Monthly Archives: April 2013

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WonderCon: My First Comic Book Convention

April 9, 2013 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, WonderCon

I’ve been wanting to go to a comic book convention for a long time, probably since I first starting writing my own superhero novel. Last month, I finally got to go! My husband John took me to WonderCon in Anaheim. It was so much fun!

Of course, the first thing you notice (after trying to stay in a good mood for the hour it took to park in Anaheim) is all the people in costume. There were so many different kinds of characters with costumes that went from homemade to super-wow! My geek factor isn’t deep enough for me to be able to recognize who everyone was, but there were a lot of Doctor Who characters, lots of manga-like girls, lots of superheroes (of course!), and a quite a few steampunk costumes. And lots of other things that I couldn’t figure out.

Tom King, author of A ONCE CROWDED SKY, and me

John told me I should walk around the booths at the Expo and talk to authors who had tables there, find out if it was worth the time and expense. I had about half a dozen business cards in my wallet; I figured that would cover meeting the other writers. Boy, was I wrong. There were a lot of writers there! Some who wrote mostly novels, some who wrote mostly comic books, and some who wrote both. I ran out of business cards long before I ran out of writers to talk to.

I’ve been to enough RWA conferences, both regional and national, to know the rhythm and to fit myself into the flow. There are lots of reasons why that is a good thing, but you no longer walk around with saucer eyes. At WonderCon, I was definitely Saucer-Eyed Girl! It was a totally new experience. Everything I saw made me think differently about stories, writers, and readers.

If you’ve been in your usual groove for a while, it’s time to go see the world differently. Go to a different kind of conference or expo for a day. See who’s out there buying comic books, buying boats, doing brain surgery. If nothing else, watch YouTube videos on something you know nothing about. (I just watched one about how the length of your chromosomes may determine how much life expectancy you have left.)

New experiences literally change how your brain makes connections. I’ve been reading a lot of books on brain science in the last year. Want to change your brain? Improve its function? Even read something way outside your known world. All these things improve your ability to see the world differently. That’s not only fun, it’s good for your writing.

Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her first novel, Little Miss Lovesick, is now available in print and ebook format. Her next novel, Unexpected Superhero, will be released soon, followed by Love at the Fluff and Fold this summer. Her short stories can be found in the anthologies Romancing the Pages and Moonlit Encounters, available in both print and ebook formats.

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Missing a Meeting

April 6, 2013 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Family, Killer Hobbies, Linda O. Johnston, writing

I unfortunately wonâ€™t be at the upcoming OCC meeting. It sounds wonderful, but Iâ€™ll have family in town. And family comes first! Especially since the visitors will include my little grandson, whoâ€™s ten months old. He, and my son and d-i-l, live in Chicago.

I saw them just over a week ago, too, on a Florida trip that I blogged about in my weekly Killer Hobbies blog. Great trip, one on which Iâ€™d intended to do a lot of writing. But despite the best of intentions, I spent more time with family than writing. Since then, Iâ€™ve pretty much caught up on what Iâ€™d hoped to accomplish, which makes me even happier that I did what felt best at the time.

Will I get much writing done next week? Maybe not. But Iâ€™ve fortunately met the most compelling of my deadlines, so I can afford to have fun and spend time with family.

So how about you–does family come first, or your writing, or your day job, or other obligations? Or are you able to juggle them all so nothing is ignored?

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

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The Writing Bond

April 3, 2013 by A Slice of Orange in category Writing tagged as April 2013, Louisa Bacio

Louisa Bacio

It’s either me or her.

I’ve worked in industries with that either/or mentally. When I first started out in the magazine publishing business, there was a serious lack of women on staff. Rather than the more senior members acting as mentors, in camaraderie, they viewed the new blood, i.e. me, as competition.

If you haven’t experienced the situation, you’ve probably seen the movies: Business can be cutthroat. Kill or be killed. Push out or be fired. Thank goodness the romance industry isn’t that way!

During her keynote luncheon speech at the SoCalRWA Conference, best-selling author Julia Quinn expressed a need for more established authors to help new ones out. To paraphrase, she said something like, “It’s not like if you recommend a bookseller, they’re suddenly going to stop shelving as many of your books to sell another author instead.”

The fear may persist “ If I tell others of this really cool new publisher, or call for submissions, then other writers may be chosen instead of me. At the heart, the author’s work stands on its own. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.

At the 2013 March OCC/RWA meeting, Susan Squires announced a new PRO opportunity, where she will work with a PRO member on their completed manuscript for two months. The experience includes a complete read-through and suggestions on the rewrite. It’s a huge undertaking, and Susan deserves major kudos for the offer.

This year, we’ve pushed hard to take our writers to the next level. With the Book-in-a-Year program, we’ve already had several members complete their first full-length novel. Guess what’s next? Yep: PRO. In order to make PRO, a writer needs to submit to an editor or agent, and then fill out the required paperwork with RWA Nationals. The designation indicates a member who is ‘actively’ pursuing a professional writing career. The next level up is PAN. The requirements for PAN are not as straightforward as a few years ago “ with the recommended changes for those self-published. For those authors traditionally published, whether, in eBook or print, they need to earn $1,000 in sales/advance in order to make PAN. While some categorize PRO as those who are “rejected,” that’s not necessarily the case. Perhaps a writer has had a piece accepted, but they simply haven’t hit that $1,000 threshold yet? They’re still considered PRO. It took me about nine months and three statements for my erotic paranormal The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome to earn enough to reach PAN status.

Another incentive we’ve focused on this year is Write for the Money. A mere $1 equals 1 goal. The closer we get to the next meeting, the more I’m focused on making my goals so that I can toss my slip of paper into the pot. Someday, I’ll win.

Keep up that energy. We’re here to support all levels of writers, and we rejoice in hearing the good news.

Now, what’s your goal for the month? How about the year?

— Louisa Bacio

http://www.facebook.com/LouisaBacio
http://www.Twitter.com/LouisaBacio

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