Writer at Large

10:00 am
Getting Started Writing SF – Part II

Going from amateur to professional writer is a big step. How do you get started? In Part I, new writers gave you their advice. Today in Part II, editors and established writers give you theirs. Compare these expert's answers with those of Thursday's panel.

Panelists: Keith R.A. DeCandido, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Tim Powers, Ashley Grayson, Stephen Leigh

(Note: I had originally intended to mark who said what, but the discussion starting moving along so quickly that I couldn't keep up and take notes at the same time.)

"Leave out the parts the readers skip over."

Before you attempt any craft, you must master the tools. You only become a powerful fighter when you no longer think of the name of the techniques you use.

In the first few pages, the writer will reveal that they are unprepared to write . . .

"Writing is only half the job. The other half is getting it out there and marketing it."

Seek out a good critique group, because you need the feedback.

You have become the sole proprietor and sole employee of a small business—and you need to treat it that way.

"You are responsible for your own career."

Some writers prefer a writing group of just one or two people. The problem with larger groups is that you tend to get conflicting opinions. (But if the majority of them tell you that a certain section sucks, it probably does.) It was recommended that not all your early readers be writers. Writers will tend to tell you how they would have written it, as opposed as readers who will tell you whether it's something they would read.

Ideally, your writers group should have people who have actually published. At minimum, they should at least be submitting on a regular basis. Writing groups can provide a terrific support organization—they can also be a destructive force, so be careful.

Three ways to get published:

1. Make a duplicate key. Pick your genre, pick your sub-genre, read in it. Shmoosh with editors and publishers and see what they want. Slide in on a current trend, keeping in mind that the trend could be over by the time your book sees print.
2. Ride the coattails of someone who has already broken in. There are some dangers. With media tie-ins, they usually look for someone who has already broken in.
3. Throw a brick through the window, gather what you can, and run. Be bold, be beautiful, be big. Make it a big concept and write it well.

• You can be published without breaking in. You rent a storefront and pay people to do all the editing and cover work and then sell the books yourself (self-publishing). A point of rule is: Money should flow toward the writer.
• Read the guidelines. Follow the guidelines. Don't do anything that makes an agent or editor think that you can’t follow even simple instructions.
• To succeed in this business, you need to be writing constantly. You have to constantly hone your craft.
• Prepare your manuscript so that it looks professional.
• First thing you need to do is get an agent. Without a track record, you can't choose from all the agents. You don't want to be limited to which agents you can select.
• This field does look at unsolicited books. Once you have a contract, agents are much more willing to represent you.
• Find out who else the agent represents.
• Publishing has gotten really mean and really nasty. It used to be gentlemanly. One publishing house has contracts that allow them to own your name, which means you cannot publish under that name for six months after they have published your last book.
• The new generation of publishers does not offer advances and takes all rights to your book and 50% of sub-rights.
• Anyone making a significant income (> $50,000/year in advances or royalties) should consult a lawyer and incorporate themselves.
• You can always say "No", as there are other markets out there.
• Everything in the contract is negotiable—up to a point, even after it's been signed.
• Let your agent be the "bad guy".
• The editor is the friendly face for the publisher, but he is an employee of the big, mean company.
• Publishers have no loyalty to you, so feel free to jump ship if you need to.
• Keep your cover letter short and to the point. Just one really good paragraph is sufficient—and even preferable.

Writing is actually work.

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11:30 am
The Physics of Superheroes

Is there anything believable about Superman's powers? Batman's abilities? How can you explain what superheroes do?

Panelists: James Hay, Courtney Willis, David D. Levine, Tom Galloway, Kevin Andrew Murphy

Interesting note: Connie Willis' husband teaches physics in Colorado.

Favorite physics violations:

• Superman who gets his powers from the yellow sun, but loses them when exposed to red sun radiation.
• Superman catches the flying helicopter by one strut and is doesn't rip off.
• Square-cube law where giants don't collapse under their own weight or where the mass comes from when they suddenly grow (like the Hulk)
• "X-ray" vision that becomes laser eyes and heat vision. Telescopic and microscopic vision.
• Kryptonite was invented during the "Superman" radio series because the voice actor needed a week off.
• Gwen Stacy's death in "Spider-man" is almost correct. (Deceleration trauma)
• Super-speed doesn’t account for air friction or what would happen to the tread on his boots.
• Readers are typically willing to grant authors one conceit for the sake of the character or story.
• How is it that when characters are resurrected, it's always to the age they were before?
• How does spinach have such as impact on Popeye? Is it a serious iron deficiency?
• Larry Niven, for example, violates physics with the stasis field, but then explores the implications of that violation (i.e. the variable sword).
• Iron Man's suit is theoretically possible—with the issue of providing enough power and making the components compact enough.
• One problem with opening a small door of physics violations, is that people begin wondering why it can’t be used to solve another similar problem (like the transporter on Star Trek).
• For The Flash to get to ¼ the speed of light, he would have consume several trillion cheeseburgers in order to acquire enough energy to accomplish the feat.
• Magneto lifts people not by the iron in their blood (because iron in that valent form is not magnetic), but by the water in their body (scientifically proven).
• Kitty Pryde can travel through walls using a technique called "quantum tunneling", using quantum probability to increase her chances of being on the other side of the wall.
• Why do so many heroes fly with their hands out in front? (and no, it's not just style!): 1) helps to break the air velocity, 2) protection from things in their path.
• You cannot change your direction in mid-leap, even if the Hulk does it all the time.
  

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12:30 – 3:00 pm
Dealer's Room

Stopped for lunch (turkey and provolone on a croissant) and a coffee Frappucino. Afterward, I prowled the Dealer's Room for the first time. Aw, sigh . . . so many books, so many books!

Just like in 2002, I was drawn to a booth by a new author. This time is was Rebecca Rowe. She was sitting at Edge booth and I immediately bought her book and she signed it immediately. I had seen her book, Forbidden Cargo, advertised in Locus, and had considered purchasing it, so here was the perfect excuse. (Oh, have I mentioned my book addiction?)

I was already to be done when I was informed that was another author was there as well and about to leave for a panel: K. A. (Adrian) Bedford So, I bought all three of his books and got them signed. (I had seen him on the "Getting Started Writing SF – Part I" panel yesterday as well, so it was particularly nice to meet him in person.) He comes from Australia and was completely charming and wonderful to talk to.

Cruising around, I checked out most of the exhibits and looked at many, many more books. I bought Elizabeth Bear's and the new "Dune" book so I'd have them for the signings later this afternoon.

Four signed books in about an hour—not a bad afternoon's catch!

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3:00 pm
Autographing: Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

I met Kevin Anderson twice at the 2002 WorldCon. He was congenial as always, but pressed for time due to a fairly long line at his and Brian's signing. Kevin always amazes me at his sheer volume of work—but then he does write for a living, as a job, so I guess it really does make sense!

It was the first time I had met Brian Herbert in person and he seemed very personable and willing to take the extra time to personalize my books. It was equally possible that he was relieved that I only had two books that I wanted to get signed.

I am apparently an amateur when it comes to book signing events at conventions. Several people both ahead and behind me in line had boxes of books to be signed. I remarked to the fellow ahead of me that the next time I'd remember to bring my luggage to the Con and he replied, "You're new at this, aren't you?". I told him, "No, not really." What I didn't say was, "Just not obsessive." But next time, I will bring something on wheels.

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4:00 pm
Autographing: Elizabeth Bear

Elizabeth Bear was absolutely charming and seemed genuinely interested in talking to each person who approached her (despite the grumblings from the man two spots behind me in line). She's a fairly new writer, and I always like to try to meet those in particular because: 1) they tend to have shorter lines, 2) I like to support new writers in the hopes that the karma will repay itself someday when I'm sitting on the other side of that table, and 3) they tend to be very open about discussing their work. It makes for a very enjoyable and informative conversation. And, you never know, she might be very successful someday and those kinds of connections never hurt.

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5:30 pm
The Business of Writing

Inside you there's a hundred stories, crying to get out. Characters who need to be brought to life. But you still need to eat and pay the rent. What do you have to know and do (besides how to write).

Panelists: Gay Haldeman, Rebecca Moesta, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Eleanor Wood, Kevin J. Anderson

The "mousetraps" in almost every book contract. Hold onto whatever rights you can (not applicable to media tie-in books). Ideally, get an agent to negotiate the contract for you. Even if you don't have an agent when you get the contract, find one afterward. It's actually easier to get an agent if you already have a contract.

Agents are looking at it as a long-term relationship, not just for the first book. Hire an agent rather than a lawyer. Lawyers tend to complicate things and are more expensive. Even if you don't have an agent when offered the contract, reply by saying, "Thank you. I will have my agent contact you." Otherwise, by agreeing to anything, you limit what your agent can do.

Once you receive your first contract, you are now the sole proprietor of a small business and you need to act accordingly.

An advance is "an advance against royalties" that you might receive once your book is being sold. The advance is not necessarily paid in one lump sum, but might be spread out over the various milestones of the publication process. Don't spend it all at once because bills still need to be paid and taxes taken out (and your agent gets their 15%). Taxes should be paid quarterly.

Most accountants prefer not to let you deduct writing expenses until you have made a sale. In the past, you could show a loss for a maximum of three years. (It seems as though there has been a change that for artists, the term can be indefinite.) Significant fluctuations in income can trigger an audit from the IRS.

Incorporating helps in terms of finances and credit because you are no longer just a writer, but an employee of a company with a regular paycheck.

Publishers will dedicate more money to a book they believe will sell, but "more" is relative. That does not guarantee better sales for a writer.

When you receive your advance, don't change your lifestyle—make it last. Unless you have multiple projects with a steady stream of royalty and advance checks coming in, you can't count on when the next one will come in.

It's possible that because of the length of time the process can take, you might finish and be ready to deliver a book before the contract is signed. This is dangerous unless you are established and also feel the publisher will pay you.

The contract will/should specify when the rights revert back to the author. It is usually when the book goes out of print. When that happens, the author should make a formal request just to be sure. (Some publishers, like Bantam, have "print on demand" imprints that allow them to claim that books are never out of print.)

Some writers do not plan for the "next book". If a book is well-received, a publisher might ask, "Can you deliver the next one in six months?" (Say, "Yes", even if you don't know.)

Royalty statements from publishers tend to be confusing and not particularly helpful. You can ask for a more detailed accounting of sales and returns, but it might not help.

Romance writers are required to do their own publicity. Don't ask a science fiction writer on how to do it—they ask romance writers and then use their ideas!

You are responsible for your own career. Your publisher isn't; your agent isn't. You are. It's not as important to anyone else other than you.

The best promotion you can do for your book is to write the next book. A good web site can help you; a bad one can hurt you. Don't spend any more time than necessary on things that are not the writing.

10:00 am
The Look of "Star Trek"

Rick Sternbach, long time Senior Illustrator and Technical Consultant for most all versions of Star Trek from the first film on, presents a slide show of his artwork for Star Trek.

Rick Sternbach has worked "Star Trek" since "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Some of the ships he designed include the Cardassians, Voyager, the Delta Flyer, the Eon, the Equinox, several of the Hirogen and Voth vessels, and Jupiter station. He also helped design several of the phaser weapons.

It was interesting to see how the various designs evolved the effort taken to give a consistent look at all Starfleet vessels, even when design future versions of ships like the Eon and the future Klingon Bird of Prey from "All Good Things…". The level of detail on which they designed the ships was astonishing. All those little shapes and designs actually are added with specific purposes in mind, such as escape pod hatches, sensor arrays, or power conduit covers.

One of the frequent constraints on the designs is that the interior sets are being designed and constructed at the same time, so some parts of the design cannot be changed since they need to match the configurations of the physical sets.

Sternbach showed early pen and marker drawings of the some of the ships, but has since moved almost exclusively to using rough CGI-generated models for his designs.

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11:30 am
Revise, Revise, Revise!

Often the difference between an amateur writer and a professional is that the pro knows how to rewrite and the amateur thinks he got it right the first time.

Panelists: Louise Marley, Peter S. Beagle, James Patrick Kelly, Kay Kenyon, Jacqueline Litchenberg

What a difference a computer makes! Pretty much gone are the days when a second (or third or fourth) draft meant a complete re-typing of an entire manuscript. These authors shared not only their techniques for editing and revising their work, but also some good writing advice in general.

The opening quip was that the majority of the attendees in the almost-full room were only there to see Peter S. Beagle. (I wasn't, as I had not paid that close of attention to the panelists for the session. But it was certainly a very pleasant surprise, as Beagle is one of my favorite authors. In addition, he has a terrific speaking and reading voice. I had an old recording of Hour 25 from1987 of him and Harlan Ellison taking turns reading the first few chapters from The Folk of the Air. It's an amazing impromptu performance.)

The methods for revision were as varied as the styles of the writers themselves. Some still used the traditional print-it-out-and-mark-it-up technique. One of the techniques that I find myself using is to re-read the last few paragraphs or start of the chapter that you're currently working on and do a light re-work on that as a warm-up to starting the new writing for the day.

Another interesting approach, which I think is as much a general writing technique as it is an editing one, is to write the story in layers, which each consecutive pass adding (or modifying a level of detail. For example, the first layer is plot development and dialogue, the next might be character development, and another adds scenery description. It was suggested that word processing programs make this technique possible in a way that typewriters would have made far too tedious.

One specific point that stuck in my mind that one of the panelists suggested was that each story should have at least two revision passes: one for the story, and the other for style. This strikes me as a reasonable approach, as it does force the writer into at least two revision passes when they might otherwise have settled for one.

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2:30 pm
Getting Started Writing SF – Part I

Going from amateur to professional is a big step. How do you get started? Should you write every day, whether the muse strikes or not? What mistakes shouldn't you make? Writers who have recently broken in will give you their advice today.

Panelists: Hilari Bell, Brenda Cooper, Jean-Noel Bassior, Michael S. Brotherton, K. A. Bedford

I have to admit that I recognize none of the names of the writers in this session, but that didn't mean that they might not have valuable information to share. (I do have a vague recollection of the Brenda Cooper's name, probably from seeing it in Locus, but I could not tell you off the top of my memory anything that she might have written.)

One thing that the panelists started with—and I appreciated it even if I already grasped it—was that this was not a writing workshop-type session. It was about the practical aspects of getting your work noticed and published in the science fiction (and fantasy) field.

I didn't learn a lot new from this session that I didn't already know from past experience, but it nice reinforcement to hear that the rules hadn’t changed that much in recent years. One item that was made very clear was that, in terms of book-length works, your query letter was perhaps your most powerful tool in terms of getting your work noticed. It was particularly interesting to hear that many writers will "leave out" too much in their query letters rather than reveal too much about their book. The advice was that your query letter should not be a press release for your book, but instead give the agent or editor a mental vision of your book strong enough that they want to see it.

It was also interesting to hear nearly all (or it might have been all) of these writers recommend that beginning writers read books on writing. Writing workshops were also recommended, provided that you felt they were constructive and productive.

(Part II of this session is scheduled for Friday morning at 10:00 am.)

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4:00 pm
Writing While Holding Down a Day Job

Even some of the most prominent writers don't make enough from their writing to give up their day jobs. What compromises do you have to make to make it work?

Panelists: Sheila Finch, Deborah J. Ross, Tobias J. Bucknell, Sharon Shinn, Jay Lake

I attended a very similar panel at WorldCon 2002, so I mostly attended this as a refresher course and also to see what these writers offered as advice and insight into this real-life balancing act. I actually had heard of (and read!) several of these writers, so the relevance quotient was significantly elevated for me.

One of the more astonishing things that came out of this panel was that Bucknell's claim that he could produce 2,000 words an hour when on a roll. I'm a fairly fast typist, but I cannot even imagine being able to produce work that fast. I'm sure I could at times when the muse is being particularly insistent, but I don’t know that my keyboard could keep up!

One of the issues discussed in this session was kind of job was ideal for someone who wanted to write. It was generally agreed that a job that did not involve writing and reading other people's writing (such as an English teacher) was probably best. Why some of these writers had day jobs at all also offered interesting insight, the most common being the need for affordable medical insurance, particularly for those writers with school-age children.

An issue that seemed to be discussed in more depth at this session than in the others (and in 2002) was time management. While one of the common threads was how to squeeze writing time into an already-crammed schedule, there was also discussion involving dealing with the other writing-related tasks such as talking to editors and other writers, and other people who wanted pieces of your time that you had set aside for writing. It's a delicate balance between serving your muse and becoming a hermit, and a good, successful writer needs to find a way to do both.

The common technique suggested was to make an appointment with yourself for when you are going to write and treat that appointment as you would any other in your life/schedule. A corollary to this was to make a contract with yourself in terms of your productivity or output, such as pages per day or completed pieces of work in a year. Also, determine what time of day you might you are most productive and try to write during that time, if possible.

So, as I did in 2002, my birthday present to myself this year was a trip to the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon aka L.A. Con IV). Just for entertainment value, I'm going to summarize my impressions of the sessions I decided to attend.

One of the problems with a WorldCon is that there are so many things to see, so I found myself often double- and even triple-booked for some timeslots. So, if you have seen the complete schedule, you might wonder why I chose this session over that session. Well, it's was most likely due to whatever overtook me at the moment when it was time to move from one room to another.

My notes are probably going to be a bit on the sparse side, so feel free to drop me an e-mail and leave me a comment if you have questions.

There's just something about a Jimmy Buffett song . . . But that's a whole different post . . .

Most days, I have to admit, I don't feel my age. There are certain routines, I suppose, that come with being at a certain stage of one's life: sleep, wake, eat, shower, drive, work, drive, eat, play, sleep. Repeat. But within that context, I sometimes catch myself thinking, "Gee, at your age, why do you still think that? Or do that? Or want that? Or want to be that?"

Some specific thoughts I've had:

• I think video games are very cool. I'm hardly expert at them, but I sure do have fun playing them—alone or online with a group of virtual friends. I have my own XBox, Playstation 2, and City of Heroes account.
• I want to be a published novelist/screenwriter. I'm still at work at this. Even after twenty years I hold onto this dream. Maybe I just don't know when to give up, but I don't see why I should.
  
• My career is not my life. It's a means to pay the bills and to develop and exercise skills that I have acquired over the years, but it does not define who I am.
  

Sure, I still have to be responsible for "grown-up" tasks like mowing the lawn, paying the mortgage, and changing the oil in the cars, but those are just things I have to do, not part of who I am.

I'm not really sure where I was heading with this, but thought I'd share . . .

The book value of an asset or group of assets is sometimes the price at which they were originally acquired (historic cost), in many cases equal to purchase price. (Wikipedia)

When I was a young boy, I received an allowance of $2.00 a week (provided that I did all my chores and did not talk back to my parents). Back then, paperback books cost about 65 cents. This meant, if I saved extra pennies, I could buy three books a week. When the price went to 75 cents, it became two books plus some extra change—annoying, but tolerable. When the prices rose to 95 cents and then $1.25, it was a devastating development. It meant I had to start re-reading books I already owned. Not a bad thing, but it meant that I was falling behind on new books that came out. (This problem persists to this day, but the limitation is no longer financial, but a lack of time to keep up with all the new releases.)

Recently, I went to the local bookstore and purchased a paperback book. The cover price was $6.99. Even accounting for inflation, that's a bit of money for a bunch of sheets of paper glued together with a fancy cover. The last hardcover book I purchased (which I still do from time to time when impatience overwhelms me) was priced at $24.95. Wow! Both paperback and hardcover prices seem a bit high to me, even accounting for inflation, the costs of paper, printing, and advertising. On the other hand, what value am I getting for my entertainment dollar?

Let's see . . . the last time I went to see a movie, the ticket cost me $7.00 (about the same as that paperback book). Seven dollars for about two hours of entertainment. I don't know about you, but I would be hard-pressed to finish most books in two hours. Add in the factor of being able to read at your own pace and convenience. (Movies on DVD are a different story. I'll leave that proof as an exercise for the reader.) Suddenly, that $6.99 paperback looks like a bargain in comparison!

What about hardcover books? Certainly, they are more of a stretch on the budget, but in terms of entertainment value per hour, the cost still strikes me as fairly compelling. Using $7.00 for two hours of entertainment as a measure, does a hardcover provide more than seven hours of entertainment? Except in rare cases, I would say that it does.

So what is the value of a book?

"For me, writing something down is the only road out."
Anne Tyler

"Building Baby Brother" is one of the few stories that I have written from the first-person perspective. I tend to avoid writing in first person because I am well aware of my tendency to identify with the viewpoint character and become self-indulgent. I thought I had done better this time—really I had!

Two of the people who read the first draft of the story had similar reactions to one of the characters (although their suggestions on how to deal with it in the next draft differed greatly). What become clear to me, as I re-read and edited the story, was how much it revealed about my personal impressions about that character's real-life counterpart. It was unsettlingly to see and recognize it on the page. Would I have noticed it to the same same degree if it were not pointed out to me? I don't know.

I have written stories knowing full well going into them what baggage I was trying to unload (writing as various sorts of therapy), but by acknowledging that I could shape it into a reasonable narrative. It's always amazing to me, though, what other pieces of personal luggage decide to pop their hinges when I'm not looking. These revealing peeks into the author's psyche are frequently not intended (although unconsciously so is a whole other issue!).

Not much else to add at this point. Mostly an observation.

"Writers really take their worst shellacking from other writers."
E. B. White (On Writing [1990])

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything to this blog. I don't have any good excuses, so I won't bother to try to make up any. I have been properly chastized, and I promised that I would try very hard to post something at least three times a week, even if I have to resort to taking a quotation from one of my books and working from that.

I have been editing the first draft of "Building Baby Brother" based on feedback from the people who have read it. I forgot how hard I fight the process of starting to edit a story. (This one is particularly problematic because I received conflicting opinions on the best way to handle one item in the story.) Once I get started, I'm fine. It's a lot like many writing projects, though. I remember reading or hearing an interview several years ago with a writer who said that her house was never cleaner than when she was avoiding the start of a writing project. A lot of writers I know suffer from the same syndrome. One theory is that if you never get it written, it never gets criticized. I can understand that.

Which is why I tend to avoid formal writing classes, workshops, and groups. I have received some useful feedback from these, but more often than not, I have found them more frustrating than productive. My primary goal when writing is to just tell a good story. I figure that the majority of readers will judge that far above any clever use of metaphor or deeply symbolic imagery. I'm not saying that these things aren't important to a story. It's just that I've found that a lot of "serious" writers get so caught up in the trappings of the writing, that the story seems to become secondary. Those other elements are important, but I've seen too many stories come out of writing classes that are mostly style and very little substance. I know some readers appreciate those types of stories, but they're not my style.

That's it for this time. Time to get back on the path.