“There’s Room for Everyone’s Stories”

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Torrington, Wyoming, for Wyoming Author Day. I may not live in the state anymore, but being born and raised there makes me a Wyoming author for life. I also get to claim whatever state I currently live in. It’s in the rules. Look it up.

Anyway, I debated for a while about whether or not I was actually going to go. It a long drive there (6.5 hours one way, to be exact), and there was no guarantee I would sell any books. Not that the only reason I would go is to sell books, there are other perks to these events, but it can be a deciding factor.

I hemmed and hawed for a long time trying to decide if I wanted to go. The organizer had asked me months in advance about participating, and at the time, it sounded like a great idea. As the date got closer and life became complicated, it didn’t sound like such a fabulous idea anymore.

Eventually, I decided to go. I had committed to being there, so I felt I needed to honor that. I wasn’t sad that I decided to go. I actually had a lot of fun and met some amazing people. The drive was awful, and on the way home I’m pretty sure I hit about a million bugs, but Wyoming Author Day was a success.
 

In addition to meeting some great people and selling a few books (yes, I sold some books), there was a panel discussion. One of the speakers was a representative from the Wyoming Poets Society, and she made a comment about the number of books and stories and poetry that are written and published every day. She also made an interesting comment when she said, “There’s room for everyone’s stories.”

This really struck me. It gave me a chill and inspiration. I loved it, and I thought that it encompassed the spirit of the event. Not only that, but it kinda felt like a good mantra.

If you think about it or look at statistics, there are millions of stories published every year. M-i-l-l-i-o-n-s. And that’s just on Amazon. Think of all the other ones that aren’t counted because people put them on other platforms or make them available on their websites or blogs.

As an author, getting noticed in this sea of reading choices, it can be downright impossible. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t write. It doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel and say forget it just because we aren’t going to make millions of dollars or get a three-movie deal.

There’s room for everyone’s stories.

Put your thoughts and ideas down on paper. Get your story edited and published. Put your story out there. You have something valuable to say, and someone, somewhere wants to read it.

Who knows? Maybe you will get lucky and get the big fat paycheck and a blockbuster movie. The only way to know is to try.

Talking Zombies and Networking with Authors

I love going to conferences and conventions. They are just the best. More often than not, I am inspired to write and I meet some really amazing people—both fans and other authors. That was true of the WyoCon convention I attended over the weekend.

It was just a small con at the White Mountain Library in Rock Springs, but it was a lot of fun. I did my Surviving Zombies workshop, and it’s always a blast to get the audience involved and to listen to their plans when the dead arise. I love that people take the time to think about how they are going to survive the apocalypse. It’s important to be prepared.

After my presentation, I sat at my table for the rest of the day. There were several participants who ventured by, and I spoke with many of them on a variety of topics, from reading to movies to other conventions. I also had the opportunity to chat with the other authors around me. They were such amazing people.

Going to conferences and conventions feeds my soul. They can be incredibly exhausting, but seeing other fanatics reminds me of why I write. I might not always sell a ton of books (I sold two at the last one and consider that a win), but I get to meet some really cool people. Like I said, it’s inspiring going to these things.

Things have been pretty bleak in the writing world lately—and not necessarily just my own. I’ve read numerous articles about how readers aren’t buying books like they used to and that Amazon is trying to monopolize the entire system and authors are going to be the ones who suffer.

Really, it’s nothing new, but it’s still something that plagues authors—and not just us indies/self-pubs. Everyone is feeling the pinch. There are those who blame it on self-publishing and how easy it is to publish a book nowadays—flooding the market with millions of books instead of thousands—but that’s not the only reason. The publishing industry has changed, and we’re all trying to figure out how to keep up with it. In the process, we see our earnings shrink and less and less books get sold.

It can be incredibly depressing. It can make us question why we are even wasting our time.

I get it. I really do. I’ve been down that road. But at the same time, I still really enjoy telling stories. I love seeing people read my books and review them—even if it’s just a small percentage. And I love going to conferences and talking to people about other books and nerdy pop culture things.

At the end of the day, it’s all about perspective. It’s deciding what you want to take from an experience and deciding if it was good or bad. Personally, I spend the vast majority of my life being cynical and a little crabby, but it’s nice to take a break and immerse myself in my writing and other geeky ventures. Sure, I might not make a lot of money doing it, but it makes me happy, and that is the most important part.

Now THIS Was a Conference!

I had the opportunity to go to the MAPACA conference at the beginning of November. I was giving my Women and Slasher Films presentation on Saturday, so that gave me all day on Friday to attend panels and soak in what people were researching and working on. I wasn’t disappointed.

There were so many different panels I had the opportunity to attend. I went to one where the panelists talked about different things from WWII. One presentation was about some sculptures in Greece that were tributes to the Greek soldiers and the victims of German brutality. That was incredibly fascinating.

Another panelist talked about the accessibility of WWII photos online and how that is both good and bad, while another panelist talked about women’s roles in the war and how they were portrayed by Hollywood. I didn’t get to see the end of that presentation because it ran over and I had to get to my next panel, but the part I saw was incredibly fascinating.

There was also a panelist that talked about journalists during the Civil War and how they impacted and changed reporting during times of war. It was something I had never even thought about previously, so I learned something new.

There were quite a few horror panels that I had the opportunity to attend. The overarching theme of one was how the familiar becomes frightening, so the panelists talked about The X Files and representations of the South; the vampire Lestat in both books and film; and Pet Semetary, the book more than the movie. They were fascinating.

Another horror panel I went to had panelists that talked about Nazi zombie movies, and the presenter pointed out how surprised she was at how many existed and how many of them weren’t very good. The other presenter talked about the color of horror and how films use color or lack thereof to create mood and atmosphere. Both of those were also incredibly interesting.

I’m not diving into too much detail about each presentation because I could go on and on about how fantastic they were—and they really were. I learned a lot listening to all of these presenters, and I was amazed at what people chose to study. I love how passionate they were about their subjects. I get the same way in my research, and it’s always wonderful to hang out with like-minded people and bounce ideas and passions off one another.

This was exactly what I enjoy most about conferences. It’s a group of intellectual people getting together and sharing ideas and inspiring others. Not that Long Beach didn’t have intellectual people, it did, the format was just different.

MAPACA was what I expect conferences to be like. It had a registration table, I got a badge and a schedule, and I decided which talks/presentations sounded interesting and attended them. There were discussions afterward, and the attendees were able to ask questions. There was also networking that occurred, and friendships were formed.

I did this conference on my own; my mom didn’t go with me like she went to Long Beach. It was incredibly nerve-wracking, but it turned out fine. The day I drove to the airport, I was incredibly anxious, and I spent all morning taking deep breaths and convincing myself that I could do it.

My stomach was in knots, and the voice in my head was screaming that I should just stay home. The weather wasn’t cooperating. It had snowed the night before, so part of the highway I had to travel on had black ice and snow pack, and the speed limit was 45 mph.

Still, I trudged on. I knew that once I got there, everything would be fine.

For the most part, it was. I was still nervous when I got to the airport because I hate flying, but I had helpers if I needed them. On the way out, I actually didn’t need them. I was pretty proud of myself. The flight home was a different story. Nothing bad happened, but I was leaving early and my nerves were in overdrive. I couldn’t keep the anxiety down, so I had a little help.

I didn’t do any sightseeing or touristy stuff while in Philly, mainly because I didn’t have a lot of time—I wanted to be at the conference—but also because I’m not an overly adventurous person, especially when I’m by myself. I figured I needed to ease myself into the experience. Maybe next time I’ll do something fun and check out the sights.

All in all, I was really pleased with how the experience turned out. It was more in line with what I thought a conference should be, and I was inspired and excited to be there. I was asked to come back next year and do some more panels, and I’m seriously considering it. It’s in Atlantic City, so that will be a new adventure. I’m also thinking I can convince others to go with me—not to the conference, but to take in the other sights.