VoyagerCon
So, after a couple of posts about working my way through The Wheel of Time series, it's time for a post a little more about me (sorry!).
I follow Harper Voyager on Twitter, as the publisher behind some of my favourite authors such as George RR Martin and Robin Hobb. Both behemoths of the SFF genre. After all, Robin Hobb and Fitz are the reason I got hooked on Fantasy fiction in the first place.
Anyway... Harper Voyager tweeted about 'VoyagerCon', a two-part event that took my interest. The first part was a panel titled 'How to get published...' and the second was a number of panels of authors in the evening. Looking to spark my growing motivation to progress my own work, I decided it might be fun to go along. First, to get those tips on getting published and then for the inspiration that I always find with hearing authors discuss their work.
How to get published...
This was an engaging panel made up of publishers, editors and agents, giving their insights into what they're looking for from authors in order to publish their work. Natasha Bardon (publishing director) led the panel, contributing her own thoughts with Jack Rennisson (assistant editor), Vicky Leech (editor) and Harry Illingworth (agent) all contributing to the discussion and answering questions posed by Natasha. The fact that all the questions I had scribbled down in notes beforehand, ahead of a one to one quick fire session afterward, were asked was a nice bonus.The panel talked about a range of topics including perfecting your elevator pitch. That one sentence summary that's going to pique their interest and make them want to read your work and makes it stand out from the hundreds of submissions they receive. It was an interesting thought process and made me start to think how I would summarise my own story.
This went hand in hand with a conversation about setting a good impression with your submission. Harry gave an agent's viewpoint in making sure you've followed the correct guidelines for a submission. Although they may be very similar, each may have it's own subtle differences. To this end, be accurate with whether you've been asked for the first ten thousand words, or the first three chapters. Another consideration was making sure your cover letter doesn't have any mistakes. After all, it's representing the standard of your work. If you can, make it personal, find someone who is interested in the genre you're writing and would be more likely to connect with your work.
The 'dreaded' book two was also discussed. This is something I hadn't really considered before. You have all the time in the world to write that first book, when you're an unknown and just working on a personal project. You're ready when you're ready and then starts the task of running that publishing gauntlet. However, if you're fortunate enough to be published then book two is going to need to be written to a deadline.
Vicky spoke around the importance of using your editor, as they're there as a support net. If they ask you how it's going and your response is along the lines of 'It's fine,' but secretly it's really not fine, then your editor can only assume that everything is as you say. I liked how Vicky equated this to the classic meme;
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Solid advice around book two was along the lines of; plan, plan, plan. Get a plan down, use your editor, ask any questions you have and get a rough draft delivered. Even if it's far from the finished article, it gives you something to work with. For me, it's fingers crossed on book one. I am sure I will see it differently if I get there, but right now, book two syndrome would be a nice problem to have.
The, what I imagine to be, growing question of social media presence was also tackled. The consensus seemed to be that it's a nice to have, but not necessarily an essential. It's a great tool to have at your disposal, once successful and you have books to market and promote, but prior to that it's more of a way to connect with the community.
From my personal experience so far, through following a number of my favourite authors, is that the SFF online community is a friendly and supportive one. The panel recognised that everyone is different and authors, like all of us, are a mix of extroverts and introverts. Some might not be as comfortable as others in putting themselves out there, but it shouldn't be viewed as a negative.
As I mentioned, following the panel was a quick fire drop in session and I was paired up with Jack for a five minute, one to one, chat. I appreciated the time he spent with me and providing me with the benefit of his experiences and expertise. We had a good conversation about where I was with my half finished novel and working on a collection of short stories. As well as my hope of building a platform and networking with the wider SFF writing community.
The biggest take-away, which I know, and I've been told countless times, is to finish your project. I've been working on my novel for years now, between working the day job and other various vehicles of procrastination. Though something Jack said did hit home. I spoke about the short stories as a litmus test for my writing, and although he supported them as a tool for honing my writing, he did say that if the novel was my passion and main goal, that's what I should focus us. It's a good way to look at it and I am planning to crack on and finish the first draft.
Over the years I've been working on it I've created a high level plan for the plot and have written about half of the book itself. The simple fact is, I can't submit half a book.
From my personal experience so far, through following a number of my favourite authors, is that the SFF online community is a friendly and supportive one. The panel recognised that everyone is different and authors, like all of us, are a mix of extroverts and introverts. Some might not be as comfortable as others in putting themselves out there, but it shouldn't be viewed as a negative.
As I mentioned, following the panel was a quick fire drop in session and I was paired up with Jack for a five minute, one to one, chat. I appreciated the time he spent with me and providing me with the benefit of his experiences and expertise. We had a good conversation about where I was with my half finished novel and working on a collection of short stories. As well as my hope of building a platform and networking with the wider SFF writing community.
The biggest take-away, which I know, and I've been told countless times, is to finish your project. I've been working on my novel for years now, between working the day job and other various vehicles of procrastination. Though something Jack said did hit home. I spoke about the short stories as a litmus test for my writing, and although he supported them as a tool for honing my writing, he did say that if the novel was my passion and main goal, that's what I should focus us. It's a good way to look at it and I am planning to crack on and finish the first draft.
Over the years I've been working on it I've created a high level plan for the plot and have written about half of the book itself. The simple fact is, I can't submit half a book.
All in all it was an enjoyable panel and I could have happily listened to more than the 45 minutes it was scheduled for. My thanks to the guys for their time and sharing their wisdom.
One final takeaway for me was to try and come up with another idea to write some kind of Red Dead Redemption Pirate crossover epic...
Author Panels
I can be quite a slow reader, so when I get stuck into some classic re-reads of Robin Hobb, George RR Martin or my annual guilty pleasure Harry Potter marathon, it can take some time. To that end I'm pretty bad at picking up newer or even established authors. I hadn't read any work from the panels previously, but was excited to use the event as an introduction to them and hear them talk about their books.
Myth and Legend
The first panel was with Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) and Shannon Chakraborty (@SAChakrabooks) discussing the mythology, historical influences and tropes that they use in their work. Both authors were fantastically engaging and I enjoyed listening to them talk about a range of topics. So much so, that I ran into the store at the end of the event and picked up their books (I'd promised myself I would only get a couple) to add to my backlog. I'm excited to get started, and meeting both as they signed the books was an added bonus.
Some highlights were hearing Rebecca talk about influences of Kung Fu Panda and writing from a Chinese/Western background. It was also insightful to hear her speak about how different provinces in China have their own unique ways of celebrating events, which are again different to her experiences growing up in the US, and how she understands that not everyone will agree with the her portrayal of things, and that's ok.
Shannon Chakraborty shared her love for murderbots(!) and how she wanted to explore the less publicised view of Islamic women and breaking the stereotype of the 1,001 nights type of tales.
Both authors have academic backgrounds, which lends to their writing in a firm knowledge of the history of their cultures.
Bad Ass Women
The second panel of the night was a double dose of Anna. Anna Stephens (@AnnaSmithWrites) and Anna Smith Spark (@queenofgrimdark) talking about their experiences of being women in the field, and the portrayal of women in their work. These women are certainly badasses and it was inspirational to hear how they overcome the challenges they face. It's clear that both authors don't let it phase them and I'm looking forward to dipping into their work.
It was interesting to hear them talk about breaking the mould for women in fantasy. They discussed moving away from the classical knight in shining armour model of high fantasy and looking to write female characters that they could relate to.
A couple of stand out points for me were Anna Stephens talking about being told she can't write about war, because she doesn't know what it's like. Her stance was clear, if it was someone who had done three tours of Afghanistan she would be happy to talk to them and learn about it. The sad truth is that it's more likely coming from 'some fat dude' (Anna's words!) sat at his computer. A level of armchair critic you feel men in the field encounter less.
Anna Smith Spark shared what felt like a deeply personal experience in how she fell out of love with writing and it was nice to hear that she managed to rekindle the joy and come back to it. Alongside this she spoke about the challenge of writing at the same time as raising a family.
One poignant comment toward the end was around having previously been asked 'What does your husband think about your writing?' It's a question that I doubt many, if any, male authors are asked about their significant other's views on their writing, by virtue of their gender.
Escape the Dungeon
I thought that this was going to be a third panel, but what it turned out to be was something entirely different, and great fun!
We had Peter Newman (@runpetewrite) and Den Patrick (@Den_Patrick) guiding us through a dungeon that we had to escape... or die!
The concept was random encounters with monsters coming from each of the books of the authors present (which was a really nice touch), with multiple choices posed to the audience in how they would deal with them. We had a fifteen minute time limit to escape and pass each monster, including terrifying encounters with fantasy authors and editors!
The concept was random encounters with monsters coming from each of the books of the authors present (which was a really nice touch), with multiple choices posed to the audience in how they would deal with them. We had a fifteen minute time limit to escape and pass each monster, including terrifying encounters with fantasy authors and editors!
It was a brilliantly executed game, with a lot of laughs and a nice way to close VoyagerCon ahead of the authors signing copies of their books.
What's next for me...
One of my personal objectives for attending VoyagerCon, and particularly the publishing panel, was to help reignite my motivation for my own work. This has certainly been successful and my train ride home was full of ideas and thoughts for my novel and subsequent (fingers crossed!) books.
Thanks to Harper Voyager for putting on a brilliant Con, it was their first one (I think they said!) and I hope they count it to be a success, as it certainly was. Hopefully more of the same next year! Also thanks to the authors for a thoroughly entertaining evening.
The biggest challenge I have now is to balance my Wheel of Time re-read with the itch to dive into the works of the fantastic authors I got to meet last night.
Cheers,
Steve L
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