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May 16, 2006
Life : WorldCon in August
I decided this past week that I will in fact be going to WorldCon (the World Science Fiction Convention) this August in Los Angeles. This has been a surprisingly complex decision for something a year ago I would have considered obvious. I have been to two WorldCons (2002 in San Jose and 2004 in Boston), and I found both to be immensely enjoyable and extremely useful to me as a writer. When it was announced 3 years ago that this year's convention would be in LA (not too difficult to get to from where I live), it seemed like a great opportunity. However, my rethinking of my life this last year significantly altered my perspective and complicated that decision.
To explain why, I need to step back and explain what WorldCon is. Those whose image of a "Science Fiction Convention" is a bunch of twenty-somethings in Klingon costumes drooling over the chance to see actors from their favorite TV show, that is not WorldCon. I have been to regional conventions which fit that description and would never return. When I found out in 2002 that the World Science Fiction was being held in San Jose, CA (a half hour from where I lived) I almost skipped the opportunity because of bad experiences at other 'Cons. I am so glad I didn't.
WorldCon started in 1939 as a convention for fans of written Science Fiction (and Fantasy). There was no TV then and very little in the way of SciFi movies. The focus of WorldCon then and now is on Science Fiction literature. These days there is always some content related to TV and movies (5-10% at the ones I have attended, I expect a bit more for this next once since it is hosted in LA); but the bulk of the convention is about the written word and it is largely attended by intelligent and literate people (with an average age in the 40's I would guess).
Furthermore, WorldCon is where the Hugo Awards are presented. The Hugos (Technically the "World Science Fiction Achievement Awards") are the highest honor bestowed on Science Fiction writing. There are other awards (the Nebulas, for instance); but the Hugo is the one everyone in the industry wants. The Hugos are in almost every respect the "Academy Awards" for SciFi.
One result of this is that the convention is well attended by professional from the SciFi publishing industry: publishers, editors, literary agents, illustrators, and of course lots and lots of writers. I struck up a conversation in a line once and discovered that the guy I was talking to was the submissions editor for a major publisher (the guy who makes the initial decision if his company is going to buy your new novel). Later, I found myself sitting in a seminar next to two agents who happened to handle two of my favorite authors.
And speaking of seminars, the backbone of WorldCon are usually over a hundred panel discussions. Some are "just for fun"; but many relate to the craft of writing and the art of getting published. Some of my favorites from past WorldCons include:
- "Things I Wish Some Pro Had Told Me When I Was Just Starting Out" hosted by two published authors, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta.
- "1000 stories in one hour" hosted by one of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card. For the record, he cheated; but it was still a great brainstorming exercise and taught me a lot about the different between a great concept and a great story.
- "The first two pages" with a panel of publishers, editors, agents and writers talking about what they look for in the first two pages of a novel.
- "Designing an alien language" hosted by a professional linguist talking about how human languages differ and how to extrapolate ways that non-humans might communicate
- "How to write a fight" by an author and martial arts expert.
- "Things we hope never to see again in another novel" a discussion of worn-out ideas (or ideas which should never have been used in the first place). In the process, the panel talked about a lot of books that "got it right" and I walked away with a long list of new novels and authors to try.
The summary of all this is that if you are an aspiring SciFi or Fantasy writer and have a chance to attend a WorldCon, you really should go – there are too many opportunities to learn and improve your craft there. Furthermore, if you are an aspiring SciFi or Fantasy writer and you have a completed manuscript, you would be foolish to not attend WorldCon. Why? Because having an editor recall your name and remember you as someone who seemed otherwise rational can make a big difference in your chances of getting published; and WorldCon is the perfect place to develop those relationships. This isn't even sleazy – the reason most editors attend WorldCon (and hold parties in their suites) is so that they can meet aspiring writers (I have been told so by multiple publishers). Just don't come with manuscript in hand (a serious faux pas). The goal is to let them get to know you; and if you are lucky, get them to ask you to send them your manuscript. Being able to say in your cover letter "Here's the manuscript you asked me to send you…" can get you past a lot of competition – as long as you are telling the truth.
Which finally brings this back to my own situation. As I have commented previously on this blog, I have decided to put my fiction writing on the back burner and focus on non-fiction for the next few years. So, when my reminder to register for WorldCon this year came up, I was in a quandary. Fiction and non-fiction writing and publishing are different beasts, and I'm unlikely to learn anything at WorldCon that would help with any of my current projects. Likewise, any relationships I develop now would likely to be forgotten by the time I actually have a fiction manuscript in hand to sell. As an aspiring writer, there was no real reason to attend WorldCon this year, and as such I had to rethink whether it was worth attending as "just a fan". What finally closed the deal was that, given that WorldCon is being held in LA this year, a lot of my favorite television writers will be attending and the chance to meet and spend time with them makes the trip worth it to me. However, I suspect this will be the last WorldCon I will attend until I get back to writing fiction and have a manuscript complete.
Posted by Steven at May 16, 2006 05:58 PM
