Community support in genre

[chopper]

patching into the wider Real Life community can be difficult, definitely. the theme i've seen running through this thread is one of not being taken seriously - that we've all just not grown up. trying to get local literary-focused organisations to even acknowledge that SFF is a popular draw for adults as well as kids has been a bit of an exercise in knitting with cheese (last year the council had the bright idea of having an SF-themed weekend. two stormtroopers, a few retro mock-batmobiles parked outside the Crucible, and a N64 second-hand games dealer later - oh, and have your photo taken aboard a speeder bike! - i went home in despair...).

after a couple of years of not being heard, i've finally had somebody ask me "We don't know how to book SFF authors; can you help?"

At a place I used to work, my boss at the time heard I was writing a novel, and the first question she asked was what its name was. Of course I answered with a traditional fantasy style title that I was calling my book back then. She looked at me funny and never asked another question about it.....

been there, had that ---- "is this the one with all the druids?" no it isn't. that's Hawkwind's Greatest Hits. go away.

-- the local group is really more of a social thing for people with same interests to meet up and chat.

and that's the bit i want folk to take seriously! exactly so!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

For me, though, it's not just about the Chrons (and we all know what an addict I am...) but the wider sff community. Through facebook I've found Pat Cadigan's remarkable blog about cancer and sci fi and I have to say, knowing I'm meeting her and the fantastic Joe Abercrombie next month, I know who I'll be totally tongue tied with.

I've enjoyed making connections - but I'm a pretty outgoing person - and am humbled by the response. For instance, I contacted an author, PP Corcoran I'd found through Amazon - his books are on every recommend list and the reviews made me stop and look at them. Fantastic. He also has a great sf magazine I enjoy browsing through when it comes out. Anyway, I made contact and asked if we could swop blogs at some stage, and we did (his interview is here - https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/560610/#post-1940078)

Mine went up today, not just the blog but a featured author page on his excellent website with links to Twitter and Facebook, and my blog on it. That's amazingly generous to a new author. And that's what I've found, and it's so important to remember that when Sad Puppies and Requires Hate grab headlines, that, actually, we're a mostly very generous community, us sff lot.

This was the page PP Corcoran did for me. It must have taken a lot of time. And I'm sort of floored by so much generosity:

http://ppcorcoran.com/jo-zebedee.html

 

[Ray McCarthy]

and we all know what an addict I am...

Messages: 11,358
If I had a publishing company, I'd hire you as head of Marketing.

(Look ^^^^ no smilies)

We'd probably have terrible rows ... but that wouldn't matter.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The SFF community goes back a long way, it is close-knit but generally welcoming to newcomers, and I've always found it supportive. In the more populous parts of the US it's not at all hard to meet these people face-to-face and in mass, but of course you have to find out where they are (conventions, SFF book clubs, book signings) and go there.

Online communities like this one are supportive and informative, a fabulous place to meet readers and writers, and they allow you to meet and form friendships with friends all around the world.

But sometimes it's nice to meet people you can go out to dinner with occasionally.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

you can go out to dinner

Or have them round for cake and coffee?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Or have them round for cake and coffee?

Absolutely. Make friends you can invite to your house, or go to theirs. Go to the movies together. Take walks. Organize retreats. Invite them to join your favorite online community.

 

[Warren_Paul]

knowing I'm meeting her and the fantastic Joe Abercrombie next month, I know who I'll be totally tongue tied with.

So jealous.

and that's the bit i want folk to take seriously! exactly so!

Having the community of local friends who are writers is definitely helpful. It is surprising how even if we aren't actually doing any critiquing as part of the meetups they still manage to encourage me to write more. It's fun, is what it is.

 

[millymollymo]

Interesting post, Jo. Topical, too as I'm recovering from yet another Nine Worlds.
Being a lone wolf, being a singular voice in a sea of "YOU'RE NOT THE SAME AS US" leads to dark and unhappy places. There's enough self doubt around without the extra help.


It is human nature to seek out that which we can identify with and the internet allows that unique self to find others across the globe who are walking the same line. What's really hard is to balance that and remember that just because its not your thing, doesn't make it any less - or more - valid. Chrons achieves that balance in an excellent way. No one voice or opinion out weighs, no one person, or publishing house is more able than another to put something on the table.

The whole forum is a never ending *non judgemental* discussion. In many ways Chrons is a self help encyclopaedia of how to survive as a 'geek'.*

The sad thing about generosity is it gets abused. In person you simply do not have the time to keep repeating the same advice, it's not physically possible. Not everyone listens, some decide "that doesn't apply to me." Not everyone gets it the first time either.

The people who come to Chrons make it what it is, the people we network with outside of that allow it to expand. It offers it's own level of validation, just as much as the community as a whole does, it's just knowing where and how to find it.





*I'm starting to dislike this label.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

So jealous.

Heh. Don't be. I suspect if I even get to say hello it'll be astonishing.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

As they say - it's nice to be nice. We all of us need support now & again.

 

[MemoryTale]

I agree that having something like Chrons is essential. I've been to a couple of local writer's groups, and whenever I've mentioned that I write fantasy I always get a response like this:

*blink*

Oh. Well I don't really read that stuff. I can't stand the way they describe every blade of grass...