Storytellersunplugged

James A. Moore

So, the 12^th of every month is when I post my essay (give or take a few hours). This time around, I’m going to see about having Joe Nassise post this little article, because I don’t have a laptop with a modem.

I’ll be out of town, and the World Horror Convention.

There’ll be a world of stuff to do there. There’s ALWAYS a world of stuff to do there. First, there are panels about the writing process and bloody near any subject related to horror. There will be the mass autographing sessions, readings by authors, the art show, the gross out contest, a dealer’s room designed specifically to separate me from my money…The list goes on and on.

There will be parties. Leisure Books is hosting a party and I’m sure that with very minimal effort, I can find a dozen others going on. In fact, I’ll probably hit all of them at one point or another and I can guarantee you that I won’t be alone.

If I’m lucky I’ll have a chance to chat with a few fans and get some much needed feedback on what they think of my work. Not just the praise, which, I assure you, is rare in the first place, but also the criticism. See, I like being shown my mistakes. It makes me work harder to avoid making them again.

I’ll get a chance to hang around with some of my peers: as has been said by many authors on many occasions, writing is a solitary business. So when I have a chance to see some of the other writers that I admire and the ones I’m lucky enough to call friends, that’s all a big plus for me.

It will, simply put, be a lot of fun.

But that’s just the extras for me. The convention, like all of the conventions I hit, is about business.

I’m there for all of the reasons I mentioned, but I’m also there to see about selling a few manuscripts to publishers, to make a few connections and, hopefully, convince those editors and publishers to invest a little money in my work (actually, I’d like it to be a LOT of money in my work, but I still haven’t managed to get to that best seller status that increases the odds in my favor.).

There will be a lot going on and the catch for me is to find the balance between work and play. Work will always come first, just for the record. It’s costing a hefty chunk of change to get to this convention and I’d like to at least break even.

I’m bringing all of this up because it’s important, especially if you consider writing as a business. First, just about everything I spend money on will qualify as a tax deduction (plane tickets, hotel room, ticket for the con, etc.). That’s a nice bonus come April 15^th, but it’s hardly a legitimate reason to go. No, I have books to sell, books to promote and contacts to make. I know a lot of people in the community, but not nearly all of them. If given the opportunity, I want to meet more. I want to meet other writers, more editors, maybe an agent or two. Because, really, when you get down to it, there’s a modicum of truth in the old “it’s not what you know it’s who you know” adage. Who you know isn’t everything, but it’s a start. When you’re dealing with editors for the major houses, it can’t hurt if they can put a name and a face together with that manuscript they get in the mail. It may not actually help much, but it might keep you out of the slush pile.

I currently have two finished novel manuscripts, a novella and several proposals to do my best to sell at the con. Do I think I’ll make any actual sales while I’m there? Maybe not, but stranger things have happened. I, along with Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, once sold an anthology to a publisher in 18 minutes flat, from idea to actual sale. So, stranger things have actually happened, yes. I don’t know if I’ll manage that sort of feat again, but I’m perfectly willing to try.

Oh, and despite the temptation, I’ll likely stay stone cold sober. It’s damned hard to do actual business when you’ve pickled yourself, and it’s also much too easy to look like an ass in front of the wrong people. Believe me when I say this: Conventions spawn numerous scandals and those attending have long memories. So, yes, I’ll have fun and I’ll hit the parties I find out about. More likely than not, I’ll also take a ridiculous number of pictures, because I’m a shutterbug. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all, and you never know, I might want to set a story in San Francisco at some point. It’d be nice to have some points of reference.

Conventions can be a lot of things. I intend to make the most of this one, same as I do with each and every one I hit. Business and pleasure can mix just fine as long as you make sure you keep your priorities straight. As a writer this is a wonderful chance to get some work done away from the keyboard. As a con attendee, it’s just a wonderful time. If you happen to be in San Francisco during the weekend, stop and say hello. I’d love to hear from you.

James A. Moore