Guest post
by John Kenny
For those of you who have many years of experience and well established connections in the writing community, this is all going to seem blatantly obvious. But for those of us who are new, who have come to writing and publishing through a more circuitous route, there are many strange and wondrous things: book conferences for instance.
I knew there were things for Trekkies and comic book fans. I had heard of the London Book Fair, and certain highbrow literary festivals, but I had no idea there were conferences for ordinary readers and everyday, even rookie writers. It’s not that I’m an introvert. Far from it. I’m just not much of a herd animal. It was one of my readers who told me I should look into the Bloody Words Mystery Conference which took place this past weekend, in my home town of Toronto. Boy, am I glad I did! I learned a lot, I met some very nice people, and best of all, I had a blast.
I registered as a simple attendee, but having noted on the form that I had written and published “The Spark”, it wasn’t long before I was asked if I would be willing to be on the “You Are What You Write” panel. Being a firefighter, who wrote a thriller about firefighters I guess that was a no brainer. It was a great panel with lively discussion, but it was far from the highlight.
There was a tremendous amount of information available with sessions like “Blood, Glorious Blood: the reality of forensic haematology” given by a police forensics expert; “Death & Taxes & Contracts… Oh My!” given by an entertainment lawyer and an accountant who are also writers (best line “Being an actuary is for those who find accounting too exciting”). There were workshops on plotting, humour, weapons and just about everything else connected crime writing. There were also sessions for fans with well-known authors in the various sub-genres.
We Indies were treated as equals with the traditionally published authors. I had no sense of exclusion or hostility at any of the social events. On the contrary, I felt genuinely welcomed and encouraged. Maybe that’s a Canadian thing, or peculiar to crime writing, I don’t know. I only have a sample of one.
Indie authors were part of several panels and one whole session was devoted to “Indie Publishing: We’re Here to Stay”. I had no trouble getting a dealer to take my books on consignment in the dealers’ room, and they were proudly displayed alongside best sellers from Penguin, Harper Collins and the others.
Though I sold a couple of dozen books, I didn’t make any money. In fact when you count in meals, registration and all that, it was a net loss. But I still feel it tremendously worthwhile. First of all I learned a lot of technical information that will help give realism to my writing. I also made contact with writers and other experts, to whom I can direct questions in the future. I know for sure I’m going to be getting some pages to review that have fires in them. Everyone I met was really supportive. I may even shed the lone wolf image and join a writers’ group or two.
Finally, and best of all, I got to meet readers – serious readers who care deeply about the genre I write in. A few of them had already read my book and it was great to get their feedback. Others bought “The Spark” there, and I look forward to hearing from them in the months to come. These are the serious fans who will, in turn, direct others to my writing. I know that being at the conference, chatting and laughing with readers will have an enduring impact. And it was also a whole bunch of fun.
Most of those attending were middle aged women. They were very sweet and kind. Who knew that under those nicely pressed blouses and sensible shoes, lurked cold hearts of stone? I’ll never forget walking by two women who reminded me of my grandmother and overhearing this, “I know you’re fond of poison, but there really is nothing like a good, old fashioned garrotting”.
If you’ve never been to a book conference before, do yourself a favour and find one in your genre. You certainly won’t regret it.
If they ever had a Fantasy Conference in Toronto I think i should go. Who knows, maybe I’d have fun, too – and even sell dome books. 🙂
Definitely worth while in my opinion.
It’s so cool when you find your tribe. 😀 Sounds like a win, John, even if you didn’t sell enough books to cover your expenses.
Ya, it was pretty cool. For me it was more about the contact anyway. The hard core fans know way more than I do about most things, except firefighting. I got some great suggestions, honest criticism and dire threats when I let slip that I was planning to kill off my main character at the end of book three!
It sounds like you hit the jackpot. What a lovely experience, I’m only a teeny bit jealous, just kidding. The idea of the new contacts is worth every penny. I love the garroting, too funny, makes me think of Christie.The best of luck to you!
Congrats on your first conference. I attended my first one last year and will be headed back to the PNWA Conference in Seattle again in a month. It’s great to see how indie-writing is being perceived and catered to. I still love the adrenaline rush of a good ol’ agent pitch session though.
Having wasted a year and a half with an agent (very nice man but no results) I decided to give the pitch session a miss. I get enough adrenalin rushes at work.
That makes sense. Even without the adrenaline factor, I still think it’s worth the time to write a pitch on whatever may be in the works. Same goes for synopses. Great way to clarify elements (at least for me anyway).