Marc Johnson's Blog, page 3

Website Complete

If you’re reading this, my website has undergone some changes. I was going to add a store to it but ran into a few problems so I scrapped that idea. I may do that later. Please have a look around and let me know if you run into any problems or if you have any critiques or suggestions.

Marc Johnson

Site Changes

So I don’t know if it’s because I’m waiting on copy edits to come back from my editor and I have nothing to do, creating a newsletter has got my mind in a technical mood, or I’m just plain bored but I’ve decided to update my website.

Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it for awhile. Much like creating a newsletter, I’ve been lagging. I was going to pay someone to do it, but I’d rather buy a paddleboard instead so I’m going to do it myself. If things go well, you’ll be able to buy my works from here and it’ll look slick! If not, well, I’ll just default back to a simpler theme and cry.

I was debating on getting rid of the blog section since I now have a newsletter, and just have a website to list and sell books but I’m going to keep it. I’m honestly not even sure if people read my blog posts but I do enjoy doing them from time to time.

‘

Site will be down sometime this weekend and hopefully, back up by Sunday or Monday. If not, then that means I have no idea what I’m doing. But honestly, what else is new?

Marc Johnson

Newsletter Completed

So it took me approximately 7 years to finally make a newsletter and put one out. You should see it if you visit this site below. If you sign up not only will you receive news about me and get to know me better, you’ll also receive a FREE short story not found anywhere else.

In case you don’t see it, here’s the link. https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...

Please bear with me while I try to figure out what exactly to say…

Marc Johnson

My Lessons Learned in 2018

This year I worked three shows trying to sell my books and meet people. Before this, I had worked one other small con before in 2016. This year was a lot different and I learned a lot from each of them. In order of what I attended and can remember…

1. PREPARE FOR WINTER

My first stop was in Berkeley earlier this year at a local book festival. The East Bay is usually the part of the Bay with the nicer weather. And it’s close to the water so it’s not scorching. Yet the weekend of the festival, it was unusually windy, cloudy, and cold. Because of that, it made setting up outside a bit difficult. My signs, which I soon realized I needed an upgrade wouldn’t stay in place, and my newly bought banner had to be tied down. Thank the gods I had some hand straps because I would have had no banner.

It’s very rare that most booksellers and authors sell outside, but as I learned, you need to be prepared for the outdoor weather. So bring whatever tools you may think you need as if you’re camping. Odds are you probably will. And wear pants and bring a blanket. Luckily, I did that on the second day.

2. KIDS ARE MY AUDIENCE

I always thought I knew who my target audience was. The problem is despite all the bloggers I contacted, reviews I’ve gotten, and books I’ve sold, I’ve never really known who my audience is. I don’t have the analytics of the book buyers unlike Amazon. And Amazon isn’t going to give it away. It’s always been a deducing game.

At the book festival, I learned that young adults are my target audience, and also, people with a young adult’s heart. A lot of preteen and teenagers bought my books, and so did their parents, grandmas, and aunts. I always thought that they were my audience but I never really knew until now. It was also heartening to see that the young people of today weren’t as cynical and bitter as the world has become, and that they were hopeful. Will they stay that way, who knows? I hope they enjoy my books, and I can see how and why Harry Potter got so big.

3. SHARING A TABLE

Even though I had a couple of wonderful helpers at Berkeley, I never really shared a table with anyone before who was selling books. At least not until Baycon.

I occasionally go to a local meetup with some writers, and there was a posting that they needed someone to share a table with at Baycon. I said I would go even though I never planned on going to Baycon. Even though the con was small, I sold a decent amount of books. The best thing about sharing a table is you have someone to watch your stuff, you can go grab something to eat, walk around, and even take in a panel or two. It also helps defray costs, which always helps. And because the places I’ve gone to aren’t full of people, you always have someone to talk with. It can get a bit boring at the table.

4. LAPTOP

I didn’t get a laptop until Worldcon. I wish I had one a lot sooner. There’s a lot of dead time working a table. I did some reading and played a lot on my Switch, but what I should have been doing is working on Eternal Darkness.

Unlike most people, I don’t have a desk job. That means that all the things I need to do with a computer, I do when I get home. Even though I have a phone with the Internet and have access to my Google Drive, I prefer to type things on my PC. There’s also a lot of tabs open to remind me of things.

Because Worldcon was so long, I was able to get a lot of work done. I only had my manuscript on it with edits and nothing else to distract me on it unlike say, my PC. Even though I had my Switch, I still worked. I should have gotten one sooner even if it was a cheap one under $100 and I’ll only use it a couple of times a year.

5. PANELS

At Worldcon, I was lucky enough to be on four panels. It was my first time doing panels, and it was an experience like no other. While I have been to dozens (hundreds?) of panels before, I never sat behind the table. Unless you’re used to public speaking, nothing can quite compare you to the experience.

What was interesting was that each panel felt very different. The main reason for this was how the panels were moderated–either heavily or lightly. It also depended on the audience and how they participated or if that was even allowed. Again, that depended on how it was moderated.

While I was very nervous at first, I eventually got used to being on them. What was jarring was how different the second one was from the first. I preferred the ones that got the audience involved as opposed to one that didn’t. That felt more free flowing and like a conversation rather than us talking to the audience. Of course, the audience would sometimes get out of hand and tell us opinions rather than asking questions with maybe a quick comment or two.

I talked about race on a lot of my panels. To be honest, I got tired of talking about it even though that’s the reason why a simple, nobody, first-time author like me got picked to be on them. My last panel I had a lot of fun because I was at a geek convention and finally got to talk about geeky things. I live with my races 24/7, I don’t necessarily want to talk about them or think about it most, if not all of the time. It would have been nice if my schedule was more balanced.

Since talking about race could get heavy and emotional at times, one of the panels I was on wasn’t that great. It was heavily moderated and the room felt tense because of it. Some of the things that were said and how they were said weren’t said in the best of ways. You’re not going to change people’s minds or even open them up with the way people were talked to especially when you only have 50ish minutes.

That said, I would totally be on panels again if I had the chance. Just please give me something fun to go with the serious.

6. WORLDCON

What’s funny is that Worldcon was the reason I did so many shows this year. Because I got into it, I thought might as well do other shows. I was going to attend it but thought might as well have a table and sell some books and have people come to me. Unfortunately, things did not work that well.

I’ve been to a bunch of conventions over my lifetime, and Worldcon is the biggest, littlest convention I had ever been to. The prices are expensive and there are big names from the industry that go to it, and there is even an award show, but it doesn’t feel like that many people attend even though it’s expensive.

Because of the price, it’s not family friendly. A family of four would cost you around $500. Most cons I’ve been to kids 12 and under are free or at an extremely discounted price. Not here. The reason prices are cheaper for kids is that you want adults to come. Sometimes they have to bring their kids otherwise they can’t make it. Kids will want to buy things so adults will spend more money. You also want to cultivate the kids into what the con’s about and have them be fans.

The con could be bigger than it is. I get that they don’t want to invite Hollywood in to keep it “pure” or whatever. But when you have people like George RR Martin and I think Neil Gaiman has been to a few, you could invite HBO to have a presence specifically related to their show. You don’t have to get actors to come but I think considering the type of people there you could get writers, producers, set designers, etc., on panels. This is the Golden Age of Sci-fi on Television and having those people come would have been a good idea.

Because Worldcon moves every year and I think different people run it, it wasn’t run well. I’m specifically talking about being a dealer. The panel programming was OK, considering how often my own schedule changed and I didn’t have time to prepare for them. As a dealer, my emails leading up to it and during it weren’t answered, I had no idea where to get my badge as it took me going to five places, I didn’t know where the loading dock was, didn’t have directions to anything, and I didn’t know where my table was. But we were reminded how we couldn’t bring stuff in on carts because of the union multiple, multiple times. The hall we were in was huge but things were not situated well. There was a lot of dead space and the dealer’s area was on the other side in basically one corner/side of the hall. There were kid areas but they were empty when I went by because of the lack of families at Worldocon.

That said, the people I met were cool be it on panels, my next door neighbor, or just random people I talked to. I wouldn’t mind returning to Worldcon if it’s local again, but I’m probably not going to go as a dealer.

So what’s next? Writing more stories and finally putting out a newsletter. Unless I’m invited somewhere in 2019, I won’t be tabling at any shows. But hey, you never know. In 2020, I’ll most likely do a show here and there. Even doing a few shows a year, they’re all very draining and sitting at a table can be very boring at times. I also have to take time off work to do some of these, and you know, sometimes I just want to relax and chill on my days off.

All that said, I wouldn’t trade the experiences I learned this year for anything. I learned a lot, and I’m all about learning, adapting, and getting better. Until next time…

Marc Johnson

My Worldcon 76 Schedule

Since it’s in my own backyard, relatively speaking, next month will be my first year at Worldcon. It will also be my first time on any sort of panel. If I’m not in the Dealer’s Room, I’ll be at one of the panels listed below. Come say hi, and tell me how your con is going.

FRIDAY

Representation in Geek Media

Format: Panel

17 Aug 2018, Friday 10:00 – 11:00, 210G (San Jose Convention Center)

It’s been 50 years since Star Trek presented us with a diverse picture of the future. But how far has media really come? Let’s take a critical look at the current state of representation in the movies, TV shows, comics, and books we love.

Ways To Be an Ally

Format: Panel

17 Aug 2018, Friday 13:00 – 14:00, 210A (San Jose Convention Center)

So you want to help marginalized folks in your community, but don’t know where to start? Feel like you’re talking the talk, but not walking the walk? Come learn the basics of being a true ally, actions you can practice to fight marginalization, and what to do when you mess up. Change starts with YOU.

SATURDAY

Who’s The Orc Now?

Format: Panel

18 Aug 2018, Saturday 17:00 – 18:00, 210C (San Jose Convention Center)

Participants discuss what happened when they recognized racial or other prejudices in beloved books or authors. How does that recognition changed their opinions about them? And what happens when a reader also finds herself to be a target of such prejudice?

SUNDAY

The Future You Imagine is the Future You Get

Format: Panel

19 Aug 2018, Sunday 12:00 – 13:00, 210G (San Jose Convention Center)

We love to read dystopian visions of the future, but what do these dystopias get us? The stories we tell matter, because in a very real way, stories sculpt dreams. Science Fiction creates opportunities by imagining possibilities for the world in general. These dreams fuel our intentions, help us establish behavior patterns that become self-perpetuating, and those patterns generate opportunities. So what does it take to create positive visions of our world’s future?

Getting Better

So recently, my favorite NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, won the NBA Finals, solidifying their destiny. They’re also quite possibly, the greatest team in NBA history. I say that with an objective eye too. Now, what’s interesting is seeing all the videos and interviews and reading the articles leading up to their victory and even afterwards. There was a common theme I found throughout.

With the exception of one of the Hamptons 5, they don’t have any physical gifts that put them over the top. Draymond and Curry are undersized and Thompson is average physically. Iggy has a longer wingspan, but is on the downside of his career. Each and everyone of them has worked their ass of to get where they were. Even Kevin Durant. Sure, two of them may have had a leg up because their dads were in the NBA. But they still had to work to get to the top level of their game. When I realized that, I looked at them a little differently.

While I’m going to talk about basketball, this can be applied throughout everything. Most superstars worked to get where they’re at. Only a very small minority of them have physical gifts that separate them from the others in their league. Before then while they’re in grade or high school, they have those physical gifts. They’re the big fish in a small pond. But when they’re in the professional league, that physical gift is very slim or none. After that, hard work must come into play.

The great thing about being in the professional league is that you now have access to those professional services. That makes things easier. But if you don’t utilize them or put in the work, your career is never going to go anywhere and you’ll be out of the league quickly.

Much like the Warriors, I like to have the same mindset when it comes to writing. My goal has never been to be a best selling author or to win awards. While I would love for both things to happen, if it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to sweat it. Both things are entirely out of my control, and I try not to worry about things not in my control. Luckily, even though my body will age, it won’t stop me from quitting writing. My mind deteriorating on the other hand will eventually stop me.

But until that day happens, I’m going to keep on writing…



Marc Johnson

Starting a Newsletter

I’m thinking of starting a newsletter. I know, I know, I’m totally late on this and should have started one years ago. There are multiple reasons I didn’t.

I honestly, didn’t know what to say, and still don’t. As it stands, I’ll probably be writing a bi-monthly newsletter…about how my writing is going? I’m still not sure what to write to be honest. Now the reason I finally decided to start a newsletter was to give away my prequel short story, Blood Money. I was thinking of just uploading it to Kobo, Amazon, Smashwords, etc. and setting the price the zero. But I’m not sure if you can put something on Amazon for 0 unless it’s in Unlimited? And I have been thinking about doing a newsletter over the last couple of years. When I tend to think about doing things for years, I end up doing them eventually.

I didn’t specifically write Blood Money as a way to draw in people to the newsletter. Blood Money is a bunch of flashback chapters from my upcoming fourth book, Eternal Darkness. My editor suggested I do it as a giveaway. Not a bad idea. Also feel like it’d be a waste if I just trashed it. Blood Money isn’t necessary to reading The Passage of Hellsfire. But if you want to learn more about Hellsfire’s father and a character in Eternal Darkness, it’s worth a read. On the plus side, Blood Money didn’t take away from working on Eternal Darkness.

Generally speaking, I’m also not a fan of newsletters. Newsletters are very obtrusive. If you don’t believe me, check your inbox. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been unsubscribing to a lot of things. Because of the recent laws, I unsubscribed to even more things. Thanks for the reminder! Even the few ones I do subscribe to, I still get a lot of emails. If that wasn’t bad enough, pretty much every major website has a little popup to try and get you to subscribe to their newsletter. Drives me crazy. Almost as much as sites being behind a paywall. I’ve started to use Facebook as a way to follow companies and when they have sales and deals.

I’m going to give it a year, maybe two, to see what good a newsletter is, if I enjoy doing it, or people even care about it. PO Boxes aren’t cheap and they went up the last time I checked. I hope you’ll sign up for it in a month.

Marc Johnson

Baycon 2018

Up next on my tour is Baycon. I don’t know where my table will be, but I will be there. It will be my first time there in any capacity. Come say hi and tell me how your con is going because I wish I could be out there as an attendee.

Returning to the Well

I’ve noticed a disturbing/lazy trend lately. It seems as if every high profile author is returning to their well in their most known series that they’ve worked on. And in the case of JRR Tolkien, it doesn’t matter if they’re dead or not.

You have Stephen King and The Dark Tower, JK Rowling and Harry Potter, Orson Scott Card and Ender’s Game, Terry Goodkind and The Sword of Truth, George RR Martin and A Song of Fire and Ice, and others I’m sure I’m forgetting. Those are BIG NAMES. What I don’t understand is why?

Those famous authors have the luxury of writing pretty much what they want and people will buy it. At most, some of them may be restricted in the same genre they’re known for. In either case, they don’t need to write in the same world. I’ve read most of their magnum opus(pi?) and while I thought the stories were mostly overall good, I never felt any need to return to their world. If I, as a reader, felt that the story was complete. Why did they, as an author, feel the need to return to their world? It certainly didn’t have to do with money.

I’m not saying that they shouldn’t write more in their world if they truly want to. If it’s a sequel, a prequel, or involves side characters who become main characters with their own adventures, it can have merit, and would possibly be stories that I want to read. But I find that usually their weakness isn’t that the story is in their world that they’ve created. Their weakness is that it doesn’t depart far enough from what they did before.

Their first series are world breaking events. At the end, the Hero saves the day and all is well. Much like everything post S5 Supernatural, where do you go after you’ve averted the apocalypse? Downhill. I’m not a fan of prequels, but prequels can only work if it’s far enough from the original. But a lot of the times, a prequel isn’t far enough. It’s 30 years or less. Because of that, we’re bound to see characters from the original story. We kind of expect to. And because it’s so close in the timeline, we already know how not only the story will end, but how the characters will too. What’s the point if it doesn’t bring anything new?

A good prequel is worldbuilding. It will tell you how the world you already created ended up that way. How the laws were passed, how the land become ruined, how empires crumbled, why people chose to settle there, how did the two factions split, etc. Those questions don’t have to directly lead to your original work. In fact, it’s better that they don’t. The reader’s mind will fill in the rest and it will be better than anything you could have written.

A good sequel will also expound upon somethings and take them in a different direction while still being faithful to the original material. Things such as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Cobra Kai excelled in doing this. They don’t disregard previous versions nor do they tell the same story that’s been done before. They explore things that weren’t previously touched upon while updating it for today’s audience.

If you’re one of those BIG NAME authors, I’d love for you to tell me why. Not that you need to validate your reasoning with me, I’m just genuinely curious. And if you’re just a regular writer like me, I’d love hear from you too. I may write a prequel in my Hellsfire world somewhere down the line, once I’m done with it. Then again, I might not.

Marc Johnson

Bay Area Book Fest 2018

This Saturday and Sunday, April 28th-29th, I will be at the 4th Annual Bay Area Book Fest in Downtown Berkeley. If you’re in the area, please drop by and say hi. I will be at table #148. It’s free and there are a lot of authors, speakers, food, and things for people to do. Hope to see you there!

Marc Johnson