CONduit XX: More than just strange capitalization

So, some of you know that I'm an aspiring author. My writing group and I signed up to attend CONduit XX: Space Pirates of CONduit. Arg. It's my first con (convention) ever and thus far it's been a positive experience.

For me, and many like me, becoming a space pirate is only a matter of wearing a green name tag. For many others it's a matter of costuming unparalleled by even the hardiest trick-or-treaters. While I didn't see any storm troopers, there were a large variety of persons bringing fiction to life in the form of: a bum knight with cardboard sign reading "will slay dragon for food"; a peasant; a sword wielding white man turned jet black, a member of the Jedi council; a fencer; and a wide variety of things that could only have been costumed in the similitude of something fiercely anime. All of these, besides the regular con activities, also came for to filk and to attend the masquerade. And who knows, maybe they all had a grand larp.

"Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term (originally a typographical error) antedates 1955." -wikipedia entry: filk music

I'm not sure where the majority of these filkers went to when I sat in on the panels where writing advice was proffered. My best guess is that they dissolved into the ether wherein they floated about haunting us with ocasional bursts of not so distant song. The filking songs are not a thing to be trifled with. They, the songs of the filkers, did a number on one of the panels. From the depths of the nearest "cheery dungeon," or "den of happy evil" or "illy concealed transdimensional mana plain," or whatever other illogical-meeting-place-of-all-that-is-both-off-key-and-fictional that they chose to inhabit, the filkers raised their voices in the greatest interruption that the panel on genocide was able to endure. Though their voices found me, I opted not to go find them. Whatever their location, it like Camelot before it, "is a silly place."

It was great to attend the panels, where I learned from several published authors (both full time and with day jobs) about how to write moods, how to increase my chances of getting published, why and how to consider geographical layout when writing, etc. Even better, I got a chance to rub shoulders with a few of them. Larry Corriea let me pester him for a while, and so did John Brown.

Larry was self published for a while but got picked up by Bane. When they published his book, Monster Hunter, it was wildly successful. This makes him one of the happy few success from self publishing. John Brown wrote a book called Servant of a Dark God and with it won "Best Speculative Fiction" in the whitney awards. He was pitted against Brandon Sanderson, James Dashner, Dan Wells, and Aprilynne Pike. (As of today, after meeting John, I've met and shaken hads with all of the afore mentioned, with the exception of Pike. I'm suddenly feeling pretty privileged.) While we chattered they made a lot of great points. One of them is that it's helpful to have a pre-built audience, aka an internet following, aka a bunch of people that will read your blog. That's why I'm blogging again, though in something of an overwhelmed manner. Larry gave me a "low" target for a helpful readership: 4000. I'm about one four-thousandth of my way to the goal, and with few exceptions anyone who's ever read my blog is already the kind of friend that would buy my book with out my blog, just to be supportive. Ah well... time for consistant blogging - and looking to get in with Larry so he'll link to my site (the more premade the audiance, the better... drawing from his ample following sounds ultra sweet.)

However, before I start printing out cards with this URL, or leaching favors off of people who've made it, I need to seriously look over the site and give it a little more spit polish. Maybe I need to get a few more blogs under my belt too. Finally, I need to update my name. While writing as Schlang as been a fun adventure, it's not likely to help me get published as J. L. Secrest. I'm loath to leave behind the personification of harmless wisdom, so I may take some time to transition. We'll see.

Anyhow, CONduit has been a lot of fun. I'm meeting people that are already famous (L.E. Modesitt was at a few panels today), and others that I'm pretty sure are soon to be. It's cool to learn more about their personalities and how they write and what their obsessions are. Now I just need to take their thoughts and see what works for me and my humanity loving super butler.

Tomorrow should be a blast, and at the signings I'm going to spend way more money on books than should be legal. Funny, I thought the whole point of this was to help me MAKE money. Maybe it will come through Karma, or networking, or maybe just an act of God. Any combination of the above is welcome.

One last thing. One little test. Larry says that authors are narcissists (I believe him on that count, I'm pretty narcissistic myself), and Google themselves to see what people are saying about them and their work. In theory he'll find himself here, and leave a comment.

Here's another test. Brandon Sanderson is going to be at CONduit tomorrow. He should Google his name and read here that I want him to bring my final submission from his class with him. Brandon, I know you're a busy dude, but Wadsworth is aching to know how he did. Actually, that's a lie. Wadsworth is a pillar of calm. I'm the one in turmoil.

-Schlange