The “OK” fan is the one who seems to agree to everything you say about your book… but is s-he really listening, or simply polite?
Posted in Art, Comics, Event, Science-fiction
Tagged Book fairs, Comics, humor, SF, Webcomics
As the Montréal book fair (and Expozine for my fanzine friends) looms close, here comes one of the fans from hell… You do not want that fan at your signing table!
Hoping to get a celebrity’s autograph, he hedges his bets with some artists whom he doesn’t know beforehand. He hopes to get a famed author in the field. Often, he cannot trust that someone from his own country can possibly be good.
(And, yes, it is a real rejection letter that is on the character’s mind…)
I remember a Comic Festival long ago where the organisators rolled the red carpet for the American guests of honor, while all the local artists were relegated at a 3rd story corridor. (A dark corridor, at that).
This endless quest for celebrities pervades every aspect of society. Journals or magazines, broadcasts, all need a scattering of big-names to pique the interest of a readership. The same goes for television variety programs striving to reach a larger audience. Most of my writer friends lament that their opus don’t even get a coverage from the medias, and it always seems that only three or four stars get all the reviews.
And for each of us. I have my own celeb’s quest. But I discovered and appreciated most of my favorites authors long before finding out about their fame.
There are insecurities dwelling inside each of us, and getting acknowledged by others kind of validates our work. For a “groupie”, getting the attention of a celebrity, even for a few moments, is the next best thing to fame and fortune.
So, if you meet a fan looking for stars, be understanding while reaching your inner groupie but point out all those in the sky.
Hitch-hiking may be cool, but somewhat not without dangers. A sketch I did a few years ago, featuring my best friend and I, upgraded. The two troopers boarding the AT-AT are our husbands (and die hard SW fans).
No pin-up pose for me!
Fast sketches inspired by a traitorous back ache. Ouch.
Tagged art, back ache, humor, Pencilling comics, Sketches
Has this situation happened to you?
Fortunately, none of my old college friends are afflicted with such a materialistic mentality. This meeting did not happen in a book fair, but at a dinner for young professionals at the Ecole Polytechnique. I was so well dressed that newcomers automatically takes me for a successful businesswoman. I had this same air as this comic character…then, it is when they realize that I am a humble self-employed worker that potential contacts shy away.
For some media, the value of an artist or writer is primarily related to his or her financial success.
I do not scorn entrepreneurship itself, since I lead my own business. In a recent lecture given at a dinner of the AFAF, I mentioned that building a business, any kind of business, requires a good dose of creativity!
SF and fantasy author Dean Wesley Smith (a prolific author who gives advice to young writers, his site is worth a visit) takes writing as a serious business. According to him, if you do not make a living from your writing, it is because you do not write enough or want it, work hard enough. This appears like a disdainful view of people whose productivity do not match his own. But the reasoning works also to remind us that we often find excuses for… not writing.
Well, there is an area for nuance or discussion, and all our situations and writing goals are not the same. I like to dig a lot of infos for my SF novels… besides doing comics as well. DWS believes in writing a lot, and submitting a lot, and taking care of the business end. With a hundred novels published in twenty years or so, he is an Olympic writing athlete himself! (A page in 10 or 15 minutes… faster than me, even when I have the story clear in my head).
This year, he gave himself the challenge to write 100 short stories for 2011. Yes, a hundred! There is already eight published, between 2500 and 6000 words each. It is fortunate that he repeats that every writer is different! Nevertheless, his blog “Killing the sacred cows of publishing” offers great pointers and unorthodox advices.
DWS is very optimistic. In his opinion, publishers are always looking for new voices. And that too much rewriting “blunts” your creative voice, the personal, original part of the creation.
It happened to me for my first novel Ithuriel (16 agonizing rewrites!), so his message resonates strongly with me. Obviously, DWS revises to correct the “ortograf”, or flagrant errors or blunders. But after that he rewrites only if his editor asks him. And after the contract is signed…
It was a stimulating reading for me. Dean Wesley Smith’s advices have the effect of empowering a writer, reminding that he or she is not at the mercy of “the market” or agents. And to put the pleasure back in writing. Writers can achieve a good measure of “success” with effort and perseverance, without sacrificing their unique voice.
:^)
Posted in Comics, humor, Science-fiction
Tagged Business of writing, Comics, Dean Wesley Smith, humor, novel, Science-fiction, Signing table, Writing, Writing advice
Here is the photographic adaptation of the comics in the previous post, by an enthusiastic fan.
Réalisation by Christ Oliver, with Jean-Louis Trudel, a fellow science fiction author.
Now we are hoping for the movie adaptation. It would not be a big-budget feature, but it would certainly echo with the many writers almost drowning in a sea of publications traveled by big corporate ships chasing the elusive best-sellers…
A tribute to all of you, artists able to create without the pressure of success!
Posted in humor
Tagged artist, Book fairs, budding writers, Comics, humor, humour, Science-fiction, Signing, Signing table
Another bookfair is coming at Montreal! And, if you are a lesser-known author, you might experiment this:
One hour at the signing table.
I drew this page after some signing sessions for my novel Piège pour le Jules-Verne, my table close to the Harry Potter stand.
Jean-Louis Trudel, my fellow SF writer, had accepted to figure in the comic, and even contributed to the scenario.
This page was originally published in a fanzine, (MensuHell) and found an echo with many friends and comic creators, among them, Christ Oliver , who did a piece on it (coming on my next post).
My profound sympathies to the all writers who will experiment that desertic bookfair at the Salon du livre de Montréal , very well frequented. When there are more than 800 writers vying for the public’s attention, it is bound to happen…
Posted in Comics, Event, humor
Tagged Book fairs, Comics, humor, humour, Jean-Louis Trudel, MensuHell, Michele Laframboise, Montréal, novel, Science-fiction, Signing table, writer
Over solicited fans walk kilometers in the big book fairs, checking more than 700 stands, waiting in line for their favorite author, etc. No wonder they pass your table, laden with heavy bags, their eyes blank…
This page comes from my ongoing collection Meet my Fans!
(French version here)
Yes, I am usually nicer to my faithful public!
I have “guesstimated” the average number of kilometers the public walk in an average book fair like the Salon du livre de Montréal: quite a lot! Around 6 kilometers (excluding the walk inside the Congress Center to get there! )
So, yes, reading is good for your health!
Tagged Book fairs, Comics, fans, Halloween, humor, reading, Signing table, Webcomics, zombie
Here are some pics of this global event, 24 hours of continuous creation at the Image Collection Comic Shop in Streetsville, October 2-3 . We started at noon this year. It took us an hour to decide what to draw, so it was around 1:30 that we got started!
An idea of the atmosphere at 9:30 PM.
Left, Daniel Oshino, our hero of last year, made a visit with her small daughter, hopefully as talented as him! Behind at the right, our fourth member and the only guy of 24-24 this year, Mike, 14.
The themes this year, (at least one):
– Conflict, internal or external
– Growth of an idea
– I do not remember the other themes!
I took the characters who were in the Japanese Brush, and developed a science fiction adventure. I planned eight pages before plunging into the production.
Also, we had friends visiting, to chat and draw!
We tease, at 9h30. The two guys are visiting; the left one guy has passed the first 24-24 complete (he inked his 24 pages) three years ago. We see Todd, the manager of the shop, back with long hair, he has grown a beard since last year.
Kim started strong, deciding that she would produce more written pages, a bold approach. She left around 11 am. Mike and Tiff, being minors, are returning home to sleep around 11:30, planning to return in the morning. This means that I had sometime alone in the night with my drawings. It helped me because the drawing is not fast when we gossip!
This time we worked on a smaller paper format, like manga, so this helped!
A page very red by Tiffany
Tiff’s work: here is an artist to watch for! She was just 15 years, and she looks inspired by Tim Burton in its atmosphere. Her full story covers eight to ten pages. Mike produced a funny story of zombies, with 4 small panels per page, which allowed him to complete his 24 pages and even put some red on it.
Me, I let go of the color, those who know me know why! I was a little stressed around 4:00 AM because I suddenly realized I had a chance to finish my ink, but only if I worked non stop!
Last Minute ditch
At 11:40 AM, I finished my blanket, when, at 15 minutes remaining, Daniel, who came back to haunt us, told me about an unfinished page!
Needless to say I worked harder to finish on time!
The three authors (Kim is not back yet) pose with their pages! Besides me, Mike and Tiff rose to the challenge!
My 24-page new comic, inked!
My inking is not perfect, but it surpasses what I did last year. A new adventure of the Otaku Ladies!
Posted in Comics, Event, Science-fiction
Tagged 24 pages in 24 hours, 24-24, Comics, humor, Images Collection Comics Shop, manga, Michele Laframboise, Mississauga, Science-fiction, shonen manga
Echoes of a Sunday artist 