Conventions

When I posted on my experience at RavenCon a comment was left suggesting that I write more on the subject of Cons and in particular provide tips for authors attending them. I didn’t see the comment for some time and have since been caught up with other projects that prevented me from posting anything. Now that I have a breather, I thought I would address this.

First, let me explain that I am not an expert in Cons. There are those who work these events religiously attending the same Cons for decades. The author, Tee Morris, who I had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions, used to do the “convention circuit” going “on the road” like a rock star living out of a suitcase. I never went to a convention of any kind until I published The Crown Conspiracy just this past October. Since then I have attended only four cons: MarsCon, RavenCon, Balticon and CarolinasCon, conventions located from Baltimore to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Let me begin by explaining what a ”Con” is. Cons, or Fan Conventions, are a gathering of people with a specific interest. There are cons for comics, for railroad building, or even a specific person—I hear Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, has her own con now: TwiCon. My daughter attends anime conventions for example, while the cons I listed above—the cons I attended—are Speculative Fiction cons. Speculative Fiction being anything to do with, Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy—the real geeky stuff. These cons attract the folks who thought high school extra-curricular activities should include Dungeons and Dragons. The people who exited Star Wars, walked around the theater and got back in line again. They are the much lampooned Star Trek fans who Josh Whedon, paid tribute to in his Buffy the Vampire Slayer series with his characters—The Trio. They also possess an above average intelligence, an interest and respect for arcane knowledge, and a curiosity and tolerance for new ideas. For a writer of fantasy, they are also my fan base.

Cons are held in a hotel and usually take over the place. Conference rooms and large halls are commandeered and private rooms are opened to the attendees for specific uses or just parties. Cons usually span a three-day weekend and visitors pay anywhere from $30 to $60 dollars depending on the con. Attendees, who often dress in flamboyant costumes, can go to various lectures given by authors or artists, sit in on panels where a group of professionals discuss a topic, listen to authors perform readings from their works, join in elaborate table top games, or visit the Dealer’s Room where a vast array of unusual merchandise is sold. There are also movies screenings, concerts, costume contests, and a host of other events that go on into the night.

As an author, I don’t get to indulge in any of this. I spend all my time in the Dealer’s Room. I pay in advance for a table and arrive early to set up before the con starts. One of the first things I learned was to travel light. At my first con, I just threw the kitchen sink in my trunk and assembled what I needed when I arrived. After that, I saw the virtue of planning and worked at getting everything I was bringing into as few boxes as possible.

Now some people, Tee Morris to name one, prefer to go the minimalist approach. He brings only his books and a pen. But Tee has a very out-going personality and for him accoutrements would only get in the way of his hand gestures. My experience with business tradeshows led me to bring a few basic advertisements to catch the eye of the hundreds of people walking by. I bring a nice dark tablecloth, as you never know if the con will provide any, and a bare, rickety folding table doesn’t present well. It also provides a hiding place under the table for personal stuff, like a sweater, a drink, extra books, and your coat. I also bring bookstands. These are clear plastic holders that merely stand my book up so people can see the cover better. I make posters, which I spray mount on form-core and stand up on the table or hang in front, (depending on how much room I have.) The posters help catch the eye of people even across the room. You should always bring tape and scissors—for some reason you always need those, or someone else does. If you did forget something talk to your neighbors, the other vendors are very friendly and helpful, like soldiers in the same foxhole.

I also bring bookmarks, which I hand out. For shy authors this is a great conversation starter and this is the real trick and the difference between a successful con and a not so successful one. All too often authors sit behind their tables waiting for people to come up and talk to them. They do this at bookstore signings too (which tends to irritate the bookstore managers who just ordered twenty of your books and expect you to move them out the door.) Some will even have laptops out, or be reading a book. This is no way to make sales. When I used to attend tradeshows for my advertising agency, rule number one was “never sit down.” Sitting makes you passive. Standing you are engaging, and approachable. If you look like you don’t want to talk about your books, people will avoid “bothering” you. That said, remain behind the table, standing out front is just too aggressive.

Still you have to do more than just stand. You have to engage the masses. This is hard for most writers. We are a solitary lot. We write so we don’t have to interact with people. We lock ourselves up in rooms and wander off into made-up worlds to avoid just this kind of thing. If we wanted to shake hands and laugh at bad jokes we’d be politicians. The reality of being a published author means that you have to spend a lot of your time pretending to be an unknown celebrity. Still, introverted shut-ins like us, have no clue how to engage a stranger. The idea of stopping someone we’ve never met and saying, “Say fella! Guess what? This is your lucky day! I’m the world’s best author. I wrote the world’s best book and if you don’t want to give me your hard-earned money in return for the privilege of reading it, then you’re an idiot!” Okay, so no one says that, but no matter how you go about it, it feels like you’re saying that.

The best solution I found is the bookmarks. As someone walks by, you just hold one out and say, “Care for a bookmark?” or “Would you like a free bookmark?” People like free things and ninety percent of the time, they will accept. Sixty percent of the time they will say, “thank you.” Thirty percent of the time, they will pause and read it. And twenty percent of the time they will look up at you and say, “Bookmark eh? So are you the author? What’s your book about?”

This is the moment you’ve waited for, the Con equivalent to being the understudy and learning the star had a plate of bad fish. Heart rate increases and you realize you have no idea what your book is about. The guy in front of you is holding three heavy plastic bags, a lightsaber and a Big Gulp with a twisty straw and he’s not going to wait all day. But how can you explain the full breadth of your story before the Seven Eleven slurping Jedi gets bored? This is why you need to have a pitch. A pitch comes in the long and short form. The short form is just a few sentences that sums up your book. The long form is a paragraph or two. Both are targeted at conveying the most interesting aspect of your story to the general audience. Don’t waste time with character’s names or backgrounds, or the nature of the elaborate world. Just hit them with the nutshell.

In my case:

“It’s a medieval fantasy adventure about two thieves caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are hired to steal a sword and when they try, they stumble on the body of the king and realize they’ve been set up to take the fall for his murder. After that they have to find a way to escape and then discover who the real killer is before the killer finds them.”

The Jedi might nod politely at this point, hand back the bookmark and walk away saying, “I’m really more a Sci-Fi guy.” Or he might betray a little smile which he will try and poker-face away by quickly taking a long pull on his Big Gulp’s straw. This is an invitation to say more and I might then go on about how it is a fast, fun romp (plagiarizing reviews of my book,) how it is part of a series—all of which have already been written. At a con, this conjures a set of raised eyebrows as it sets at ease the ghost of Robert Jordan. I usually follow this with the quip, “So even if I get hit by a truck on my way home, my wife will be able to publish the rest of the series.” I don’t mention that if I really was hit by a truck that I doubt Robin would be prioritizing the publishing of my remaining books at the top of her list of things to do—at least I hope not. I focus on how my book is different, how the names are pronounceable, how you don’t feel you need to take a course in the history of the world, and how there’s no youth prophesied to save the world from a dark lord.

Then there is a pause.

The Jedi sets his gianormous plastic cup on the table, tucks his lightsaber in his armpit and actually picks up a book and thumbs through it. Now if my wife is there—and she attends all the cons with me—she prattles on about reviews and how much she loved the books. Her enthusiasm is usually contagious, but I don’t feel comfortable raving about myself, so I just wait trying to look cool, as if all my hopes and dreams did not rest on the actions of this one lone Jedi. Use the force, damn it! Search your feelings—you know the book will be good!

Another tradeshow trick is to place a bowl of candy out on the table to entice people over, like the proverbial stranger in a car. “Come here Hanzel, have a Tootsie Roll.” The moment they reach out you slam the oven door closed with a… “Say! Do you read fantasy? No? Do you know anyone who reads fantasy because a signed book by the author makes a great—don’t know anyone either, eh? Well…could you use a good doorstop?”

You can also auction off a book. I sometimes put out a jar for people to enter their email address and then after the con I randomly pick one, contact them, and mail whichever book they want. This not only brings them over to talk to you, but has the added benefit of providing you with a list of addresses which you can then use if you want to say, announce your next book release. NEVER SELL OR GIVE THESE ADDRESSES AWAY. People provide them under the trust that only you will use them for the contest and the occasional announcement about your books. People don’t like to get spammed.

Since you will likely be alone at your table, and since you don’t want to leave your table unattended, and since the Dealer Room is usually open from 10am to 5 or 6pm, you might want to pack a lunch or at least bottled water and some kind of snack to keep your blood sugar up. Chocolate chip cookies work great. There is a courtesy room that provides coffee and some food, but that still requires leaving your table and if you’re going to leave, you’ll likely benefit from leaving the hotel entirely just to get away for a little while.

At the end of the night, an odd thing happens that no one outside of the Dealer Room vendors know about. Once the Dealer Room door close tight, all the vendors perform a strange ritual where they put their tables to sleep. They each bring an extra sheet or blanket to cover their wares and drape them with the care of a mother tucking their child into bed. Even though the Dealer Room is locked up, they feel that out-of-sight-out-of-mind is a technique that works trusting that should a would-be-thief go to the trouble and risk of breaking through the massive steel enforced doors, they would be dumbfounded by the sheets. Since I only have books, and wouldn’t be terribly upset if they were stolen, hoping only that the thief would see to it that the copies got into reader’s hands, I don’t bother with the nightly shrouds of mystery.

This brings up an important subject. Dealer Rooms have been stolen from so don’t leave valuables in the Dealer Room, and above all don’t leave your cash box there! This of course suggests you should have a cash box, or bag—some container of small bills that you will want to have on hand in order to make change. To help this, price your books at an even number. If your book retails for $11.95, sell it at a discount of $10.00, not only is it an incentive, but it’s a whole lot easier to make change. Just make sure you put a little sign out with the price tag. And if it is a discount, announce that. People like getting deals.

What should you wear? Unless you are planning on dressing up like a character in your book, (and I’ve never seen an author do that,) just dress casually, but neat. Usually, jeans or khakis and a T-shirt or polo shirt is fine. No one wears a suit. And wear the most comfortable shoes you own. No one will see your feet behind the table anyway. Don’t smoke or drink before the con, people are often turned off by the scent of smoke or alcohol and by all means, shower—if not for your fans then for the other vendors trapped with you for eight hours.

You aren’t there for the fun. You’re there to sell books, and maybe make money so don’t feel you need to stay at the hotel where the con is. You can often find cheaper rooms down the street and the less money you have to pay out, the fewer books you have to sell before you’re in the black. After all, you have to pay for the table, a room, meals, the book stands, the posters, the bookmarks and your transportation there and back, all before you even break even. Depending on how much money you make off the sale of a book, cons can often be a losing venture, so you’ll want to keep your expenditures as low as possible. Usually the first thing I do is calculate how many books I need to sell to make back the cost of going and that becomes my minimum goal.

In such a target rich environment, with three days to work with, I expected to sell over a hundred books at my first con. After all, I have often sold twenty books at a random Barnes and Noble in only four hours. So I was very disappointed when after the first day I had only sold ten books. On average, I sell about thirty books a con—about ten a day. This has been consistent across all the cons I’ve attended. At first, I thought I was a failure, but later discovered that I was doing surprisingly well. Most authors that I’ve met often sell only five books after three days behind the table. This might sound futile, but it has a seeding factor. A few books sold in the fertile fan base, can reap unexpected dividends. You can also establish connections to other authors, publishers, agents, and publicists.

Still, it would be nice to bump into someone at a con dressed in a hooded cloak with a white dagger in his belt holding a Big Gulp cup and two plastic bags of trinkets and have them grin and ask, “Guess who I am?”

I’m certain I will shrug genuinely stumped.

“Royce Melborn,” he’ll say.

After recovering from the shock I will mention, “Royce never wears his dagger on the outside of his cloak.”

In response, I assume the Royce-clad role-player will roll his eyes, shake his head and remark. “Geez, what a geek.”

Interview

I was recently (July 17th) interviewed by Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews. If any of you are growing impatient with my lack of blog posts this might tide you over until I get the next one together.

Trusting the Reader

I have spent a great deal of time working with aspiring novelists as of late, and doing a large number of critiques. As I mentioned in earlier posts, there are patterns. Those following the path of writing fiction appear to become lost in many of the same places. Having wandered aimlessly myself, I am familiar with most all of these traps. Some are obvious, like knowing that a story should consist of a beginning, middle and end; that a book should have a setting, characters and a plot. Others are not as blatant. You might not be familiar with them unless you’ve studied creative fiction, or hung out with writers, concepts like, “showing” instead of “telling,” or the pitfalls of a shifting point of view. Then there is what I consider the more advanced aspects of writing, the extra stuff like foreshadowing and symbols, but the one technique in writing that I rarely hear anyone speak of is “trusting the reader.”

Trusting the reader comes in many different forms and levels, but it can make the difference between a story that is lethargic, and one that comes right off the page at you. Simply put, trusting the reader makes reading a book interactive. The reader stops being a passive witness to events and becomes an active part of the story. While this sounds great, it is extremely dangerous if done incorrectly.

What is trusting the reader? It means that as an author you don’t handhold your audience, you don’t explain what you want them to understand. Instead, you trust that they will grasp your meaning. The danger being—they might not.

Trusting the Reader comes in different forms. It can be applied at the sentence and paragraph level, where an author might provide a detailed description of a room, “empty bottles littered the floor, dirty clothes lay on door handles or piling in corners…” and in doing so provide the graphic scene of a messy room. All too often writers then follow this with the paragraph concluding sentence, “The room was a mess.” This sentence is put there as insurance. The author doesn’t want you to miss the point, but they know if they just came out and said, “the room was a mess.” Their creative writing instructor would slap them for “telling” instead of “showing.” So now they show and tell—just to be safe.

As with most things however, taking risks offers the greatest rewards, so long as you don’t go crazy. If you have adequately described a scene, you don’t have to explain it afterwards. The reader will get it and they won’t feel insulted knowing that the author did not think they would. Still this is the easy stuff. It is when you take the same idea to the character and plot level that things get dicey.

Applying the idea of trusting the reader to a plot runs a huge risk. If the reader doesn’t get the fact that the room is dirty, it isn’t a huge deal, but if you lose a major plot point, the whole story might collapse. On the other hand, if you create a gap in the story and provide no bridge for the reader to walk across so that they have to make a leap of understanding to figure out what is happening, then they will feel included in the story. They will feel clever at having figured the secret out and the story will become something they are “doing” rather than merely “reading.” Make the gap too wide and well…splat.

In the novel “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” David Sedaris provides a simple example of this technique where he speaks of a young boy thinking of all the things he did that he might be in trouble for and one of those items listed is: “…altering the word hit on a list of rules posted on the gymnasium door…” Mr. Sedaris never says how he altered it. He leaves this for the reader to figure out. The result is like a perfectly delivered punch line. There is a pause, a moment of confusion and then it dawns on the reader and that brief moment of hesitancy punches the joke delivering it with tremendous power that causes the idea to pop off the page far more than if he just explained it. Still if you don’t get the joke, it won’t ruin the book. For that you have to go higher still.

In Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” he takes trusting the reader to soaring heights when crucial parts of the story’s plot are hinged on the assumption that the reader will guess correctly about certain aspects that are merely hinted at. Mr. Hosseini describes a common aspect of a character near the beginning of the novel in a specific manner, then much later in the novel he describes another character using the exact same descriptive element, but never identifies the individual. He is trusting that the reader will remember the earlier reference and understand it is the same person. Creating such a leap of faith is gutsy for a writer, but the effect, when it works, is fantastic. When I connected the dots, I was thrilled like figuring out a whodunit before the sleuth explained the murder. And this was only one small part of a well constructed, reader-trusting story that puts the reader to work and makes them feel useful.

A related aspect to this same idea is “holding-back.” As a novelist with a great story to tell, it is hard to stop yourself from blurting everything out right away. There is so much you want to explain, and writers can be very impatient feeling that the reader won’t truly enjoy the story until they learn this crucial plot twist. Again, it is important to trust that the reader will stay with you, and if an author does the job right, the reader will be just as impatient to discover the answers, as the author is to reveal them.

This has been an issue with my own books—more so perhaps because I am writing a series of novels that is in many ways one long story. So much is unexplained and so much is intentionally misdirecting that as the author it can be frustrating to hear negative comments that are merely the result of false assumptions. It is like playing a practical joke on someone, hearing them complain, but not being able yet to reveal the joke.

Being patient, holding back, and having faith that readers will make the leaps across chasms and be happier for the exercise, is scary, but just as the reader relies on writers not to strand them with a nonsensical story, the writer must also have the courage to trust the reader.

Reviews

More and more people are relying less on newspaper and magazine articles and turning instead to the internet for information when deciding on what books to read and movies to see. Sites like Amazon, Facebook, GoodReads, LibraryThing and a host of independent blogs and journals are becoming more trusted than the New York Times. Reviews have always been notorious for their corruption. Some are paid for, others written out of obligation; publishers make deals, pacts are agreed on by mutual authors. But it is hard to control the opinions of hundreds of people posting on Amazon or on their own websites. Sure there are the “friends and family” posts you need to look out for, but how many of those can there be? With the proliferation of reviews on the Internet, the truth is impossible to suppress for long. There are a handful of intrepid bloggers that don’t receive a paycheck and all they have is their reputation.

Big publishers have resources and connections to roll out a title and ensure it is seen. Independents, don’t and are ignored by “reputable” reviewers and shunned out of hand, even by libraries (because they don’t have “reputable” reviews.) Readers buy the big titles, sometimes because it is all they know exists. Given this, reviews, even small ones posted by first timers make a difference. There are many books that have one review on Amazon, books that if you do a global search across the Internet turn up nothing. Potential readers mark this as a red flag and pass.

As it happens, my family is a bit on the older side and I’m certain they think there are evil spirits in computers, so they stay away from them. I’ve moved a few times, which limits the number of friends I can pressure. To date, there’s about three or four who actually wrote a review on Amazon for Crown Conspiracy—none for Avempartha. Since I am published through a very small, independent house, I shouldn’t stand a chance. My only hope is for people to notice me and spread the word, but am one guy waving my hand in a sea of millions—but you have helped.

Those of you who read Crown or Avempartha and took the time to post a review on Amazon, on LibraryThing, on GoodReads; who mentioned it on Facebook, in your online journal, on your blog or just nudged a friend and said, “read this, it’s good,” have done me a great service. And it isn’t just a matter of selling books. I am nobody at all. I’m not famous, I consider spending a hundred dollars on anything to be expensive. I drive a seventeen year old Camry—when I drive at all. I usually walk, bike or take the train, and not to be green, but because I hate traffic. I wear jeans and a t-shirt, most of which are many years old. I have a wife, three kids, a dog and a very small condo that I clean from top to bottom once each week. Instead of watching television I write books. For years, everyone gave me condescending smiles about my “hobby” and asked what I will do afterwards, as if I am suffering from an illness. It is easy to lose confidence, easy to second guess, easy to feel self-deluded. Sure, my wife says she likes my books, but it’s a whole different thing when people I’ve never met, never spoken to, never had any dealings with at all, come out unsolicited and make comments like these recent posts:

“I knew once I started reading I would not be able to stop. Saturday arrived. I put my phone on vibrate, sent the boys to the patio and sat back to read my precious, (Avempartha), cover to cover. I had high expectations and Michael Sullivan surpassed them. // Thank you Michael for such a wonderful series. I'm eagerly anticipating your next installment. I have it marked on my calendar and once again I'll be ordering it as soon as you release it.” –Sarah, GoodReads.

“The first thing that happened to me when I started reading The Crown Conspiracy was that I realized that I couldn't put it down. I tried prying it off my fingers and shaking my hands around like I'd just touched a hot pan but all to no avail. This book is that good. Even more amazingly, Mr. Sullivan manages to sustain this effect throughout the entire novel. // The Crown Conspiracy reminds me why I fell in love with the fantasy genre in the first place.” –Speculative Fiction Junkie

“Royce and Hadrian are two well-developed characters shrouded in mystery and written with a delightful dry wit that few veteran authors could emulate. You get hints about the duo’s past, but they are surprisingly small tidbits and yet they are strangely satisfying. Perhaps it is simply that the characters’ presence in the here and now is so fully-realized that everything else is merely secondary; regardless I’m excited to learn more rather than disappointed that I learned so little. // With the “big” publishers putting out any number of quality titles it is far too easy for independently published titles like The Crown Conspiracy to get lost in the shuffle. There isn’t a massive marketing push. The Crown Conspiracy and it’s sequel Avempartha are out there and garnering attention thanks mainly to Sullivan’s own work and word of mouth. It is a work and series that deserves attention.” -- Mike Ferrante, King of the Nerds

“I was quite eager to see if the book would live up to the expectations raised by Mr. Sullivan’s marvelous debut. I am happy to report that not only did “Avempartha” meet expectations, but it took the series to another level, ensuring that the future installments will be must-reads...//In short, “Avempartha” is highly, highly recommended and a novel that raises Michael Sullivan’s The Riyria Revelations to “major league” status...// I would not call "hype" the good buzz about Crown Conspiracy and the series in general. It's more that being an unknown small press release without the marketing push of the big houses, with little exposure in major bookstores and such, CC and Avempartha managed to beat a lot of what is pushed out there in both quality and entertainment value and they deserve to be much better known.” – Liviu C. Suciu, Fantasy Book Critic

I don’t know any of these people, and I can’t rationalize any reason why they, or any of you would lie, so I have to believe that you mean what you say, just as I hope others will. I’m sure most of you think, “what the heck, sure I’ll take a second to say I liked it. Why not.” But I doubt you truly realize how much I appreciate it. I actually have a few of these taped to my walls, and I re-read them, perhaps more than I should. You see, I’ve never been motivated much by money or false praise, but real recognition is like gas on fire—that makes me want to sit down and work. That makes me want to be a better writer.

So I want to tell everyone who wrote a review, mentioned the books on a forum, or told a friend—thank you so very much, you make my dreams come true.

Amazon reviews: Crown Conspiracy: 47, Avempartha: 11
Goodreads reviews: 132
Amazon UK: 3
Barnes & Noble: 3
Borders: 1
Shelfari: 6
LibraryThing: 6

Gail Martin

Just a short follow-up to RavenCon. While there I met Gail Martin author of Chronicles Of The Necromancer. who was in the process of doing short author interviews of many of the writers in attendance at RavenCon with her hand-held video camera.

She got to me near the end of the weekend so I appear a bit more than three quarters through the video that she has now posted.

Gail's Video

So if you are curious to see me talk, or interested in seeing a bit of the madness of RavenCon check out Gail's video.

RavenCon

This last weekend Robin and I attended the three-day long speculative fiction convention in Richmond, VA, otherwise known as RavenCon. I realize that there are a few of you out there now who have read both The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha and would prefer I was chained to my keyboard, or had my legs broken by Kathy Bates, insuring I do nothing but finish book three. I’d rather like that too, well not the broken legs or chains, but the time to write. For the last few weeks, I have had preciously little time in that area. I am reminded by those who promote me (namely Robin) that it is just as important (perhaps more so) that I cultivate an audience for the books I already have published. So while I was just getting on a roll and making great headway on Nyphron Rising, I stopped, packed up the car and headed down to Richmond.

Until I started promoting my first book, I had no idea what a fan convention was, now I discover there are dozens. Most of them are the same thing held at different times of the year in different locations, many of them close to each other, so that the same people appear at each. Some are older, some are larger, but they all appear to be the same idea. Writers and artists of reasonable note are guests who give talks, readings or serve on panels discussing topics of interest to the fandom. There are an assortment of activities such as movies, shows and bands; a gaming room where those interested in table top games converge, an art room and the dealer’s room.

I was in the dealer’s room, a large hall in the hotel filled with vendors selling everything from board games and dice, to medieval clothing hand-sewn from hand woven cloth. There’s always a handful of not so famous authors who use the venue to introduce their books to an audience of genre fans. I was one of those and spent three days behind a little table stacked with my books. Yet even in such a richly targeted environment, it isn’t easy to convince people that a book you wrote is worth buying.

I discovered early on that the bar of expectations for authors in the dealer room isn’t set very high when a woman purchased The Crown Conspiracy. I asked what it was that sold her on it and she replied, “I read the first page and there wasn’t a single misspelled word!” It wasn’t exactly the kind of vindication I was looking for, but it got her to buy it, and more importantly to read it.

If you’ve been following this blog you know that I went to MarsCon back in January, and to my delight several people who visited it came to RavenCon. I knew who they were instantly—they were the ones who walked directly up to my table, picked up Avempartha and said, “Sign it. I loved the last one.” Better than this, as I had hoped, a few people bought Crown saying a friend had bought it at MarsCon and raved about it. Despite this, there were no lines waiting feverishly for me to sign their copy, and we sold only a handful more than at the last Con making us wonder if attending these cons is worth the effort. I am signed up for at least one more “ConCarolinas” in Charlotte NC at the end of this month (May,) I will have to see what transpires there before making a decision.

Tinkering Under the Hood

With the publication of Avempartha, and all its associated marketing materials out the door, I can at last relax a bit and get back to, well…work. Unless reading this post is the first you’ve heard of me, you know that the six books comprising the Riyria Revelations series are complete. Complete is however, a relative term. The story is all there and I have gone over each volume enough to say they are in better than draft form and yet those who proof and edit for me might not so much agree. In anticipation of a general audience, they delight themselves in crash testing my work, looking for weakness, confusion, inconsistencies, and screw-ups. In this way, they submit to me arguments for adding new sections or hacking out passages.

The whole first chapter of Avempartha, (a scene detailing the attack on the Wood family that led Thrace to journey to Colnora), was cut from the book. The third chapter concerning Arista’s trip to Ervanon, was at first cut, (because of its long-winded historical nature that everyone felt would bore readers to tears), then replaced, (because it was determined that the information was important), then extended for clarity’s sake. Other minor plot-holes led to massive rewrites to patch them—all of which made the book better. Following this comes the detailed and lengthy process of line-editing and proofing—a seemingly never-ending quest. So, story-complete, and print-complete are two very different things.

This leaves me presently working on book 3 of the series entitled: Nyphron Rising. I went over it during the cold winter months then submitted the manuscript to my editors (namely Robin) who, as usual, found fault. She requested two new sections, which in reviewing the book alongside her arguments; I extended to five, much of which has to do with a consistency of presentation and an attempt to maintain the “stand alone” nature of the novels. As the series grows, it becomes harder to keep the reader apprised of previous events. I now realize that I don’t have to—I merely need to provide enough information to make the present book understandable. That’s still tricky to do using a mind that can’t forget that it knows everything about the story.

So, for those of you who’ve already finished Avempartha and are clamoring for the next in the series—book 3 is up on blocks in the garage getting an overhaul. It is already much better than it was and growing a bit in length. (Don’t expect to see a 700 page book coming your way any time soon. The novels do grow longer as the series goes on with book six being more than twice the length of book one, but this is a gradual thing. Some of you may already have noticed that book 2 was a little thicker than its predecessor.) Right now however, Nyphron Rising is covered in a tarp, with parts laying all over the place. The next few months I will be caught up in book signings and general promotions,
but with Avempartha out the door, I can at last get back to work on it.

Now if you excuse me, it’s a nice day so I’m going to prop open the garage door and tinker. Gonna need to tighten the screws on Melengar—where did I leave that three-quarter inch sentence?