I’ve had a super-busy June, with several long week-ends taken up with events. June 14-16 found me volunteering at Gateway Con (Gateway to Publishing) in St. Louis.
Writing conferences are one of those “find-your-tribe” type gatherings: A book people meet-up. Gateway Con is small enough to talk with everyone over the course of the week-end, yet large enough to provide a critical mass of experience and creativity so that every writer and reader in attendance gains information and useful contacts.
Five take-home lessons from the writing conference:
- Introverts unite. All kinds of shy people—faking it till we make it—go to conferences. I used my staff-badge hostess powers to greet random people, “Are you having a good conference? Did you know free coffee is over there in the corner?” And so many times they replied with things like, “I can’t believe I’m here, talking to strangers,” or “I can’t believe I pitched my book to an agent.” I’m sure someone at this event loved the hobnobbing (I’m looking at you barflies over there), but I came away impressed with the number of brave souls who followed their dream into the scary places.
- Book birthday. Most artists who aspire to commercial success have a jumping-the-gun daydream or two. They imagine the book that is only halfway outlined on the New York Times Bestseller List or their latest sketch series adorning a collectable card game. I find myself wasting time planning elaborate, themed book-launch parties. As I am not a social person (see lesson one, above), an actual book launch will most likely give me hives. A fun and reassuring tidbit from the conference was to think of the event as your book’s birthday party. You don’t have to spend a lot of money; have it in a bookstore or some other public place. Just celebrate this moment in the sun. Invite everyone and have fun!
- Copyright. Some creative people worry about their art being ripped off, and we do hear horror stories. Artists wonder if we need to do something specific to protect our work and our rights. This uncertainty can lead to fear of sharing or showing the creation to the world. An attorney, Mark Sableman, reassured the conference goers, “Copyright occurs at the moment of tangible creation.” I found that an empowering concept. Of course, more formal steps must be taken if you do feel like an infringement has happened.
- Beware the “standard contract.”Another legal lesson was that all contracts are open to negotiation. As artists we are often so focused on getting someone to represent or publish our work, beaten down by years of rejection, that we gratefully take what is offered without any thought to our own ideas. The conference goers were urged to think carefully about their needs, what they think is best for their art, and make sure those things are in the contract. It goes without saying that a contract for any professional services the writer gives or receives will prevent many misunderstandings.
- Story: Always and in all the ways. Creative new ways to share story content was the buzz at the small-group, “genre talk” evening mixer I attended. Story consumers don’t want to just read the tale (even ebooks are so last year). They want:
- To see images, such as popular novels become comic books, like Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.
- More of the story world in a different media, such as novel-inspired stage plays (e.g., J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Cursed Child), or readers creating their own sequels through fan fiction.
- To listen to the novels they love in audiobooks (e.g., every book published) or podcasts of new stories (e.g., Welcome to Nightvale).
- To play the story with role-playing (e.g., Call of Cthulhu), video (e.g., Game of Thrones) and board games (e.g., Dresden files).
We are accustomed to the pop-culture merchandizing around successful movie and television franchises (toys, collectable figures, soundtrack, etc.). But this idea goes further, I think, into the story media itself:
- One writer I talked to creates video trailers for her books. (Leigh Savage, author & model)
- Coloring books based on a story are not uncommon. (Ryan Freeman, author, & Jennifer Stolzer, illustrator)
- Writers use the Loot Crate idea to send goodies and trinkets out along with their book.
- Over the past year, I’ve experienced the subscription box model of story: An interactive mystery, in which the “detective” sent us evidence and clues, we emailed back and forth about the case, and we ultimate received an email thank you from the “crime victim” for our help. (Sleuth Kings)
- I’ve also received story as periodic shipments of artifacts, clues, and dollhouse pieces, assembling the toy and the story at my leisure. (Lady Delaney)
Whether reader or writer (or both—aren’t we all both, really?), consider gifting yourself with a writing conference soon.