Denver

A Year and Decade in Review

December 30, 2019 by John Wilker

Welp, we’ve passed the Winter Solstice, and in just a few hours we’ll be saying goodbye not just to 2019, but to the 2010’s. I’ve never been a resolution maker but I do like to look back on what I’ve done, what I wanted to do etc.

So where are we (the royal we)?

The 2010’s saw the birth of my professional writing career. Technically I’ve been paid for my writing for years, as a copy and tech writer, a resume writer, etc. But fiction, that’s new. Plus I stopped selling my non-fiction writing services years ago. If you’d asked me ten years ago if I thought I’d be a writer that makes money I’d have laughed. If you’d asked if I thought I could ever make a living as a writer, I’d have laughed harder. But here we are.

On top of my writing the 2010’s were a pivotal and volatile decade for 360|Conferences.

On a personal level, Nicole and I moved from our downtown townhouse in the “Hottest ‘hood in Denver” (Blech) to just outside downtown to a neighborhood that doesn’t suffer year ’round construction, unannounced music festivals, and other nonsense. I haven’t had to step around vomit once, and it’s frankly glorious. Suck it RiNo.

We love our home and the neighborhood, we actually get out more to the nearby arts district than we did in RiNo where drinks came with a loan application and snobbery.

Nicole and I also visited some amazing places.

The Netherlands. We got to visit our dearest friends Mike and Judy in their awesome adopted home of Amsterdam. We’re overdue for another visit as they’re now homeowners!

Germany. We did Oktoberfest! The real one! It was amazing. We had a big group which was tons of fun, drank and ate lots, saw a ton of things. Did NOT snort menthol (which we thought was cocaine and that Australians gave zero fucks). We’re planning to go back in 2023.

Egypt. To close out the decade (sorta) in 2018 we spent 10 days in Egypt, visiting all the things, drifting down the Nile river. I wrote a large portion of Space Rogues 4 on the deck of a Dahabiya watching the Nile drift by. It was an amazing trip!

We Renovated our house. Thankfully we were in Egypt for some of it. But the house we moved into had a few less than perfect things about it. Namely, a kitchen that was too small, a dining room we didn’t need, and a master bathroom that was anything but masterful. So we gutted. We have an amazing open kitchen now that we love. We have a master bathroom that’s stunning and we couldn’t be happier. The house is much more ‘us’. It was neat to see the house torn back to studs and in the case of the first floor, the original brick. I’m so bummed we had to re cover it but someone in the past through you could nail plaster and lathe to brick… Same for the original hardwood floors (no I’m not Karen from the 80s, we put down new wood #carpetsucks).

And we will likely never do a renovation project again. That shit is stressful. But I did find a wizard staff hidden in the wall, so there’s that.

A few 2010s Numbers.

Number of Space Rogues books released: 5. 7 if you count the two short stories.

Number of non-Space Rogues books released: 0

Number of non-Space Rogues books written: 1

Number of eBooks sold: 23,197

Number of Paperbacks sold: Not many, Hard to break out past about 90 days, but about 200.

Number of eBooks given away: 46,552

Number of Books put to Audio: 1

Number of conferences created: 3

Number of conferences put out to pasture: 2

Number of moves for Nicole and I: 1

Writing.

I’m pretty excited that writing is going so well. People seem to really like the Space Rogue series. The 5th book was just released with the highest number of pre-orders yet. Book one has been hanging around the top 500 or so free Kindle books for the last two months (It’s going back to full price 1/1 if you haven’t grabbed it yet!). In 2019 I made about 5x more than I did in 2018. I don’t want to jinx things but can see “Full-time writer” as my occupation in a few years if things keep going well.

Mid-2019 I wrote what I hope is the first book in a new series. It’ll be released sometime around the first of the year, in addition to Space Rogues 6. I’m excited to try something new, to branch out, and I HOPE, add a new revenue stream to my business.

I decided in 2019 to start putting myself out there more in person, so I have been applying for author alley’s or paying for booths at conventions. I’ve written about that already so won’t rehash it here, but I’ve signed a couple of dozen books now for people, which is pretty fucking cool, even if I still haven’t found “my thing” when signing. I’ll be doing more in 2020.

The last bit of writing news is that I spun up a merch store. I’m still working on it, fine-tuning, but I’ve had enough readers ask about shirts and stickers and such that the couple hours it took to get it going, should be worth it. I mean I’ve already sold 2 shirts and a coffee mug so, ¯\_(?)_/¯ . I won’t lie, I’m looking forward to the day I see someone on the street in a Space Rogues shirt.

Lots of Eggs, Many baskets.

I’ve talked about being wide before so I will skip the details but here’s an update.

Amazon now accounts for ‘just’ 74% of my income. My hope is to move that closer to 50% or less. There are a few companies I trust with silos, Amazon isn’t one of them. My books are available on every device and in every store that sells ebooks.

While I dislike exclusivity, I am a bit locked in with Audible. Because I’ve set up a royalty share with my awesome narrator, I’m locked into Audible for 7 years. That’s unlikely to change, unfortunately.

Conferences

360|Conferences had it’s oh shit moment during the 2010s. Specifically, 2017, where attendance at 360|iDev dropped by 50% without any warning. The hard part there is when you plan, and commit to 400 ppl, and only 200 show up, hotels and vendors aren’t overly sympathetic. It was made worse by having already taken a significant loss in spinning up a new conference. Thankfully the Grand Hyatt (Where 360|iDev has been for 3 years now) are actually really awesome partners. 2018-19 were years of regrouping and figuring my shit out for the conferences. I’m happy to report I might have finally kind figured this out. Still pretty upside down, but not in a way that it feels hopeless.

One big thing for me was that I realized that while being the ‘biggest’ was neat, it wasn’t sustainable, and it wasn’t really what I wanted. Being the ‘best’ is what I want, and think we’re doing pretty good there. 2018 was a record profit year for all three conferences, and 2019 was pretty good (a few stumbles). I’ve made some changes for 2020 that I think will be awesome. Of course after 2017, all this “record profit” and “best year yet” stuff is just digging out a pretty deep hole. I’m thankful I was given a chance to dig out vs. walking away from debt and hosing a partner.

I’m thankful that 360|Conferences is celebrating a decade of existing, not many conference companies get to say that. The communities that I’ve had the privilege of supporting are amazing, and I’ve formed a ton of friendships by doing these conferences.

A Few Highlights.

360|Flex was put to bed. This happened pretty early in the decade. I tried to rebrand, failed. Tried to bring 360|Flex back as more niche, didn’t enjoy it. So I pulled the plug 100%. A shady travel company managed to grab the domain, then lost it, the new owner then stole the twitter account, fun.

360|intersect was born and died. I’m still convinced intersect was just ahead of it’s time, but regardless, as much as I loved it and the content, not enough people were coming. While all my conferences are near and dear, 360|intersect brought together some really awesome people to tell their stories.

360|AnDev was born. Dave and Chiu-Ki approached me about doing an Android event here in Denver. I was hesitant since I’d said Android wasn’t really for me, but with their help on the community side, we’ve created a world-class event.

Chicago Roboto was born. Ryan and Jerrell reached out after 360|AnDev about doing another Android event, this time in Chicago. I still wasn’t sure, but again, they managed the community aspect, and I executed. Chicago Roboto has quickly caught up to its sister 360|AnDev in terms of size and speaker quality. I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve done.

360|iDev has continued to lead the iOS developer event pack. A few more events have closed up shop (This ain’t an easy business!). I made the conscious decision that 360|iDev was a 200 person event. no more creeping up to 300, then 350, then 400. At 200 it’s sold out. The end.

AltConf is still THE community event at WWDC. I love working with Rob and Anna and the rest of the AltConf team. We execute a truly massive (Thousand of attendees, dozens of sponsors) event, that is free to attend whether you’re a WWDC ticket holder or not.

And of course (not 360|Conferences) Ignite Denver is still something I’m super proud of. The first Ignite event in CO, and the longest-running.

So…

That’s the 2010s for me. I’m exceptionally excited or 2020 and the decade it brings. I’m excited to see where the iOS and Android communities go. I’m excited to bring more stories to the world, who knows, maybe one day you’ll see Wil Calder on the screen (big or small).

Happy Holidays, Merry New Year, Successful Festivus.

Announcing the Denver Writers Slack Group

April 11, 2019 by John Wilker

Twitter and Facebook are… well, equal parts great for community and dumpster fire :)

I want to interact with more writers, especially those in Denver. Whether fellow SciFi folks or anyone else that is putting words to paper. Twitter and Facebook are cool, but something more intimate would be better (IMO).

Ideally it won’t replace the plethora of social media groups and hashtags, but will provide a less cluttered place for Denver folks to chat amongst ourselves. Whether that’s about Denver book stores, meetups, or the craft is up to us.

It’s “invite only” in the sense that you need to reach out to me, and I’ll invite you. I could set it up to let anyone join, but well, see the dumpster fire part up above. All are welcome so long as they’re writers.

Want to give it a shot, chat about indie bookstores in the area, writing strategies, plan the next NaNoWriMo? Reach out.

I’ll Always Vote Optimism

November 10, 2017 by John Wilker

I’ll never stop voting for hope and optimism.

There’s been a lot of discussion around the recent vote on Initiative 300 (feel free to read the initiative here and a great Denverite article, here).

It passed by a narrow margin and immediately the hand-wringing commenced. The Mayor opposed it, saying it went “too far too fast” That feels like Mayor Hancock’s motto as most of his efforts seem to be closer to “Do little, talk a lot.”

Here’s why I voted for it.

It’s not an amendment to our state constitution, so while some argue it’s wording isn’t great, it can be revised and adjusted as we collect data on its implementation. It’s the result of builders and the city giving no fucks about Denver’s future. When the government and “The market” aren’t listening, citizens act. Case in point.
It’s aggressively progressive, which I like. I find that the “Let’s be realistic” mindset is often the “let’s not do much” mindset in a more palatable wrapper. If you shoot for the moon and end up only getting to orbit, you’re still in orbit. If you say “the moon is too hard let’s aim lower”, you don’t leave the atmosphere, then try to sell it as a win.
I’m more and more tired of Denver’s government talking a huge game and failing to deliver. The list of those opposed to this initiative was evidence enough to me it was a good idea. Denver loves to give itself awards and back pats for things like our homeless-ness solutions, our bike friendliness, etc. Yet when you look at what we’re actually doing, we’re making homeless-ness illegal vs. addressing it. We’re adding car infrastructure far faster than we are biking. To name two.

i300 may not work out.

After six months (which to me is too soon as far as an option to simply repeal it) we can evaluate. My hope is the city uses i300 as the stepping stone to making Denver more green (environmentally, not color, which would likely be Mayor Hancock’s version) because saying we are is like painting white roses red. i300 should start the conversation that brings citizens, builders, and the city together.

Hopefully, any effort is better balanced than the Mayor’s Affordable Housing task force, of which 95% was builders, or people in the building industry (really, 1 neighborhood rep, and 1 “affected population” rep… really?).

I’ll never stop voting for hope and optimism, perhaps some of that is a little anarchist, because some change, especially the most important change is often painful, but nonetheless worth it.

Ignite Denver Turned Twenty-Five

February 20, 2017 by John Wilker

Last week we held another Ignite Denver, number 25. I hadn’t really given it much thought, we do three a year, the team is awesome and I love them immensely. This one was set to be every bit as awesome, we’d sold out, had great food trucks lined up, had great speakers ready to inspire and amaze.

Then.

Dan gets on stage and starts talking, and as I lean over to Vanessa, to ask why he’s vamping, and where’s Kat our emcee, I realize what he’s doing. This awesome group of people, behind my back, decided to bring me from the background to the fore.

Before I finish that story though. Ignite Denver is eight years old. In eight years we’ve held 25 events all around downtown Denver, from bars to event spaces to our current home, a 500 person old-timey theatre in the Highlands. The team has changed over the years; starting as just Nicole and I, then growing, then contracting over the years. This current committee is amazing and solid, and despite personality differences, busy (REALLY busy) lives, we get together and pull off an amazing show that leaves the audience laughing, crying, and inspired. They’re also stuffed with good food and beer.

We started in a small side bar at Fado, where the most memorable part was a robot falling off the bar. From there we hopped from bar to bar to event space, to bar. We landed at the Oriental a few years ago, when it was still more creepy than not; sections of the ceiling falling in, HVAC failing the day of our summer show, etc. The theatre has grown with us, now booked more nights than not, and Ignite Denver either sells out or gets close every event now.

Being a part of the Denver Community all these years has been awesome! Meeting so many amazing people with things to share, has been inspiring.

It’s been amazing, and more than once I’ve thought about throwing in the towel.

Ignite Denver 25

Ok back to the story, so Dan is talking about me, and telling me I have to go on stage. I get up on stage, and Dan proceeds to talk about Ignite Denver’s start, and the changes over the years, and the consistency of me. Then gives me two really amazing gifts, from him and the rest of the committee.

I’m not a whiskey drinker (that’s what that is right?) But it will definitely sit on a shelf proudly, because that label!

Also two special, “never to be made again” shirts :) We just ordered a new run of shirts for the team, and apparently we slipped these in.

To say I was (and still am) touched is to put it lightly. Ignite Denver has been a labor of love since I sent the first “Wanna do a talk that’s five minutes and the slides advance automatically?” emails eight years ago.

Here’s to 25 more!

Another Denver Startup Week in the bag!

September 27, 2016 by John Wilker

Welp, that’s that, Denver Startup Week 2016 has come and gone. I’m still tremendously proud to work on this event. It’s a ton of fun (and some stress, and head shaking).

This year we set another huge milestone having over 13,500 people sign up for the week. That’s amazing.

I had the honor of being the headline events chair, and as always we packed a lot into a week, and this year the week was only 4 days for me. We decided to move the closing bash to Thursday night, which based on attendance was a great idea! It was epic! Far busier than previous years when it was on a Friday.

The Job fair this year saw almost 2,000 people show up to hang out with and talk to 70+ Denver companies all of whom were hiring! We had a ton of awesome sessions on diversity and inclusivity in tech, which is still so greatly needed! We hosted an awesome event with HBO/Dish to bring Silicon Valley to Denver

Overall the entire week was awesome, over 300 events all over the core of Downtown Denver. Tons of great stuff happened at Basecamp by Chase, where I spent the week, working. It’s nice to not completely have to stop work on my stuff during DSW.

If you didn’t participate this year you should sign up now, so you’ll know about next year, and then you should make sure to book out some time. Whether you work for yourself, or someone else it’s a great investment to get out and enjoy what Denver Startup Week has to offer.

I’m so proud of what Denver is becoming. There’s growing pains for sure, and I hope we address them, but watching the city I’ve chosen as home grow and become a world class city is amazing!

See you next year!

RiNo Music Festival, not a great first run.

August 29, 2016 by John Wilker

So this weekend, I went to the RiNo Music Festival. This was it’s first year in a space that I guess (from what I read) aims to become a music venue in the neighborhood (which is pretty sweet).

The line up was impressive, bands I knew from the radio.

[update] I realized I glossed over this to get to the bad, but the line up really was impressive. Every band had at least one song I knew from the radio so I could recognize them when they played. Having all bands a casual radio listener would know is (I assume) no small feat for a first time music festival. So while there’s plenty I think the organizers could have done better, the line up was a success for sure.

The location was not bad, hard packed dirt with room for food trucks, a stage at the far end of the pie shaped space.

That’s about where the “good” ends.

The show started at 4:30 and we got there about 5. Not too many people had arrived yet so it was easy to get beer from one of the two trucks, easy to visit one of the 5 or so food trucks.

Beer was cash only, yet they used square registers with iPads. One more step and they could take credit cards. One step, and they could have been totally awesome, and modern, yet they opted for cash only with shitty signs you couldn’t see until you got to the front of the ever lengthening line.

Oh and every food truck there, totally capable of taking credit cards. Fail one, RiNo Music Festival.

We grabbed beers and food and were able to grab a table with an umberella. As we sat and enjoyed our beers, more and more folks showed up. A good thing for sure, the festival was clearly not a failure.

That’s when things went off the rails.

As we sat there, the the line for beer (remember just two trucks, cash only) got longer and longer.

The line for the food trucks started to get longer. The line for the ATM got as long.

When our cups were empty it was “stand in a 100+ people line” or leave.

We left.

Leaving was a zig zag obstacle course of overlapping lines.

On leaving the security guy asked the guy in front of us if he was coming back in, “Fuck no, i can’t even get a beer in there”

Well said brother.

We walked to the Blue Moon Brewery, paid $2 less for a beer, and got a larger cup, and used our credit cards.

I feel ike the RiNo Music Festival was so close to executing an awesome event. They surely had an idea of how many people were coming, because it wasn’t free, tickets were required. They surely knew about square registers, so why not speed up the process selling beer? Why not add another beer truck?

I had friends who showed up and lasted 10 minutes.

Next year if it happens I’ll think twice about attending even though it was right in my backyard.

A Year and Decade in Review

So where are we (the royal we)?