[Writer Post] Half Price Books, ConDFW, and Contracts – OH MY
Wow, hey look, it’s another Wednesday. And I very nearly zoned out on the blog post. Things are clicking right along here – winds of change are blowing. Things seem…hopeful. All good things.
Thanks to those who came to Half Price Books on Sunday. I appreciate the support. It was a decent outing. When push came to shove, I did better in the two hours there than I have at some other, longer shows. So, keep supporting author events at bookstores. They matter. A lot. Now to start figuring out how to maybe do some more of that.
Now, I’m going to ask you to support fandom. ConDFW is coming up in a couple of weeks – Guests of Honor are John Scalzi and Seanan McGuire. I’ve seen my preliminary schedule, and it’s going to be fun. But Saturday is going to be SUPER DUPER busy – if I seem to blow you off in the hallway, please know it’s not on purpose! Currently I have something on nearly every EVEN NUMBERED HOUR on Saturday. So, it might just be that I have to use the restroom.
The reason for the plea is that ConDFW had a For-Profit comic con land on their date. I’m still trying to be charitable, but if we want the fan-run conventions (where you don’t have to pay for EVERY. LITTLE. THING) to survive, this is where it starts. I truly believe there’s a place for all kinds of fandom stuff, but I want there to be a way to make that happen without it being super expensive for fans. An actor appearing at Tyler Comic Con proposed a business model where actors are paid a flat fee and all autographs are free. He posited that by charging say $100 to get in, but then having the actor’s alley be free from there takes away the financial burden of … well, everyone. The actors get paid, the fans get contact, and the artists/vendors have less competition. Yeah, that’s not going to ever happen, but it’s an awesome idea – and one that a lot of fan-run conventions kinda do. Fans might buy art and books, but mostly we’re happy sign anything you put in front of us (except blank checks). Something to think about.
So come to ConDFW! Then SoonerCon, ArmadilloCon, and FenCon. We need you!
But what reminded me to do this blog today was a link that just popped up on my Facebook Feed. It’s a blog post by Kameron Hurley about publishing contracts. There’s some NSFW/Kids language in it, but it’s stuff that needs saying to all authors – new or established. I know I have struggled with it (and still do). The point is… you do not have to take a bad contract. No matter who the publisher is. Contracts are NOT set in stone. You can say NO to terms that make you uncomfortable (I have… it’s super hard, but it does NOT tank your career), and you SHOULD say no to terms that make you uncomfortable. This article points out what kinds of things might show up that you should say no to. Go read it right now (because I’m pretty much done here and need to get writing).