This year, I’m happy to be the Guest Speaker at the Merril Collection’s annual holiday party, Saturday, December 7, 2019, 1:30 – 4:00PM. Yay!
For those who are unfamiliar with the Merril Collection, it’s a highly respected collection of science fiction and fantasy works, part of the Toronto Public Library system. I’m honored to be invited…and I’ll be reading a bit from my current work in progress, The Hacking of Hyll House. Hope to see you there!
I’m finally back from When Words Collide in Calgary. I had such a great time there, it’s taken this long for me to recover, even though the con itself finished on Sunday. The weekend was a whole lot of fun, and I’d recommend the con to anyone. Afterward, I led a workshop on Monday, then spent Tuesday with Randy McCharles and Stacey Kondla of WWC, going out to see dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrell Museum.
While I was out there in Calgary, several people told me they’d really liked a workshop I led several years ago. They said they particularly appreciated a handout I’d given them on writing…and at first, I couldn’t remember any such handout at all. However, I finally realized they were referring to my Seminar on Writing Prose. Since I haven’t mentioned that much in blog posts, I thought I’d link to it here. I’d like to revise some parts of it in light of my 2019 outlook and skills, but any readers who are interested in writing still might find it useful.
Oh yeah, this blog.
So for the past month or two, I’ve been writing gaming fiction and even some gaming crunch for The Onyx Path. I don’t know how much more I can say at the moment, but it’s kept me busy…mostly because it’s a new experience for me, so I’ve put in quite a bit of time on the work to make sure it’s good.
I get the impression that people who’ve been doing this for a while can produce material a lot faster than me; a number of them work on several projects a month. I’m not at that level of productivity yet, but I hope they’ll keep hiring me—it’s a good group of people to work with, and feedback comes more quickly than with fiction writing.
Still, I am writing fiction, every morning for several hours. I’ve also been doing some editing, and I’ll be leading workshops at When Words Collide in Calgary, Aug 9-11, and VCON in Vancouver, Oct. 11-13.
In the meantime, I intend to start posting regularly again. And as a start, let me announce that I’ll be at Ad Astra in Toronto, but only on the Saturday, July 13. Hope to see lots of people there!
Links? I got ’em.
I’m gearing up for the release of They Promised Me The Gun Wasn’t Loaded, scheduled to be published on November 6 (2018). Between now and then, I’ll be doing publicity here on the web site and at other sites too. I’ll also be visiting a few science fiction/fantasy conventions to make sure people know the book is coming.
The first convention I’ll attend is this weekend: VCON in Vancouver BC, Oct 5-7, 2018. I’ll be doing a number of panels and two readings, as well as the usual meet-and-greeting. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, drop by!
Next weekend I’ll be in Ottawa ON at Can-Con, Oct 12-14. I’ll be on a number of panels there too, and I’m always happy to chat with anyone who shows up.
After that I’ll be at the World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore MD, Nov 1-4. I’m hoping to have some advanced copies of THEY PROMISED ME that I can give away, but that hasn’t been finalized yet.
In the meantime, if any of you have any questions about the new book, feel free to drop me a line in the comments. I confess that I never know what to say when a new book comes out, so direct questions will make my life easier.
By the way, if you’re interested in the book at all, pre-order it! It’s available from the usual online sites and from bricks-and-mortar book stores (including independent book stores which are always worth supporting). Advance orders are super important for a book’s success. Amongst other things, advance orders have a huge effect on Amazon recommendations. This is true for all books…so if you want to support an author, it’s an enormous help if you pre-order their books.
I’ll be at the Ad Astra fantasy/science fiction convention this weekend. You can find my panelist schedule here (search for “gard”).
If you’re interested in writing science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror, I heartily recommend attending a few conventions. Conventions vary widely in emphases and in “personality”, so a particular convention may not be a good fit for your tastes. For example, some are more devoted to media (e.g. TV, movies and comic books) rather than prose fiction. Nevertheless, many conventions bring together readers, writers, editors and other people involved with the sf/f/h written word. They can be fun and very informative.
If you’re just starting out as a writer, going to a convention can really open your eyes to various aspects of writing and publishing. You can often sit down for coffee with professionals and pick their brains on any (relevant) subject. You can also listen to panels where professionals talk about how they do what they do.
You can find a partial list of conventions at Locus magazine, but there are numerous conventions not on the list. To find out about conventions in your area, just go to your favorite search engine (e.g. Google) and search for “science fiction convention city” (where city is the closest city to where you live).
Because ALL THOSE EXPLOSIONS comes out very soon, I’ve spent the past few days working on publicity: writing guest-blog posts, doing email interviews, and arranging a number of events. Since that’s where my mind is right now, let me share a bit about the PR experience.
First of all, it doesn’t come naturally to me. I’ve been persuaded by this article by Havi Brooks that the phrase “shameless self-promotion” is pernicious. If you’re promoting something that you think others might enjoy, how does “shame” enter into it? Telling people about it is doing them a favor. I totally agree with that. However, as a self-effacing Canadian introvert, I have a lot of reticence to overcome. So I’m working on it. Self-promotion is a useful and learnable skill; with practice, I’ll get better at it.
Second, things have changed since my older books came out. Back then, book tours were a primary means of promotion. The beginnings of the web existed when my first book was published, but the full potential hadn’t been tapped. A few web sites posted book reviews, but even the best of them only did it sporadically. As for book ratings from regular readers, the term “social media” hadn’t even been invented.
Now, of course, there are many forums that can help your book get noticed. I’m happy to say that ALL THOSE EXPLOSIONS will be covered on several sites that have a large number of readers. I’ve written guest-blog posts for a few of those, and have done a couple of email interviews too.
What will this mean for sales of the book? I have no idea, because something else has changed since my first book came out: the entire publishing industry. Sales of hardcopy books have declined over the years, and the ebook market isn’t big enough to compensate. Bestsellers still happen, and some books hit the jackpot; but many don’t.
Furthermore, being in the middle of the pack isn’t as lucrative as it once was. Thirty years ago, a mid-list writer could make a reasonable living. Now, it’s harder. If you aren’t near the top, you need a supplementary source of income. (Lots of writers teach part-time, get grants, or have a significant-other who helps pay the bills. Since none of those applies to me, I’m trying to make extra money by editing other people’s writing. Think of me if you want feedback!)
In the meantime, I’ve spent a week away from writing fiction and instead have been writing PR pieces. I’ve also been arranging events: book signings and the like. My publisher (Tor) has assigned me a PR person (hi Lauren!) who’s been very helpful in setting up guest-blogging opportunities. However, I’m on my own for local book launches; publishers simply don’t have the resources or contacts to set such things up.
I’ve arranged for a launch at the University of Waterloo (where ALL THOSE EXPLOSIONS is set) and another in Toronto at Bakka-Phoenix Books, the best sf specialty store within driving distance of my home. I’ll also be signing books at the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Nov 2-5. Finally, I’ll be doing an event in January at the Kitchener Public Library. For details on any of these, see my list of appearances.
I wish I could do more, but there are cost-benefit considerations. If I drive someplace far from home, will the event increase sales enough to cover the gas money? At the moment, I’ve decided to err on the side of thrift. If ALL THOSE EXPLOSIONS does well, maybe I’ll have enough seed money for more promotion on the sequel.
We’ll see. As I’ve said, I’m learning. Check back here in a month or two, and I’ll pass on any lessons I’ve picked up.
James Alan Gardner 