This was a day of high emotions.<\/p>\n
Again, Melissa and I rose from our bed early. \u00a0We made our preparations for the day, then went downstairs to catch a shuttle to the convention center. \u00a0The smell of smoke was already in the air.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure what happened with the shuttle. \u00a0We arrived right at 8AM, and waited almost half an hour, but never saw it. \u00a0It either came and left early, or was off to a late start. \u00a0Since I needed to be at the pitching session by 9AM, we left on foot, and once again walked the streets of Spokane.<\/p>\n
When I signed up for the pitching session, I didn’t realize what I was signing up for. \u00a0Thursday, I’d gone to the desk for the Kaffee Klatche signups, and the woman behind the desk said that if I filled in one of two sheets that were close to full, she could put the sheet away and make more room on the desk. \u00a0I obliged, scribbling my name on the bottom of the pitching sheet, thinking that I was going to go to a session where I’d learn how to pitch my book.<\/p>\n
That’s not quite what it was. \u00a0I mean, I could learn how to pitch my book, but it was via pitching my book to an actual agent. \u00a0I discovered this just before getting there.<\/p>\n
I started off nervous, and feeling like I shouldn’t be there. \u00a0The online information about the panel stated that some of the work should have been sent in advance. \u00a0Since I hadn’t done that, I felt like at any moment, a couple of burly security guys would come in, haul me up by my belt and collar, and throw me out with the words, “And you’ll never work in this town again!”<\/p>\n
Those fears were a bit exaggerated and misplaced. \u00a0Instead, I wound up sitting down\u00a0with John Berlyne<\/a>, a man that I’ve seen at several WorldCons, and that I’ve admired. \u00a0His<\/a>\u00a0name<\/a>\u00a0has<\/a>\u00a0appeared<\/a>\u00a0on<\/a>\u00a0this blog before. \u00a0To put it mildly, I have a great deal of respect for him. \u00a0In addition to being nervous about pitching my novel, I was a little bit star struck.<\/p>\n I did my best. \u00a0I told him about The Repossessed Ghost<\/em> and he listened and gave me some tips and advice. \u00a0He said it sounds marketable, derivative in the good way, and that I should send it (not necessarily to him) when it’s ready. \u00a0He talked about how urban fantasy had its heyday, but is now on the decline. \u00a0There were a few other things he said, but I didn’t have the mental fortitude to retain it all that well.<\/p>\n I thanked him, gathered up my stuff, and left. \u00a0Melissa rejoined me, and we stepped outside. \u00a0I was wound up tight, my emotions running like an engine in the red. \u00a0I calmed down quickly, and Melissa and I were able to move on to the next thing.<\/p>\n Keep in my mind that when I say that I was emotionally charged, it has nothing to do with acceptance or rejection. \u00a0The experience had nothing to do with that. \u00a0This had more to do with presenting something unprepared to one of my heroes. \u00a0It’s the real life equivalent to the dream where you’re on stage, and you don’t know your lines. \u00a0Or you arrive at class, where there’s a test you haven’t studied for.<\/p>\n From the pitch session, Melissa and I made our way to the\u00a0first panel we’d be attending that\u00a0day. \u00a0It started off reasonably well, but then went off the rails. \u00a0The moderator was not prepared, recovering from partying the night before, and she said some things that turned Melissa and I off. \u00a0I have some notes, which I’ll post at a later time.<\/p>\n A little bit peeved, we prepared to go to the next panel. \u00a0Only, there were two events I jotted down that I wanted to attend. \u00a0I wound up convincing Melissa to go to one, which I knew she’d enjoy, and I went to one I was interested in, that I thought might help me decide the course of my writing career. \u00a0Melissa went to hear George Martin and Robert Silverberg talk, while I went to learn whether or not I should self-publish, or go the traditional publishing route.<\/p>\n Again, I’ll post the notes to the panel later. \u00a0It was okay. \u00a0Not fantastic, but it did end with a question which I think has me decided. \u00a0That is: Do you want to have control over selling your books, and manage all the aspects of the business of your writing, or do you want someone else to sell your books, leaving you to just write stories?<\/p>\n Put that way, it’s easy: I just want to write stories.<\/p>\n Melissa and I met up for hot dogs. \u00a0We ran into Andrea Stewart<\/a>\u00a0and sat with her, and enjoyed lunch together. \u00a0That was nice, for a couple of reasons. \u00a0One, Andrea is a really cool person, and is in my local writing group. \u00a0For another, the next item on our agenda was attending her reading, so as long as we were sitting together, we weren’t going to miss her event.<\/p>\n Andrea’s reading was fantastic. \u00a0She gave Melissa a copy of her book, and after the reading, Melissa told me how much she wants to read the rest of the story Andrea read to us. \u00a0That was really nice.<\/p>\n