Author: Beverly Bambury

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The Amazing Stories Response to the Travelling to Cons on the Cheap Guest Post

A while back, Effie Seiberg was kind enough to author a guest post for me, The Cheapskate’s Guide to SF/F cons: A Guest Post. It’s been among the more popular posts on my blog with its useful info that balances being a fan and attending cons for fun, and the all-important business-savvy advice.

Today Steve Davidson, the head honcho over at Amazing Stories, wrote about his experiences at conventions on the cheap from when he was younger and contrasted that with the modern experience. He was kind enough to mention my thought that it could be different for women to do things like crash in rooms or (gasp!) hitchhike. I really appreciated this response and the contrast with how things were before I’d ever even heard of cons. So thanks, Steve!

Anyhow: I encourage you to go take a look at his post. Thanks, as always, for reading.

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My Ad Astra 2014 Schedule

I only have a few panels this year at Ad Astra (which is in a new hotel this year–the former Polaris hotel), though I have many that I’d like to attend, and several launches and readings that are of interest. Clients Bundoran Press and the EDGE gang (Suzanne Church and Michael Martineck) are both having launch parties at the same time, so that allows for some sitcom-like fun of back-and-forth to parties! (Well. Maybe a bit.) I’ll also be going to the Guest of Honour Brunch, and hopefully will sit with Patricia Briggs.

It’s funny–I’d told someone recently that my Canadian business wasn’t that robust, but given the number of clients I’ll see this weekend, I’ve realized it’s healthier than I thought. That pleases me. 🙂

Anyhow, I am bringing coupons for my April 13th Self-Planning for Self-Promotion Web Workshop, so if you’re around ask me for a flyer. If I am out of flyers, I’ll still give you the code, because I am a very nice person. ^_^

With no further delay, here’s my official schedule. If I don’t see you here, I’ll see you around, I am sure. Looking forward to it!

Friday, April 4th, 2014

7 p.m.
Self-Promotion on the Social Media Soapbox. Along with me are Ellie Di Julio, K. V. Johansen, and Linda Poitevin. It’s in Markham A.

9 p.m.
Marketing Tips and Tricks for Self-Publishing. Along with me are Candice Lepage, Sarah WaterRaven, and Thomas Gofton. It’s in Newmarket.

Saturday, April 5th, 2014

3 p.m
Eyes on the (Literary) Prize. Along with me is Mike Rimar. Not sure if someone else will be added. It’s in Oakridges.

Bonus Fun: The Cheapskate’s Guide to SF/F Conventions

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Teacher, Teach Thyself? Lessons Learned in Marketing Myself

It’s been interesting prepping for my upcoming self-promo webinar sessions. Over the last several years I’ve learned a lot about the different types of writing. Stuff I know both practically and from my education: sales writing, business writing, formal argumentation, Facebook posts, etc. So perhaps ironic would be a better way of describing my efforts instead of interesting; because I didn’t do a very good job getting this out the door.

What happened was that I wasn’t getting nearly the number of conversions into ticket sales that I would have expected based on the even’ts page views. A couple of days ago it hit me hard: I’d left the Eventbrite page the same text as my rambling blog post. I’ve fixed it up now, but for this first session it may be too little too late.

So that’s my big lesson–more information isn’t necessarily better when it comes to sales communication. I do like a nice, dense, informative blog post, (OK. I probably could use editing there, too,) but when you’re trying to interest someone, you have to be short, punchy, and get the benefits out there first thing. I didn’t do a good job at that.

In any case, learning from mistakes is a valuable part of getting better at anything, whether it’s running a business, the craft of writing, relationships, cooking… anything. So embrace the suck, as they say, and figure out what to do better next time.

So what has been your big lesson lately? What are you doing differently these days? If you care to share, how did you realize your mistake?

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Press Release: Tesseracts 18: Wrestling with the Gods

This is the first time I’ve ever published a press release. Normally they don’t have a big place in publicizing a book; but, in this case, Tesseracts, an annual anthology of the best in Canadian speculative fiction, holds a story by my husband, James Bambury. Keep an eye out for pre-orders which should be available soon. 

Don’t worry. I’ll remind you. – Beverly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Tesseracts 18: Wrestling with Gods” edited by Liana K and Jerome Stueart 
Faith in Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology 
ISBN: 978-1-77053-068-3 (Trade Paperback 5.5″ X 8.5″) 
E-BOOK: e-ISBN: 978-1-77053-069-0 To be released April, 2015
http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/tess18/t18-catalog.html

Authors announced for the latest volume of the prestigious Canadian speculative fiction anthology series. 

(Calgary, Alberta) EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing is pleased to announce the names of the contributing authors for the forthcoming edition of the prestigious Tesseract series. 

“Tesseracts 18: Wrestling with Gods” will include works by: Robert J. Sawyer, Matthew Hughes, Alyxandra Harvey, Halli Lilburn, Derwin Mak, J.M. Frey, Steve Stanton, Megan Fennell, Jen Laface and Andrew Czarnietzki, S. L. Nickerson, John Park, Janet K. Nicolson, Suzanne M. McNabb, Allan Weiss, Savithri Machiraju, Carla Richards, Mary-Jean Harris, James Bambury, Mary Pletsch, David JĂłn Fuller, and Jennifer Rahn, Erling Friis-Baastad, David Fraser, John Bell, David Clink and Tony Pi -27 of the biggest names and brightest rising stars in Canadian science-fiction and fantasy. 

This latest volume of the Tesseracts series contains tales of creative and religious diversity – a trending topic in books and movies. The stories and poems draw from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism and the beliefs of Indigenous Canadians, (as well as actually creating faiths and religions of other worlds). 

“Any anthology that starts with a story called ‘Mecha-Jesus’ is clearly not a traditional look at religion” says EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publisher, Brian Hades. “This robotic savior is joined by the Hindu god Ganesh trying to break into Bollywood, the Sun God Ra discovering Coronation Street, a priest on Mars, a vampire in residential schools, and a woman with a secret under her hijab. ‘Tesseracts 18: Wrestling with Gods’ definitely contains many surprises!”

As in past versions of the Tesseract series, the editors are handpicked by the publisher. “Tesseracts 18: Wrestling with Gods” is edited by widely-published sci-fi/fantasy author and writing teacher Jerome Stueart — who is a gay Baptist from the Yukon Territory — and “perfect heathen” media personality Liana Kerzner — who is best known as Liana K. 

“Tesseracts 18: Wrestling with Gods” is a lively, thoughtful interfaith/interpath anthology of creative and religious diversity – with a speculative fiction and fantasy twist!

Media Contact: 
Janice Shoults, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing 
www.edgewebsite.com 
403.254.0160

ABOUT THE TESSERACTS SERIES: 

The first Tesseracts anthology was edited by Judith Merril. Since its publication in 1985, 299 authors/editors/translators and guests have contributed 502 pieces of Canadian speculative fiction, fantasy and horror for this series. Some of Canada’s best known speculative fiction writers have been published within the pages of these volumes – including Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, Robert J. Sawyer, and Spider Robinson (to name a few). Tesseracts Eighteen is the forthcoming volume in the series. The entire series includes Tesseracts One through Eighteen, plus Tesseracts Q, which features translations of works by some of Canada’s top francophone writers of science fiction and fantasy. 

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Calls for Submission #5

This week Selene MacLeod once again brings us the occasional column Calls for Submission (CfS). You can see all of the CfS columns here. Don’t forget to joint Selene’s Facebook groups 
Finally, you should sign up to receive my news and columns by email; make sure you don’t miss useful stuff in the social media shuffle!
Now here’s Selene with various calls, some with quickly-approaching deadlines! – Beverly

Greetings! I hope everyone is staying warm and looking forward to spring. I know I am!
This time around, there seems to be a proliferation of noir and crime calls, or maybe I’m just sensitive to it. So in honour, I’d like to direct you to the current open calls for crime/thriller/mystery fiction. I’m taking my first STAB (see what I did there?) at it myself, and it’s not easy.

Markets that Accept Flash Fiction: 

Pro rate-paying markets currently accepting submissions:

Semi-pro markets currently accepting submissions:

  • Primeval: A Journal of the Uncanny seeks essays and creative nonfiction (up to 5K words) related to the following: literature, music, film, television, infamous locations, and diabolical esoterica. Contributors are paid $50 and two copies. Open until filled. Send all submissions to primeval.journal@gmail.com.
  • Postscripts to Darkness has re-opened for fiction submissions for our planned 6th volume, scheduled for release in Fall 2014! “We have revised our submission guidelines somewhat, so please read them carefully if you are thinking of sending your stories for our consideration.” We pay one cent/word (Canadian, minimum payment $25) for fiction between 1500 and 4500 words. http://pstdarkness.com/submissions-2/
  • Like a Haunted Trail: Erotic Tales of the Weird Wild West. Deadline March 15, looking for erotica 3k-6k words. Pays $25.http://www.circlet.com/?p=5240
  • The 2014 issue of The Martian Wave is still looking for submissions. All stories must centre around the exploration and colonization of space. Payment is 1/2 cent per word. Send your submissions ASAP. http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/tmwguidelines.htm
  • Flapperhose. Looking for flash/short fiction up to 5,000 words (pays $0.01 per word) and poetry (2.5 cents per word). “Surreal, shadowy, sensual, satirical.” Not quite sure what that means. Quarterly, so the next deadline isn’t listed. http://flapperhouse.com/submit/
  • Weird Bard Press. Torn Pages anthology. Looking for fiction about social upheaval, 1000-5000 words. This call is extremely vague, so I assume they’ll know what they want when they see it. No vampires, zombies, werewolves, or erotica. They want stories with queer/disabled/POC/”Other” characters. Political but not soapbox. Pays $0.02 per word. Open March 1-May 31 2014.http://www.weirdbard.com/p/page-one.html

Token, royalty, and non-paying markets currently accepting submissions:

Contests:


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Self-Planning for Self-Promotion: A Book Marketing without B.S. Web Workshop

I am doing an in-depth online workshop on self-promotion for all authors and comic creators. This isn’t just for the self-published, either. If you’re published by any house, big or small, you know how much work falls to you for your own book marketing and publicity. In fact, it’s telling that my clients primarily fall in the small-to-medium publisher category, with the next largest being major publishing houses. (And yes, I have a few self-published/owner-created comics clients, too!)

Right now there are two dates: Thursday, March 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and Sunday, April 13th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (get those tickets here). I will do this again a few times a year as long as there is interest, so if you miss these, let me know what time is good for you and I will take that into consideration when I schedule the next one. (Also, if you can gather 6 or more people interested in the workshop, I’ll create another event at a time chosen by your group.)

Here is a tentative course outline:

  • Pre-Planning
    • Honestly determine your strengths and capabilities
    • Choose the right tools for you
    • CreateSpace and other print-on-demand vs. traditional printing vs. ebook-only
    • Decide whether to create a business entity or publish under your own name
  • First Steps
    • Plan and Outline
    • How far in advance to send review requests?
    • How far in advance to hire help if you are going to?
    • How to get blurbs?
    • Publicity: interviews, guest blogging
    • What about traditional media?
    • One-sheets for mailed books
    • Book trailers and other video
  • Details
    • How many and what type of targets?
    • Get your data right here!
    • Review copies: physical vs. electronic
    • Keep consistent, good records
    • What does return on investment mean in this context?
    • Social media: tips, tricks, and useful apps
  • Obstacles
    • Toughening up to criticism–or how to cope if you can’t
    • Connections and networking: more important than you think
    • Growing too fast: slow follower growth is GOOD
    • The importance of honest people
    • Self-publishing and industry respect
  • Q&A
This should all take between 90 minutes and two hours, depending on how many questions there are–and please do bring questions! Also, feel free to email me questions ahead of time if you don’t see them addressed in the outline and I’ll do my best to work them into the material.
Buy tickets here:
I look forward to meeting with you soon!
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Self-Promotion for Authors and Comic Creators Webinar Update: Timing Survey

Hi, all! I am planning that webinar on self-promotion for writers and comic creators sometime this month. It’s an update and expansion on the free talk I gave at SFContario this past fall. I plan to charge somewhere in the neighbourhood of $15 for the session, which I expect to take 1.5 to 2 hours. If you’re potentially interested in this, take this survey to help me get an idea of the best day and time to run a session. I’l consider two sessions if necessary, or even more, depending on response, so tell me what works for you and I’ll make a schedule late this week. Anyhow, here’s the survey for your radio button-clicking convenience:

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

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Calls for Submission #4

Thanks, as ever, to Selene MacLeod who brings us the occasional column Calls for Submission (CfS). You can see all of the CfS columns here. Don’t forget you can check out Selene’s Facebook groups 

Finally, don’t forget to sign up to receive my news and columns by email; make sure you don’t miss useful stuff in the social media shuffle!

Enough of me. You’re here for Selene. Enjoy! – Beverly
I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying Women in Horror Month. Be sure to check out some of the great blogs showcasing women’s horror writing. 
Because February is a month of blahs punctuated by hearts and chocolate (if you like that sort of thing), and because I’ve got the attention span of a gnat these days (hello SAD), I’d like to focus on the art of short-short fiction: flash and its various incarnates.
Markets that Accept Flash Fiction: 
Pro Paying Markets Open for Submissions:
Semi-Pro: 
Token-Paying and Royalty Markets: 
Contest:

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Self Publishing Comics Panel Report: A Guest Post by Ricky Lima

This past January there was a comics self-publishing event at PAMA (a local art gallery and historical archive). On the panel were Sanya Anwar (Site | Twitter), Ricky Lima (Facebook | Twitter), Jason Loo (Site | Twitter), and David Bishop (Facebook | Twitter).  I was unfortunately unable to make the event, so I asked Ricky to tell me about it in the form of the guest blog post you are about to read. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if there are similar events in your city you might like to report on. 

Bishop, Loo, Anwar, Lima (L-R)
Photo credit: Stadium Comics

Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archive is hosting an exhibit dedicated to graphic story telling. The gallery has an awesome collection of original pages from True Patriot which is a comic anthology focused around Canadian stories and superheroes. To go along with the exhibit PAMA  organized a couple of panels and workshops about the comic industry. I was asked to run a panel on independent comic self publishing. I gathered a jolly crew of fellow self-publishers and we spoke to a crowd intent on independently creating comics. David Bishop, Jason Loo, Sanya Anwar, and I split the panel into four categories: inception, creation, production, and marketing.


Inception

In this first segment we discussed how a creator gets their ideas. It was interesting to note that creators can’t create in a bubble: everything we talked about was inspired by something else. Sanya’s book 1001 is inspired by the old story of Prince Ali Baba, and Jason’s webcomic is an expansion on the Star Wars universe. All the panelists made it clear that it is important for a creator to consume everything they possibly can so they can learn as much as possible. As strictly a writer I’ve always been told that I should be reading 24/7. While I think that is true, I feel that it’s a little misguided in that the scope is too narrow. As a creator you should be consuming 24/7. Not just reading, not just looking at art, but consume everything you enjoy, and sometimes things you don’t in various. This way you’ll be a well-rounded creator with a fresh perspective for any medium.

Creation

The next portion focused on techniques people use to get the work done. It all boiled down to, “Just do it!” The panel agreed that creators often get caught up in their own head and don’t actually get anything done. World building is great and thinking up every single detail can be beneficial, but there reaches a point where thinking about it simply won’t do. David explained to us how he had a very specific time for creating. He wakes up super early before work and makes comics for an hour or two. Everyone’s process is different but the most important thing to remember is that if you’re not doing it, it’s not getting done.

Production

The most technical portion of the panel was when we talked about production. When getting things printed it’s very important to understand what technical terms like “bleed” and “CMYK” are before you begin (FYI: Bleed is the area around a page that will be cut off, and CMYK is a method of blending colours. Computer screens use RGB and printers use CMYK, this creates a slight difference in colour from screen to paper). Different printing houses were discussed as well, major recommendations were given to Toronto’s Guerrilla Printing and Houston’s LithoNinja. Printing comics can get pretty expensive so it’s important to find a printer that has prices that fit your budget.

Marketing

Finally we discussed how to market our books. In comics we’re lucky because we have such a great support group of comic conventions that allow us to meet people interested in comics and picking up our books. Cons are the lifeblood of an indie creator and should be used to their full potential. At a con you can create a lifelong fan and repeat customers. From there, thanks in part to social media, you can connect with them and build the relationship. In the comic industry we’re also lucky that a sizable portion of our audience are digital natives (i.e. people born during the internet age, so they are completely comfortable with digital reading). The internet is an extremely useful tool in connecting with fans all across the world and should be used effectively and consistently. Personally marketing is my personal favourite part of the comic game because it allows me to meet the people who are reading my book and ask them what they think. I love hearing what people think and seeing how they react to the book and if they have an feedback that’s even better. Our book grows through feedback. 
The self publishing panel held at the lovely PAMA building was informative for all. The panelists and myself stayed after for a couple of hours to answer people’s questions. I met a ton of cool people in Brampton who are longing to do amazing things. To me that’s the most important part of any city: people with ideas. I like to think that the self publishing panel inspired some of those people to go out and get things done. I know seeing people so excited inspired me to continue doing cool things and getting my work done.

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Winners Announced!

Thanks once again to everyone who entered and who shared and tweeted. Your support is fantastic and I couldn’t do this without you. This has also been a great chance to promote my non-publicity campaign services, of which there are many you can see here. Some of my favourites are social media planning and coaching, and copy editing, and even though it’s not officially on the list, I enjoy critique as well. It’s likely to end up on the list at some point. So please contact me and ask about these other services. I can work with any budget, so don’t be shy.

Anyhow! here are the three winners:

Karina Sumner-Smith Site | Twitter
Jessica Meddows Site | Twitter
Teri Kline Twitter (and yes, I know the name on the Twitter account doesn’t match this. ;))

I have been in touch with all of them, and it is my hope that I can help them and also have some fun in the process.

I know many of you joined the email list to enter the contest. I hope you’ll stay, but if not, you should be able to unsubscribe easily from the next email you get, or if you’re in a hurry contact me and I’ll take care of it for you.

Coming tomorrow, a guest post about a local self-publishing in comics panel, and next week it’s back to regularly scheduled programming!