EV Gets By With a Little Help From Its Friends...At Least That's the Plan

Getting Some Help Behind the Scenes

I came to some conclusions about the zine over Wiscon weekend. It may not be clear, but I've been doing this whole endeavor on my own. The past month or so, I've had a number of people express astonishment that I don't have any help in making the zine. I guess I just never considered getting help. Aside from proofreaders, I've done all the work myself.

One of the things I've come to realize is that the zine cannot grow past where it is without me getting some help. I have a very gracious person who's doing slush reading for me. I cannot thank them enough, even though it's most likely not a huge sacrifice for them. I think the process of asking for help was more cathartic for me than anything. This will be a great benefit for everyone. We'll see how things go; it hasn't even been a week yet. But so far it's going really well.

I have some help in creating a nonfiction element for the zine that will have all sorts of cool implications (online components, subscription levels, adding a new depth to the zine, etc.) starting with the next issue.

There is someone I have in mind to help with art direction. I'm hoping to make a move towards color covers in the next year, and I'll need help doing color separation.

If I'm honest with myself, I probably need more help. But taking these steps have been difficult enough. It's hard to relinquish control of things when you've done well for a long time without help. Will the people I'm having help me share the same aesthetics and vision that I do? I think they will.

I have some people in mind to help out with different aspects of the business of making a zine, but for now just adding the help I briefly outlined above is a huge step for me. This zine has been mine since its inception; it's hard to give up control.

I Need Your Help, Too

Another thing that's become clear to me is that this zine will not be able to grow, and most likely, not be able to survive if I cannot grow my subscriber base. I do not want to stop making Electric Velocipede; I plan on making issues far far into the future. My hope is that the decision to stop is something I make of my own volition rather than something that's made for me.

I've never asked for subscribers before. I've never done a subscription drive. I've thought about it in the past, but always decided against it.

Not this time.

If I can admit to myself that letting the zine limp on by doing everything myself is not a good thing, I can also admit to myself that I need support from readers. There are some really cool things I want to do. Some cool things I've got planned already (see below) that won't be possible without your help.

Things will be able to continue for a little while the way they are now without your help. But it will be something I won't be able to maintain indefinitely.

What You Get Out of It

So, here are a few things to keep in mind while you consider whether to subscribe. I will be raising the price of the zine next year from $4 an issue to $5 an issue. The issue that's coming out next year for Wiscon will be a special issue, and therefore most likely $6 or $7.

The subscription price right now is $15 for four issues. That's a savings of $1 off the cover price. However, if you subscribe now, you'll get issue #13 this year, the special Wiscon issue, and two more issues for that same $15, a savings of at least $5 off the cover price and potentially more.

There is also a patronage subscription available. For $100, you get everything that I publish (shipping is included, even for international folks), for as long as I publish. I want to keep doing this for a long time.

I have two chapbooks coming out this year: one from William Shunn and one from Robert Freeman Wexler. I will publish at least two more chapbooks. I want to increase the number of issue I publish each year. I want to change over to perfect bound color covers. I'd like to pay my authors more.

Is This a Cry For Help?

To be blunt, yes. But not with the connotations that typically come with that question. I've gone almost six years without outside help. I've thrived for almost six years without doing a subscription drive.

It all boils down to the fact that I can't keep doing this on my own. I've come a long way without help. But I'm not content to sit where I am.

I'm very excited about the things I have planned for the future.

I'm also able to admit that I can't get any further without help.

John Klima
Editor
Electric Velocipede

For Jeremy Lassen

I was telling Jeremy about how my bookshelf at work was filled with genre books instead of library science books or even health sciences (specifically chiropractic) books. Well, here's a photo offered up as proof:

You can also see that the top shelf is filled with magazines like Realms of Fantasy, Fantasy & Science Fiction, LCRW, and more.
Click here for the full image.

ACQUIRING: Wiscon Books & Magazines

Well, it's been a banner week here at the EV Zine Blog. I've been a posting maniac. Hopefully I can keep up something like this pace so that new readers don't get bored by me. :)

In addition to the cool moments I singled out the other day about Wiscon, I also came home with some sweet books:

Here are the books and magazines I came with from Wiscon. They are (from left to right, top to bottom):
Sybil's Garage #4, Say...What's the Combination?, LCRW #20, Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre, The End of the Story by Clark Ashton Smith, The Door to Saturn by Clark Ashton Smith, Precious Dragon by Liz Williams, Strange Birds by Lisa Snellings-Clark and Gene Wolfe, The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet, Fantasy edited by Sean Wallace and Paul Tremblay, Living Shadows by John Shirley, and my badge, which is not a book.

Then I got to thinking; picking one highlight from each day just doesn't do the convention justice. And it isn't fair to all the amazing moments that I took part in. For example, taking Karen Joy Fowler (who had a super-cute haircut, IMO) out to lunch and just chatting about...well...nothing in particular was incredibly awesome. Meeting Maureen McHugh for the first was great, too. Being told that I was a selling point for Think Galactic Con (which I'll have to miss this year due to moving...but YOU should go, it's run by some amazing people; I mean, how often do you get to go to the inagural year of a convention?) was very humbling and egotastic at the same time.

I've had some moments lately where I've been the target of schmoozing. This is not bad, just different. Normally I'm the one schmoozing and wooing authors and the life. It's strange to have hit a moment in my career where people are seeking me out.

ACQUIRING: Books in the Mail

Here are some books that have come to me in the mail from some truly lovely people I know in the biz:

The books are (from left to right, top to bottom):
In Other Words by John Crowley, Illyria by Elizabeth Hand, On the Evergreen Path by David Herter, I Am the Bird by T.M. Wright, Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson, Fugitives of Chaos by John C. Wright, Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer, The Last Colony by John Scalzi, Best Stories of the American West edited by Marc Jaffe, The Outback Stars by Sandra D. McDonald, Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright, and Titans of Chaos by John C. Wright.

I keep them at work because we have no room at home while we get ready to move to our house (in a few months).

Asperger's Meme

Your Score: Unaffected

Result: 13. Your score isn't an achievement, it just is.

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge's Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger's report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives. You scored less than 32. Make your own assessment of that

My test tracked 1 variable
How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 99% on points

Link: The Asperger's Syndrome Test written by beachbummer on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I'm curious how I would have scored in High School when I didn't want to talk to anyone and would rather spend time alone?

OK Mr. Wheeler. Your turn.

Post Convention Energy

For the first time in a long time (first time ever?) I leave a convention completely energized. Yes I was tired. Yes I was hungover. And yet... I have so many ideas of things I want to work on. So many pieces of inspiration that it almost seems an impossible task to weave them together.

I already miss everyone so much it hurts. You get used to being able to talk to these people whenever you want, as much as you want, for as long as you want, and it's so comfortable and so natural and so inspiring that you just want to pick up the phone and call them to continue the conversation. Not about anything in particular, but just about anything. At the same time, you know that they have to be at least as busy as you are. Those not in the business have missed a few days of work. Those in the business have just worked through their weekend.

All the same, I don't think I can accurately express how motivated I am after this convention. The last few conventions I've been to left me extremely depressed afterwards. I couldn't stop focusing on how long it would be until I saw these people again. I couldn't stop thinking about how these people got to spend their lives doing something I only got a few moments a year or some late nights during the week. I couldn't stop comparing myself to people who are doing this full time and feeling horribly inadequate next to them. I felt myself consumed by the big picture and how insurmountable that big picture is.

It was silly, really, but still dangerously true. It didn't make sense that getting to spend a weekend completely immersed in spending time with great friends would leave you depressed. It was almost like coming down off a high and being strung out. I also know that the last few conventions happened on top of knowing that I was moving away from the NY area, and the ease of seeing all those people was just going to disappear. I was changing jobs, our baby wasn't a year old, we were moving to an area of the country we'd never been to, and basically taking our current lifestyle and chucking it the window, baby and bath water style.

But not this time. It sucks to be so far away from some of your best friends. It sucks to know that it will be months before you see them again. It sucks to know that the chance that they come visit you is extraordinarily slim. But that way lies madness. I've been down that road and it led nowhere. I have a new road now. A new path. I miss my friends, but I know that I can reach out to them if I have to. We had a lot of fun this weekend. We worked hard, too. I think it can be hard for people to see that. Conventions are fun, but we're working, too. Even those of us who doing this stuff on their own time.

I realize this is all horribly obtuse at the moment. It's been one day! Hopefully the weekend will present a more organized thought process. And like I said, I have a ton of energy right now. It's sort of going all over the place, working on bits and pieces instead of focusing on one thing. It's much nicer to end a convention this way.

Is it really a year until next Wiscon? What about the rest of you? Do you leave a convention feeling exhausted or energized?

Wiscon Wrap Up

At this point, it would be fruitless to try and recap everything that happened at Wiscon. There's been too much time since Thursday morning when I drove up to Madison to today when I came home from my in-laws house.

Suffice to say, it was fantastic. I ran my own table for the first time, and did fairly well. I'll most likely do it again next year. I have to give props to Matt Kressel and Mark Rich & Martha Borchardt who helped run the table while I was away at panels or other appointments. They even went so far to run the table last night and today in my absence when I left the convention (not realizing that it ran from Friday through Monday and not Thursday through Sunday).

I won't even bother trying to name check everyone I saw. There were old faces, new faces, and favorite faces. You know who you are. It was wonderful to see all of you. I wish we could do this more often. While I'm not going to break down the whole con, I will post a highlight from each day.

Thursday:
Going into the pool--with Jeremy Lassen, Matt Kressel, K. Tempest Bradford, and Mercurio Rivera--after last call in the Governor's Club. We sat down at a table, clearly drunk, and cringed when the security guard walked up to us. We were sure we would be escorted out of the pool. Nope. He just wanted us to swap our glasses for plastic cups. Sweet. Then, Mr. Kressel proceeded to strip down to his boxers to take a dip in the pool. Not being so bold, I opted for a quick soak of the feet. Ms. Tempest had her camera ready to document the whole thing. I quipped 'Editors Gone Wild' and we were melting in giggles. I hope that this sees the light of day soon.

Got to bed by 1am.

Friday:
Historically karaoke night. I have never karaoke'd before. They had free beer. Two things happened: I dirty danced with Mr. Lassen to Nine Inch Nails "Closer" and then later sung "Rock Lobster." My editor provided much support with dancing and non-microphoned singing.

Got to bed by 5:30am. Noticed the sun was coming up and headed straight inside.

Saturday:
John Con 2. There's not a lot I can say about this. What happens at John Con, stays at John Con. It was fun. Quick note for Mr. Michael Constantine McConnell: Strega is for sipping.

Got to bed by 5am. Was fine pretending it was dark outside until Mr. Jason Williams opened the curtains and we could see the sun coming up again.

Sunday:
This was a quick day for me. As I said, I thought the convention was ending this day, so I left for my in-laws. This was not a bad thing (other than missing my friends, and totally lying to Jason Williams when I said I wouldn't feel bad by leaving early) since I missed my wife and baby girl. The highlight of the day was clearly brunch with my editor. She is such a lovely person.

Got to bed by 1am. Woke up to screaming baby (she has a cold now) at 4:30am. Got back to bed by 5:30am, and then up for good at 7:30am.

So, in the 120 hours since Thursday, I have slept 24 of them. Not too bad, but doctors says I should have gotten at least 40 hours of sleep. I averaged less than five hours a day. But that's with one of those days being three hours of sleep.

Ah crap. It's midnight. And I have to get up by 6 to go to work.

I miss you guys! The worst part of leaving a con all the people you leave behind. See you as soon as I can.

SCI FI WIRE interview

The inestimable John Joseph Adams just posted an interview/informational piece about Logorrhea on Sci Fi Wire! It's pretty sweet!

Wiscon? You're Soaking in It

I feel like Wiscon is so close now and I have so much to do and not enough time in which to do it. Sounds like someone else I know. So what have I been up to?

I've been working with a new printer. We made a proof copy and I went to look at it. How refreshing! I could fix the thing if there were problems! Well, it was a little rough. So we re-exported the PDF from InDesign and sent it back with all the typefaces and images and etc. Now it was printing small. Those of you who have EV #11 may have noticed that the borders were larger and the type was smaller. It happened again. Now I had to figure this out and be able to get the issue printed for Wiscon. This was Thursday and Friday.

And speaking of borders... I had a LOGORRHEA signing at Border's on Saturday:


I sold five copies of the book, which wasn't bad considering that it was the most beautiful day we've had here in the Quad Cities this year. Of course, the Border's is a stand alone store, so people coming in are there to buy books (this will be important later, take notes). They had more than 40 copies of the book there for my signing. I must have presented myself well when I went in to set up the signing.

Of course, I had to scout out the book on the shelf:


I didn't face it out. It was like that already. :) I also went to a work picnic on Saturday (which was fun but all I could think about was what the heck was wrong with the PDF at my printer). And, for the first time in ages (years? decades?) I went out with people from work for drinks. Of course, this is the first time I went out with people from work where I was their boss. It was fun, but a little strange. Not something I'd do all the time, but I'm glad I went out with them.

On Sunday I had a LOGORRHEA signing at B&N:


You can see the fame is wearing on me (actually I was trying to look suave, but I couldn't stop smiling; me! doing a book signing! W00T!). Sunday was crowned the most beautiful day in the Quad Cities as it was nicer than Saturday. Top that with the fact that B&N is connected to a mall. You have people who are coming into the store that are just using B&N as a hallway to the mall. I sold one copy of book. Here's a photo of the crowds:


All the same, it was six copies of the book that I sold over the weekend that I wouldn't have sold if I didn't do the signings, so it was worth it for me. Had I lived here longer, I probably could have gotten more people to come out.

Sunday night I went to work and figured out the problem with the PDF. It was a printer setting, so I was able to describe to my printer what they needed to do to avoid the problem, and we're good to go. (I may post about this problem in depth elsewhere, but it's too tedious for here)

I'm getting ready for Wiscon, making flyers, raffle tickets (sekrit stuph), little price catalogs, mini-zines, order forms, etc. I had a giant sign printed so that I dominate the dealer's room. I've been making reservations for meals. I drove to Naperville, IL (280 miles round trip) to deposit a check into a branch of my old bank (that's the closest location) last Wednesday. Busy stuff. I haven't thought about clothes, hotel snack supplies, and whatnot that I'll need for the convention. I'm ill-prepared. I feel ill-prepared.

Oh, and we bought a house.

All Sorts of Goodness

First, I've had several people tell me today that they heard the anthology mentioned on NPR. Sweet! I knew this was going to happen, but had no idea when. I will admit that I am not a regular NPR listener, but I always enjoy the station when I tune in. I should probably listen more often.

Second, I got an e-mail from Nupur Lala the other day. Name sound familiar? Yes? No? Well, Ms. Lala was in a little movie some of you may have seen called Spellbound. In this movie, you saw Ms. Lala win the Scripps National Spelling Bee with the word: logorrhea. I did not see the documentary until after I was already editing the anthology, so it was a neat moment of serendipidity to have the winning word featured in the film also be the name of the anthology. To quote Ms. Lala's e-mail (with her permission):

Your book pays a beautiful tribute to the beauty, potential, versatility and history that lie within so many words and the English language as a whole. In other words, it encapsulates what it was that drove my competition in spelling bees and what drives my passion for language today.

How cool is that?

Third, I was interviewed by the inestimable John Joseph Adams (ne the Slushgod) for SCI FI Wire. I'll post here when the interview appears online.

Fourth, this upcoming weekend I have two signings/discussion events for Logorrhea. I'll be at 3pm at the Davenport Borders on Saturday May 19 and I'll be doing another one at 1pm at the North Park Mall Barnes & Noble on Sunday May 20. I'm both excited and terrified about these events. If you live anywhere within 500 miles of the stores, please come so that I'm not alone.

Fifth, I'm rapidly becoming frantic about getting issue #12 ready for Wiscon. It's aout a week away. This is cutting it close. I should be able to get it done, but still! God speed young Klima.

What's up with you folks? (answer in the comments)

The Dragon Page

I'm going to be interview for The Dragon Page. I noticed the other day (today in fact) that Logorrhea was a recent addition to their library. It's even briefly discussed in podcast #261.

If you don't know what The Dragon Page is, it's a podcast show. The have two main tracts of podcasts:

Cover to Cover: Conversations with the creators of the best in science fiction and fantasy. If you love SF literature, are an author or aspire to become one, you'll enjoy this podcast.

and

With Class: Two middle-school teachers, Sheila and Lorrie, bring you tips and techniques fresh from the real-world classroom environ- ment. Discussions on education, ideas for parents and teachers alike, and interviews with the top young adult and childrens literature authors.

(descriptions taken from The Dragon Page)

The shows are very engaging and entertaining. After I head them mention the book, I decided to contact them to see if they'd like to talk to me about Logorrhea, and they do. I'll post here when the show goes live (we're recording in a few weeks), but in the mean time, go here and add your thoughts about the book.

Issue #12 Available for Pre-Order

I’ve updated the main Electric Velocipede website to mark issue #12 as the current issue. There are fiction excerpts and poetry from the issue online. Also, the issue is available for pre-order. You can see the whole table of contents here and here.

The main website: http://www.electricvelocipede.com

The shopping page: http://www.electricvelocipede.com/htm/shopping.htm

Go forth and buy!

John Klima
Editor
Electric Velocipede

Logorrhea Signings in Davenport, IA

If any of you people are in the Davenport, IA area, I'll be doing an reading/signing for Logorrhea at 3pm at the Davenport Borders on Saturday May 19 and I'll be doing another one at 1pm at the North Park Mall Barnes & Noble on Sunday May 20.

Hope somebody shows up!

John Klima

Star Date: Meme

From Andy Wheeler, proving himself correct:

Your results:
You are Will Riker

Will Riker 60% James T. Kirk (Captain) 55% Worf 55% Mr. Scott 50% Jean-Luc Picard 50% Beverly Crusher 45% Chekov 40% Uhura 40% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 30% Deanna Troi 30% Spock 27% Geordi LaForge 25% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 25% Data 17% Mr. Sulu 0%

At times you are self-centered but you have many friends. You love many women, but the right woman could get you to settle down.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test


God! Riker?!? One of my least favorite Star Trek character. I'd rather be Wesley Crusher. Or Chief O'Brien. Or Captain Archer. Heck, I'd totally dig being Kirk, but I just didn't match up that way.

Oh crap. I think I just admitted to knowing way more about Star Trek than people ever suspected.

I'll never live this down.

A Tale in Pictures

It's officially May 1, so my book, Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories, is officially out today. I've posted here several times about the table of contents (writers like Michael Moorcock, Elizabeth Hand, Jeff VanderMeer, Clare Dudman, Hal Duncan, and more) so instead of repeating the same thing I've said before, here's a little photo tale:


I came home to find these sitting inside my door. I wonder what they are? Let's get closer.


It looks like these are my contract copies of Logorrhea. Sweet! Let's crack a box open!


Hmmm, they're all upside down! That's weird, and not very exciting. You should really see the cover.


There we go. Cool, eh? But you know, they look cramped in that box together, let's break them out and give them some breathing room.


Ahhhh. All relaxed. In the world's best bookstore, this is what the display for the book would look like. Or maybe this:


OK, that's not realisitic. But it is cool looking.


Now here's a full box with the covers looking out at you! Hello little Logorrheas! Soon people will be buying you. Very soon.