Regarding Lunacon
Last night, I spoke to buddykat for a few hours in regards to programming for Lunacon 2011. We are good friends and we've always worked together well, and last night she asked if I would be hurt, upset, or offended if I was not asked to do Programming for Lunacon 2012; they'd had a volunteer from the NYC metro area with solid publishing contacts who would like to give it a try.
My response? "Are you kidding?! How can I be upset about that?!"
I know the volunteer they mentioned (I am not naming names here, simply because that's the con's right to do so); we've been friends since I first started helping Leigh with Programming and she's always struck me as responsible, smart, and level-headed. I think she'll be an excellent choice, both because she's nearby the con and because she has those industry contacts I lack. I'm friends with some amazing authors, but the same cannot be sad about publishers, editors, or agents. For years, Lunacon had made its name as a professional con, where people can go and make business contacts that could help them with their careers, or even just go and find out more about how the business side of publishing works. That possibility has been decreasing every year and while I certainly tried to contact people in the industry to invite them to the con, emails and letters out of the blue just don't carry the same weight as someone who is already known. Also, since I live several states away, it's a lot harder for me to keep up with everything going on.
I appreciate >buddykat's concern and her decision to confer with me before making any announcements or letting me find out by checking the website. That's the kind of politeness and friendship that made it so easy and fun to work with her. But if she's found someone who is going to be more useful to the con and actually wants the job? Then she should absolutely and without a doubt take that person up on her offer. I told her last night that a lot of the trouble Lunacon's gotten itself into comes from the desire to not hurt anyone's feelings and keeping people around long after they've ceased to be helpful. That is so not going to be me. I will be happy to send the new Programming Co-Chair all the information I have to help make her job easier, and to offer any advice she'd like, but I'm not going to be the person who stands in the way of a better con just so I can feel productive.
Lunacon, it was a fun few years. I remain confident I leave you in even better hands than mine.
Though now I have to actually buy a membership. That'll be weird.
My response? "Are you kidding?! How can I be upset about that?!"
I know the volunteer they mentioned (I am not naming names here, simply because that's the con's right to do so); we've been friends since I first started helping Leigh with Programming and she's always struck me as responsible, smart, and level-headed. I think she'll be an excellent choice, both because she's nearby the con and because she has those industry contacts I lack. I'm friends with some amazing authors, but the same cannot be sad about publishers, editors, or agents. For years, Lunacon had made its name as a professional con, where people can go and make business contacts that could help them with their careers, or even just go and find out more about how the business side of publishing works. That possibility has been decreasing every year and while I certainly tried to contact people in the industry to invite them to the con, emails and letters out of the blue just don't carry the same weight as someone who is already known. Also, since I live several states away, it's a lot harder for me to keep up with everything going on.
I appreciate >buddykat's concern and her decision to confer with me before making any announcements or letting me find out by checking the website. That's the kind of politeness and friendship that made it so easy and fun to work with her. But if she's found someone who is going to be more useful to the con and actually wants the job? Then she should absolutely and without a doubt take that person up on her offer. I told her last night that a lot of the trouble Lunacon's gotten itself into comes from the desire to not hurt anyone's feelings and keeping people around long after they've ceased to be helpful. That is so not going to be me. I will be happy to send the new Programming Co-Chair all the information I have to help make her job easier, and to offer any advice she'd like, but I'm not going to be the person who stands in the way of a better con just so I can feel productive.
Lunacon, it was a fun few years. I remain confident I leave you in even better hands than mine.
Though now I have to actually buy a membership. That'll be weird.