· I
met three literary agents, two of whom I added to my query-when-I-have-a-novel
written spreadsheet.
· One
of those two agents sampled my writing (I can't reveal all of the details,
since I swore to secrecy). She liked what she read enough to comment that if I
ever wrote a novel set in the same world, she knew some editors who would be
interested.
Her statement made me
want to kick myself. Once again, I had missed an opportunity with a literary agent
because I have no book written. Heck, I didn't even have an idea. Then, one slapped
me in the shower the next morning (isn't that where all the greatest ideas come
from?). I'm currently world building a quasi-steampunk novel.
· I
met the editor of Angry Robot Books, my favorite publisher. I wish I could say
I handled myself like a pro, but in truth, I gushed like a fanboy.
· I
thanked Sheila Williams, the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, for
her kind rejections. At first she laughed, but when I stated that she always
includes a brief sentence that gives me hope, she looked surprised and said:
"I mean those
comments, too. Very few writers get them."
I don't think my feet
touched the ground for the rest of the day.
· I
met my all-time favorite author: Joe R Lansdale. I almost didn't, but Paul encouraged
me to speak to Mr. Lansdale. I visited with him a couple of times over the
course of the weekend. He signed several books for me - both ones I had
purchased at the Con and novels I already owned.
· I
may have discovered a new favorite author: Chuck Wendig. He writes horror and
dark urban fantasy, and so far, his books have blown my mind.
· I
attended my first Hugo Awards. I'm glad I sat in the audience versus watching
the live stream. There was a special feeling to being in the room, seeing all
the fancy clothes, hearing the many acceptance speeches, and fantasying about
one day walking on stage to accept my own Hugo.
· I
received five free books: three from Angry Robot and two from Solaris. All look
interesting.
· I
purchased nine books, two of which were Simon's Cat (I didn't know there were
books - so funny!) and one was the children's book version of the poem on which
the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas,
was based.
The rest of my
purchases were either writers I've previously read, or were new authors I had discovered
at the Con. (Not sure book purchases qualify as a success considering my goal
was to buy zero books.)
· I
ate one bug and received one free audio book in return. (The bug was a cricket
and it tasted spicy at first, but then very bitter. I needed lots of water to
wash it down.)
· I
bought six t-shirts. (Okay, Paul believes I have a t-shirt addiction, so maybe
this one isn't a success either. My goal had been to buy zero t-shirts, but my
favorite t-shirt vendor showed up and I couldn't resist.)
· I
attended 18 panels, which does not seem like a lot in retrospect considering I
was there for five days. How did I spend my extra time? In the Exhibit Hall,
apparently.
· I
attended … pauses to try to remember
… LOTS! of parties. I lost track of the actual number, because there were
multiple room parties almost every night. I will say I enjoyed the food in the
Nippon (Japan) in 2017 bid party the most. They had candy and snacks that I
scarfed on repeated visits.
· I
gained only one pound, despite being too tired to exercise regularly, eating mostly
fattening foods, and almost devouring the Japanese room party (hey, I donated
to help defray their costs). Overall, I did make a good attempt to eat healthy
thanks to the consuite stocking fresh fruits and some veggies.
· I
walked about gazillion miles between the hotel and the convention center (hmmm,
maybe that's why I didn't gain much weight).
· I
had the best time of any Con I have ever attended. That alone was my biggest
success.
If you attended WorldCon 2013, or previous WorldCons, or other SF&F cons, what did you consider your biggest successes?
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