Rebecca and I just came back home from Las Vegas and the third—and, by all accounts, best ever—Superstars Writing Seminar. We had about sixty very dedicated students at the Golden Nugget, and instructors Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, Eric Flint, Rebecca Moesta, and me, as well as guest speakers Dean Wesley Smith and James A. Owen, and guest pro attendees bestselling dark-fantasy author Vicki Pettersson, comics writer Mike Baron, and Arc Manor publisher Shahid Mahmoud.

photo by Robert J McCarter

Rebecca and I flew out a few days early to visit my parents in Arizona, my sister and niece in Las Vegas, and to begin setting up. Our friend Bob Fleck had helped us store boxes in his house, and we rounded them up on Sunday. Superstars alumni staff Brad Torgersen, Moses Sirigar, and Stone Sanchez came in to work the seminar. When we began setting up the room on Sunday night, many of the attendees stopped by early to help out and we had all the help we could handle!

When we opened the seminar on Monday morning, I had a raging eye infection that made it nearly impossible to focus on the extensive bios I was supposed to read for all the instructors. One of our guest instructors, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, had to cancel at the last minute when her doctor told her she wasn’t allowed to fly.  I was starting to worry about karma …

But Brandon Sanderson gave the opening talk on going from an unknown writer to a #1 bestseller in four years. Then Eric Flint explained in detail the economics of the publishing business, and we had a vigorous panel on networking, a great lunch with a group of students. Everything was energetic and smooth, going without a hitch…except my eye infection had gotten so bad I was seeing bright rainbows around every light (no unicorns, though). I looked up the symptoms, only to find that it was a “medical emergency—get to a hospital right away.”  And I had three hours scheduled on stage. I managed to get hold of my eye doctor back in Colorado, who called an emergency prescription to a local pharmacy, Brad Torgersen ran back and forth to get it filled from an uncooperative pharmacist, while I tried to concentrate on my panels. (Since I was from out of state, he refused to take my insurance card, or credit card, insisted on $117 in cash—and acted like I was trying to score oxycontin instead of eye drops.)  Nevertheless, I did get the prescription—thanks, Brad!—and participated in a wide-ranging discussion on eBooks and indy publishing, another panel on self-promotion, then I closed out the day with my speech on the “popcorn theory of success.”

Rebecca and Kevin
(photo by Nancy Greene)

Dean Wesley Smith and James A Owen
(photo by Robert J. McCarter)

Brandon Sanderson, Rebecca Moesta, and James A Owen
(photo by Robert J. McCarter)

Some of the best parts of Superstars are after hours, when the students and instructors network (i.e., hang out and talk business). We hosted a mixer in the Golden Nugget, got to know more of the students, and joined Dean Wesley Smith as well as Brandon Sanderson and his wife for dinner. And I had already found a microbrewery at the Four Queens Casino across the street, which was a good evening hangout for the rest of the seminar.

Superstars mixer
(photo by Francis Bruno)

Tuesday began with Rebecca’s talk on the myths of publishing, Dean’s talk on negotiating, a panel on editors and breaking through the slushpile, Eric’s breakdown of a publishing contract, then another lunch with the students. After lunch we opened with Dean’s talk on copyright, a panel on agents, Rebecca and I lectured on professionalism, and then James Owen gave a very inspirational talk, “Drawing out the Dragons.”

Dean Wesley Smith and David Farland
(photo by Robert J. McCarter)

Drawing out the Dragons
(photo by Robert J. McCarter)

A real highlight of the seminar was the VIP dinner at the Fogo de Chao Brazilian steakhouse; we took two buses to the restaurant, and each instructor had a table with 4-5 students and a spectacular amount of delicious meats, side dishes, salads, and a dessert. Then another after-hours gathering at the brewery in the Four Queens, after watching the amazing Fremont Street Experience show.

The Fremont St Experience

The final day opened with Rebecca’s talk on ergonomics for the writer, then David Farland’s talk on audience analysis, a panel on pitches and query letters, a panel on young adult fiction, lunch with the students, then a panel on intellectual property (joined by IP attorney M. Scott Boone), my talk on writing productivity, and a final session on managing a writing career with real life.  After one last Q&A session, we wrapped up the seminar—and then were overwhelmed with help from many of the students, breaking down the room, packing up all the boxes, exhausting…exhilarating.

Networking
(photo by Robert J. McCarter)

Superstars 2102: Dean Wesley Smith, David Farland, James A Owen, Brandon Sanderson, Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta
(photo by Nancy Greene)

There is no other seminar like this to give serious writers a detailed, unvarnished picture of writing, publishing, and how to manage your career.

The attendees had a great time, and even the instructors were inspired, energized, and very much determined: Yes, we will definitely do it again. The next Superstars Writing Seminar will be in Denver in 2013. As soon as we set a date, we’ll let you know.