Literary Community: Is This Con For Me?
Jul. 29th, 2015 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjAs I've mentioned previously, I've deliberately taken on a fairly heavy convention schedule this year, judging that it was an appropriate point in my publishing career to make a push to get my name and face in front of potential readers and colleagues. And as part of that schedule, I tried to include a wide variety of events, to try to reach different types of audiences. If you've been following along on my various con reports, you'll know that I've had very different levels of success at different events, not only in terms of my personal enjoyment (which isn't necessarily the point) but in terms of the professional usefulness of the event and the reading/writing community it represents. So let's take a look at a few of them in terms of who might find that particular event useful (and enjoyable).
Rainbow Con
This event arose out of a community based in fan-fiction, though much of the work being presented (both in panels and in the dealers' room) is not overtly rooted in particular fandoms (commercial work certainly has to have the serial numbers filed off, at the very least, although some authors noted that they were writing stories or characters that had originated as fan-fic). Because of the specific social origins of the event, it began with a very heavy focus on m/m fiction and despite the efforts of the concom to broaden the coverage, it retains that focus. For that reason, I would have a hard time recommending this event to anyone who doesn't have at least some interest or background in m/m fiction. It may be that future efforts to broaden the coverage will succeed in shifting this focus, but it will take a lot of work as it isn't simply a matter of convincing authors and presenters to give the con a try; they'll need to give those authors and presenters a reason to come. And that means shifting the reader-audience base, which is harder to move.
Any attempt at broader outreach also has to deal with factors that the concom has no control over, especially casual micro-aggressions from fellow attendees. Two conversations will suffice to illustrate. #1 Me: "What do you write?" Author: "I write LGBTQ fiction." Me: "Oh, the whole spectrum?" Author: "No, just m/m." #2 Panelist: "I won't read anything with vaginas [i.e., female protagonists]. This is a no-vagina zone." (Note: this was a female panelist.)
Due to the roots of the event, there is also a fairly heavy focus on sexual content, both in the literature and the programming. There was an entire track of erotic programming, covering both panels and readings. This is not surprising given that the literary tradition from which this event arose has a heavy focus on stories centering around romantic/sexual pairings.
My personal conclusion: This is not an event that I would attend again, simply because it has so little overlap with my interests both as a reader and a writer. I did make several positive personal contacts (particularly with the Queer SF facebook group), but in general they were all other people whose interests were marginal to the event. However it was a well-run, enthusiastic convention (if, perhaps, unbalanced in the programming-to-attendee ratio) and could be a good investment for someone whose interests are a better match.
Golden Crown Literary Society
This is a large, expensive, professional conference for the lesbian publishing industry. Although a significant proportion of attendees are readers rather than authors/publishers, it is not a "fan event" in the sense that most SFF cons are. A better comparison might be RWA (though on a much smaller scale). Contributing to the expense is that the event traditionally runs from Wednesday through Sunday, doubling the lodging expenses from a shorter weekend-only convention. Programming includes panels, readings, keynote speeches, and the presentation of the Golden Crown Awards (Goldies). Indie and self-published authors are welcomed, and there is always an official conference bookseller carrying titles for those who don't choose to have their own dealers' room table.
Attendees largely comprise a number of overlapping very tight social communities, focusing around specific publishers, specific authors, and specific online communities. Repeat attendance is high, contributing to this effect, and for many the primary interest is in having face-to-face interactions with an existing social circle. Due to the origins of the event in communities focused around lesbian-specific publishers, there is high overlap with women who identify strongly with "the lesbian community" in the various ways that is understood. Although all ages are represented, there is a significant proportion of authors and readers in higher age brackets who have been following lesbian fiction for decades.
The genre focus of this publishing/reading community is on contemporary fiction, primarily romance, but also including mysteries, thrillers, horror, and paranormal romance. Historical fiction rarely strays earlier than the late 19th century and non-paranormal SFF is a tiny minority and largely has a strong romance component.
I would recommend this event for authors who clearly identify their work with "LesFic" as a category and who are active in, or very comfortable with the lesbian community, however they define it. New attendees will have most success if they have an existing fan base at the conference or strong pre-existing ties to communities of authors who attend it. It is not a particularly useful context for a relatively unknown writer to attract readers, nor does it strike me as a particularly good context for making new professional connections, unless one has a support network there to facilitate. There is a strong sense of "family reunion" and a heavy emphasis on in-jokes and in-group celebrities. If you are a person who has a hard time "breaking in" to new social circles, GCLS is likely to be a difficult experience for you. On the other hand, if you are a person who gets charged up at the thought of an entire conference full of old-school lesbians celebrating lesbian culture, you will most likely have a great time.
My personal conclusion: I've attended two GCLS conventions now and I need to think long and hard about whether I intend to continue. On the pro side, this is the industry in which I am published. It is, in theory, the best context for me to interact face-to-face with my publisher and editor (although in practice this hasn't worked out). It is, in theory, an ideal place to expand my reader base and gain name-recognition. But on the con side, in practice, the genres and literary style I'm writing in are not of interest to the vast majority of the attendees. The background and skills that I could bring to share with other authors are similarly of little interest. (I've received a far more enthusiastic response for the Lesbian Historic Motif Project at Rainbow Con and at SFF cons than I met with at GCLS.) And in terms of community identification, I'm a foreigner and am likely always to remain so.
Lone Star LesFic
To recap from a previous analysis, most of the above discussion for GCLS applies to this event in miniature, except that it's proportionately much cheaper (even pro-rating the travel costs, given that LSLF is a one-day event).
SFF Cons
I'm not going to do a detailed recap of the several cons I've attended this year at this point. I think I'll save that for the year end when I've gotten through Sasquan (Worldcon) and Chessiecon. But in brief, SFF cons have the advantage for me that this is the literary and social context that I'm "at home" in, though I still have to work hard and self-consiously to manage and plan for successful social interactions. On the down side, obviously these events do not have the focus on lesbian or queer content that the above events have, but I've always found them very queer-friendly, and the amount of programming that speaks specifically to my interests (both as a reader and writer) in feminist and lesbian topics is actually quite comparable to that of the queer/lesbian-focused events. And when it comes down to it, my book sales and signing interactions are comparable or better at SFF conventions than at Rainbow Con, GCLS, or LSLF.
I'm not going to make specific "you should go to this con if" recommendations here, because the individual events are so varied. But I'd say that if you are a writer of lesbian-focused SFF in a "mainstream" writing style, no matter who you're published by, you may be better off getting exposure at fan-run SFF conventions than at lesbian-specific events. Conversely, if you're looking for an event with a significant proportion of LGBTQ attendance, or if your interests as a reader or writer rely heavily on a romance component, then you're likely to find an SFF con less satisfying. And if you have no pre-existing social or professional connections to SFF fandom, you will encounter the same issues with "breaking in" and with in-group assumptions that occur at GCLS or any other event that emerges from a long-term defined community.
Rainbow Con
This event arose out of a community based in fan-fiction, though much of the work being presented (both in panels and in the dealers' room) is not overtly rooted in particular fandoms (commercial work certainly has to have the serial numbers filed off, at the very least, although some authors noted that they were writing stories or characters that had originated as fan-fic). Because of the specific social origins of the event, it began with a very heavy focus on m/m fiction and despite the efforts of the concom to broaden the coverage, it retains that focus. For that reason, I would have a hard time recommending this event to anyone who doesn't have at least some interest or background in m/m fiction. It may be that future efforts to broaden the coverage will succeed in shifting this focus, but it will take a lot of work as it isn't simply a matter of convincing authors and presenters to give the con a try; they'll need to give those authors and presenters a reason to come. And that means shifting the reader-audience base, which is harder to move.
Any attempt at broader outreach also has to deal with factors that the concom has no control over, especially casual micro-aggressions from fellow attendees. Two conversations will suffice to illustrate. #1 Me: "What do you write?" Author: "I write LGBTQ fiction." Me: "Oh, the whole spectrum?" Author: "No, just m/m." #2 Panelist: "I won't read anything with vaginas [i.e., female protagonists]. This is a no-vagina zone." (Note: this was a female panelist.)
Due to the roots of the event, there is also a fairly heavy focus on sexual content, both in the literature and the programming. There was an entire track of erotic programming, covering both panels and readings. This is not surprising given that the literary tradition from which this event arose has a heavy focus on stories centering around romantic/sexual pairings.
My personal conclusion: This is not an event that I would attend again, simply because it has so little overlap with my interests both as a reader and a writer. I did make several positive personal contacts (particularly with the Queer SF facebook group), but in general they were all other people whose interests were marginal to the event. However it was a well-run, enthusiastic convention (if, perhaps, unbalanced in the programming-to-attendee ratio) and could be a good investment for someone whose interests are a better match.
Golden Crown Literary Society
This is a large, expensive, professional conference for the lesbian publishing industry. Although a significant proportion of attendees are readers rather than authors/publishers, it is not a "fan event" in the sense that most SFF cons are. A better comparison might be RWA (though on a much smaller scale). Contributing to the expense is that the event traditionally runs from Wednesday through Sunday, doubling the lodging expenses from a shorter weekend-only convention. Programming includes panels, readings, keynote speeches, and the presentation of the Golden Crown Awards (Goldies). Indie and self-published authors are welcomed, and there is always an official conference bookseller carrying titles for those who don't choose to have their own dealers' room table.
Attendees largely comprise a number of overlapping very tight social communities, focusing around specific publishers, specific authors, and specific online communities. Repeat attendance is high, contributing to this effect, and for many the primary interest is in having face-to-face interactions with an existing social circle. Due to the origins of the event in communities focused around lesbian-specific publishers, there is high overlap with women who identify strongly with "the lesbian community" in the various ways that is understood. Although all ages are represented, there is a significant proportion of authors and readers in higher age brackets who have been following lesbian fiction for decades.
The genre focus of this publishing/reading community is on contemporary fiction, primarily romance, but also including mysteries, thrillers, horror, and paranormal romance. Historical fiction rarely strays earlier than the late 19th century and non-paranormal SFF is a tiny minority and largely has a strong romance component.
I would recommend this event for authors who clearly identify their work with "LesFic" as a category and who are active in, or very comfortable with the lesbian community, however they define it. New attendees will have most success if they have an existing fan base at the conference or strong pre-existing ties to communities of authors who attend it. It is not a particularly useful context for a relatively unknown writer to attract readers, nor does it strike me as a particularly good context for making new professional connections, unless one has a support network there to facilitate. There is a strong sense of "family reunion" and a heavy emphasis on in-jokes and in-group celebrities. If you are a person who has a hard time "breaking in" to new social circles, GCLS is likely to be a difficult experience for you. On the other hand, if you are a person who gets charged up at the thought of an entire conference full of old-school lesbians celebrating lesbian culture, you will most likely have a great time.
My personal conclusion: I've attended two GCLS conventions now and I need to think long and hard about whether I intend to continue. On the pro side, this is the industry in which I am published. It is, in theory, the best context for me to interact face-to-face with my publisher and editor (although in practice this hasn't worked out). It is, in theory, an ideal place to expand my reader base and gain name-recognition. But on the con side, in practice, the genres and literary style I'm writing in are not of interest to the vast majority of the attendees. The background and skills that I could bring to share with other authors are similarly of little interest. (I've received a far more enthusiastic response for the Lesbian Historic Motif Project at Rainbow Con and at SFF cons than I met with at GCLS.) And in terms of community identification, I'm a foreigner and am likely always to remain so.
Lone Star LesFic
To recap from a previous analysis, most of the above discussion for GCLS applies to this event in miniature, except that it's proportionately much cheaper (even pro-rating the travel costs, given that LSLF is a one-day event).
SFF Cons
I'm not going to do a detailed recap of the several cons I've attended this year at this point. I think I'll save that for the year end when I've gotten through Sasquan (Worldcon) and Chessiecon. But in brief, SFF cons have the advantage for me that this is the literary and social context that I'm "at home" in, though I still have to work hard and self-consiously to manage and plan for successful social interactions. On the down side, obviously these events do not have the focus on lesbian or queer content that the above events have, but I've always found them very queer-friendly, and the amount of programming that speaks specifically to my interests (both as a reader and writer) in feminist and lesbian topics is actually quite comparable to that of the queer/lesbian-focused events. And when it comes down to it, my book sales and signing interactions are comparable or better at SFF conventions than at Rainbow Con, GCLS, or LSLF.
I'm not going to make specific "you should go to this con if" recommendations here, because the individual events are so varied. But I'd say that if you are a writer of lesbian-focused SFF in a "mainstream" writing style, no matter who you're published by, you may be better off getting exposure at fan-run SFF conventions than at lesbian-specific events. Conversely, if you're looking for an event with a significant proportion of LGBTQ attendance, or if your interests as a reader or writer rely heavily on a romance component, then you're likely to find an SFF con less satisfying. And if you have no pre-existing social or professional connections to SFF fandom, you will encounter the same issues with "breaking in" and with in-group assumptions that occur at GCLS or any other event that emerges from a long-term defined community.
