While in grad school I had the chance to study quantitate methods of study and was tasked with running a small survey. I ran a survey through social media to take a look at the demographics of Fandom. I was a bit overwhelmed when over 500 people responded to the survey. While the survey is not perfect (hey I was in school learning about surveys at the time) I found the responses very interesting and wanted to share the results.
Read MoreSocial Media and Fear
I love social media. I'm embarassed at how much time I spend rolling around Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and that's not even looking at time spent on other corners of the web.
But I can't go play on these social networks without fear tinting the corner of my mind. I triple check my privacy settings (damn you Facebook for making that a constantly changing game) and post then delete things a few seconds later when I panic about something I've said giving away where I am.
Why is social media so scary?
For anyone whose been stalked or harassed it's a minefield. And there are some days where I can't work up the nerve to even post. The past week or two has been like that.
When I was in college I made a profile on quiz site. It was basic information and a profile picture. Based on that picture, and me mentioning a local coffee shop, someone on that site found out who I was, where I worked, and where I lived. He found me.
Police were called.
I spent my Spring Break curled up in the back of a friend's car sobbing and trying to figure out what to do.
I live in constant fear of it happening again. Of the consequences being physical, not just emotional next time.
But I still love the digital world I live in. I love being able to talk to friends and people I admire from across a distance. Sharing pictures and thoughts makes me feel more connected in a field where the work is done alone. Writing can be a lonely place and social media helps take some of that away, especially for people like me who get all tongue-tied in front of strangers.
The truth of the matter is: I don't think that fear will ever go away. But I refuse to let it control me. I'm still going to post stupid tweets, and share photos, and reach out into the world.
Because I don't want fear to stop me from doing the things I love.
Patience aka WHY CAN'T I HAVE MY BOOK NOW?
Patience is probably one the virtues I wish I was better at. Writing is a slow process THAT TAKES FOREVER AND WHY CAN'T I HAVE MY BOOK NOW?
Depending on how fast you write, finishing the first draft of a single short story can take a month or more, and if you start working on a longer piece... that can drag on for years (just don't be one of those people who is 'working on a novel' without ever writing a word, okay? Get it on paper.). You finally get the story done and stare at your lovely, little word blob and then it just magically becomes a book instantly. That's a new mac attachment clearly, the iPublishnow.
Truth: ALL OF THAT WRITING ISN'T EVEN THE HALF OF IT.
After you finish that first steaming draft full of problems and trouble THEN you have to go back and edit, and sometimes rewrite it. And you do this step over and over and over. Until your eyes sizzle and coffee drizzles from your nose.
After that, you submit it off into the wild blue-green yonder where it either a) goes off to an agent to look for representation b) goes to a publisher (and probably the BUMBUMBUM slush pile) or c) self-pub baby!
(okay, those are not every option ever available for a writer, but let's just stick with those three for simplicity's sake, kay?)
From here, everything requires more steps.
AKA No don't just type THE END and throw it up on Amazon and wait for the money to rain down from the muses that live above your bed.
From here it will try to find a home, contracts will be negotiated, drawn up, yadda yadda, THEN it will go through a series of edits, a title will be decided, descriptions created, covers made, and formatting fought with. Annnnd probably more that I'm forgetting or just plain don't know about because they haven't happened to me yet.
End of story: There's still a TON of steps from after you type the end to when you hold your precious word vomit baby in your arms and coo over it.
The fastest one has gone for me is a short story that took roughly 6 months from THE END to print version, and that was damn fast because it only had four people in the anthology.
The longest?
Well, let's just say there are some 3+ year projects that haven't moved forward past typing THE END yet.
That's another part of writing you don't learn about until you're there. Projects can and will just freeze for unknown reasons. Sometimes a project falls through the little literary cracks and plops into a whole lot of nope. When that happens you've got to pull your story out of that muck and try to find your baby a new home. Sometimes it doesn't work out and that little sucker lives in a drawer in your desk for forever.
The point is, if you're going to play the game and get your thing out into the world then you've got to have a certain level of patience and know that things move SLLLOOOOWWWW when it comes to publishing.
Finish your projects, send them off, meet your deadlines (please don't be the jerk to hold up everyone else), and then START ON A NEW PROJECT. Don't sit and stare at the screen, waiting for an email of every step of the process, let go of that sent-off darling and start vomiting out a new lovely, word baby. Try to have projects out and about all the time, and remember to just breathe and keep writing: that's your job.
Podcast Excitement!
So the first Monday of a month is usually devoted to Fandom First posts but... I was on a super cool podcast that I am so excited to share!
I was interviewed on the awesme Less Than Or Equal. What is that you ask? Well, from the website:
"Welcome to Less Than Or Equal, a podcast dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of geeks facing inequality in their industries.
Everyone of every gender, sexual orientation, race, color, physical ability, and physical appearance deserves to be treated equally by the tech industry and other geeky communities. We believe the catalyst for a cultural shift toward equality is continued conversation that drives awareness and understanding."
A pretty awesome goal right?
I am incredibly honored to be a guest on the show and hope you'll give it a listen and support Less Than Or Equal.
You can find my episode here.
Friday Review: The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley
A review of Shaun David Hutchinson's The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley.
Read MoreBe Boring
When I was first starting to really take myself seriously as a writer (as in writing every day and trying to actively get published), I remember thinking that I was way too boring to write anything exciting.
Read MoreFriday Review: Mabon and Pomegranate
A review of Kimberly Richardson's Mabon and Pomegranate.
Read MoreWrite Like You Because There is No One Right Way to Write
Write when you can when it's best for you, and forget what other people are doing. Maybe some people would rather sleep until noon and write until 3am, if it works for them awesome! Maybe some people write in marathon 10,000 word binge all nighters. But don't ever feel like someone else's process has to be yours
Read MoreInternational Women's Day!
Yesterday was International Women's Day so to celebrate I wanted to post some of my favorite women writers, and to hear what writers you love!
- Banana Yoshimoto
- Alia Mamdouh
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Rosa Montero
- Ludmila Petrushevskaya
- Octavia Butler
- Helen Oyeyemi
- Anita Desai
- Kim In-Suk
- Leslie Marmon Silko
Fandom First: The Business of Conventions
When thinking about comic/fantasy/sci fi conventions, most people immediatly think of costumes, and a gathering of people playing games or talking about the latest books and movies. Few people immediatly think of economic power and the impact a large convention can have on a city. But conventions have a huge economic impact on the cities they're hosted in, and on the vendors and dealers travelling around the world with booths.
In an essay for Apex Magazine, I looked at the economic forces behind conventions and the money behind the funny business of fandom.
You can read the essay here.