By Jan S. Gephardt Last week I wrote about the artists. Now it’s time to write about the authors of Archon 44. Followers of this blog know that I recently attended Archon 44. As the “44” at the end indicates, this is a science fiction convention with a long history in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Their most recent venue is the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, IL. My focus at conventions is mostly split between artists and authors. I…
By Jan S. Gephardt and Lynette M. Burrows A note from Jan to her readers: My longtime friend Lynette M. Burrows and I belong to some of the same writers’ groups, and first met through the Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society (KaCSFFS). We bonded over (among other things) our interest in writing, and we’ve been friends literally for decades. We regularly check in with each other to “talk shop” or be each others’ cheerleaders. Earlier this summer, I…
By Jan S. Gephardt Call me irresponsible if you will, but I spent the day writing. Writing fiction, that is, not a blog post. Even though it was “Blog-or-Die Day.” Even though I had scheduled and set aside time to work on a blog post. Yes, even though I hate, hate, hate missing deadlines. The journalist/commercial graphic designer in me detests missing deadlines. But instead of blogging like I was supposed to, I spent this week’s designated blogging day writing…
By Jan S. Gephardt One schedule-change. That’s all it technically boils down to. One simple scratch-out on a calendar. I’d planned on going, but now I’m not. Except, it’s not a simple thing at all. Not simply one schedule-change. No, it’s actually a whole end-of-summer tipped upside-down in a cascade of if-this-then-that change, after change, after change. Deciding not to go to FenCon, it turned out (as I knew it would), led to way more than one schedule-change. I Love…
By Jan S. Gephardt To quote Red Leader Garven Dreis, we’re almost there! In this case, I mean we’re almost to the point where A Bone to Pick is available and ready to read. Almost. We’re close enough that I can at last announce a presale offer on Amazon, in both the US and the UK. I’m also almost to the point where Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) are ready to go out as review copies. I’ll send them to my…
To anyone who asks, “Can you tell me about your book?” I can only offer hints and glimpses. Of course, that’s all any of us can offer, short of a full read. But which hints and glimpses? It becomes marketing It becomes marketing, whether we authors and our might-be-readers care to think of it that way or not. We not only want to give the asker a good idea of what our story’s about—we want them to think it’s interesting….
Everyone says, “You’ve gotta have a newsletter!” “Newsletters are a vitally important tool that authors can use to connect with readers.” “An author newsletter is an invaluable tool for authors.” The data is in, and the guidance is out there, easy to find. Every Indie author needs a newsletter. So, yes, it’s clear. I’ve gotta have a newsletter. As a former direct marketer, I already know this. Back in pre-Internet days, I was one of the people trying to convince…
What more auspicious day to post my first original video on my own YouTube channel, than on Star Wars Day? What’s my first original video about? It’s a reading, of the kind I love to do–and attend–at science fiction conventions (Ah! Remember back when it was safe to hold science fiction conventions in person?). The video is about 27 minutes long. It features me, reading Chapter One of The Other Side of Fear. I owe Virtual DemiCon, and the amazing Joe Struss, a lot of thanks. They premiered this video during their event. They also…
Creating a cover with Lucy I sort of wandered sideways into creating a cover with Lucy A. Synk. Lucy’s a wonderful fantasy and media-portrait artist whose work I discovered at science fiction convention art shows in the 1980s. She also painted professional illustrations and book covers back in the day. She and I were friendly acquaintances when she lived in the Kansas City area. But ironically our friendship really took off after she moved away. We discovered how much fun…