To Con or not to Con – that is a Steampunk author’s question

Tags

book sales, Science Fiction conventions, SciFi cons, Steampunk, Steampunk Convention, Steampunk writing, Writer's advice

For an author or a budding author, is it worth one’s time, energy, and money to attend Steampunk conventions and events.  After reading an article by Jay Lake, the Guest of Honor at Gaslight Gathering (San Diego) 2013, one might conclude the answer is no.  But I would like to differ (with much respect to Mr. Lake as he brings up many good points and does not entirely discourage his fellow authors.)  The gist of his article is that Sci Fi conventions are author friendly where Steampunk conventions are not: so why bother?  (FYI, I am not quoting Mr. Lake below, I’m just summerizing what he and a few others have suggested.)

A little background: I’ve been a Geek all my life.  Prior to getting published, I wanted to be a comic book artist.  I highly recommend trying and FAILING in a big way – which I did.  I’m not too bad an artist but I just don’t have what it takes for the comic book industry.  And I’m still here!  The world did not blow up.  I did not die of shattered dreams.  I just moved along, considerably wiser (one hopes.)  During the nearly 20 years I spent flogging my art, I did 80% of it at Science Fiction conventions.  I know conventions, especially those designed along the same paradigm such as today’s Steampunk convention.  From this weird and wonderful experience I present my point of view.

• Steampunk is costume and prop oriented where Sci Fi conventions are more literary, thus authors don’t do as well.  Okay, some of this is accurate in my experience.  Steampunk draws to it those who love gadgets and bits and parts and shiny things.  Yet, I spent many a dollar getting “stuff” at the Sci Fi cons too.  People competed for who could reproduce the latest Star Trek weapon or make something new.  The costume aspect has dropped a bit at Sci Fi cons, but it hasn’t gone away.  Without meaning the slightest negative connotation, cons are very much about posing and appreciating others who are posing.  Therefore, I conclude that Steampunk and Sci Fi share a love for the aesthetic, and this has not slowed Sci Fi books sales in the least.  Get the author to dress up a bit, and things go even better for them.
• Steampunk fans want toys and workshops, not books.  I have to argue against this point.  Steampunkers are avid readers.  When they gather up, they want to make things and show off.  When they are at home, they want to tinker and read.  Conventions need to recognize this emphasis and to make appropriate adjustments.  Clockwork Alchemy is giving this the old college try: we have the Author’s Salon – a series of panels and workshop intensives for writers, cosplayers, and LARPers.  Want to get published; want to design fascinating characters; want to understand how a real gunfight works?  CA has designed a “maker” style approach to authorship.  I’ll let you know how it goes.
• If one is not selling books now, they never will because Steampunk conventions are different.  Sure they’re different, they are also new.  Consider that most people still haven’t heard of the Steampunk genre.  Every convention I know of is either brand new or no more than five years old.  It takes 5 years minimum to establish an event.  It takes time for things to settle, change, and evolve.   It takes time to get more than your cousin Joe to attend because you got him a free membership.  Many conventions have tiny membership numbers, so your potential market is a little stunted at first.  The same was true of Sci Fi conventions at first.  Let’s leave off despair and abandonment just yet.  There is room to grow a convention environment that includes writing and writers.  If in 10 years nothing has changed, well, then we can rethink things.
• Books don’t sell at Steampunk conventions and poor book sales are bad.  Well, no duh – we all want to sell our books and to quit our day jobs.  But not selling today doesn’t mean you won’t sell tomorrow.  If you want to guarantee a lack of sales, don’t show up.  Don’t shake hands or make eye contact.  Don’t share what you’ve learned.  Like the event that needs five years to get up to speed, so does the author.  Look, it’s going to take you a while to get established, especially in a world where anyone can get a book printed, and the first few years are going to be expensive.  Be the outstanding author no one can forget.  Enjoy the journey and take every chance you can get to meet fans.  Make them happy to say they’ve met you.

Be an unrelenting force.  Don’t just let things happen, work with the conventions and build them to be author friendly.  So slap some goggles on your hat and get out there.  Steampunk is a whole new, old world.  If you want it to be author supportive, make it that way.  No one is going to do it for you.

Yankee #2 is Coming!!!

Tags

Clockwork Alchemy, Dime Novel, penny dreadful, Steampunk, The Yankee Must Die

The second Yankee Must Die novella is ready for release.
But wait!

An Exclusive for attendees of Clockwork Alchemy

The Bay Area’s Steampunk convention May 24-27, 2013

San Jose, California – Double Tree Inn

A Special offer

(shhhhhh – I’m not telling yet.  Check back here for details.

I promise not to make you wait long.)

Old West meets Steampunk!! And I’ll be there!

Tags

Calico Ghost Town, Fiction, Steampunk, Steampunk Convention, Victorian, Volcano Lady, Westerns, Wild West Fest, Writer Panel, Writer Workshop, Yankee Must Die

Did I mention that I suffer from “insufficient reluctance syndrome” aka volunteerism! But this looks like so much fun!I’ll be in Calico Ghost Town for the Wild West Fest in April!!!

Here’s the announcement from the events planner:We have added another panel to the WWF! Very exciting and more yet to come! Stay tuned..

Those Bad Bad Boys (Writer Panel)-Hosted by T.E. MacArthur
… or How to design a villain that doesn’t make a reader chuckle (unless you want them to.) …Today’s writer faces competition from thousands of new authors every year not to mention an ever-pickier readership. What makes any new fiction rise above the unwashed masses of books is a villain or villains who are unique, scary, and yes … understandable. Let’s review some basics of bad guy building, psychological foundations for psychos, and do a little one-on-one work with the villain you are creating. We might talk about fight scene development too. Any evil-doer can have a moustache: it’s the way he twirls it that gives your novel flare!

 

The time hasn’t been set but the panel will be on Saturday.  The rest of the day you will be able to find me in the vending area with books!!!Check out this fun new event – in a ghost town no less – and with Champagne Balloon Rides too!

 

www.wayneevents.com

https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/395364357216180/425870087498940/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

Calling all Authors of the Next Great American Novel

Tags

art of writing, self publishing, Steampunk writing, Writer's advice

I hate to spring these things on you, but you might want to know that there are some surprises no one warns you about – until now.  Well … okay … there are blogs out there giving you a heads-up about some aspects of becoming a published author, but I have this overwhelming need to toss in my $0.02 worth.  As an aside: ever notice you don’t have the “cent” sign on your keyboard, only the dollar sign … how times have changed.  Well, times have changed for authors too.

• The Crying Game.  When the proof of my book the Volcano Lady #1 first arrived, I cried.  No kidding – I’m a weepy sentimentalist that way.  I sobbed when the first box of final copies arrived.  By gummy, I had achieved a lifetime’s dream: I was in print.  I’m up to my third novel and admittedly, I still get choked up.  No one can take that from you, nor should you give it away on some pretense that real authors aren’t impressed by this stuff – you better believe we are, regardless of whether you are self published, independently published, or traditionally published.  Always keep a hanky nearby on delivery dates ‘cause that’s YOUR baby.

Now that you’ve got your eBook and/or paperback in hand, some little surprises may sneak up on you (and it doesn’t hurt to know this before publishing too.)

• The digital age has made self publishing easy.  And that’s cool by me, really.  But what may catch you off guard is how easy is really is.  Too much so.  Sure, my friends are all excited and I have a lovely boyfriend who nags me about making time to write.  Family has been there in spades and brag openly about the author in the family.  BUT … when I mention this to people I meet (and yes, you should, it’s called marketing) I sometimes get a glazed-over expression from them as though they equate “author” with “out of work dreamer – any one of 10,000.”  Get used to it, we in America don’t value our artists the way we should.  Just learn to be the outstanding 1 in 10,000.
• Anyone can self publish, which is really the problem.  By “anyone,” I mean ANYONE.  The market is flooded with books on every topic.  While I question the veracity of the traditional publishing industry today, there are good things to be said of the work of Agents, Editors, and Purchasing Committees.  The flotsam and jetsam get sorted out of the milieu, and it can be argued that the result is a better quality (though that could be a whole other topic to argue.)  So, don’t be entirely shocked if your announcement of “I am a published author” is answered with “really, so am I.  Wanna’ read my latest eBook?  It’s free!”   Memorize this statement now unless you want your work to be trashed and dismissed as proof that any fool can self publish: MY EDITOR IS MY FRIEND AND PARTNER.  Lather, Rinse, Repeat – often.  Please trust me on this.
• Since the rise of eBooks and the lingering lack of societal support for art, the combination has been a devaluation of your work.  “What do you mean you want $6.99 for your eBook?  There’s no paper so I shouldn’t have to pay more than $0.99.”  You’re going to hear that.  I hear it constantly.  Prepare your elevator speech reply now.  It should go something like this: “Oh, I agree there’s no paper, but let me tell you what it took to write the book.  First I had XX schooling.  And wow, one of my characters really required me to do some soul searching and growing up; the story demanded in-depth research for months; and let’s not forget giving up my social life/finding time to sit down to carefully design and build the story into something I am very proud of and I think you’ll like.  (Don’t worry about run-on sentences here; the best play is to keep talking so they can’t interrupt you.)  It took years to learn my craft.  Then there’s the editor I had to pay, the cost of formatting, getting an ISBN.  Publishing isn’t cheap.  But I’ve kept my costs down because I’d really like you to read it.”
• The Trekkie Syndrome.  Okay, you’re in print and guess what: the world now owns your “baby” and feels free to criticize, plagiarize, and appropriate the fruits of your labor.  When you do book signings, especially at fan-based conventions, gird your loins for the influx of unwanted comments, snide remarks, and bad advice on how you can do better.  No one is more picky than a Trekkie (and I am one) which is why I call this little surprise the Trekkie Syndrome.  This is not necessarily a bad thing: you can learn a great deal from the nit-pickers and icky reviewers.  You must, however hard it is, thicken your skin.  Oh, that is much easier to type than to do.  After all, they are attacking your baby.  But, just because it might be harsh or offensive doesn’t mean you can’t put it to use or ignore it with a smile.
• Which brings me to the last point: Getting your book done is the art: Getting your book sold is the business.  No matter who published your work, in this day and age, you are your own Business Manager, Marketing Specialist, and Publicity Agent.  There’s no getting around that.  This means that you need to be painfully aware that writing and selling are a business.  If you go to an agent, unwilling to change or promote your latest creation, you’re going to go home with the web address of Create Space self publisher in your pocket and nothing more.  Publishers need to know that you are willing to go the distance to help them make money off your book.  If you are self published, then it’s all on you and you can’t be an air-head artist when it comes to selling.

I sure hope this helps!  I intend to help as many as I can to avoid “re-inventing the wheel.”  More to come, I promise, especially on the topic of dealing with the public!

Don’t forget you actually can get a free copy of my latest: go to my post of 2/15/13 and click on the link to download a PDF copy of The Yankee Must Die.

Here It Is!!! The Yankee Must Die: Huaka’i Po (the Nightmarchers)

Tags

Action Adventure, Alernate History, free download, Hawaiian Ghosts, Krakatoa, Pirates, Steampunk, T.E. MacArthur, The Volcano Lady

This is the first novella in the Gaslight Adventures of Tom Turner series.  And since you have been such great support (or will be) I am offering you a free PDF download.

Before you grab your copy, there are a few rules.  This novella is copyright protected.  You may not sell this novella in whole or in part.  Only the author (me) is authorized to determine and assign selling agents on my behalf.  The free download is for your use only.  If a friend would like to read it, send them here and they can have a free download copy too.  Really, it’s quite simple: writing is an art, and as an artist, I wish to maintain control over my creation.  As G.D. Falskin said in one of his blogs, this is not just our obsession but our profession.  Please help me by honoring a work I am happy to share with you under specific circumstances that protect the effort and experience that has allowed me to write.

Last rule: Please either like or comment if you have downloaded the PDF novella.

Here is the link to the Free PDF: http://volcanolady.com/the_yankee_must_die.pdf

Paperback editions available through Amazon for $6.99: http://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Must-Die-Nightmarchers-Adventures/dp/161752154X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360943776&sr=1-1

Kindle editions available through Amazon Kindle for $0.99: (coming soon)

** Only 3 More Days before the release of The Yankee Must Die!**

Tags

Dime Novel, free download, Hawaiian Ghosts, penny dreadful, Pirates, S.N. Jacobson, Steampunk, T.E. MacArthur, The Volcano Lady, volcanoes

In 3 days, the first novella (dime novel; penny dreadful; serial adventure) of

The Yankee Must Die books will be released … HERE … for FREE!

Come back on Friday, Feb 15th and download a free PDF copy of the Gaslight Adventures of Tom Turner.  If you wish to have that more Victorianesque experience, a hard copy of the novella will be available through Amazon along with a Kindle version.  These will have a charge, sorry, but I’ve kept it to a minimum.  My intention is that you should enjoy a good romp through a world of Steam Machines, Hawaiian Ghosts, Pirates, and Volcanoes.

(Another wonderful cover by S.N. Jacobson!)

A wonderful interview with T.E. MacArthur

Tags

adventure, adventure serial, author inteview, Dime Novel, Geology, penny dreadful, Steampunk, T.E. MacArthur, The Yankee Must Die, Volcano Lady, volcanoes

Under the Volcano

An Interview with T.E. MacArthur

http://www.maggie-secara.com/2013/01/under-volcano-with-t-e-macarthur.html

Many thanks to Maggie Secara, author of The Dragon Ring and the newly released King’s Raven, who posted an interview and excerpt from the upcoming The Yankee Must Die series.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, set your calendars for Feb 15th!  Friday, I will post a thank you PDF file copy of the first Yankee Must Die serial – just for you – at no charge.  Links to the hard copies and Kindle version will be there too (those will have a charge, sorry, can’t avoid it there.)

The Happiest New Year! Look what’s coming!

Tags

Clockwork Alchemy, Dime Novel, Earthquake Machine, New Years, Steamcon V, Steampunk, The Volcano Lady series, Wild Weird West, Wild West, Writer's advice

To all my fellow bloggers, followers, readers, lurkers, casual drop ins, and merry makers: I wish you all a lovely and safe New Year.

2012 was extremely difficult for me on a variety of levels, but one place I found a great deal of joy was in writing.  Well, no duh, you say?  But of course, says I!  Thank you to everyone who has dropped by to read my notes – I promise more to come.  In addition to tid-bits floating out from the vast spaces between my ears, 2013 will see the introduction of a dime novel series – three shorter novellas following the Steampunk adventures of Tom Turner through the exotic Kingdom of Hawaii, the raucous Barbary Coast, and of course the wild, wild town of Tombstone.  Like a little Wild Weird West with your coffee, cowboy?  You bet!

And, since you are all such lovely people, issue #1 of Mr. Turner’s adventures will be available here, in pdf format, for you to enjoy at no cost.  There will be rules about how you can use that copy, but nothing you wouldn’t expect.  I’ll have more about that later.  A hard copy will be available through Amazon and Smashwords – sorry dears, but that one you’ll need to purchase, but I’ll keep the cost down.  I just want you to read more!

2013 will also see some travel on my part to places where the newest Volcano Lady novel takes place – well, I want to get my details correct!  Novel # Three, loosely titled “The Great Earthquake Machine” is anticipated for an Autumn release.  Fingers crossed!

In addition to a little trip abroad and very far to the North, I will be attending Clockwork Alchemy Steampunk Convention on Memorial Day Weekend in San Jose.  There, I hope to be teaching writing workshops with the crazy Treehouse Writers Group and talking all about Steampunk fun and games. I also have on my calendar a trip up to Seattle for SteamCon V, in October.  Who knows what else!

So, meanwhile, back at the ranch, have yourself a great start to what promises to be a fantastic New Year!!!

Three things every writer needs to get started

Tags

NaNoWriMo, Writer's advice

There are three things every writer needs to get started

And you’ll be surprised to learn that the “Big Three” do not include talent, plot, good spelling habits, or even a computer.  Mind you, those are definitely essentials if you want to be a successful writer, but just to get yourself writing, they actually aren’t that important.

Doesn’t that sound funny – writing without a goal of being necessarily successful at it?  Sure it does, but think about it for a moment: if all you ever do is try to be successful at writing or to write the next great American novel, you’ll never get started.  You’ll hear yourself coming up with all sorts of excuses for not writing because it “wouldn’t be as good as King’s next thriller,” or “no one is going to buy my book at the same level as the Potter books.”  All those types of responses are programmed into our heads from Kindergarten on and they are mighty difficult to stop.  They are designed to keep us safe, and we are at our safest place when we don’t ever start.

So, refocus – don’t set out to prove you are great to the world.  Believe that you can be, WILL BE, successful and great, but based on the satisfaction of the person you are writing for.  Based on the lessons you are about to learn.  You must, therefore, write for that person.

Write for exactly one person: YOU.

This is not the time to think about whether or not an editor is going to buy what you’ve sent her.  Don’t bother with pleasing your 3^rd Grade English teacher.  Please  yourself.  Focus on writing something you will enjoy reading.  Start with the scene that’s been gnawing at your brain and you want to read once you’ve written it.  Be kind to yourself.  If you are making comparisons or trying to write for some editor out there, you’ll trip on every word.  But if you’re having fun, enjoying the process, and not worried one bit about some silly outside reader, you’ll develop a habit or two that gets the work done.  Sure, later you will need to revamp your plot for clarity with a general audience, or grammar check everything, or reorganize chapters to make your work sellable: but for now, the goal is to get you writing.

A Writing Ritual

Oh yes, you heard me right.  A Writing Ritual.  Do you start your day with coffee, the morning news, and a shower?  That’s a ritual.  Do you rap on the desk three times before turning on your computer?  That’s a ritual too.  Do you turn on your computer first thing?  Yup: ritual.  We thrive on our rituals because they are comfortable and repeatable.  We do them unconsciously and consciously.  This, oh my writing friend, is going to be a conscious decision.  Design yourself a ritual.  Mine?  I have a writing tiara when I need extra ju-ju.  Otherwise, my ritual is pouring a cup of tea, turning on my notebook, setting my favorite pen on my writing journal, and opening the current word document.  I find that when I break from that routine, I have to work harder to get my mind onto the page.  So – create a ritual that is easy to repeat, remember, and revamp when you see the need.  Remember: nothing is written in stone.  You are entirely welcome to update  your rituals as necessary.

An Elevator Speech

Are you like me and drive your family nuts by constantly telling them the plot of your latest story – only it’s so complicated it takes a half hour just to set up the basic storyline?  Oh, how I have been there!  The best advice I ever got on the subject was to develop an “Elevator Speech:” a 30-second fast hit description.  But why would you want one if you’re not at the point of selling your story – because you are in a way – you are selling it to yourself.  When you create a down and dirty version of your story you will see a few distracting flaws.  Distracting flaws are details that may be interesting or important to the story, but have no meaning outside your story thus you get hung up on them.  They hold you up from purely writing.  Plus, we really do want some cheers from our family and friends early in the process, and we will get those if we keep it all short and sweet.  Fill in the following statement: My story is about ___________, who is a ____________, and needs to do __________ before __________ happens.  Clean and neat.  The Volcano Lady elevator speech:  My story is about a Victorian lady, who is a geologist, and needs to perfect her Volcano Eruption Prediction Model before more people die in volcanic disasters she thinks can be foretold; however there are mad men who see profit in her model and want it before she can give it away to the world.  Simple.  Give that a try.

Remember to write for yourself before anyone else.  Better still: just write.

Rules and tons of cough syrup – wheee!

Tags

NaNoWriMo, Writer's advice

The upside of being home with the flu is that between the Nyquil and the low-grade fever, you get to thinking – a lot!  And with lots of pretty colors …

As a survivor and winner in this year’s NaNoWriMo (you will all get to be winners once I do some re-writes and edits, but that is another blog) I considered the lessons learned and decided through my cough suppressant haze to share them with you.  I confess that I am borrowing liberally from a great article by Robert J. Sawyer, the renowned Science Fiction author whose portfolio I envy greatly.  He in turn was commenting on the late, great Robert Heinlein’s Rules on Writing.  (http://www.sfwriter.com/ow05.htm)

Write!

Are you kidding, you ask?  I’m a writer; of course I am going to write.  Sawyer’s article even says it sounds ridiculously obvious.  But you see, that’s the problem: too many of us think and think and think and think some more about what we’re going to write, yet we never get a word onto paper.  If you feel in your heart of hearts that you are a writer, then you have no excuse.  Remember, writing is a passion: it is an obsession.  You have to know that the dishes need washing and that report is due in an hour, yet your mind freely wanders to a plot line or a new character (oh, and just a side note: do the darned report though, free wanderings won’t pay your rent!)

Okay, so this is actually where you get hung up.  You’ve told your friends all about the story that’s inside your head and dying to get out.  They’re about to tie you up, gag you, and toss you in a closet if you tell it one more time (and what you do at parties is your own business, but let’s stick to writing here.)  Here’s my recommendation: write the scene that can’t wait.  So what if it isn’t the first thing that happens in your story: write it.  Don’t edit, don’t criticize, don’t stop because the right word isn’t coming up – go, go, go!  You can check things later when the time is right, do your re-edits, and see where it will fit in your overall plot.  No plot?  Try writing the next page after that scene and let things go where they will.  Bet you get a plot going very soon after.

Don’t just start – finish!

Ever hear the joke about the mother whose teenage daughter plucked out all her hair, but the mom is proud because “at least she finally finished something she started?”  Yeah – I don’t recommend hair removal on such a grand scale, but I do recommend finishing.  Start by finishing a scene.  Then a Chapter.  Then a section, such as the opening.  You’ll find that you keep going.  It’s not nearly so difficult if you take things in small chunks and grow them.  And don’t be afraid to change things such as your plot: good stories rarely are completed the way the author originally envisioned them.

Don’t be afraid to track what you have in mind.  Expect six, quarter filled journals for every novel (trust me, every two months you’ll find the “perfect journal.”  It happens.  It’s a creative thingy.)  Think of your plot in terms of a main plot, and at least two sub plots.  Do a brief description of the events of your story from each character’s point of view.  Nobody sees an accident the same as the guy next to him – and neither will your characters.  This is really handy if you have a villain and you need to understand that character’s motivations: see everything from their eyes.

There’s no such thing as finished!

Sorry to tell you this, but the lag time between finishing novel number one and starting number two should never be more than three days.  Seriously!  This is your obsession and you don’t need some brooding, skinny guy in a commercial to tell you what that means (and it isn’t a scent!)  Your brain and heart are still working, right?  No need to stop your pen or keyboard.  I know this will sound funny but you will need the distraction from the post partum depression every writer gets.  Heck!  I’m often starting another project before the last one is done.  Don’t stop your passion, keep it moving.

Okay, more later, but I thought this was a good way to mark the end of the 2012 NaNoWriMo and to get you in the mood for 2013.