M*W Panels

( These are the topics I've suggested for Media*West panels. )

I also think that when I get the schedule I'm going to block a time (it'll be posted on the room well in advance) to have a Big Finish room party and play one of the shorter audios. I didn't get into BF until I heard one all the way through, so I'll provide the opportunity to garner new souls for the faith.

(Dangerously, I am also thinking of leaving the convention on Sunday again, although possibly not *that* early. It was so nice not to be driving home in Memorial Day traffic!

Random Comment on Reviewing

Spawned from a meme, the sockpuppet reviewer advertised on who_secrets and a poll about concrit:

Is anyone going to be surprised that my opinion of reviews is "why is anyone bothering to hide that they have an opinion that they can back up objectively"?

If I hadn't published reviews here, I wouldn't have been able to walk up to Barbara at Malice Domestic and say "Hire me for Reviewing the Evidence. Here are links to my writing samples." If I hadn't been reviewing for RtE, I wouldn't have had the background to go to Once Written and I Love A Mystery Newsletter and have them hire me. Although after a year I scaled that back to just RtE (I discovered I had no time left for pleasure reading), with my combined experience for them I could go talk to FireFox News, which hired me. And everything combined let me go to Unreality SF and get hired to write reviews there without even having to send a writing sample, because samples were already all over the web. Not always complimentary reviews, either - anyone who's seen the Dear Author tag knows that.

Technically, the RtE and ILAMN jobs are/were semi-pro writing jobs, in that I receive goods but not cash. Once Written was flat-out professional writing, paying per review.

If I'd posted my original reviews under a fake name or anonymously, I'd have no samples, thus no job, thus no free books, pay, or reputation to take anywhere else. I'm just sayin'.