A brief recap of Balticon 43

Balticon 43 has come and gone. Like last year, I had a great time. It was held at the Marriott in Hunt Valley again, which is a nice spot; large enough to hold the event and cozy as well.

I was fortunate to be on two panels with some very knowledgeable and friendly people. I wasn’t familiar with them before we met, though I had heard of some of them in passing. Meeting other writers and getting a chance to learn about their books and stories, and possibly becoming a fan, is great fun.

The first panel, on Saturday, was “Developing One Liners for Pitching Your Book to the Media.” It was a subject that I know a little bit about, mostly what I learned on my own from marketing the writings of friends and colleagues, my book, and other works. I shared mistakes I made when I was writing screenplays and in marketing my book, as well as how I learned from them and picked up other things along the way.

I also learned a great deal from the more experienced panelists. Jonathan Maberry, a late addition to the panel, was a nice guy to talk to and was very open about his experiences in publishing, working with agents, and working in Hollywood. It was nice to hear from the other side of the industry too, and I believe Neal Levin gave those in attendance a lot to think about in how they approach small-press publishers. David J. Williams had a lot to contribute as well regarding his experiences in promoting his published works. Kelly Harmon kept the session moving as a great moderator with skillful questions.

The second panel, on Monday, was “Good and Evil in Genre Literature.” I felt I had more to contribute in that panel, and I still learned a lot. The other panelists were brilliant, as with the first. Laura Anne Gilman had some fascinating things to say on the nature of what is truly good and what is truly evil and how the concepts apply to choice or the lack thereof. John G. Hemry’s perspective on writing military science fiction was interesting as well, especially in terms of how writing good and/or evil characters applies in writing science fiction. Robert R. Chase moderated the panel well, giving all three of us a lot to think about as we answered the questions, talked back and forth and with the audience.

I also had a chance to stop by the Maryland Writers’ Association table, talked a bit with Paul Lagasse, the MWAB President; Gary Lester, the MWAB Vice-President (who has a book out by Greyrock Publishing, Ursula the Yellow); and Angela Render, a writer, MWA member, and marketing coach. The story board was up again this year, and I added a line. The board was almost full by the time I got there, showing it was a big hit both last year and this year.

There were other events and panels that I went to, and I had a chance to meet and briefly talk to some friends I met at other conferences. One of the other highlights of the weekend was when a friend of mine from high school stopped by on Monday with his kids. It was great to meet up again and catch up on what’s been happening since high school, and to see that a friend and his family are doing well.

Great conference. Great people. Great time.