Mechalarum Kickstarter Launch Party Scheduled!

Have some free time on Monday, February 25th between 6:30 and 9:00 pm? Live in or around the New York City area? Like to hang out with fun and interesting people, especially if it means getting out of the cold and enjoying a good beer?

You're invited to the launch party for my Mechalarum Kickstarter project! I've also got a special guest author friend who will be relaunching his novel, so there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about crowdfunding, writing, and the ins and outs of self-publishing.

The event is free and open to the public, and will be held at Chelsea Manor in Manhattan. For more info, check out the Eventbrite invite, or use the widget below!

Online Ticketing for Emma Larkins Kickstarter Launch Party (w/Special Bonus Guest!) powered by Eventbrite

Better Late Than Never! Upcoming Guest and Events

Okay, I know it's late, but it's still technically Wednesday! I'm in the middle of a big chunk of business travel, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Of course, Marvin over at Free Spirit would say that a writer NEVER keeps it short and sweet, but Mavin's not hear right now. Mwahaha.

My guest this week for Community Fridays will be Danielle Ackley-McPhail, marketing genius and author of the recently released book Tomorrow's Memories. If you get a chance, stop by for some great info, and say hello to Danielle!

Friday, November 21 there will be a meeting of the Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) in Greenbelt, MD. They sponsored the terrific Capcalve conference I attended recently (here's a link to next year's Capclave, if you want to plan way, way ahead!) From what I hear, the meeting coming up is pretty informal, and pretty fun. Check out the website for more info.

And of course, two weeks from now is Darkover, a.k.a. the Darkover Grand Council Meeting XXXI in Timonium, MD. Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite fantasy authors of all time, will be one of the presenters, so I'm super psyched. Only $50 for a weekend-long convention, which is not too shabby. I hope I'll be able to make it, as it's a bit of a busy time for me. At least to the Saturday events. We shall see!

Resources Round-Up for Emerging Authors and Friday's Guest

Here's a round-up of some of the good sites and posts I've come across recently. Hope you find something useful!

Also, don't forget to stop back in for Community Fridays. This week's guest is Larry Hodges, author extraordinaire and ex table-tennis coach.

Is your likelihood of getting published truly infinitesimal? Well, it depends. This article about publication by Victoria Strauss over at Writer Beware Blogs! lays out some good points. One thing that emerging authors don't always take into consideration when submitting manuscripts is whether their writing (or even just the query letter!) is really good enough to compete with the best, harsh as it may sound. Writer Beware Blogs! is also a great resource for keeping track of scams in the writing and publishing industry, such as shady agents and questionable contests. Victoria is a good resource in and of herself, if you get the lucky chance to meet her at a convention or conference!

Here are two great resource posts by author and editor Edmund Schubert over at the Side-Show Freaks blog. This post lists a bunch of basic definitions for writers, for words such as 'byline,' 'niche,' and 'SASE.' And did you know that you should include your name, phone number, email address, and snail mail address on any submission, even if it's an email/online submission? This post gives a quick run-down of submission basics.

For those emerging authors in or near the Baltimore area, the Baltimore Writers' Conference is this weekend, on November 8. I just realized I will be here on Saturday, and I won't be going to the Random House Book Fair sponsored by the Carroll County Community College in Westminster, MD, which has just been moved to March 2009. Good thing I checked! So I might go after all... although the $95 price tag is a big of a deterrent. We shall see.

Finally, a quick update on my revising and editing class with Jeffrey Roth. Class is going well. Jeffrey is engaging and knowledgeable about his subject. Kind of makes my brain want to explode, but it will all be worth it when my writing improves.

Update: My newest Emerging Authors Want To Know! post is up over at the Blood-Red Pencil Blog. This one talks about what it's like to be a published author AND a professional editor at the same time. Hope you enjoy!

Literature As A Form of Art

The main lesson I learned at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD this weekend is that there's a big difference between 'books' and 'literature.'

Here are the things I liked about the conference. Susan Cheever, the keynote speaker, did a wonderful job. She was witty, engaging, and informative. The winner of the annual award for outstanding achievement in literature, Elmore Leonard, was also a pleasure to see in action, both during a morning panel about crime fiction and during his reading. And I enjoyed the workshop with Stacy Barton, during which she gave me a new way of thinking about character development through making murals.

I think it was a good experience to attend this conference, because it was completely different from the other events I've been to. At the same time, it is not a conference that I would recommend for emerging authors.

To many, literature is an art form. Novels are meant to be broken down, analyzed, their merits judged relative to the existing body of sanctioned works. Some people are allowed into the pantheon of great literature, and others aren't. F. Scott Fitzgerald never made a living as a writer. He is remembered not for his persistence or his marketing skill or his flexibility, but for creating what is widely known as one of the greatest works of American Literature. And that's great for him, and wonderful for all the people who celebrate his work. But it's kind of depressing for emerging authors who are looking to make a living, not looking to make art. Because publishing houses, in general, aren't interested in great literature. They're looking for something that will sell.

Personally, my goal isn't to write the next Great American Novel. Instead, my goal is to give someone a thrill, fill a need, leave them satisfied once the story is over, and sad that there isn't any more. And it's hard to learn how to do that from people who want to get to the essence of the written word. To me, it's not about essence, it's about substance. Characters readers can relate to. An engaging plot. A story that's easy to follow, and easy to understand. A book that children and adults alike will finish and say, "Now that was a rousing tale!"

What are your thoughts? What, to you, is the difference between 'books' and 'literature?' Is it possible to achieve success as an author without impressing the literati?

Upcoming Events: Maryann Miller, F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference, Watermark Gallery

Coming up is another Community Fridays interview. This week's guest is Maryann Miller, author, scriptwriter, reviewer, and editorial consultant. Stop by to learn how a chance suggestion led to a successful scriptwriting career, and find a lovely little place in Texas where a writer can go to get away from it all.

This weekend I will attend the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD. The schedule for the conference is packed with events, including workshops and a presentation of the Outstanding Achievement in American Literature to author Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, The Bounty Hunters, Out of Sight, “3:10 to Yuma”).

I'm especially excited to meet the leader of the workshop From the Page to the Stage. It's hard to know where to begin to describe her: I chose the workshop in part because of her varied career experience. Stacy Barton is an author: her published works include a collection of short stories (Surviving Nashville) and a children's book (Babba and I went Hunting Today). She's also a poet, an actor, a film-maker, and a freelance scriptwriter for Disney.

Also up this weekend is another Lit and Art event at the Watermark Art Gallery. The event is titled "Rumi and More - Poetry, Music, Art and Refreshments." It will be held on Sunday, October 26 at 2:00 pm. The Gallery is located in the Bank of America building at 100 S. Charles St., Baltimore, MD. Not sure yet if I'll go to this one, but I did have an excellent time at the last event. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by!

Upcoming Event: Capclave! And Thanks to Brendan

So, next on my schedule of upcoming events is Capclave, the science fiction literary convention for the Washington, D.C. area. I really would like to go to this, because I haven't been to a science fiction/fantasy convetion yet even though fantasy is my preferred genre to read and write. Capclave is sponsored by the WSFA (Washington Science Fiction Association). The honored guests are James Morrow, multi-published author and proponent of Tolkien in schools, and Michael Dirda, a noted Pulitzer Prize winning-critic.

Despite my interest in this event, I have to say I'm a little nervous about the whole thing.

The convention is in Rockville, MD, which is about an hour and a half drive from my house. I'm not planning on getting a hotel, so that will be a lot of driving back and forth. And the schedule is packed with presentations, workshops, readings, and a slew of other activities involving well-known personalities from the industry who I do not know and will most likely embarrass myself in front of!

Excitement and fear - the perfect combination for an enlightening experience. I'd love to hear if anyone has any thoughts or experiences to share about Capclave. It would help to make me feel a little less worried!

Also, I wanted to thank Brendan for stopping by the other day and commenting on my blog post about inventing words using morphemes. Brendan is an old college friend who runs a fascinating blog about artificial intelligence and social science. He made an excellent point that I didn't really address in the post: well-known morphemes such as 'hydro' (water) are more likely to make an invented word understandable to most people. How do you find out if a morpheme adds to or detracts from your story? I suggest you test out your invented words on people and see what they say!

Lit and Art Afternoon In Baltimore

I like exploring. I haven't been traveling abroad much lately, but I'm finding that I can come across gems even in my own backyard. The Lit and Art Event that I went to yesterday turned out to be just one of those gems.

I love the idea of building and being part of communities, but I thought that internet communities would be too distant and modern for me to connect with. I was completely wrong about that! I've met many wonderful people who I may never have met in real life. In addition, my internet community has led me to some terrific real-life events such as Lit and Art (because as great as the internet is, I think we all need some face time with our friends every once in a while!)

Since I've been following the blogs/tweets/profiles of various members of the writing and publishing community in my area, I've come across many such events. I ended up attending the annual conference for the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group after looking at a calendar of events for Echelon Press Publishing. I received an email about the Stanford Engineering networking event because I'm on their email list. And I came across the information for this latest event as I was learning more about the Maryland Writer's Association, in a roundabout kind of way.

Of course, when you do something new, it never quite turns out as you expected, I ended up going to 1005 Charles Street in Baltimore instead of 100 S. Charles Street... I think I need to work on my handwriting. However, it turned out well as the woman at a cute little clothes shop at 1005 told me how to get where I wanted to be. South Charles Street is also an awesome-looking neighborhood, with restaurants and funky bars filled to the brim on a Sunday afternoon.

When I finally made it to the actual event, I was treated to some real treasures. The event was hosted in the Watermark Gallery in the Bank of America building. Manzar, the owner of the gallery, has gorgeous work displayed there. She's also a classically trained vocalist from Iran, and mesmerized us with a lovely poem/song in Farsi. Lauren Beth Eisenberg read a chapter from a book she's working on. She also encouraged me to attend meetings for the Baltimore chapter of the MWA. Erik Kestler and Rob Waldek performed on the guitar, and Nitin Jagdish read a piece of experimental fiction about a two-timing stalker. One musician even played a real-live lute! A good time was had by all. And I also received a talking-to about how I need to get my butt into gear and get my works into the hands of some agents or publishers. So it was a profitable event career-wise as well.

Have you attended a local art or writing event? I'm always open for suggestions of good ones I'm missing. And if you haven't, get to it!