing white-papers. We’re shooting for info that can help the writer decide if she wants to attend next year.

Here’s an example. I found a new Con, SwampCon, that I thought of attending and asked a fellow writer about it since I’ve seen him post about it in the past. He said it was a nice Con, great people, but writing wasn’t a high priority topic. And, here’s the kicker, because SwampCon is hosted in Gainesville on the University of Florida campus, the campus bookstore is not too keen on anyone but them selling books. I know I said I wanted to connect with readers, but I at least want the chance to sell books. Glad I know and can take that into serious consideration for next year.

As the month progresses, I hope you’ll walk away with some interesting new destinations for next year. In addition to the Cons, I believe you’ll find a few posts discussing major writing seminars and events that have proved amazing, transformational even, and should be seriously considered in your travel plans.

Got it? Good. See you around the Blog this month.

Have fun,

Scott

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.