Readercon Reflections
Jul. 16th, 2024 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jajalalaI had a packed weekend going to ReaderCon, a speculative fiction convention. This year I didn't have my roommate, as I had during most cons, but that was okay. I did have a buddy nearby who I drove along with myself to the convention on Friday and Saturday. Unlike last year, I ended up skipping Sunday because I had a ton of other things I needed to catch up on this weekend. Still, there was a lot to enjoy!
As per usual my eating habits were chaotic. There's not really built-in long breaks in the structure of the con, I think it's assumed you'll take a timeslot off to have your meal... but ahahah I wanted to go to so many panels that I did a lot of shoveling a few bites in my mouth or having a granola bar in the ~10 min between panels. I briefly met a few lovely people, got some recs and books, and have plenty of thoughts!
Warning as always I am long-winded as hell, so many things are put under cuts etc, feel free to skip around bc there are MANY thoughts :D.
SO MANY FUN PANELS! I can't talk about all of them or I'll be here all day, but I want to group and discuss a couple of different panel categories.
Fun Invigorating Ones!
Iconic Characters and Works in the Public Domain
Since 2019, things have finally been going into the public domain! I expected this talk to be mostly referencing and chatting about specific works people are excited to go into public domain, but it actually ended up more about the idea of public domain itself and the history/purpose of copyright in an intriguing way.
A point I'll highlight is that the current long copyright means SO MUCH is lost in the public domain INCLUDING current culture. Things may lose cultural relevancy over time, and even though it could have been "made modern" and become ingrained in public consciousness if it had become public domain while relevant, the long copyright means these things are "frozen" in a certain state for so long that people may forget about them. Also good points on how corporations TAKE public domain, repackage them, and then hoard them--Specifically especially Disney taking public fairytales for free and then clinging onto them to squeeze money out of the public they took them from. Copyright there is not about protecting creatives but instead about accruing wealth.
There was a good note at the end that creators can CHOOSE to release copyright early if they want! Might be a good idea in some cases, especially since children do not always take good care of inherited rights.
Fanfic Writers Going Pro
Ahaha of course I had to go to this one, as a fanfic writer myself! I had some good chatting with the fellow attendees in the room beforehand too. Fanfiction is very much its own community and it IS driving certain trends in the original work market as well. It was invigorating to be in a fandom space and to hear about the ways in which those communities have built authors.
There was some thoughtful discussion on authors being more or less public about their fanfic identities. Some connect them openly, some are unidirectional (usually the fanfic account says "Hey, I have a professional writing career, here it is!" but the professional writing accounts make no mention of the fanfic account), and some may admit to having written/posted fanfic but absolutely will not share the specific accounst. Different people on the panel had their own thoughts - it seemed older authors lean towards NOT connecting the fanfic identity at all, probably driven by how it used to be more taboo. Nowadays things are more open. One of the panelists was the owner of Duck Prints Press, who explicitly tend to publish original works from fanfic communities, and they talked about how they have this discussion on connecting AO3-Professional account with every author they work with so the author is aware of all the risks that come from that (especially in regards to harassment campaigns and doxxing for certain types of work on AO3).
Publishers and their relationship to fanfic writers in general was discussed--used to want nothing to do with it and recommend authors pull any published fanfic away from the internet, but nowadays are ambivalent OR see it as a reach/marketing opportunity. Like "Oh you have this many followers from posting fanfic? Built-in potential audience". And of course there are publishers who will publish fanfic with the serial numbers filed off--but panelists noted that this is often done for STRAIGHT stories specifically (AKA Edward/Bella, Kylo/Rey).
The term "id vortex" was also used to help describe some characteristics common in fanficcers-writing-pro: The works often dig down to the bottom of the writer's psyche/motivation. I love that term.
Good BIPOC Perspective Panels
There were several panels that were expressly focused on topics relating to race, culture, colonization, and how all of that affects storytelling. A few intriguing points that I will attempt to summarize for my own memory:
Realism is a particular set of narrative conventions, but modern-day people tend to use it like "Well if the story is REALISTIC (read - adheres to my worldview) then it's GOOD." Who decides what is "realistic"? The colonizer allows a story where god/Christianity plays a role to be deemed "realistic", while a latin-American story that invokes spirituality gets binned into "magical realism". It also pushes forth the idea that there IS a "single truth" of a story, rather than recognizing that multiple stories/perspectives/narratives can contradict each other and yet still be true.
Aside from that, eople have been telling fantastical stories with magic and more since forever, the idea that a story must be "accurate to 'real life'" is a very modern notion.
Alternate Storytelling - Lots of cool talk on this and the way that storytelling takes many more forms than the written narrative. TTRPGs were mentioned as a form of collaborative storytelling. TikTok and the many, MANY ways that young people are using the tech for their own unique forms of storytelling was mentioned as well--along with the implicit issues with how the platform itself squashes or censors certain types of people and stories. There's a push/pull between those who own the means by which stories can spread etc. and those who are producing the stories, and those pressures can affect the stories themselves (for example finding ways to play or avoid the algorithm).
African futures - This is a shorter note, but there was some fascinating talk on Afrofuturism and other genres such as Afrosurrealism. Along the way, panelists compared stories about black people staying in Africa vs. those who were enslaved and taken elsewhere (such as America), and how different stories result if a creator is yearning for that "pure" Africa and trying to envision what it would've been without colonization (Wakanda-style), and those who are engaging with the diaspora that persevered and lived so that black people today descended from them exist.
Communities that still exist! And not to mention plenty of these cultures that are relegated to "the past" in popular culture (such as indigenous populations and certain African communities) are not really gone--the people are still around! They can still be telling their cultures stories and histories, and they exist RIGHT NOW in the current world and modern context.
Non-monoliths - This was especially discussed on a contact specifically about colonization and "first contact" between different communities, especially between European colonizers and indigenous American communities. Colonization bad, yes, but it's not a perfect straightforward story. Some individual interactions may have been good/supportive, some indigenous communities may have allied with Europeans to drive away enemy indigenous communities ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend"), some indigenous communities owned slaves. Though we shouldn't put rose-colored glasses on, it's also unwise to treat communities as a monolith. Writing specific individuals and specific stories that explore one particular facet thoroughly will always allow for more nuance than referencing a culture as a monolith and implicitly or explicitly claiming that "everyone in that group is like [x]!"
As a white person I hesitate to write about or reference BIPOC or other cultures at times since I worry about "doing it wrong", but avoidance gets one nowhere. I've read various thoughts online that tend to be complaints about specific tropes, but these panels had intriguing and in-depth discussions that gave me plenty food for thought. Also lots of reading recs!
Business-oriented
I'm a business lover at heart. Writing/reading stories are fun and all, but I cannot deny a fascination with the industry itself and the market forces at play. I gravitate towards panels that are likely to touch on that, both to keep an eye on things for my dear roommate who recently published a book and is interested in publishing more, and for myself in case I end up deciding to take any of my writing down the publishing route.
Audiobook Panels
There were SEVERAL panels focused on audiobooks, and I tried to go to all of them. I have to confess: I actually don't ever listen to audiobook, but I enjoy narrating and am a hobby podficcer, and so I wanted to see what I could carry from the professional to fandom realm. It ended up being pretty business-oriented, but I also loved that for the sake of keeping an eye on things relevant to my roommate. She published a book last year through an indie publisher, and we've idly thought about "yo what if I made an audiobook?".
After going to the panels, including a thorough breakdown on production and distribution, I think I'm at a level where it would not be a good idea for me to do an official audiobook for her. Although her small publisher definitely isn't going to do an audiobook with their resources, I think one of the big benefits of being officially published is that they were able to like, give her book a proper professional treatment that brought the whole presentation of it to a level that feels like "Oh, this is a BOOK!" that sets a really good impression (like great cover, formatting, typesetting etc!). I think I'd be better at narrating and producing than the average layperson, but I'm certainly nowhere NEAR a professional level, both in equipment and skills, and I wouldn't want to give people a bad impression by putting out a product that uses her beautiful words in a subpar way. I've podficced her fanfiction before and would do it again, but I don't think I'd be an ideal official audiobook narrator (UNOFFICIAL though?... I would do it for fun and share on the down-low with people interested, tho contract/copyright would have to be navigated).
Still, if she ever wants to pursue a professional audiobook, I know a lot more about the business (and how contracting or something might work!) and kind of want to review her contract to see if audiobook is written about explicitly in there XD.
One final silly note on the audio panels... there was one that was Audiobook Live Narration. I went since I had been to other Audiobook panels and had such a great time at those other ones... but alas, I rediscovered WHY I don't listen to audiobooks. My brain struggles SO hard to hold onto audio text. I can do music, but narration? OOF goes in one ear and out the other. For some of the stories/narration, I started zoning out and couldn't hold on to any information or connect it.
However, for one or two of the narrators, I was able to hold attention? I don't know exactly how, if it was the cadence or the articulation or the stories themselves, but I was able to recall what the story was about by the end. It makes me wonder if I should give audiobooks another try, but look for narrators/stories that have more of those characteristics. I might try out a romance audiobook or something with a low-jargon plot narrated by a moderately expressive female voice at some point to see if I can get into audiobooks.
Striking the Right Genre Balance
This panel had some delicious food for thought not just in the genre, but also the marketing department. Though there was critique on the restrictions of genre forced by marketing, there were also positives about how it DOES help readers sort out the MASSIVE amount of books out there to decide what they'll enjoy reading. I love a talk that acknowledges that business is not all just pure money-scheming or whatever; it CAN be mutually beneficial to the distributor/producer and consumer--when you market a good book the right way, a lot of people who will enjoy the book get to enjoy it!
On the writing/crafting side, there was a lot of discussion on the "promises" that genres make--for example, romance NEEDS a Happily Ever After of some sort, or the reader will feel betrayed and like they wasted their time. At first people said sci-fi/fantasy is much broader than romance and doesn't have as stringent of a promise so readers are more forgiving, but someone from the audience brought up "If you read a whole epic Brandon Sanderson fantastical adventure and get to the end and see: 'He woke up, it was all just a dream!' then sci-fi fantasy people are gonna feel VERY betrayed!"
However when a rugpull and "breaking" a genre promise is the goal, panelists discussed two things that work: One, shorter stories where there's less investment and so it's more like an exciting surprise instead of a wasted investment (lots of short sci-fi stories with a Big Twist ending), or two: CLUE THE READER in some way at the very beginning that this is NOT going to adhere perfectly to the genre, so if they don't think they'll like that they have a clue and can get out, or generally they can anticipate something will go unexpected.
There was also a differentiation between Setting Genres (sci-fi, western) and Plot Genres (Romance, mystery - it's characterized by certain expected arcs and plot points). Mixing a setting and plot genre tend to meseh well (Sci-fi mystery! Cowboy romance!) but things get more complicated when you mix within the same type (A sci-fi western is rare (not impossible! Firefly), a romance mystery is tricky).
When it came to all the various mixes of genres, one of the panelists made a very good point about how to handle all of them: To try to always fulfill the promise made by the genre. So if you have three genres going on, that's three promises to fulfill! Complicated, but doable.
What Does RWA Have That We Don't?"
I'll admit I don't know a ton about writing associations, so although this panel assumed some knowledge I ended up picking it up along the way. RWA=Romance Writers of America and SFWA=Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association. RWA used to be a powerhouse, but around 2019-2020 there was a bunch of scandal involving institutional racism and some other things that led to a LOT of people/groups drawing out and they recently declared bankruptcy. Still, used to be a powerhouse.
When they described RWA I was amazed! Especially when it comes to the business/crafting side of things. RWA chapters would hold local writing groups and events and even local conferences, and apparently the larger RWA conferences were a powerhouse which could include talks that go over real, hard numbers, like literal spreadsheets on the screen to talk about how to budget the writing business, what techniques people use to increase word output, etc etc... Real practical advice on how to actually write as a JOB. Alongside that apparently RWA often paid or otherwise got agents/publishers/editors to join these conferences so that people who attended had opportunities to pitch and chat with them.
Of course, romance itself is a powerhouse in books--the market itself is WAY bigger than SFF and there's more money changing hands as a result of that. The RWA conventions are also very much FOR writers and the publishing industry, whereas things like ReaderCon or Boskone are more put on by fans and tend to celebrate the works they admire. Though I suppose the SFWA convention equivalent is probably the Nebula conference, though I have never attended that and can't speak to what those are like, but the other panelists weren't jumping in to claim "Oh Nebula has those sorts of things too!"
Beyond that though there seemed to be really strong mentorship in RWA where local chapters were pretty involved, some panelists remarked on really good experiences getting taught from a very beginner level by the people at their local chapters. It didn't sound like SFWA had quite as organized of a system.
All of this was not without critique of course, and RWA did apparently fall apart in a messy way. They talked about the pitfalls and came to a conclusion a lot of it was about inclusivity vs exclusivity. A lot of the RWA woes included people in leadership trying to tighten the belt on what was considered "Romance" - "It must be between a man and woman, no sci-fi/fantasy elements, no 'forced diversity'", and when people tried to draw these circles to exclude people that's what could lead to the org cannibalizing itself as more and more people end up leaving. It's not even just a matter of "We've never considered these works as part of this", but more like "We're seeing a lot of people writing these works and have decided to exclude them bc it doesn't fit OUR idea of what the genre is" like... one panelist shared that they started in RWA as part of a group that specialized in "Romance with speculative elements" or something like that, that gave room for stories that were romantic but also based in some fantastical. Unfortunately, the rules themselves changed and this person became excluded from the writing community which had previously nurtured and taught them how to be a writer.
SFWA isn't a perfect inclusive land either though, they talked about how the inclusion of poetry as part of the SFWA membership writing minimums has been variable. (For context bc I did not know this before: A lot of these groups will have a particular "minimum" publications required to qualify for certain membership tiers, and it's sometimes stringent about the kind of work and publishers those are). Sometimes it's been allowed, other times no, often depending on the leadership and board at the time. The current stringency of the requirements means that membership is low. RWA at it's peek was at like 10,000 members, while SFWA is around 3,000 members. Less people means less negotiating power.
Some panelists, I think all of whom were SFF writers, literally admitted that they never joined or allowed their SFWA membership to lapse bc they were like "...What could it actually do for us?" Unlike RWA where it came with a lot of opportunities, workshops, connections, it seemed like the vibe around SFWA was more like "Well maybe I'll pay my dues like a union so that this group can help negotiate and protect writers like me". Though by the end of the panel, some panelists said they were going to renew based on what some other panelists said about recent invigoration and changes in leadership.
All of this was FASCINATING to me as someone who is very much not part of any professional writing group. I'm in the very small pond of some random weekly writer's group I like to go to each week, and I'm looking at these huge intricate networks with nonprofit status and conferences and so on like... "Oooh that looks complicated as hell, but I'm intrigued."
I'm certainly not publishing anytime soon, but I feel invigorated to engage a bit more deeply with my current writer's group. We're kind of a co-writing space more than anything else, but I've been chatting with a few key members and may be exchanging writing critiques with them at some point, which I feel like would be exciting. I'm of course also in the fanfic community space! Which is its own sort of network. Overall the POWER of networking and organization came through in the talk, and it's making me want to engage with the groups I AM in a little more.
Honestly I don't think there were any panels I went to that I though were bad, but there is one thing that came up a lot which I hated: A LOT of the panels ended up having sections about AI. There were two panels explicitly focused on AI, one oriented towards the "good" side, the other towards the "bad" side. I avoided both those panels bc I'm sick and tired of hearing about it, but it permeated a lot of other panels. Although I think it's fair that it DOES affect many areas, it could get VERY preachy very fast with certain panelists or audience members just going on and ON about various talking points that weren't always relevant, or the topic of the panel started getting eclipsed by the AI issue in a way that became rapidly tangential. It's such a hot-topic issue that people are prone to rants and agitation about it.
I started the con like "Okay my goal is to maybe buy a book while I'm there!"... I ended up getting a lot more ahaha.
Stand Where You're Afraid by D.V. Morse
This is a little novella that was left on the "free books" table, featuring werewolf/vampire F/F romance. As someone who's also currently writing werewolf/vampire F/F, I had to pick it up. It was a nice small size that meant I was able to finish it during various breaks during the con. Overall it was nice, fun werewolf and vampire worldbuilding. The romance was a little insta-love, though in the novella size that makes sense. It wasn't a life-changing narrative, but kept my attention. It seems to be self-published, but the author notes mention that she has published with Duck Prints Press, which I was like "OH I recognize them!" (from Boskone, and they had a table again at this convention as well).
Sex Bunker Apocalypse 2 + 3 by Adam Brink
I got the first book of this series at Boskone earlier this year and LOVED it! So I've been desperately waiting for ReaderCon with hope that the author or his books would be there, and fortunately one of the bookshops was carrying it. I'm excited to check out this continuation! The first went by pretty quick, but these two look a little longer, so I'm curious to see how they end up.
Endurance by Elaine Burns
Now TECHNICALLY I bought this before the con, but it was because the author mentioned her book on the ReaderCon discord, and I got intrigued by sci-fi F/F. I have started reading it, and am enjoying it so far. It's pretty thorough with the science and cultural stuff, and there's some good tension, but I'm early on enough that I can't predict where it's going yet.
Translation State by Ann Leckie
My roomie literally JUST mentioned how she's been looking for this book, and personally I loved Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice series, so when I saw this in one of the bookshops I figured "Why not buy a copy?" It's probably going to be awhile before I read it tho.
The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah
This is a little paperback Star Trek novel from the 1980s. There's a particular bookshop that specializes I think in used works that always has cool older novels priced deliciously low. They had a whole several drawers of various Star Trek novels, and since my girlfriend likes those, I decided to pick one up. Although I had a broad sense of what she liked (Original series, anything Spock-related), there were SO many choices and I ended up texting her the cover of this just in case before buying it and she was like "!! That's a famous book" and wanted it. So I'm happy I was able to choose correctly for her!
Chicks in Chainmail Edited by Esther Friesner
I really love the cute pocket paperback format, so I poked at some others until this book from the 90s caught my eye. It's got one of those classic sexy covers with a woman in chainmail showing off a little skin, but there's a dead guy in the background, and it kind of has Xena vibes. It seems to be a collection of stories themed around satirizing the sexism of fantasy stories at the time and pushing forward powerful women in chainmail. I'm excited to read it! It's always interesting to see purposefully feminist works of the past and seeing what sorts of things have or haven't changed since they were created. It also looks like it'll just be a fun time :D.
I was really impressed with the amount of masking everyone was doing! The community that goes to these conventions trends on the older side and may have medical conditions, so I was really happy things were secured in a way that those people are able to stay involved while minimizing risks.
I feel like masking is so much less common now, and especially it's not enforced in most event spaces. The place I go swingdancing used to enforce masks back in 2022 or so, but since has relaxed those rules... and a few weeks ago had a BIG breakout of cases. Conventions especially I think are natural super-spreader events, so I love an organization that is being very forward and emphasizing that they do NOT want to be spreading COVID-19 or other respiratory diseases when having big events that draw people from all over.
Though some people like to complain about masks, as someone who has swing-danced in a K95 in 90 degree weather... I found that wearing my mask while sitting around in an air-conditioned convention space was a negligible effort that makes me feel more secure for myself AND for the people who I shared spaces with.
Super fun! Much like last year though, I wish I had made a bit more of an effort to socialize more and meet some people. I talked to a few, but it's hard to connect in between panels. My buddy I went with is VERY sociable and has been to a lot of these so she was fluttering about saying hello to all sorts of people, but I'm not at that level yet haha. I actually did see some people from the writing group I attend, and reconnected with one enough to be invited to her OTHER writing group. I'm very busy atm, but I'm hoping to check out that writing group in a few months or something.
And I'm hoping to attend again next year! My buddy who introduced me to these was right, Boskone and ReaderCon are both great times!
As per usual my eating habits were chaotic. There's not really built-in long breaks in the structure of the con, I think it's assumed you'll take a timeslot off to have your meal... but ahahah I wanted to go to so many panels that I did a lot of shoveling a few bites in my mouth or having a granola bar in the ~10 min between panels. I briefly met a few lovely people, got some recs and books, and have plenty of thoughts!
Warning as always I am long-winded as hell, so many things are put under cuts etc, feel free to skip around bc there are MANY thoughts :D.
SO MANY FUN PANELS! I can't talk about all of them or I'll be here all day, but I want to group and discuss a couple of different panel categories.
Fun Invigorating Ones!
Iconic Characters and Works in the Public Domain
Since 2019, things have finally been going into the public domain! I expected this talk to be mostly referencing and chatting about specific works people are excited to go into public domain, but it actually ended up more about the idea of public domain itself and the history/purpose of copyright in an intriguing way.
A point I'll highlight is that the current long copyright means SO MUCH is lost in the public domain INCLUDING current culture. Things may lose cultural relevancy over time, and even though it could have been "made modern" and become ingrained in public consciousness if it had become public domain while relevant, the long copyright means these things are "frozen" in a certain state for so long that people may forget about them. Also good points on how corporations TAKE public domain, repackage them, and then hoard them--Specifically especially Disney taking public fairytales for free and then clinging onto them to squeeze money out of the public they took them from. Copyright there is not about protecting creatives but instead about accruing wealth.
There was a good note at the end that creators can CHOOSE to release copyright early if they want! Might be a good idea in some cases, especially since children do not always take good care of inherited rights.
Fanfic Writers Going Pro
Ahaha of course I had to go to this one, as a fanfic writer myself! I had some good chatting with the fellow attendees in the room beforehand too. Fanfiction is very much its own community and it IS driving certain trends in the original work market as well. It was invigorating to be in a fandom space and to hear about the ways in which those communities have built authors.
There was some thoughtful discussion on authors being more or less public about their fanfic identities. Some connect them openly, some are unidirectional (usually the fanfic account says "Hey, I have a professional writing career, here it is!" but the professional writing accounts make no mention of the fanfic account), and some may admit to having written/posted fanfic but absolutely will not share the specific accounst. Different people on the panel had their own thoughts - it seemed older authors lean towards NOT connecting the fanfic identity at all, probably driven by how it used to be more taboo. Nowadays things are more open. One of the panelists was the owner of Duck Prints Press, who explicitly tend to publish original works from fanfic communities, and they talked about how they have this discussion on connecting AO3-Professional account with every author they work with so the author is aware of all the risks that come from that (especially in regards to harassment campaigns and doxxing for certain types of work on AO3).
Publishers and their relationship to fanfic writers in general was discussed--used to want nothing to do with it and recommend authors pull any published fanfic away from the internet, but nowadays are ambivalent OR see it as a reach/marketing opportunity. Like "Oh you have this many followers from posting fanfic? Built-in potential audience". And of course there are publishers who will publish fanfic with the serial numbers filed off--but panelists noted that this is often done for STRAIGHT stories specifically (AKA Edward/Bella, Kylo/Rey).
The term "id vortex" was also used to help describe some characteristics common in fanficcers-writing-pro: The works often dig down to the bottom of the writer's psyche/motivation. I love that term.
Good BIPOC Perspective Panels
There were several panels that were expressly focused on topics relating to race, culture, colonization, and how all of that affects storytelling. A few intriguing points that I will attempt to summarize for my own memory:
Realism is a particular set of narrative conventions, but modern-day people tend to use it like "Well if the story is REALISTIC (read - adheres to my worldview) then it's GOOD." Who decides what is "realistic"? The colonizer allows a story where god/Christianity plays a role to be deemed "realistic", while a latin-American story that invokes spirituality gets binned into "magical realism". It also pushes forth the idea that there IS a "single truth" of a story, rather than recognizing that multiple stories/perspectives/narratives can contradict each other and yet still be true.
Aside from that, eople have been telling fantastical stories with magic and more since forever, the idea that a story must be "accurate to 'real life'" is a very modern notion.
Alternate Storytelling - Lots of cool talk on this and the way that storytelling takes many more forms than the written narrative. TTRPGs were mentioned as a form of collaborative storytelling. TikTok and the many, MANY ways that young people are using the tech for their own unique forms of storytelling was mentioned as well--along with the implicit issues with how the platform itself squashes or censors certain types of people and stories. There's a push/pull between those who own the means by which stories can spread etc. and those who are producing the stories, and those pressures can affect the stories themselves (for example finding ways to play or avoid the algorithm).
African futures - This is a shorter note, but there was some fascinating talk on Afrofuturism and other genres such as Afrosurrealism. Along the way, panelists compared stories about black people staying in Africa vs. those who were enslaved and taken elsewhere (such as America), and how different stories result if a creator is yearning for that "pure" Africa and trying to envision what it would've been without colonization (Wakanda-style), and those who are engaging with the diaspora that persevered and lived so that black people today descended from them exist.
Communities that still exist! And not to mention plenty of these cultures that are relegated to "the past" in popular culture (such as indigenous populations and certain African communities) are not really gone--the people are still around! They can still be telling their cultures stories and histories, and they exist RIGHT NOW in the current world and modern context.
Non-monoliths - This was especially discussed on a contact specifically about colonization and "first contact" between different communities, especially between European colonizers and indigenous American communities. Colonization bad, yes, but it's not a perfect straightforward story. Some individual interactions may have been good/supportive, some indigenous communities may have allied with Europeans to drive away enemy indigenous communities ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend"), some indigenous communities owned slaves. Though we shouldn't put rose-colored glasses on, it's also unwise to treat communities as a monolith. Writing specific individuals and specific stories that explore one particular facet thoroughly will always allow for more nuance than referencing a culture as a monolith and implicitly or explicitly claiming that "everyone in that group is like [x]!"
As a white person I hesitate to write about or reference BIPOC or other cultures at times since I worry about "doing it wrong", but avoidance gets one nowhere. I've read various thoughts online that tend to be complaints about specific tropes, but these panels had intriguing and in-depth discussions that gave me plenty food for thought. Also lots of reading recs!
Business-oriented
I'm a business lover at heart. Writing/reading stories are fun and all, but I cannot deny a fascination with the industry itself and the market forces at play. I gravitate towards panels that are likely to touch on that, both to keep an eye on things for my dear roommate who recently published a book and is interested in publishing more, and for myself in case I end up deciding to take any of my writing down the publishing route.
Audiobook Panels
There were SEVERAL panels focused on audiobooks, and I tried to go to all of them. I have to confess: I actually don't ever listen to audiobook, but I enjoy narrating and am a hobby podficcer, and so I wanted to see what I could carry from the professional to fandom realm. It ended up being pretty business-oriented, but I also loved that for the sake of keeping an eye on things relevant to my roommate. She published a book last year through an indie publisher, and we've idly thought about "yo what if I made an audiobook?".
After going to the panels, including a thorough breakdown on production and distribution, I think I'm at a level where it would not be a good idea for me to do an official audiobook for her. Although her small publisher definitely isn't going to do an audiobook with their resources, I think one of the big benefits of being officially published is that they were able to like, give her book a proper professional treatment that brought the whole presentation of it to a level that feels like "Oh, this is a BOOK!" that sets a really good impression (like great cover, formatting, typesetting etc!). I think I'd be better at narrating and producing than the average layperson, but I'm certainly nowhere NEAR a professional level, both in equipment and skills, and I wouldn't want to give people a bad impression by putting out a product that uses her beautiful words in a subpar way. I've podficced her fanfiction before and would do it again, but I don't think I'd be an ideal official audiobook narrator (UNOFFICIAL though?... I would do it for fun and share on the down-low with people interested, tho contract/copyright would have to be navigated).
Still, if she ever wants to pursue a professional audiobook, I know a lot more about the business (and how contracting or something might work!) and kind of want to review her contract to see if audiobook is written about explicitly in there XD.
One final silly note on the audio panels... there was one that was Audiobook Live Narration. I went since I had been to other Audiobook panels and had such a great time at those other ones... but alas, I rediscovered WHY I don't listen to audiobooks. My brain struggles SO hard to hold onto audio text. I can do music, but narration? OOF goes in one ear and out the other. For some of the stories/narration, I started zoning out and couldn't hold on to any information or connect it.
However, for one or two of the narrators, I was able to hold attention? I don't know exactly how, if it was the cadence or the articulation or the stories themselves, but I was able to recall what the story was about by the end. It makes me wonder if I should give audiobooks another try, but look for narrators/stories that have more of those characteristics. I might try out a romance audiobook or something with a low-jargon plot narrated by a moderately expressive female voice at some point to see if I can get into audiobooks.
Striking the Right Genre Balance
This panel had some delicious food for thought not just in the genre, but also the marketing department. Though there was critique on the restrictions of genre forced by marketing, there were also positives about how it DOES help readers sort out the MASSIVE amount of books out there to decide what they'll enjoy reading. I love a talk that acknowledges that business is not all just pure money-scheming or whatever; it CAN be mutually beneficial to the distributor/producer and consumer--when you market a good book the right way, a lot of people who will enjoy the book get to enjoy it!
On the writing/crafting side, there was a lot of discussion on the "promises" that genres make--for example, romance NEEDS a Happily Ever After of some sort, or the reader will feel betrayed and like they wasted their time. At first people said sci-fi/fantasy is much broader than romance and doesn't have as stringent of a promise so readers are more forgiving, but someone from the audience brought up "If you read a whole epic Brandon Sanderson fantastical adventure and get to the end and see: 'He woke up, it was all just a dream!' then sci-fi fantasy people are gonna feel VERY betrayed!"
However when a rugpull and "breaking" a genre promise is the goal, panelists discussed two things that work: One, shorter stories where there's less investment and so it's more like an exciting surprise instead of a wasted investment (lots of short sci-fi stories with a Big Twist ending), or two: CLUE THE READER in some way at the very beginning that this is NOT going to adhere perfectly to the genre, so if they don't think they'll like that they have a clue and can get out, or generally they can anticipate something will go unexpected.
There was also a differentiation between Setting Genres (sci-fi, western) and Plot Genres (Romance, mystery - it's characterized by certain expected arcs and plot points). Mixing a setting and plot genre tend to meseh well (Sci-fi mystery! Cowboy romance!) but things get more complicated when you mix within the same type (A sci-fi western is rare (not impossible! Firefly), a romance mystery is tricky).
When it came to all the various mixes of genres, one of the panelists made a very good point about how to handle all of them: To try to always fulfill the promise made by the genre. So if you have three genres going on, that's three promises to fulfill! Complicated, but doable.
What Does RWA Have That We Don't?"
I'll admit I don't know a ton about writing associations, so although this panel assumed some knowledge I ended up picking it up along the way. RWA=Romance Writers of America and SFWA=Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association. RWA used to be a powerhouse, but around 2019-2020 there was a bunch of scandal involving institutional racism and some other things that led to a LOT of people/groups drawing out and they recently declared bankruptcy. Still, used to be a powerhouse.
When they described RWA I was amazed! Especially when it comes to the business/crafting side of things. RWA chapters would hold local writing groups and events and even local conferences, and apparently the larger RWA conferences were a powerhouse which could include talks that go over real, hard numbers, like literal spreadsheets on the screen to talk about how to budget the writing business, what techniques people use to increase word output, etc etc... Real practical advice on how to actually write as a JOB. Alongside that apparently RWA often paid or otherwise got agents/publishers/editors to join these conferences so that people who attended had opportunities to pitch and chat with them.
Of course, romance itself is a powerhouse in books--the market itself is WAY bigger than SFF and there's more money changing hands as a result of that. The RWA conventions are also very much FOR writers and the publishing industry, whereas things like ReaderCon or Boskone are more put on by fans and tend to celebrate the works they admire. Though I suppose the SFWA convention equivalent is probably the Nebula conference, though I have never attended that and can't speak to what those are like, but the other panelists weren't jumping in to claim "Oh Nebula has those sorts of things too!"
Beyond that though there seemed to be really strong mentorship in RWA where local chapters were pretty involved, some panelists remarked on really good experiences getting taught from a very beginner level by the people at their local chapters. It didn't sound like SFWA had quite as organized of a system.
All of this was not without critique of course, and RWA did apparently fall apart in a messy way. They talked about the pitfalls and came to a conclusion a lot of it was about inclusivity vs exclusivity. A lot of the RWA woes included people in leadership trying to tighten the belt on what was considered "Romance" - "It must be between a man and woman, no sci-fi/fantasy elements, no 'forced diversity'", and when people tried to draw these circles to exclude people that's what could lead to the org cannibalizing itself as more and more people end up leaving. It's not even just a matter of "We've never considered these works as part of this", but more like "We're seeing a lot of people writing these works and have decided to exclude them bc it doesn't fit OUR idea of what the genre is" like... one panelist shared that they started in RWA as part of a group that specialized in "Romance with speculative elements" or something like that, that gave room for stories that were romantic but also based in some fantastical. Unfortunately, the rules themselves changed and this person became excluded from the writing community which had previously nurtured and taught them how to be a writer.
SFWA isn't a perfect inclusive land either though, they talked about how the inclusion of poetry as part of the SFWA membership writing minimums has been variable. (For context bc I did not know this before: A lot of these groups will have a particular "minimum" publications required to qualify for certain membership tiers, and it's sometimes stringent about the kind of work and publishers those are). Sometimes it's been allowed, other times no, often depending on the leadership and board at the time. The current stringency of the requirements means that membership is low. RWA at it's peek was at like 10,000 members, while SFWA is around 3,000 members. Less people means less negotiating power.
Some panelists, I think all of whom were SFF writers, literally admitted that they never joined or allowed their SFWA membership to lapse bc they were like "...What could it actually do for us?" Unlike RWA where it came with a lot of opportunities, workshops, connections, it seemed like the vibe around SFWA was more like "Well maybe I'll pay my dues like a union so that this group can help negotiate and protect writers like me". Though by the end of the panel, some panelists said they were going to renew based on what some other panelists said about recent invigoration and changes in leadership.
All of this was FASCINATING to me as someone who is very much not part of any professional writing group. I'm in the very small pond of some random weekly writer's group I like to go to each week, and I'm looking at these huge intricate networks with nonprofit status and conferences and so on like... "Oooh that looks complicated as hell, but I'm intrigued."
I'm certainly not publishing anytime soon, but I feel invigorated to engage a bit more deeply with my current writer's group. We're kind of a co-writing space more than anything else, but I've been chatting with a few key members and may be exchanging writing critiques with them at some point, which I feel like would be exciting. I'm of course also in the fanfic community space! Which is its own sort of network. Overall the POWER of networking and organization came through in the talk, and it's making me want to engage with the groups I AM in a little more.
Honestly I don't think there were any panels I went to that I though were bad, but there is one thing that came up a lot which I hated: A LOT of the panels ended up having sections about AI. There were two panels explicitly focused on AI, one oriented towards the "good" side, the other towards the "bad" side. I avoided both those panels bc I'm sick and tired of hearing about it, but it permeated a lot of other panels. Although I think it's fair that it DOES affect many areas, it could get VERY preachy very fast with certain panelists or audience members just going on and ON about various talking points that weren't always relevant, or the topic of the panel started getting eclipsed by the AI issue in a way that became rapidly tangential. It's such a hot-topic issue that people are prone to rants and agitation about it.
I started the con like "Okay my goal is to maybe buy a book while I'm there!"... I ended up getting a lot more ahaha.
Stand Where You're Afraid by D.V. Morse
This is a little novella that was left on the "free books" table, featuring werewolf/vampire F/F romance. As someone who's also currently writing werewolf/vampire F/F, I had to pick it up. It was a nice small size that meant I was able to finish it during various breaks during the con. Overall it was nice, fun werewolf and vampire worldbuilding. The romance was a little insta-love, though in the novella size that makes sense. It wasn't a life-changing narrative, but kept my attention. It seems to be self-published, but the author notes mention that she has published with Duck Prints Press, which I was like "OH I recognize them!" (from Boskone, and they had a table again at this convention as well).
Sex Bunker Apocalypse 2 + 3 by Adam Brink
I got the first book of this series at Boskone earlier this year and LOVED it! So I've been desperately waiting for ReaderCon with hope that the author or his books would be there, and fortunately one of the bookshops was carrying it. I'm excited to check out this continuation! The first went by pretty quick, but these two look a little longer, so I'm curious to see how they end up.
Endurance by Elaine Burns
Now TECHNICALLY I bought this before the con, but it was because the author mentioned her book on the ReaderCon discord, and I got intrigued by sci-fi F/F. I have started reading it, and am enjoying it so far. It's pretty thorough with the science and cultural stuff, and there's some good tension, but I'm early on enough that I can't predict where it's going yet.
Translation State by Ann Leckie
My roomie literally JUST mentioned how she's been looking for this book, and personally I loved Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice series, so when I saw this in one of the bookshops I figured "Why not buy a copy?" It's probably going to be awhile before I read it tho.
The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah
This is a little paperback Star Trek novel from the 1980s. There's a particular bookshop that specializes I think in used works that always has cool older novels priced deliciously low. They had a whole several drawers of various Star Trek novels, and since my girlfriend likes those, I decided to pick one up. Although I had a broad sense of what she liked (Original series, anything Spock-related), there were SO many choices and I ended up texting her the cover of this just in case before buying it and she was like "!! That's a famous book" and wanted it. So I'm happy I was able to choose correctly for her!
Chicks in Chainmail Edited by Esther Friesner
I really love the cute pocket paperback format, so I poked at some others until this book from the 90s caught my eye. It's got one of those classic sexy covers with a woman in chainmail showing off a little skin, but there's a dead guy in the background, and it kind of has Xena vibes. It seems to be a collection of stories themed around satirizing the sexism of fantasy stories at the time and pushing forward powerful women in chainmail. I'm excited to read it! It's always interesting to see purposefully feminist works of the past and seeing what sorts of things have or haven't changed since they were created. It also looks like it'll just be a fun time :D.
I was really impressed with the amount of masking everyone was doing! The community that goes to these conventions trends on the older side and may have medical conditions, so I was really happy things were secured in a way that those people are able to stay involved while minimizing risks.
I feel like masking is so much less common now, and especially it's not enforced in most event spaces. The place I go swingdancing used to enforce masks back in 2022 or so, but since has relaxed those rules... and a few weeks ago had a BIG breakout of cases. Conventions especially I think are natural super-spreader events, so I love an organization that is being very forward and emphasizing that they do NOT want to be spreading COVID-19 or other respiratory diseases when having big events that draw people from all over.
Though some people like to complain about masks, as someone who has swing-danced in a K95 in 90 degree weather... I found that wearing my mask while sitting around in an air-conditioned convention space was a negligible effort that makes me feel more secure for myself AND for the people who I shared spaces with.
Super fun! Much like last year though, I wish I had made a bit more of an effort to socialize more and meet some people. I talked to a few, but it's hard to connect in between panels. My buddy I went with is VERY sociable and has been to a lot of these so she was fluttering about saying hello to all sorts of people, but I'm not at that level yet haha. I actually did see some people from the writing group I attend, and reconnected with one enough to be invited to her OTHER writing group. I'm very busy atm, but I'm hoping to check out that writing group in a few months or something.
And I'm hoping to attend again next year! My buddy who introduced me to these was right, Boskone and ReaderCon are both great times!
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Date: 2024-07-16 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 09:22 pm (UTC)The "genre balance" and what might make it easy to mix various genres/settings is interesting to think about, I hadn't considered it like that! And it's super cool to hear you're still attending your weekly writing group, too :D
Translation Slate was a good time, I hope you like it too whenever you do get to it.
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Date: 2024-07-22 03:34 pm (UTC):D Ooh good to hear you enjoyed Translation State, I will look forward to reading it (whenever I get there on my reading list!)
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Date: 2024-07-25 11:50 am (UTC)it seemed older authors lean towards NOT connecting the fanfic identity at all, probably driven by how it used to be more taboo
More power to authors who have no issues linking their public and fannish personas but the stress that I experience when I try to imagine family members' reactions to some of the stuff I've posted ... I can't.
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Date: 2024-07-26 11:41 am (UTC)