What a whirlwind weekend - and it's not even finished yet!
Yesterday was the inaugural Raindance Independent Author Book Faire at Landsdowne Mall.
The Faire itself was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't know what to expect, but when I arrived, I found a few tables set up in one of the rotundas with no signage at all. The rotunda is circled by booths for cell phone companies and a couple of realtors, and we were in the centre of it. The way the mall is set up, people walk around the rotunda - around the edge, they don't cut through, so without signage, people were walking around us, not realizing what was going on in the middle. I did manage to sell three books, which, considering there were about 6 people I spoke with over 3 hours, isn't too shabby a percentage. There could have been a lot, lot more had things been organized differently. I kept having to remind myself that this was the first event of it's kind, and not judge too harshly - they'll work it out for the next one, I hope!
The star of the event though was the Blue Pencil Session I had with the Editor's Association of Canada. This was also what caused most of my nerves. I submitted the first three chapters of Sole a couple of weeks ago to be assessed, and was almost apoplectic thinking I was going to be judged by someone who actually KNOWS writing. I was convinced they were to going to call me out - but what I *did* get was a pleasant surprise.
I sat in a dingy back room off the rotunda with an editor across from me. She asked what I thought the strengths and weaknesses were of the piece. When I answered, she agreed. Strength was the voice of the work, and the weakness was the pacing of the first three chapters.
What happened next surprised me. She pulled out a three page report she'd written on the chapters and we proceeded to go through and discuss some of the choices I'd made in the writing.
The critiquing I got was completely invaluable! I made a lot of rookie mistakes - using passive voice, verbs usage, and perhaps a bit of coyness that wasn't necessary. I was also surprised that her main critique was that I fill in too much backstory at the beginning of the work. Huh. Interesting! I had no clue.
She also mentioned that with my chapter structure, I showed some of the tension, but not enough - in short, I stopped the chapters too soon. I should have led my readers further to the edge before ending the chapters.
When I told her how I wrote the thing - for NANOWRIMO, she then understood why a lot of the issues took place. I got a bit too flowery in places because of word count etc.
When I told her that this had only really had one edit, she was amazed. Really amazed - and that is a credit to the original draft I think, and my Da, who line edited for me before this went out.
All in all, the feedback I got will only help me make my writing better, and made the whole day and cost of the event worth while. Having someone other than a family member or friend who loves me say I have a talent for writing is a huge boost - and one of the validations an independent author rarely gets. I'll hold onto that dearly.
By the end of my session - and we went longer than I was due - she said that she was left wanting to know what happened... so I gave her a book. HA!
I'm also proud of the display I had at my table. I used patent black leather pumps as holders for my rack cards, which I think was clever. My jacket design was eye-catching.
All in all, it was a good day, and I got to spend it with my Da, who was so integral to the process it would be a crime if he weren't there...
