This isn’t going to be your usual conference recap.
If I try to list names or sessions I’ll forget someone and I don’t want to risk leaving someone out or appear to play favorites. If you were there, you know who you are, and you made my third(!) HNS conference everything I dreamed it would be and more!
The weekend itself was a delightful, overwhelming blur. Many people met and re-met, many sessions attended, many ideas spawned and shaped.
I’ve not even typed up my notes yet but a few notions stand out:
Make shit up. Hammering a story arc out of Kelley and Dee’s peripatetic activities sent me down research rabbit holes that did nothing to help the story, so “permission” to focus on the fiction in historical fiction in the next book* was supremely freeing!
Do what scares you. If a project seems out of your league, you’re probably on the right track.
Say yes. To ideas, to opportunities, to something or someone you’ve not considered before. You might learn something.
Be flexible. In terms of describing your work, marketing, etc. ‘Cos my manuscript has fingers in multiple pies but doesn’t fit in any one pie tin.
Go gothic. See “be flexible” above. I always thought of “gothic” fiction as something set in the Victorian era that explored the tension between man and technology. Not so – check out these tropes. At HNS 2017 I learned I was writing historical fantasy; this year I further honed that down to gothic fiction. Makes it easier to describe this thing, that’s for damn sure!
Avoid burnout. Because I’ve been skating on the edge of it for months, and enjoy riding that edge until I hit a wall. I may turn off social media apps or designate certain times or days social media-free just for my own sanity. I may also set aside a day a week to NOT work on book-related stuff.
Stay on site, if possible. This is specific to conferences, but not just HNS. This year HNS was in my own back yard but I got a hotel room so I wouldn’t have to cut interesting conversations short to hit the road. Because guaranteed-all the really good conversation takes place after hours.
This publishing thing is incremental. I am thrilled to report that I pitched my novel and got some interest! I’ve sent pages to the relevant parties and while of course I’m hopeful I keep reminding myself: this is just a foot in the door. If it goes nowhere, that’s ok – these pitches were practice for future pitches. If this book goes nowhere, it’s ok – this book was practice for future books. If this book does get representation, that’s only one step in the long process of getting a book on shelves. It’s a cliché but overnight success is never, ever overnight.
As I type this I’m prepping for the final loop in this summer’s roller coaster: Nationals. So it’s going to take me awhile to digest everything I learned last weekend. Maybe I’ll make some headway on my to-read stack between competitions, so there’s that.
*For the next book I am going to avoid real historical figures for this reason. I’m also likely going to write the pitch/synopsis first to keep the story foremost in my mind.
I was bummed not to be able to make it this year but I’m in southern California and it’s just too pricey. It will probably be a while before it makes it back my way, too.
It’s tremendously helpful to work out your genre first (which I have only sorta done, see below). Are you familiar with the Story Grid method? They’ve got some fantastic material on genre conventions.
Interesting about historical fantasy. I have elements of both in the shapeshifter story I’m working on now, but also romance. So I don’t really know what to call it. Probably paranormal because it mostly takes place in contemporary times, though not in cities so it can’t be urban fantasy. Cross-genre is probably the best description for almost everything I write.
Have you checked out Historical Writers of America? I’m tempted by their conferences as well.
A number of people I talked to mentioned the “sticker shock”. It is an expensive conference to attend – thank goodness it’s only every 2 years! FWIW, I hear rumors that because 2017 was West Coast and this year was East, 2021 will most likely be in the Midwest somewhere.
I Googled “Story Grid” because I’d not heard about it – I will have to look further. Knowing how to tell people what the book is without adding a bunch of qualifiers is a relief!
Useful stuff! I hope we get to meet up at the next one. It’s been what … 24 years? But who’s counting?
Too long, that’s for damn sure!