GenCon 2015 has come and gone, and I have a few observations or comments.
First of all, Marc Tassin did a truly amazing job organizing and running the Writers Symposium. It gets better every year, and I'm proud to call him my friend and fellow writing group member. Terry Brooks was the Big Kahuna Guest of Honor this year, but there were so many other talented and pleasant guests.
I didn't attend many panels this time (more on that below), but I do want to mention how much I enjoyed Geoffery Girard's presentation on "Query Letters, Pitches and Synopses." This was aimed at writers who have a novel ready or nearly ready to start pushing on an unsuspecting world of agents and editors. As Geoffery himself admits, the information and advice in his talk isn't new, and you can find it in many places. His presentation, however, was energetic, well-organized, joyful, and most importantly useful! The best part for me was the exercise of writing the infamous "elevator pitch", and then practicing it with all the other people in the room. We did this many, many times, including repetitions during which the listener purposefully interrupted your pitch with questions. Speaking for myself (and prolly most of the other students), it got easier every time. By the end of the pitch session I was very comfortable, and happy to field the interrupting questions. Great job, Geoffery! If he repeats this talk at GenCon or anywhere else, I highly recommend it.
I also attended the "What Editors Want" panel with Jim Minz of Baen Books, and Marco Palmieri of Tor, among others. I won't delve into the details, but I must repeat a quote that Jim read out loud near the end of the session. It's from Calvin Coolidge:
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
This is so flippin' true that it should always be included when printing The Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy. My life is a testimonial to this. Take it to heart!
One more little note about the Symposium. I got to meet Kameron Hurley again, and deliver my apology in person! (See my previous blog entry with her name in the title.)
Okay, the reason I didn't attend many panels was because I wanted to spend more time with Alex, and simply have fun together playing games and gawking. On that account, the trip was a complete success! I look forward to next year, but we gotta get a room closer to the con.
