Carol Pinchefsky has written thousands of articles about geek culture. She has watched fantasy and science fiction grow from a niche interest to a massive cultural force over the past 20 years.
There used to be a point where I knew everything there was to know about geek culture because it was contained within a few spheres. I can keep up. It's sad for me, but also exciting.
The market is hot as a nerd writer, but it is not as lucrative as I would like it to be. I have written articles on Doctor Who, Change Management, and Security.
Pinchefsky's first book, Turn Your Fandom Into Cash, teaches geeks how to monetize their hobby without drawing the ire of their favorite creators.
Dozens of writers, artists, cosplayers, convention organizers, and executives were interviewed for the book. She says that the supportive community of fellow fans is the biggest weapon any geek has in their arsenal.
The complete interview with Carol Pinchefsky can be found in Episode 504 of Geek's Guide to the GALAXY. Check out the highlights from the discussion.
Carol Pinchefsky is a nerd.
I was raised in New Jersey. I was not athletic, I was small and smart. We couldn't afford new glasses, so I wore my mother's glasses, which were big for my face. I was picked on, but I always knew the answer, and I was the girl who always raised her hand when there was a question. I slept my way through school because it was so easy for me. I did not interact with anyone. I would have said, "Hey, let's talk books", but instead I kept to myself.
Carol Pinchefsky is on Weird Tales.
I was an editorial assistant under Darrell Schweitzer and GeorgeScithers. In one story, an old woman was sitting in her chair and a man jumped out and stabbed her. The end. I didn't recognize the return address after reading the envelope. Someone said, "How so?" and I said, "Oh, a guy just leaps out and stabs." He's a prisoner and every week he sends in a story about a man killing his mother, usually an older woman. Sometimes it's defenestration, sometimes it's decapitation, but always a woman.
Carol Pinchefsky is on travel.
We earned all of the air miles during our courting because my husband is from England and I am from the United States. During our honeymoon, we had enough air miles to go to Japan. There is a shrine in Kyoto. The man behind the counter would find a fortune for you if you picked up a stick. I would lose things but my fortune said I would have good luck. When Peter's fortune came around, it said he would have good luck and find lost things. The man was laughing while reading in Japanese. I think we made his day because of our intertwined fortunes.
Carol Pinchefsky is an intellectual property lawyer.
I met a person who had no experience writing a game. He allowed me to use his application in the book. After many years of chasing them down, the company finally said yes after he wrote what they wanted to see. That was for a video game called Elite, that was the 80s version, and now the modern version is Elite: Dangerous. He was able to get an intellectual property license that way. She couldn't get a single meeting, but just because she signed up, her name was on a list of creators, and someone found her, and now she has an intellectual property license for an upcoming TV show.
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