Balticon ‘09

        It is now the Tuesday after Balticon 43; a four-day plethora of programs that seems more centered around the Sci-Fi content creators than around the fans themselves. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty to do for the fans, but the programming for the many panels is centered around creation; from the visual arts such as drawing, painting and even 3D computer graphics, to the written art of the fan-fic through all-out novel writing, all the way up to multimedia presentations as ‘simple’ as podcasting through the possibility that future e-novels might even contain not merely images scattered through their text but even spoken dialog and video clips representing portions of the story. In other words, anyone with any desire to become an active participant in the Sci-Fi genre really should attend Balticon.

        I have to admit that the so-called ‘Pocket Program’–at 8.5“ x 11” x 12 pages–was an invaluable resource! There was simply so much going on that you couldn’t keep up with it all.

        I met with a number of wonderful people there; writers, podcasters, artists and even editors representing the several levels of publishing anywhere from independent editors to help you make your project the best it can be before submission all the way up to a representative of one of the big commercial publishing houses. I got the opportunity to realize just how quickly the publishing business is changing and equally just how difficult it is to keep up with these changes. It seems to me that breaking into ‘print’ and becoming an acknowledged author is both easier and much, much harder than ever before! Where will I manage to fit into this industry, if anywhere?

        One of the people I met was David Moldawer, representing commercial publishing and blogger at www.kickassmysticninjas.com. I sat in on three different discussion panels. His understanding of how the internet is changing publishing should make him an invaluable resource to his publishing house. He understands how the commercial houses work, yet also understands that in order to maintain their reputation, a commercial house has to focus on obtaining only the best of the best.

        I also met A.C.Crispin, an author whose books I have read for years. I have to admit to getting a surprise when meeting this author, but I am still glad that I had the opportunity. I also learned that over the years I’ve missed out on a number of titles I now need to look up and consider. Crispin represented one of the few authors there carried by a commercial publisher, but you could see that the goal of most authors there was to join in her ranks to one extent or another. It seems to me that commercial publication by a big-name house is still the ‘Holy Grail’ of most writers and artists. However, I also noticed that a number of the smaller publishing houses are making inroads into the exclusivity of the big houses. Where this will lead is anyones’ guess–for now.

        During Balticon I attended the Launch Parties for several titles. James Daniel Ross announced the publication and release of “The Key to Damocles”, the second novel of his Radiation Angels series, following “The Chimerium Gambit” and several short stories featured in different anthologies in 2008. I’ll be reading “The Chimerium Gambit” shortly and look forward to receiving “The Key to Damocles” shortly. Watch this space for future comments on Mr. Ross’ work. “So It Begins” launched at the same time, is an anthology featuring another story by Mr. Ross as well as a number of other authors. This is book two of the Defending the Future series. This is the first time in print for every story, a brand-new group of military sci-fi stories.

        The second launch I attended was for “Personal Effects: Dark Art” by J.C.Hutchins. The party was incredible, though I wasn’t able to stay for the entire party due to another panel I wanted to attend. Interestingly, one of the panelists, Scott Sigler, wore his ‘Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital’ Floor Pass during the panel, showing that he, too, had been attending Hutchins’ party. The Floor Pass, you ask? Part of a package of articles designed to draw you into the story. Each attendant received the Floor Pass, a patient’s wristband, a personalized prescription for medication and finally, a bottle of pills fitting the prescription. (By the way, Mr. Hutchins, if you’re reading this, there were far more than the ‘prescribed’ 20 pills in that bottle. You may want to investigate your pharmacy assistant. I counted more than three times that amount.)
        The party itself consisted of all the attendees undergoing ‘art therapy,’ coloring in line drawings of the hospital staff and other artistic efforts. A few of the patients even got the chance to take a swing at a piñata, one of which seemed very resistant to breaking. Still, everyone had fun and I personally think the launch went well. I’m looking forward myself to reading “Dark Art.”

        One last note: If you haven’t been following @saudu on twitter, now that the initial draft of Tiger & Fox is completed, Balticon inspired me to convert the story into a ‘podiobook.’ For those who don’t know, essentially an internet audiobook so you can listen to the story as you take your daily commute or simply don’t like reading on your computer (of course, if the latter is true, would you be reading this blog?) Am researching the hardware requirements and attempting to determine the best time and location in my home to start production. I’m so used to the sounds where I live, I hardly notice them; but birds, nearby traffic and neighborhood children would all create background chatter that would interfere with the quality of the work. Just as an example, I currently have birds chirping and calling near my back door and wind whistling through the window beside me… and the occasional car, motorcycle, etc…. If it weren’t raining, the kids would be out as well.

        That’s all for now, but I will be posting more here. Balticon gave me a lot to think on.