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Sci Fi Author Trying to Network, Not Classified

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5 comments, last by jbadams 7 years, 4 months ago

I was told by a moderator that I can start a topic to network, but not to actively look for a position. I am also not interested in discussing my political views.

I am a well-known sci fi writer who has had several books published, including Dragons: Lexicon Triumvirate and the 0th Dimension. I graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in film production and screenwriting. My writings have been seen by millions of sci fi fans, and I have also had short stories published in a variety of places. I appeared on Destinies Sci Fi Radio, and on Science Fantastic with Michio Kaku. I worked in the editorial department of Marvel Comics.

I am trying to make connections with video game professionals who would be interested in my ideas and my writing abilities. I have no coding experience and minimal artistic skills, but I am able to think outside the box. An example would be my old book Dragons: Lexicon Triumvirate (out of print), which features dragons as the heroes and humans as the villains. I was bored of LOTR and D and D using hobbits and elves, so I thought I might try something brand new and fresh.

Thank you for your time.

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As per your request, I won't discuss your controversial views, but as you're here for networking I feel it may be worth examining your apparent credentials. On the surface of what you've said, it sounds like you have impressive credentials and may be interesting to work with, especially for those working in sci-fi.

I have also had short stories published in a variety of places

Could you perhaps be more specific as to which places? I see you've self-published a number of stories such as 'The Aquarium', which appeared to have received pretty bad reviews. Where else have your short stories been published, and were they well received?

has had several books published, including Dragons: Lexicon Triumvirate

Is that the book featured HERE on Amazon, and HERE on goodreads.com? The reviews on Amazon seem pretty bad, with 3.6/5 stars from 29 reviews, where a large number of the 5-star reviews actually give really bad reviews in the text. Goodreads gives an average of 1.88 from 8 ratings. Has the book been better received elsewhere?

the 0th Dimension

This one seems hard to find, apart from a number of articles making fun of how badly written the screenplay appears to be. Is that the screenplay in question, and are the listed snippets an accurate sample of the text?

My writings have been seen by millions of sci fi fans

Do you have a citation for this claim? Most of the works I can find appear to have relatively small numbers of (largely negative) reviews, which doesn't seem to support the sort of exposure you're suggesting.

I worked in the editorial department of Marvel Comics.

Is it accurate that you were an unpaid intern in that department and were not then offered a paid role?

my writing abilities

Do you have some examples of where your writing abilities were well received? A lot of the reviews I'm seeing appear to be pretty negative.

If you're looking for networking opportunities, you could consider attending industry events such as the Game Developers Conference and others.

- Jason Astle-Adams

If you're looking for a recent writing sample, here it is, my book Spell Knights:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/kenneth-eng/spell-knights/ebook/product-23068242.html


Also, my books were viewed by millions of people from some articles published in major newspapers like FOX News and CNN. Even if I got bad reviews, the fact that I got so many folks to see the book was impressive.

So, is anyone interested? I marketed my book Dragons LT in the E3 conference a while ago, but they said that dragons were difficult to use for gameplay due to some computer/tech problems that I didn't understand. Perhaps technology has advanced.

Also, my books were viewed by millions of people from some articles published in major newspapers like FOX News and CNN.

Would it be accurate to say that you were featured in those publications not for writing, but because of your other views which we are not discussing?

- Jason Astle-Adams

Also, my books were viewed by millions of people from some articles published in major newspapers like FOX News and CNN.

Would it be accurate to say that you were featured in those publications not for writing, but because of your other views which we are not discussing?

Regardless, the fact is that millions of people heard of my book, and many copies were sold. I do have an audience that I am trying to market to. I am seeking to speak to those who can assist me, if they are professionals in the video game or film industry.

Again, I know nothing about coding or computer stuff, but I am highly creative and diligent.

Unfortunately "creativity" isn't really a marketable skill in the industry; apart from roles where it isn't required, it's a baseline thing that's expected of everyone to a certain degree. Everyone in those roles is creative, so being creative isn't really special.

You obviously have the persistence to finish things, which is valuable, but your actual marketable skill is your (poorly received) writing. I suppose there may be someone out there who's interested in leveraging your notoriety for marketing purposes, but that could be a risky proposition that may tarnish a brand - that is to say, established brands such as Ubisoft and others are unlikely to want to associate their brand with the other views for which you are famous.

Put another way, it seems like calling yourself "a well-known sci-fi author" seems misleading given the reception of your work. It would appear to be more accurate to call yourself "a person a notoriety who happens to also write very poorly received sci-fi", noting the negative connotation of "notoriety" as opposed to "famous" or "well-known".

On a side note, please stop posting unsolicited requests for work in unrelated topics - you've already been advised of the appropriate parts of the site for that.

Good luck with your networking! :)

- Jason Astle-Adams

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