Ravencon. MagFest. Conjecture. MileHiCon. Libertycon. These are just a few of the hundreds of science fiction and fantasy cons which go on yearly in the US and abroad. Why are they important? Well for one, they are a quick and easy way to begin building a fan base early on.
Free Enterprise
I often wonder just how authors back in the days before the internet managed. Did they have to hire a publicist to get any sort of notoriety for their upcoming novel? Did the publisher shell out more money just in hopes that independent bookstores might carry their new author? Or was it a pure "shot-in-the-dark" attitude and, if so, does this explain a lot about the current state of the industry?
A Book By Its Cover
On the flip side of this, a stupidly awesome cover can cover a very bad book.
NaNoWriMo Time!
So remember, while participating this month in NaNoWriMo, 50,000 is a lot of words. Stay focused. You can do it.
Above and Beyond
Fourteen years ago I was a bored 17 year old teen sitting on a battered old couching while flipping through the channels late one night
Twas A Dark and Empty Room
In our society, it's easier than ever to communicate with others while not even leaving our rooms, but the amount of distractions seem to be even greater. So how do you juggle it? No, put away that shovel. There will be no burying of bodies while reading the blog.
Good or Bad Advice?
Good advice is hard to come by in the industry. All too often you’ll have conflicting advice given by multiple authors.
Save The Dragons
Thus, Save The Dragons was born.
To Guide The Butcher
I've harped on this in the past, but one of my favorite tricks while writing is the creation of a fictional town based off of a real one. For example, in The Green Jewel the town of Purgatory Peak, CA is based off of two of the towns I grew up in. I used a … Continue reading To Guide The Butcher
Budget vs. Whee Spend!
I vaguely remember where I was going with the last post, but since nobody seems to care about plot holes (do we, Mr. Lucas?), I propose we move on to something far more substantial. All in favor? Good.
Plot Hole Doominess
Plot holes are the bane of George Lucas.
Professionalism In the Industry
They've already contracted it, remember. They want it to be published as much as you do, otherwise they wouldn't have purchased it.
Spell Check
Well, there are two ways to do this. Either write the most horrible tripe ever imaginable, or write the next classic piece of fiction. Easy, right?
How Do I…?
But the fact thay Harry Potter was rejected that many times should tell us something, or that we almost never got a chance to read about Frodo and Sam while Kendra's story made it in on first try. It's just a business, which is one thing we authors tend to forget in our creation of a novel.
The E-book Wars
The shortsighted result of this is very obvious -- already established well-known authors are thinking... well, they could really do this without the publisher.
Jason Córdova 