Writing Blog – Writing, ArmadilloCon, and the Power of NO
Yay a random writing blog with 30% less Random! Whee! I can hear the excitement now. (And there was much rejoicing.)
So in no particular order – ah, heck, let’s go backwards from the order of the title – mix things up. Can’t you tell I live dangerously? One of the scariest and most liberating words a writer can use in his or her career is, “NO.” Even as an “up and coming” writer, no can be your friend. It can also be the hardest word to say. Sometime – and this happens to experienced writers as much as newcomers – we, as writers, want to keep working as much as possible. We need to keep our name out there, publish more – and generally that means taking on a lot of projects. Like any and all projects that come our way. We “justify” it as “career-building”; or as a favor to a publisher/cause/convention; and even occasionally a good paycheck.
BUT WAIT! How can this be a bad thing? Having a “feast” situation when many writers have a “famine” situation? The problem comes when suddenly you have multiple projects – of varying degrees of length, difficulty, and style – coming due at the same time. That kind of stress can have serious at the same time. That kind of stress can have serious consequences. It also means the likelihood of you putting out your best work…slim. No one wants that. Ever.
So, what do you do? Take a look at the opportunity. If you can, in good conscience say no, say no. If you get in over your head and accept too many projects. It’s okay – if it’s early in the game and won’t cause a huge hardship – to go to the publisher/editor/partner and come clean and say you can’t do the project. It’s definitely better than blowing the deadline. [Don't be a jerk!] It’s even okay to turn down a project if you can’t do the project justice. Just make sure you weigh your projects carefully.
In fact (personal anecdote and segue time) this happened to me at ArmadilloCon in Austin this past weekend. I had to back out of a project that I was just starting to seriously look into when one of my writing partners brought a comatose project back to life with a fairly firm time line target. We haven’t worked on the project for a year because of his schedule, now we’re clearing parts of both our schedules to get it finished. I couldn’t finish the two novels I’ve been trying to finish, finish that project, start the planning and execution of the next possible ROTA project AND the project above. Something had to give. Since that project hadn’t really started up, it was less painful to back out now.
And that’s what ArmadilloCon was for me – that opportunity to catch up with writing partners (both current and potential) in person, make new friends, and have some good fun. And where else can I have the opportunity to hug Howard Waldrop and learn a life lesson from Neal Barrett, Jr. while wearing a cocktail dress and Vorpal Bunny slippers (me, not Mr. Barrett) within a 36 hour period. His lesson to me was (in relation to roasts and humor), “Get them before they get you.” Amen, Mr. Barrett, amen.
So, to finish up this longish post…where does that leave the writing? Already behind. Very, very behind. But there is a plan. One less thing is on the plate so I can control feeling overwhelmed to some degree. I’ve got plans – which is always the hard part of the battle. My novel is at its second major publisher (one just came open again to electronic subs!). FenCon is rapidly approaching which will be hectic, but trigger more creative flow. Until then – full steam ahead. Now, let’s all go write something fictional.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
To my amazing husband. If you know him, go wish him a happy, happy birthday! I am very luck to have him in my life and appreciate him m ore than I can ever say or show
From the Archive – New Year’s Resolutions
It’s that time of year again. New Year. A new year. A new start. It’s the time of the year when a lot of people make grand resolutions to change something major in their life. For most it’s some kind of bad habit or a means to get healthier. For many writers, it’s also a time to vow to do, be, or sell better.
The problem I have with resolutions is simply the wording. Resolutions are notoriously set up to fail. Wikipedia has a statistic saying only 12% of New Year’s resolutions are kept. Why start the New Year that way? This is a clean slate, let’s set goals rather than resolutions, yes, it’s a semantic distinction, but one that could make a difference.
What’s the key to this? I think, no matter what the goal or resolution, the key comes down to attainability. So many people set these lofty resolutions for huge changes that there’s no possible away to attain it in any kind of appreciable manner. So when you’re looking to redefine your writing habits, keep this in mind.
Every writer I know wants to burn up the keyboard with every turning of the calendar. However, if you – the writer – have a full time job, a significant other, any kind of family, or friends (you know, LIFE) then it may not be a realistic goal to promise you’re going to write 1000 or more words a day, X number of short stories a month/year, and/or multiple novels before the next resolution.
The name of the game is attainability. Make your goal to write SOMETHING every day, even if it’s 50 – 100 words. Maybe readjust the word counts to include editing and actually submitting the stories, articles, or novels you’ve written. And notice I said submit not sell. Why? Because no writer can control how many pieces they’re going to sell in a year. You can write the most amazing piece of fiction or non-fiction ever and if you don’t hit the right market at the right time, it won’t sell.
Control is the other part of the resolution or goal. It has to be something you can do yourself that doesn’t rely on someone else to make happen. You can resolve to make a sale or get a job or whatever – and you can go to great lengths to make that happen (submitting constantly, applying to jobs, etc) but at the end of the day, the success of your resolution falls on the decision of someone else.
I’m not saying there is no place for resolutions or goals. I have set myself goals this year. But I’ve taken my own advice. I try to set attainable, controllable goals for myself. I have commitments that need to be kept and projects to start and finish. I need some new short fiction, my backlog is falling behind. I have a novel in the submissions process, so I have new novel(s) to write to fill the void. But I know if I said, “I’m writing 1000 words a day from now on.” It’s not going to happen.
It’s like a diet. By forcing myself into doing something I know is going to be difficult, I’m setting myself up to “cheat” and fall into that downward spiral. Let’s not do that to ourselves this year. Let’s set attainable goals and fill 2009 with success.
Writer Blog – Let the Randomness Continue – Conventions Redux
I don’t know where this week has gone. I’ve been messing up the days in my head all week. Yesterday, I would’ve sworn today was Thursday – which meant I should’ve panicked over this YESTERDAY (but yesterday was Tuesday all day). Somehow my brain is just not comprehending Wednesday this week. Go figure. Prepping for two conventions will do that to you, I guess.
ArmadilloCon begins on Friday, August 27. Just realized – again – that I’m moderating one of my Saturday panels. That means I actually need to prepare for it. GASP. It’s on self-promotion – which is a topic I think I can do well with since it’s a big chunk of what I do. Fortunately, I’m also pretty good at keeping control of a panel, so it should go well, if I get off my duff and do prep work. Fortunately, I’m mentally packed, so the actual physical packing should be quick.
FenCon is the bear. I WORK that one and it’s a month out. And you’d think since most of the info I need to do my job for FenCon is actually in this year a month out instead of my default panic date that I would be breathing easier…yeah, no. There’s still a ton of work to do and only a month to do it in. However, that’s no excuse – except to explain why I may have thought it today was supposed to be Thursday and Wednesday didn’t exist this week.
So, what has that do with being a writer? Just about everything. I’ve talked about why I think conventions are important as a writer several times in the course of this blog – mostly in its new home. But it bears repeating, and it’s the underlying reason why some of my word counts may not be quite as…numerous… as they could be. Convention prep make me, personally, switch gears from “Creative Writer Chick” to “Business of Writing Chick” – which means a mental gear change from fairy tales and thrillers to promotional items and wardrobe, but that doesn’t stop the word count, it just…delays them a bit while I suddenly turn into the girl who actually *is* concerned about shoes.
But ArmadilloCon and FenCon (and all the other conventions I do panels for) are TOTALLY worth it. Don’t let any writer tell you differently. There was actually a discussion on one of my email groups about whether or not paying to attend a writer’s workshop with agent/publisher pitch meetings was any more or less effective than going to places like ArmadilloCon and FenCon and getting to know some of the same people in the bar. The answer wasn’t quite clear cut, but I can tell you *my* answer to that is: they’re about equal IF you do it right. And there’s less pressure in the bar.
Doing it right, that’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it? We’re all trying to do it right with no clear cut rule book, and yet, somehow it comes down to don’t be a jerk. Don’t be pushy. Don’t be confrontational. Be open, honest, friendly and professional. Don’t pitch unless asked, “So, what are you working on now?” or some variation of those EXACT words.
We all do conventions to have fun. We do conventions to do business. If any writer takes the fun out of the convention, how likely is it they’ll do business? Think about. And while you’re thinking about it, why not come to Austin this weekend for ArmadilloCon, or Dallas in September for FenCon. We’ll leave a light on for ya (yes, thank you Motel 6).
Writing Instrument Wish List – Not a Review – this time…
I’ll admit it. I’m a Levenger fan. Though they do sometimes over email, I do like the pretty pictures in the catalog. I call it “pen porn” (well, that should raise some rankings and some flak). It’s not QUITE as bad as Paradise Pen Company – but that’s only because I let myself go into one of their stores, and they let me leave noseprints.
But that’s not the point of this. From the Levenger catalog, I’ve been drooling over Rhodia notebooks for awhile. The nice Rhodia folk let me review and give away the Webnotebook. I did fall in love with that. Now, I’m totally wanting to play with this…the Rhodia Essential 4-Pad Collection. Just because I want to play with more Rhodia…STUFF. They gave me a taste of 90 gram paper… ARG!!!! WANT MORE… But that’s how they get ya.
The other thing I found (besides all the $100+ fountain and rollerball pens that I whimper over constantly – Waterman is my weakness – so is the Pilot retractable fountain pen [REALLY want to try one of THOSE]) that I want to play with are the Freeleaf Mulitcolored Annotation Ruled notepads. Just because they’re pretty…
I’m sad and predictable in the stuff that I long for, but it could be worse. 
AND THE NEW WINNER IS…of the Rhodia Webnotebook
Chris Stelter never claimed his prize. We have drawn a new winner –
Which is;
#
Nic says:
August 9, 2010 at 10:11 am (Edit)
anxiously waiting
contest on the internet
webbie — sweet release
Nic now has until 11:59, Saturday, August 28. 2010 to claim the notebook or we’ll have another winner.
Mother Goose & Grimm’s Take on the State of Publishing
I *so* had to share this!!!!!
From the Archive – What NOT to Do
Sometimes I’m amazed anyone becomes a writer any more. There are so many things to learn that generally comes down to “What Not to Do” that tend to come up only after the new writer commits the wrong. This past week I had a writer do something “wrong” and involved me in this. Yeah, this would be a pretty high up “What Not to Do”.
Lesson One: Pick your battles carefully.
Just before Christmas I found out a new small press publisher has closed their doors indefinitely. I have a story in their first (and only) anthology. They had a lot of potential but life and the economy got in the way. Instead of getting further and further in the hole, they shut down. However, they still promise to pay their writers for the anthology — even though it’s going to be very, very late.
One author was quite upset by this and became vocal. Now, I’m not happy with the delay or the loss of a potentially cool publisher, but stuff happens. And it’s only been a few months. Talk to me again six months or a year from now, my tune may change. But for now, I’m giving people the benefit of the doubt.
Lesson Two: Pick your allies even more carefully.
If the above author had had his moment of hubris and let it go, life would be good. However, he didn’t. He approached me, completely unsolicited, to aid him in his “battle” with the publisher. The only thing he knew of me was that we both had stories on the publisher’s website as “bait” to buy the anthology. He sent me a copy of the email he sent to the publisher which was written while angry and was in his own words, “unprofessional”. And yet, he wanted me to write a similar email to the publisher.
Um… no. One, I don’t send unprofessional emails to publishers. Are you crazy? This is my industry. And two, what this guy didn’t know was that I personally know — and like — both the editor of the anthology and the publisher. That would probably be a good thing to know.
Lesson Three: Never send an email/letter/text or leave a message in anger.
This should be common sense, and yet it happens all the time. We’ve all done it. I will probably do it again in the future, but not to a publisher. Not after only a relatively short time when they’ve already admitted fault. It’s not like they’ve said, “It’s in the mail.” That does tick me off. However, if I’m dealing with a publisher on a matter like this, I have at least one other person read the email AND let it sit.
Lesson Four: Never assume just because YOU are angry, everyone else is too.
Again, I’m not thrilled the press is closing and still owes money, but I’m not ticked off or even annoyed, really. They have provision for keeping the anthology available for sale. They’re not making unrealistic promises. There were extenuating circumstances. I’m all for “benefit of the doubt” for an amount of time.
Lesson Five: Golden Rule. Dude. Golden Rule.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Or “don’t be a jerk”. By getting other people involved in his fight, the only thing that happened was have more than one or two people think this guy’s a jerk. I sent the email to the publisher with a note that said I had no intention of following this guy’s lead.
This guy’s on my radar now as someone I don’t want to work with in the future if I ever edit an anthology of my own. I know he’s on the publisher’s radar, too. And this person hasn’t quite figured out that writers, editors, and publishers talk. We talk. Both good and bad, we talk. A lot.
There can be some leeway for “newbie” mistakes, but some mistakes are easier to live down than others. This one, well, this one is going to haunt him for a while.
Is it okay to go after a publisher for non-payment? Absolutely. Are there times and places for that? Absolutely. This wasn’t the time or the way. His mistake? He got others involved, and he went about it way too soon. And it’s going to cost him in the long run. Take this into account when you’re considering “What Not to Do”.
ArmadilloCon 32 Schedule
Fr2100SB Working with Small Presses
Fri 9:00 PM-10:00 PM Sabine
R. Eudaly, C. Nakashima-Brown*, W. Ledbetter, N. Moore, D. Anderson
Sa1000SB Promoting your work (and yourself)
Sat 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Sabine
G. Faust, S. Wedel, P. Kitanidis, R. Eudaly*, K. Hoover, L. Antonelli
Sa1400SA Playing Friendly: Shared Worlds and Collaborations
Sat 2:00 PM-3:00 PM San Antonio
G. Andrews, I. Andrews, A. Allston, B. Hale*, R. Bennett, R. Eudaly
Sa1500DR Signing
Sat 3:00 PM-4:00 PM Dealers’ Room
H. Waldrop, L. Person, M. Fletcher, J. McKinney, A. Allston, R. Eudaly
Su1200SM Fannish Feud
Sun Noon-1:00 PM San Marcos
R. Eudaly*, C. Conrad, R. Caine, A. Martinez, J. Nevins, K. Kofmel, S. Leicht, R. Babcock, E. Burton, D. Tolliver, I. Andrews, G. Andrews
Su1430P Reading
Sun 2:30 PM-3:00 PM Pecos
Rhonda Eudaly
Su1500SA James Bond, CSI etc.: Science Fiction or Not?
Sun 3:00 PM-4:00 PM San Antonio
A. Porter*, P. Benjamin, Mi. Finn, R. Eudaly, R. Klaw, M. Bey
Calling Chris Stelter – Rhodia Webnotebook Winner
Calling Chris!
We announced on Saturday, 8/14/10 that Chris Stelter won the Rhodia Webnotebook. Chris needed to comment to claim the prize and we’d get in touch…
Chris has not yet claimed the prize.
Chris has until 11:59 p.m. Saturday, August 21, 2010 to claim the Rhodia webnotebook or we’ll draw another random comment.
