Quote:
Originally Posted by vivaldirules
I would love to meet (or to have met) many authors but I've always wondered if I wouldn't just stand there like a fool and blabber on about how I loved his or her book(s).
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My very first "Author Meet" was Robert Silverberg. I was at Chicon, my very first SF con. I was standing in the hall, trying to figure out wtf, and I get a tap on my shoulder.
"May I borrow your program for a moment?"
Turning around, I said, "Holy shit! You're Robert Silverberg!"
"Most of the time, I am. Right now I'm also late for a panel and have no idea where it is."
He looked for what he needed, signed the book without asking and walked off.
After that, it was relatively easy to just walk up to authors and chat them up.
Of course, it is also helpful to get to know authors before they get the big sales. I met Rob Sawyer back when he had just published his first work by being a part of CompuServe SF SIG. When he started winning awards, he still claimed to know me.
Also, I got to be friends with Sasha Miller, another author and Andre Norton acolyte. Never met Andre, but I did get invited into the SFWA Suite at the cons by being a friend.
Then, offering to buy a beer or supper is also a very good way to get to meet authors. terry Pratchett never took me up on the offer to buy a banana dacquiri, but he did spend some time talking about the nonsense that goes into taking care of psychiatric patients.