August 2008

Happy New Year to Me
Today it the 10th anniversary of Abstract Thoughts! When I started this online journal, there is no way I thought it would last this long. It has and I am richer for it. The online community, for all its vagaries and follies, has been overwhelmingly good for me as a person and for my career.

Today is also my own personal New Year's Day. The month of August historically has been good to me and often comes with live changing events. So, I celebrate August 1st as a personal holiday and I reflect on what I have already done in the year and what I will be doing for the rest of the year.

What I have accomplished:

1. Got married. Talk about life changing.
2. Sold my Grants Pass anthology. That is huge. Really huge. Going through the professional editing process is amazing.
3. Sent out 29 query letters for agents and books.
4. Kept an online journal for 10 years.
5. Been invited to write for my first invitation-only anthology.
6. Continued to publish and write for The Edge of Propinquity for its third year.
7. Written 12 new short stories so far.
8. Got two new kittens, Isis and Pharaoh.
9. Been a guest at BayCon and got invited to guest at RadCon.
10. Continued to work for Amazon.com.
11. Worked at QA contract with Microsoft.
12. Contributed to the Cortex rulebook.
13. Work on [censored] Margaret Weis Production project.
14. Sold my condo.
15. Submitted 7 stories to publications.

What I plan to accomplish by the end of the year:

1. Continue to send out query letters for agents and books.
2. Write the second novel for one of my series in the month of September.
3. Be a guest at Gen Con Indy 2008.
4. See the publication of Chill, 3rd Edition with Mike Callahan (September 2008).
5. See the publication of Dragonvarld Adventures with Margaret Weis (November 2008).
6. Write at least 5 more short stories.
7. Continue to work for Amazon.com.
8. Have at least one more Margaret Weis Production project to work on.
9. Go to Hawaii with the husband for our honeymoon and his birthday.
10. Submit at least 5 more stories for publication.

There's a lot more I've done in greater detail but what it boils down to is that I have worked my butt off and the fruits of my labor are coming in. I am satisfied with what I have done and where I am going. This is an amazing fact. I can say I am content with my life and my work. Not a lot of people can say that. I feel blessed that I can.

Of Conventions & Concerns
I leave for Gen Con Indy really frickin' early on Wednesday morning. I arrive in Indianapolis just before 5pm. Hopefully, that will be enough time for me and Jeff to get our bags, get to our hotel and get checked in before the Gen Con Writer Symposium unofficial Meet & Greet at 6:30pm. I've RSVP'd for Jeff and myself and I'm pretty excited about going. If you are going to be at Gen Con, here is my panel schedule:

Why yes, that is an 8am panel I agreed to be on Sunday morning. I believe Luke Johnson is on all four Sunday panels with me. Fortunately, all of the Gen Con Writer Symposium panels will be in Marriot across the street from the main convention center which is really close to my hotel. Now, I just have to get my notes for all my panels written up. It's a good thing I splurged for 1st class seats for Jeff and I. I should have both the time and the room to do that on the plane on the first leg of the journey.

Of course, I'm having those stupid thoughts of "What if they hate me?" and "What if they think I'm dumb/a poser/can't write/etc...?" I have these doubts before every convention and it makes me want to hide away from the world. Of course, once I'm there, I have a good time and no one thinks I'm stupid (at least not yet) and these conventions are excellent for my career. I get to meet other authors, publishers and editors and it's a good thing.

And yet, I can't help but be intimidated. I've co-written three game books Two of which come out this year. I've sold an anthology. I've contributed to other games books and, for some reason, it doesn't feel like enough. I don't have the holy grail of authors, a novel, out there with only my name on it and that makes me, what? Less of an author? Dumb for being intimidated? I don't know.

I wonder if all authors go these long thoughts before conventions or other speaking engagements.

Only seven working days left on my QA contract. I will not lie. I will be very glad when it is done. I think one of the things I don't like in a professional setting is the lack of timely responsiveness in my team. Especially when I've been told that I would have an action item (that I am waiting on) by a certain time. It is unfortunate that this is the experience I have had with this team. But, as it is a contract, I will complete it and then walk away without any guilt, knowing I left it better off than when I started.

I have to say, it makes me appreciate my Amazon editor's responsiveness that much more. Ditto with my RPG editors. Even if the response is - "I'm aware you need this. I don't have time to get to it. I'll get to it or tell you by X date." Heck, my co-editor, Amanda, over at Morrigan Books is amazing in her responsiveness. Even if we don't agree on things, I know we can discuss it in a timely manner.

Also, I expect this sort of responsiveness in my own authors for the Edge of Propinquity. More than once, my authors have had me shake my finger at them and they've received some *ahem* emails, asking for their stories for the upcoming month. There is a certain amount of prep work that I have to put into all of the stories including reading, editing and HTML preparation. I'll be publishing the August issue of TEoP from Gen Con.

Thinking of writing and publishing, I've now seen and discussed all of the possible covers for the Grants Pass anthology. After quite a bit of discussion, a cover has been chosen and I am pleased with it. It is not the cover I originally designed in my head. It is a cover from the Morrigan Books' graphic artist, Reece, who was told to 'come up with alternate images.' And, dammit, as much as I hate to admit it, her cover 'pops' so much more than mine did. I would pick up a book with the cover she designed before I would pick up a book with the cover I designed. I suppose that's why I'm an author and she's a graphic artist.

So, cover chosen and editing well under way, I have two more tasks on my plate: find a couple of well known authors to blurb the anthology and inform the city of Grants Pass that they are about to become internationally known. Amanda and I figured it that it might be a good thing to let them know that a book sporting their name and such would be coming out next year and it might up their tourism numbers or something.

Convention Networking
I am now back from Gen Con and this convention proved to me just how much effective convention networking (aka "schmoozing") is to an author's career. Last year, when I first started really doing this thing called "networking" I was very much like a Great Dane puppy - cute, awkward and all over the place. I did not realize just how much until I came back to this same convention and had a much more professional spin on things.

Last year, one editor, whom I really wanted to impress, just smiled and nodded at me. He handed me his business card and suggested I email him with details. In particular, I was trying to sell him the Grants Pass anthology. It was a polite couple of emails and that was that.

This year, when I was talking about the sale of Grants Pass and my search for an agent, he flat out asked me why I had not submitted my manuscripts to [Big Name] publishing company. When I stated that I did not have an agent, he shook his head and told me I did not need one. That I clearly had the credits to my name now. He gave me his business card and wrote the name of the person he wanted me to contact and told me to make sure I sent in the two manuscripts I had just discussed with him once I had the proper format, etc...

The difference in attitude was night and day. You see that a lot at these conventions. People in the publishing industry are often aloof, condescending or blasé towards you because they are inundated with SO MANY people who want to be 'published writers' that it is just crazy. So, they are patient with a polite smile until they realize who you are, who you've written for and what you could possibly do for them. Once they figure out you are a "real" writer, their attitudes change and they become a lot more engaged with you. That comes with how you portray yourself.

And, may I just say, I get a thrill out of watching people turn over their business cards to write down their real email addresses for me to make sure I get in contact with them.

By the way, the professional business card with the correct contact information on it is like gold at a convention like this. Business cards fly left and right at conventions. They are practically a professional mating ritual of editor/publisher and author. I usually collect the card and then write on it why I am collecting it. It would be something as simple as "publisher" or "author for TEoP" to something as complex as instructions on who to send what manuscript to. After a convention like Gen Con, I am hard pressed to remember why I wanted a card from a person I did not know personally.

Work-wise, if I get even half of the work I talked about doing with various RPG companies during the convention, I will be so busy I will not see the light of day for months. This is a good thing. I adore working for Margaret Weis Productions and Otherworld Creations and I do have projects forthcoming from them but I would not mind branching out.

I have five definite pitches to give to various RPG companies ranging from the three person outfit to the big conglomerates and all five of these pitches I am excited for. Some more than others but all of them are very cool. One may include the creation of a whole fantasy setting for their RPG line. Talk about a challenge.

At the same time, September, I will be working on the next in a series. I have to say that Gen Con has been good for my creative side.

Despite how good Gen Con was, I am so glad to be home, in my own bed, and back to a normalized routine until next week. I did miss my kitties a lot. Matt did a good job of taking care of them and the house is in relatively good shape.