SUPERSTARS Writing Seminar

So, I'm only halfway through the Seminars, but I can safely say that this has definitely been an educational, enlightening, and overwhelming experience (but the good kind of overwhelming, for the most part). I've already taken something like 20 pages of notes, I've practiced pitching a story, I've gotten books signed, and there's a lot more to come!

Wonderful! Your brain is probably very full.
I have been looking at the pics on Facebook from other attendees, and it looks like an event to not be missed.
Going on my Bucket list!

I am officially HOME from Superstars! I know this is cliché, and I know it's been said a million times, but this seminar was life-changing. I didn't know what "drinking from a fire hose" really meant until I went Superstars. I'll be writing up a more coherent and informative post over in Moon's Super Secrets in the next week, but for now, all I have to say is: if you can make it happen next year, make it happen. This is a writing conference like no other. You will level up.

SUPERSTARS WRITING SEMINAR: A Short Report

I posted this to Super Secrets, and am posting here as well.

I encouraged the Forum to find a way to attend this amazing writing seminar, and many did. If you go to my Facebook page (wulf dot moon dot 94) you'll see a wonderful picture of our Forum group at dinner! We had four scholarship winners from the Forum in our group, including two that were awarded the very first Writers of the Future Superstars' Scholarships! And guess what? We had a surprise visit from Joni Labaqi! What a kick! Another surprise, and something new for me, every swag bag for attendees had WotF Vol. 35 in it! I've never had a story as part of a swag bag before. EVERYONE at the conference had a copy of Moongirl, and I loved having people come up asking me to sign their books! So that was pretty special, and another bonus of having WotF as your publisher.

Tremendous knowledge was shared from writers at the top of their game. You want to know how to indie publish and rise in the Amazon bestseller charts? James Hunter was there, #1 with his Viridian Gate novel, explaining release strategies. You want to have a pro go over the first three chapters of your novel? Eric Flint was there, giving one on one critiques. Is middle grade or YA the right place for you to be writing in? Jonathon Maberry explained the sweet spot. Do you want to create fascinating fantasy worlds? Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta went through detailed outlines of every aspect of worldbuilding and how to make your civilizations believable. How about crafting the perfect short story? David Farland did a Craft Day workshop on that, and I think all of our group attended (except me because I'm going to have two weeks with him total with the WotF workshops). There were pitch sessions with agents and editors, and I'm hearing some of you had exciting results from your pitch! But the most important thing of all at Superstars...some of you got to sing with me. Okay, maybe that wasn't the most important thing for you, but I was pretty thrilled you came to my folk and filk session, we had so much fun!

Finally, there is Tribe. You meet so many people just like you, trying to find their way, ready to give you encouragement and support. Not just at the seminar, but for the rest of your life. Superstars becomes family. They stand with you through time, as you will find out if you become a member. It is VERY important to have allies in this business, and you won't find a nicer bunch of professionals and aspiring professionals anywhere, highly focused on spec fic, I might add.

If you'd like to attend but are financially challenged, the scholarships are available to help those with needs get there. They are merit based, but you saw how many here have the writing skills necessary to meet their high standards. I'll try to let you know when scholarship applications open again for 2021. And if you have the means, as Ferris Bueller said, I highly recommend it. It's next level stuff, but if you're ready to make the jump to the next level, this is the place that will help you get there. Find a way to attend. https://superstarswriting.com/

I hope to meet many more of you next year at Superstars! Plan for your future now! Or win Writers of the Future, that works, too, but this is something you can actually have some control over.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Hey all,

There are a few of us that got to attend Superstars Writing Seminars in 2020 (it was rescheduled in 2021 due to the pandemic), and several of us from the Forum that even won a scholarship!
I was fortunate enough to have received one of only two Writers of the Future sponsored scholarships to Superstars in 2020. It even included a Craft Day, where I went and learned all day from Dave Farland, our esteemed judge, and may I say, he's an excellent teacher. I've been to 3 of his workshops.

Now, as an alumni of Superstars, I have a promo code that gives new attendees $100 off the cost of admission. If 5 people use my code I get to attend for free, but that won't be until 2023 (I checked with them about this), so please don't think you have to use my code for that.

I truly believe attending changed the game for me with writing, and even more, I made life-long friends there, got a writing group that got me through the pandemic! and more. 

Moon has put up several wonderful posts saying what Superstars is all about. It really is wonderful. Even Kary, our esteemed first reader of the contest, attends. She's awesome.

The conference does a wonderful job of getting people rides to and from the airports, and even connecting folks to share rooms to help with the cost. Superstars is held in Colorado Springs and I live in Denver, so last year I helped shuttle some very awesome people back and forth to the airport. They really go all out for everyone.

I wish I could tell you guys ALL about how much fun it was! There was filking (MOON!), and Whiskey Wednesdays, and omgoodness the First Pages Party was fantastic (Love Todd and Chris ♥), and Eggs Benedict and James A Owen WILL make you cry with his talk "Drawing Out the Dragons" (changed my life), and there is a VIP dinner you can attend, and on and on ... and I haven't even mentioned the panels of learning!! LOL
Whew... it's a lot. And so so much fun.

Anyway, to help anyone who needs it to attend my code is: ALICIA4166

Also, from Marie (she helps run SSWS): there is an uncommon glitch with the Ambassador Code box. (Thanks, Covid!) If the Ambassador Code field won't recognize the code, add the code in the Discount Code field.

Any questions, always feel free to hollar at me. ♥

I also have a code if people want it, but I'd recommend checking with Alicia first because I don't know that I'll be able to make it back in 2023. (I don't know if there's unlimited uses of one code or if we only get the five uses per person, however, and I want to make sure as many people who want to go get to save some money as possible.)

Just in case anyone needs it, my referral code is:

M.ELIZABETH8135

I'd definitely rather you opt for Alicia's (or Becky's, if she posts one) first, though.  

I'm still really interested in the idea of going to Superstars.

Sadly, living in Australia means the cost to get there is pretty high. Don't think I can do it right now. Hopefully one day! I've heard good things.

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

I'm still really interested in the idea of going to Superstars.

Sadly, living in Australia means the cost to get there is pretty high. Don't think I can do it right now. Hopefully one day! I've heard good things.

Scott,

The scholarships for those in financial need are coming up. I wrote letters of recommendation for a couple of Forum members, and both were accepted for special WotF scholarships. I also encouraged others to apply by posting info here, and they were awarded scholarships as well. I organized a dinner for everyone from the Forum at Superstars, and invited Kary English, WotF first reader, to join us and share valuable tips. I do believe it significantly helped those there. I also encouraged that group to form a writer’s ring, and those that did so have have had success after success. Superstars is much more than lectures by bestselling authors. It’s about making friendships and networking with fellow writers seeking to advance their knowledge and marketing skills, just like you.

The scholarship is worth around $1,000, so it’s quite a prize. But you still have to cover your air, hotel, and expenses, so it’s still a significant investment if you don’t live close. And it’s important to note that for aspiring writers, some of the material is high level and might be intimidating to the novice writer. But if you’re serious about a career in fiction writing, especially speculative fiction, you won’t find a better seminar. Four of the founders are WotF judges as well, and of course, Dave is one of them. He teaches on Craft Day, and taking any course by Dave will help you advance. 

So, as I’ve said before, if you’re serious about a career in fiction writing, Superstars is going to help you. And if you’re financially challenged, the scholarship can help you get there. I know it helped me, and I know it helped several others from this forum to be able to attend. 

Best of success! Many apply, few are chosen. But I can say many were chosen from this group. And that makes me very happy. ?

Posted by: @wulfmoon

I organized a dinner for everyone from the Forum at Superstars, and invited Kary English, WotF first reader, to join us and share valuable tips. I do believe it significantly helped those there. I also encouraged that group to form a writer’s ring, and those that did so have have had success after success. Superstars is much more than lectures by bestselling authors. It’s about making friendships and networking with fellow writers seeking to advance their knowledge and marketing skills, just like you.

This sounds absolutely fantastic and I can't state how much I'd appreciate this side of Superstars.

Thank you for posting your discount codes @aliciacay and @disgruntledpeony. Pretty sure that I will be signing up for this in the next few weeks.

And congratulations to you both!! Your hard work is truly something to aspire to.  

My discount code is REBECCA9976 if anyone is interested and Alicia and Liz’s codes are all used up. I really encourage everyone who can to register for SSWS. It’s an excellent business seminar, you’re surrounded by good people, and you’ll learn a ton. If your goal is to make writing a career, SSWS is where you want to be. 

I'm mulling this over myself, as it sounds like it would definitely fill in a severe gap in my knowledge on the business side of a writing career. For people more in the know, and who have attended, what would you say are prerequisites to get the best out of this seminar?

(It sounds awesome, but I want to contemplate whether I should be looking to apply to attend the next one in 2022, or if I should perhaps look instead to 2023.)

Posted by: @doctorjest

I'm mulling this over myself, as it sounds like it would definitely fill in a severe gap in my knowledge on the business side of a writing career. For people more in the know, and who have attended, what would you say are prerequisites to get the best out of this seminar?

(It sounds awesome, but I want to contemplate whether I should be looking to apply to attend the next one in 2022, or if I should perhaps look instead to 2023.)

I explained all the benefits when I first introduced the Superstars Writing Seminar to this Forum. Just scroll back to my original posts, Dr Jest. This seminar focuses on the business side of writing, i.e, career building. I’ve been encouraging them to add more on the crafting short stories side, as there was nothing on that the first year I attended. David Farland graciously answered the request with a Craft Day addition on storytelling, and more members have requested the same this year. I’m also asking them to bring in pro magazine editors, something lacking previously as well. We will have the publisher of Galaxy’s Edge there this year, so that’s cool, although I’d still like to see them bring in magazine editors. They pick the stories, and it really helps if an editor knows you personally. 

Many that attend are as yet unpublished, and the majority of those enter WotF with good results. Many of the Superstars’ members submitting are from here, and came mainly because I started this thread and told them about it and encouraged them to come. A handful from here won scholarships. The two I wrote letters of recommendation for were awarded the first Superstars Writers of the Future Scolarships, and I’m pleased I could help these writers. Those scholarships are worth around $1,000.

But here’s something you don’t know. After I won WotF, I had a friendly chat with John Goodwin about WotF presenting at Superstars. I cited the fact that four of the founders are WotF judges, and that this would be a wonderful platform for them to reach out to appreciative writers face to face. John listened. This is why WotF reached out to Kevin J Anderson, and how those scholarships came to be. Author Services listens to good ideas, and they have smart people implementing them. They surprised us all by flying out Joni and Juli. What a joy that was to be with them there, and to see everyone in attendance get a copy of Volume 35. They are most generous.

If you are financially challenged, that’s what the scholarships are for. Many apply, few are chosen. I write Letters of recommendation only for a couple of forumites, frankly, because if they knew how many from here actually win them, I think the selection committee would freak out and limit us. Truth is, we have a helluva lot of good writers in here. That’s because this place attracts writers dedicated to learning their craft.

If you aren’t financially challenged, register now before the Craft Day offerings fill. Some of those are limited, like the first chapters workshop with WotF judge Eric Flint. I know of one WotF winner that got her novel published by his company after he saw her work in that workshop. Word to the wise.

While we’re at it, I’ll throw my hat in the ring. I too have a code that gets first time attendees $100 off. Full disclosure, it gets my general admission covered if five new attendees use it in a year. You will note by going back to the original post it’s not why I started this topic. I’m trying to help all of you.

But in regards to what I’ve done to help so many here find out about Superstars and to help them attend, I do believe I’ve earned it.

WULF9928

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @doctorjest

I'm mulling this over myself, as it sounds like it would definitely fill in a severe gap in my knowledge on the business side of a writing career. For people more in the know, and who have attended, what would you say are prerequisites to get the best out of this seminar?

(It sounds awesome, but I want to contemplate whether I should be looking to apply to attend the next one in 2022, or if I should perhaps look instead to 2023.)

I explained all the benefits when I first introduced the Superstars Writing Seminar to this Forum. Just scroll back to my original posts, Dr Jest. This seminar focuses on the business side of writing, i.e, career building. I’ve been encouraging them to add more on the crafting short stories side, as there was nothing on that the first year I attended. David Farland graciously answered the request with a Craft Day addition on storytelling, and more members have requested the same this year. I’m also asking them to bring in pro magazine editors, something lacking previously as well. We will have the publisher of Galaxy’s Edge there this year, so that’s cool, although I’d still like to see them bring in magazine editors. They pick the stories, and it really helps if an editor knows you personally. 

Thanks, Wulf! I did read this before, and it was a big part of why I'm interested in the first place. I'm re-reading the whole thread, and trying to get a sense in particular of where I should be--or where I should move my career to ahead of it--in order to get the most out of it, or perhaps more specifically, to get out of it what I would be hoping to get out of it before going in.

I think that's perhaps a more specific question for me, though, as it's likely down to me getting a better grasp of exactly what I want, and by inference, what I feel I should do before going there. I am leaning more and more strongly towards wanting to go, though.

@doctorjest I got a scholarship to go to Superstars in 2020, and it made a difference in both my level of writing skill (Craft Day is good for that) and my knowledge of the business. This year I'm doing a bit better financially, so I'm aiming to attend in 2022 again to branch out further and learn more.

What would you be hoping to get out of Superstars specifically? Is that something you can put into words? I have a lot of notes from the classes I took and, while I don't know exactly what courses they'll have available at the conference this time around, I can tell you that last time they covered everything from pitching to an agent to the ins and outs of self-publishing.

Posted by: @doctorjest

I think that's perhaps a more specific question for me, though, as it's likely down to me getting a better grasp of exactly what I want, and by inference, what I feel I should do before going there. I am leaning more and more strongly towards wanting to go, though.

Like I said in my post, I would encourage anyone who wants to make writing a career, and not just a hobby or a side gig, to attend Superstars. The Craft Day classes were amazing - I attended one with David Farland and one with Dan Wells - but a lot of cons have craft classes.

The real content at Superstars is business classes - how to market yourself, how to read contracts, how to develop your self-publishing platform, on and on. They're not for beginners - if you don't have a basic understanding of writing as a business it can feel overwhelming, but it's worth it. Wulf warned me it would be like drinking from a firehose, and it absolutely was - but in the year after that, despite the pandemic, my writing started to look more like a career than it had in the 3 previous years. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I don't think so.

The real value of Superstars, IMHO, is the tribe mentality they cultivate and encourage. They mean it - it's not just a con where you come and leave without making any connections. They cheer you on - every quarter there's a thread in the Superstars Facebook group celebrating the Tribe members who placed in WotF, for example. I can't wait to go again.

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @wulfmoon

Posted by: @doctorjest

I'm mulling this over myself, as it sounds like it would definitely fill in a severe gap in my knowledge on the business side of a writing career. For people more in the know, and who have attended, what would you say are prerequisites to get the best out of this seminar?

(It sounds awesome, but I want to contemplate whether I should be looking to apply to attend the next one in 2022, or if I should perhaps look instead to 2023.)

I explained all the benefits when I first introduced the Superstars Writing Seminar to this Forum. Just scroll back to my original posts, Dr Jest. This seminar focuses on the business side of writing, i.e, career building. I’ve been encouraging them to add more on the crafting short stories side, as there was nothing on that the first year I attended. David Farland graciously answered the request with a Craft Day addition on storytelling, and more members have requested the same this year. I’m also asking them to bring in pro magazine editors, something lacking previously as well. We will have the publisher of Galaxy’s Edge there this year, so that’s cool, although I’d still like to see them bring in magazine editors. They pick the stories, and it really helps if an editor knows you personally. 

Thanks, Wulf! I did read this before, and it was a big part of why I'm interested in the first place. I'm re-reading the whole thread, and trying to get a sense in particular of where I should be--or where I should move my career to ahead of it--in order to get the most out of it, or perhaps more specifically, to get out of it what I would be hoping to get out of it before going in.

I think that's perhaps a more specific question for me, though, as it's likely down to me getting a better grasp of exactly what I want, and by inference, what I feel I should do before going there. I am leaning more and more strongly towards wanting to go, though.

You are at a level that this seminar would benefit you, Dr Jest. Even though some of it is high level info, it’s good to know even for future career reference. It’s also very helpful to hear the many talks of the steps these star authors took to get where they are today. Kevin J Anderson does a wonderful lecture called standing on the backs of giants, acknowledging the mentors and people that helped him along the way. You don’t do this in a vacuum. We’ve all had help and opportunities opened up to us by others, and it’s good to see someone at the top of their game like Kevin humbly acknowledging this. It also helps humanize the process, bringing it down to Earth, and helps you realize you can chart a path to greater success just like they did.

Much of success is determined by belief. More than anything, Superstars helps you believe.

So does WotF, but you don’t have real control over whether or not you will be picked. With Superstars, you do have control. 

All the best with your decision.

Wulf Moon

Posted by: @disgruntledpeony

@doctorjest I got a scholarship to go to Superstars in 2020, and it made a difference in both my level of writing skill (Craft Day is good for that) and my knowledge of the business. This year I'm doing a bit better financially, so I'm aiming to attend in 2022 again to branch out further and learn more.

What would you be hoping to get out of Superstars specifically? Is that something you can put into words? I have a lot of notes from the classes I took and, while I don't know exactly what courses they'll have available at the conference this time around, I can tell you that last time they covered everything from pitching to an agent to the ins and outs of self-publishing.

I think that the more I read about it, the more it feels like something I want or need to do. I don't entirely know if I feel like I'm quite ready for it, but at the same time, I find that I frequently do well when I decide I'm not quite ready or quite prepared for a thing, and then throw myself at it anyway. I don't entirely know what my answer to that question would be, but I'm getting a real sense that I'll know what it would be after I attend. A bit backwards maybe, but it feels right to me at the moment.

I've gone ahead, now, and booked for the 2022 seminars--I'll be looking to book the travel and lodging and whatnot a little later, but for now, I have booked my seat at the event itself.

Yay! See you there! We’re gonna have to rent out a whole restaurant for all the forumites this time!

Posted by: @rschibler

Yay! See you there! We’re gonna have to rent out a whole restaurant for all the forumites this time!

Looking forward to it!

(Now, if I can just figure out the right dates and times to book for lodging and travel, I'll be golden...)

Good on you, Doc Jest. I hope it's a riveting experience and an awesome connection with others.  

Posted by: @doctorjest

I've gone ahead, now, and booked for the 2022 seminars--I'll be looking to book the travel and lodging and whatnot a little later, but for now, I have booked my seat at the event itself.

As the Knight Templar said to Indiana Jones as he selected the cup to drink from, "You chose ... wisely." 

Woo-hoo! See you there!

Moon

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

Good on you, Doc Jest. I hope it's a riveting experience and an awesome connection with others.  

I'm hoping so too! I think the seminars are what I need, but I'm still not sure whether it's that, or the chance to meet up with other folks from the forum, that I'm looking forward to more. Both will be awesome, I hope!

[shakes fist at Facebook]

I am well and truly tired of the All Things on Facebook approach to online presences. Ah well...I'll see folks at the seminar, but I won't be a part of the Facebook chunk of this experience, as I scrapped that from my life already, and noticed a distinct improvement after doing so. I'm disinclined to trade back.

It sure is a convenient little evil monster, though. Little wonder everyone is content to let it keep on sleeping under the bed.

Applications for the Don Hodges Memorial Scholarship recently opened up. If you've never attended Superstars, want to, but are being held back by financial difficulties, this can be really helpful. You still have to pay for the plane tickets, hotel room, and food, but there are tricks to minimizing those costs. (A few quick tips: Rooming with someone halves hotel costs. Flying in to Denver and carpooling to the hotel is often cheaper than flying in to Colorado Springs by a large margin. Making a grocery run the day you arrive means you don't have to pay as much on restaurants--although restaurant trips are great for socializing, so saving up some money for that is good if you can swing it.)

You need a writing sample and two letters of recommendation in order to apply for the scholarship. With regard to said writing sample, send them your best short story or chapter of a larger work. As far as letters of recommendation go, it's always best to get someone who is familiar with you and your writing.

That said, I'm familiar enough with many of the people on this forum that I'd be comfortable writing letters of recommendation should they need them, and I'm sure there are others who would feel the same way. If people post about wanting to try for the scholarship here, I'm sure we can network something.

Here's the link that describes the scholarship; it, in turn, has links to the Google Forms application you need to fill out in order to apply for said scholarship.

https://superstarswriting.com/don-hodge-memorial-scholarship/

Darnit, I'm going to have to nix this after all--it's become apparent that the timing of this will cause me problems. Six months later and I'd be fine, but the current Feb 2022 timeline is going to present a problem. I'm going to plan to push out to the 2023 seminar instead, assuming that all goes ahead as expected, but will miss the chance to meet up with those of you attending in 2022.

@doctorjest Stuff happens. No worries. If I don’t see you at the WotF Vol. 38 week, I’ll see you in 2023 at Superstars!

Anyone who is going to Superstars who is interested in having lunch and/or dinner once or twice, find me on Facebook or Twitter and send me a message! Last time we set up a forumite group chat in messenger and it helped a lot, would love to do that again!

Posted by: @wulfmoon

@doctorjest Stuff happens. No worries. If I don’t see you at the WotF Vol. 38 week, I’ll see you in 2023 at Superstars!

I'll look forward to it, whichever it is. ?