NECON 27

Over this past weekend I attended the Northeast Writer's Conference, better known as NECON. This year marked the 27th year that NECON campers have attended the conference at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. Though this was a horror convention, I was able to attend panel discussion hosted by some of the top names in horror, including F. Paul Wilson, Jack Ketchum, Tom Monteleone, Tim Lebbons, as well as many others. Topics included how to sell your first novel, what has Hollywood done to my book, what's new with young adult horror, etc. Even though The Overlords is a fantasy story, I gained valuable insight by talking to authors about how to approach editors, publishers, etc. and networked with some of the best in the business. I'm hoping that these experiences will get me closer to that real book deal. As one camper who has been published and has a second book due out in the spring said, after I told him that I've sold almost 400 books even though I'm self-published, he didn't come close to selling that many books, nor do many small presses. I guess I'm doing all right for myself!