MCM ComicCon London 2019 has, once again, provided interesting panels aiming to help aspiring writers and satisfying readers who are simply curious about authors’ lives.
Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Ruin), RJ Barker (Age of Assassins), Jen Williams (The Copper Promise), KK Perez (The Tesla Legacy), Catherine Webb (Timekeepers), and Susan Dennard (Truthwitch) entertained the lively audience of the Creator Stage by speaking of their techniques to create perfect and seemingly real worlds for their novels. After a short introduction of the writers, RJ Barker went straight to the point, asking if the world-building came before or after the making of the characters. “I mainly interested in world creation,” Tchaikovsky kicked off the conversation. “During my writing process, the characters initially are subordinate.” The other authors agreed on that point; the world they created influenced the characters and the scenario in which they acted tended to shape them. “I differ from my colleagues,” Williams said with a smile. “I used to start creating the characters as they’re supposed to live and forge that environment.” “The key to make our creation real is to provide a deep connection between readers and characters,” Dennard added. “If the reader can feel what your protagonists feel, they will become part of the story.” The research was a part of the job that usually took more time and caused big headaches and frustration. “I need to research and be as precise as possible,” Tchaikovsky said. “My imagination is quite lazy, so looking for the information I need works as motivation.” Jen Williams, instead, preferred to make everything up, as creating from the beginning allowed the writer to overlook details which might make the story difficult and boring. “That’s why it’s perfectly fine to be an expert of the scenario you created,” Webb interjected, “but you always have to remember that the story has to get on.” As time dramatically went by, the authors dealt with the final question regarding which flaws they tried to avoid when building their worlds. “My editor usually asks me to make the story more accessible,” Webb replied. “My worlds are quite precise historically, and suddenly fantasy corrupts them.” The main problem for Tchaikovsky was the weirdest and most unexpected. “As my main characters usually aren’t human, I get often asked to add more people.” The audience burst into a fragrant laugh. “It might seem weird, but that’s a frequent request.”
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The debate is one of the hottest in the authors’ world; you can have a look at every writers’ page on the internet, and you’ll be able to find numerous – and often – contrasting opinions. Ed Jowett and Leo Cosh from Shadow of Vengeance spoke of self-publishing in front of a crowded and interested audience at MCM Comiccon London 2019.
The dim Creator Stage had just finished to fill up, and the attendee had taken their seats when Ed and Leo suddenly jumped on the stage. “Let’s start from the beginning of my seven-year-long adventure,” Ed said. “You’ve got an idea, you wrote it down and polished. Finally, you decide it’s ready to get published. What do you do?” The people looked around as if they were looking for an answer. “You have to find somebody external to have a look at your work and tell you if it is interesting.” “Somebody to read it is the most important thing,” Leo interjected. “New eyes can find out if something is either wrong or not working.” “Correct,” Ed added, “but I, however, deeply recommend hiring a professional proofreader to finish it professionally. Quite often we don’t see things that another person can easily spot, as we’re involved in the work.” Ed and Leo, then, went through the layout; how your work appeared was important, but it also depended on what kind of writing you were doing. “If you want for a traditional publisher, they usually ask for a certain layout,” Ed said, “but, if you go self-publishing, you have to figure out what you prefer and what is more suitable for your product.” “There’s one stage before publishing your work,” Leo interjected. “You have to build your audience. It helps to sell your product and to figure out how many copies to request.” The marketing process was the most demanding, and it took time for both the writers. In the modern era of the internet, anyway, the possibilities to advertise your book were endless. “You can use Facebook – preferably create a group as the pages aren’t good – Reddit, and Twitter,” Ed said. “There also are a few websites on which you can arrange crowdfunding. If you have a bunch of followers, you can start promoting your product. They usually are happy to help, if they like it.” “Local presentations are very important as well,” Leo added. “You can go to the local bookshop and ask if they’re interested in promoting your book. It may be a challenge to go out and talk about your work for some people, but it’s a very effective way.” The conversation dealt with the publishing companies. They often are happy to send some samples over to you to show the quality of their publications. “Publishing companies can be very helpful in deciding what kind of format you might need,” Ed said. “There are a few companies – bookprinting.co.uk for example – that I regularly used to publish my works. They have good quality, and the price is pretty affordable.” |
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