ICE ESCAPE recap
We (Mike, Joe, Evo) attended the inaugural ICE ESCAPE convention in Phoenix over the weekend. This isn’t your (or our) typical convention. No fans dressed in period garb. No 501st. No big-name authors walking around making all the little authors jealous at the scope of their brilliance. Nope, none of that. But it was a great place to be if you wanted to get the real skinny on what it takes to get published.
We met some very informative and interesting people, with Molly Redenbaugh from Publication Services and Barry Kerrigan of Desktop Miracles topping the list. Both of these folks specialize in pre-book work. Check their websites for more information. What they shared (which had their entire audience in amazment) was that there are a few more steps other than writing your novel, picking your publisher, and watching the cash roll in. Things like editing, typesetting, interior design and cover design.
I can’t stress enough how important all of these aspects are. I’m glad that so many wanna-be authors got a chance to listen to these two (and many others) talk about the real world economics which goes into a professionally published book. It ain’t cheap, and if a publisher trys to convince you it is; pick another publisher.
Attendance was sorta light, but it was a first time con. The hotel wasn’t really designed in a way to make the convention easy to attend easier. It was nice enough, and right downtown so there were plenty of things for the out-of-towners to do. But next year, I’m lobbying for a new location.
Next up… LepreCon!
March 19th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
Hey, thanks for all of the information about what I shouldn’t do with publishing and especially about vanity press. I could’ve made a huge mistake. Really helpful. See ya at the next con.