Capclave 2019 - Concluding Article and Thoughts

This is my concluding article about what I learned at Capclave this year, which I’ve been coming to now for, let’s see, 9 years. It was one of the first science fiction and fantasy conventions I ever attended.

Last night, I went out to dinner with the E-Spec book staff, who I’ve become friends with at the various cons I’ve attended over the years. The co-owner of E-Spec books, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, I’ve known was a Kick-Starter maven. Over dinner I learned that she does a Kick-Starter for nearly one of their new books. She shared that her Kick-Starters typically have a modest goal of $1,000 with stretch goals. Her Kick-Starters regularly bring in far more than their goal, hitting a good number of stretch goals, which provide the backers more benefits and upgrade what they can fund through the book project.

Afterward, there was a Mass Author book signing and I went over to the E-Spec book table. I’d been sharing with Danielle’s husband, Mike McPhail, that I was rewriting one of my manuscripts after my long time editor expressed concerns over the story’s marketability unless I made changes. So, I’ve been making changes and rewriting it and am about 70% done with the rewrite. Mike reminded me that Danielle is also a freelance editor. So, I asked Danielle if she might be interested in working with me after New Year’s. One of the advantages is, Danielle had worked at Random House, and will bring a “different eye” to my project from that experience. Also, Danielle is not shy, if I’ve still any issues, she will not hold any punches—and this story is very important to me.  I can’t let how important this story is to me blind me into making emotional choices. This is a book that could be a standalone or the first book of a trilogy or series, so investing time with another editor, one I trust, would be invaluable.

Looking back at this year’s Capclave, I did some very good networking, got inspired by some of the sessions, particularly the one about Mars. I’ve done some tweaks to my novella on Mars based on that inspiration, which I think has made the story even better. The con gave me a chance to recharge, talk to friends I’ve made who love the genre as much as I do—and think about how I can better promote my books and possibly whether I should be writing more novellas. The articles I’ve written about the sessions at Capclave paint a picture about what sessions caught my fancy and offer a sort of snapshot of where the writing of sci fi and fantasy stand at the moment. What continues to be clear, it is not enough to write and rewrite. This is a business, building a fan base, promoting books, and all the rest. But none of that matters unless I and those like me write great books.

My book Triple Dare is now exclusively on Kindle and as part of my promoting the release, the paperback edition of the first book in the series, Dare 2 Believe, has come out in a second printing. The second printing of that book for Kindle as well as book two of the series, Double Dare, both came out over the summer. The Double Dare paperback second printing will be coming out in a couple of months.

Dare to Believe,

D.H.