Another quick reminiscence with a handy point at the end.

I was at the Word Fantasy Convention which is held every year somewhere close to Halloween in various cities around North America. It is (or maybe "was," since this story is from quite a long time back) an interesting convention since the attendance was limited to 750 people which insured that nearly half were professionals. For a person trying to break into the publishing industry, that's an incredibly good ratio of pros to not-yet-pros.

I went with a friend, and we paid a little extra to get into the awards ceremony. We got in a little early and chose an empty table (they were the large-size round tables that sat perhaps 10 people per table). Then a large group came in and sat down at our table. I was surprised to learn that the man sitting next to me was Clive Barker, the famous author of horror fiction, and the group accompanying him were some of the most powerful publishers and editors in the industry. Since it was rather hard to be hold a private conversation, we conversed along with the rest of the table. At one point in during the ceremony, Clive Barker won an award.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity to promote myself and get my foot in the door, but it wasn't. It was that "other door." The one that leads to a brick wall. An interesting experience that will not determine your future, and will just go down as a story you might tell at a social engagement or in a blog. In fact, these moments leading nowhere for your career will greatly outnumber the moments that will lead to a better future for yourself.

Now here's the point: Enjoy them! This isn't all about getting ahead in life. You might have a nice conversation with a professional or with a fellow fan who can turn into a new friend. Don't go approaching every encounter as if it will be the moment you're to be discovered. That just leads to long awkward silences where you stand there grinning in the expectation that your conversation partner will ask if he/she can help you break in, and your conversation partner will be thinking very hard about what excuse he/she can make to get the hell out of there.

The rule is to not expect anything out of such chance encounters. If you react as if bumping into bestselling authors and powerful execs happens to you all of the time, you will find life a lot more enjoyable. If something happens, take advantage of it, but it's more than likely that nothing will, so just relax.