I Met Greg Bear and You Didn’t

I went to Mysterious Galaxy bookstore to meet Greg Bear and hear him speak. He's currently on a book tour promoting the second edition of his Halo book series, Halo Primordium, which is based on the mega popular video game. 

 

During his talk, he was nice enough to introduce me to his fans as the grandson of his great friend, mentor, and colleague Elizabeth Chater. He also gave some history of their relationship that I found incredibly interesting. 

Back in the 1960's my grandmother went to work as an associate professor at SDSU, and a then 19 year-old Greg Bear took one of her courses and was immediately impressed with her teaching style, and by the fact that she was a published science fiction pulp writer. He went to her and suggested they start a course in science fiction writing. The obstacles were many. This would be the first such course taught at SDSU--in San Diego, in California! She was a woman in a professorial boys club. And the English department had an up-turned nose for any mention of science fiction. She and Mr. Bear went forward with it anyway and started a science fiction creative writing course, making 100 slots available. 200 people showed up. The class was enormously popular and continued to grow in popularity for nearly a decade. They even had Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury, and Harry Harrison come to speak to their class. 

It's no accident that, because of the pioneering efforts of my grandmother and Greg Bear, the epicenter of science fiction in the world, Comic Con, is now held in San Diego. They, and a handful of others, blazed a trail for science fiction that has made it, according to Gregory Benford, the “Defining genre of the twentieth century.”

 

Pretty sweet. 

I was also impressed with how friendly Mr. Bear was— I'm going to call him Greg, since he and I are now BFF's—and how wise his council was to the some of the other writers and teachers in the crowd. His key to success: Don't give in to convention. Study the classics, learn from the masters, but don't succumb to current popular opinion or scientific flavors of the week. The parochial world of science can sometimes smother innovation. I think this is good advice, and, foolishly, I was almost surprised to hear it from him. I had expected him to say something more academic . . .  but now I see why he's a pioneer in the field and a bestseller.  

Free Fiction By Elizabeth Chater

How NOT to Make a Dress is now free on Smashwords. Check it out!

Free On Smashwords

What I've Learned About Self-Publishing So Far

I was tempted to leave this blog blank.

Rim shot.

2011 is almost over, so it's time to reflect.

I've been self-publishing for almost a year, and I've tried a few things. Some of it has worked, some of hasn't.

Here's a recap:

Copy editing. Copy editing is probably the most important part of self- publishing and the industry has suffered because many have ignored this. I still see a few self-pubbers out there with buckets of talent, but who are publishing work that's riddled with editing mistakes. If Sophie had to choose between good book, good cover, good editing, or good formatting, she would probably pick good copy editing. A great book with bad editing is like a stuttering speaker, the ideas get lost.

Doing your own cover artwork. I've learned a lot and it's been a lot of fun, and most of my covers look pretty darn good, but if I had unlimited funds I would pay someone.  My financial situation has forced me to do it myself, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend to a newbie that he do the same. I would pay for it if I could. The ultimate would be to find a great artist and build a working relationship over a period of years. With that said, my next book will be a cover I made and it's pretty sweet. 

Getting press in the local paper. I can say for certain that this didn't affect my sales at all, but it was a lot of fun and it only took a day or so to put together a press kit. It also taught me how to do a press kit, which was useful when submitting books to reviewers. Because of the article, I was also contacted by a local writer, so it did connect me with the local writing community, which is always a good thing. Unfortunately it didn't sell books.

Getting reviews. LibraryThing is a great resource for this. I've had a few bloggers review my work and I also got a review from Midwest Reviews. I didn't expect to like this part of publishing, but it's been awesome. A good review will keep you warm those cold nights when sales are slow. For me it has affected sales in a positive way, but only slightly. The trick is to get reviewed by many blogs or by a blog that has hundreds or even thousands of followers. Sometimes they're backed up with requests, but I remain diligent in pursuing this course because I think it’s the brass ring. I haven't paid for a review. I don't have the money, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.   

Blogging. You're here aren't you? Banging out a blog or two twice a month isn't too hard, but there's a lot of competition out there. A good blog can have a huge effect on sales, but for me it's been mostly about staying connected to the community, and I like the feeling of sticking it to the man.  

Social Networking: Librarything, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and Shelfari are great resources for writers. I've made friends, maybe an enemy or two, shared many a laugh and a few tears, and found that it does help sell books. Putting in the time is the hardest part, but it's worth it. Mostly I've found that we writers are "friending" and trying to sell to each other rather than to readers, but that's ok. After complimenting a fellow writer's book cover, she responded with buying and reading one of my books, gave it five stars, and wrote me a sweet review. She has since become a good friend. We'll be getting married this June—just kidding.

All and all self-publishing has been one of the great experiences of my life. But it has yet to pay the rent. During the time you've read this blog, Konrath has probably sold more books than I have the entire year, but I think it takes time to build a brand and a readership.  Only time will tell.

I'd love to hear from you. What things have worked for you or not worked?

Just got a great review from Midwest Reviews:

"The very fabric of reality may very well be in danger. "The Traveler's Companion" is a science fiction thriller as scientist and CIA agent Ryan Iverson must use his android with the power of seduction to take down world renown criminal C. C. Go. But Go has a new toy on hand, the Zone, where the mind trumps all in its creation, a technology that threatens the nature of the universe. As reality is bending to Go's will, Iverson doesn't know how he will stand a chance. "The Traveler's Companion" is a riveting psychological thriller, recommended."

Helen Dumont
Reviewer

See the review here: http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/dec_11.htm#helen


Thank you Helen!

Free fiction by Elizabeth Chater available on Smashwords!




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