Nebula Banquet thoughts

You can read all about who won what award. Robert Silverberg's comments as Toastmaster were worth the price of admission. As were my dinner companions. I Shall Not Name-Drop.

Two gems from the evening: Upon accepting the Solstice Award (to non-writers, living or dead, who have contributed to the field) for his late father, Nick Sagan quoted Carl as saying, "Our lives are made significant by the courage of our questions."

And... there is no truth to the rumor that Connie Willis plans to renounce her Grand Master Award in order to become eligible for the Solstice Award. None whatsoever.

Deborah’s Excellent Nebula Awards Weekend Adventure Continues

Saturday did not begin auspiciously. The Nebula Awards hotel is in downtown San Jose, which is not noteworthy for the adequacy of its public parking. After visiting one full public lot after another and having various adventures which left the paint of my car considerably worse for wear, I surrendered to the inevitability of having to pay a significant fraction of the national debt in order to leave my car somewhere. However, with the sympathetic reception of my tale of aggravation, I determined to leave that particular episode safely ensconced in the past…at least until I have to get my car out of hock.

As a consequence, I caught only the last part of the SFWA Business Meeting, and I wouldn’t have been able to report on what transpired anyway, it being SFWA-Sekrit. However, during the discussion of pirate websites, a couple of points arose that bear repeating and are nonspecific enough that nobody is going to track me down for indiscretion. If your traditionally-published books appear on a pirate site, notify your publisher, who are, after all, adversely financially affected and often have the legal departments, etc., to deal with it. Also, some of these sites do not actually sell pirated copies of books – they are scams for collecting credit card numbers. This latter notion boggles the mind with its likelihood.

Fast forward through lunch and various conversations to the panel on Writing For Young Adults (with Leah Bobet, Sarah Beth Durst, Steven Gould, and E.C. Myers). Herewith my notes:

Don’t be boring (especially for kids). Write well if the subject matter is difficult, and make sure every element is there for a reason. This advice strikes me as being rue for all fiction.

Nebulas, first day, afterthoughts

I didn't take a lot of notes during the panel on Shared Worlds that I was on, for which I expect to be forgiven. It seemed more important to pay attention to what everyone was saying. However, I did scribble down something Robert Silverberg said about collaborations, and it strikes me that every writer who is considering this and aims to build a professional career needs to consider it. When you sell a collaboration (to a publisher, remember this is old-school writing career model) you need to get an advance that is at least twice what you would have gotten individually.

(My own thoughts) -- There are many reasons for embarking on a collaboration (as opposed to a novel that's basically ghost-written, with the senior author's name added for sales shiny-ness). Saving time isn't one of them. A good collaboration is not half the work of a solo novel. It's at least twice.

It behooves us all to pay attention to whether we are good collaborators and if so, under what conditions. Sometimes, what makes us good writers (we're visionaries, we answer only to our inner muses, we are pig-headed and recalcitrant, much like our cats) can make it challenging to Play Nicely With Others. Others of us find inspiration and creative nourishment in the process of working together. With some people -- but not others. Pay attention. Play to your strengths.

Tomorrow, the second day (with better notes, I promise!)