Carol Pinchefsky has written nearly 2,000 articles on eccentric culture for agencies like Forbes.com, Playboy.com, and Syfy.com. Over the past 20 years, she’s watched fantasy and science fiction grow from niche interest into a huge cultural force.
“There was a time when I knew everything there was to know about eccentric culture because it was in a few areas,” Pinchefsky said in Episode 504 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy audio file. “But now there is an increase that is a bit overwhelming. I really can’t keep up. And that’s sad for me, but also incredibly exhilarating.”
As a freelancer, Pinchefsky knows well how difficult it is for sci-fi enthusiasts to make a living doing what they love. “The market is as hot as a professional writer, but it’s not as hot as I’d like it to be,” she said. “So what I’ve been doing lately is using geek references in business writing. I wrote articles about ‘Which doctor? and Change Management,’ and I’ve written articles on ‘Security and Star Wars: Rogue One‘and I wrote,’Game of Thrones and Project Management. ‘ So I can be silly and get paid.”
Pinchefsky’s first book, Turn your Fandom into cash, teaches lovers how to monetize their hobby without drawing the malice of their favorite creators. “I went to New York Comic Con, and I looked around the agency room and I saw tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – changing hands every hour and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s potential. Infringement of intellectual property rights going on,” Pinchefsky said. “So that’s what really made me think I should write a guide, to make sure people do what they love while respecting IP law.”
For the book, Pinchefsky interviewed dozens of writers, artists, cosplayers, conference organizers, and executives. She says that the biggest weapon any enthusiast has in their arsenal is the supportive community of fellow fans. “The idea that there is an independent entrepreneur who is finding his way in the world, ahead of the curve, is completely wrong,” she said. “You will need help, and you will get help because you are surrounded by people, friends and community, and we tend to help each other.”
Listen to the full interview with Carol Pinchefsky in Episode 504 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.
Carol Pinchefsky growing up eccentric:
I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. I’m smart, I’m small, I’m not a sporting force at all. I wear big glasses — and when I say “big glasses,” we can’t afford new glasses, so I put on my mom’s glasses, so they’re really big for my face. I kept getting caught, and I’m sure I didn’t make it easy for myself, but I’m the girl who always raises her hand when asked a question because I always know the answer. School was so easy for me that I fell asleep my way. I have not interacted with anyone. Looking back, if I were a little more self-conscious, I would try to catch up with other people and say, “Hey, let’s talk about books.” But instead, I just keep it to myself, and that makes me a target.
Carol Pinchefsky on Weird stories:
I was an assistant editor under Darrell Schweitzer and George Scithers, it was an experience. We get all sorts of interesting letters… [In one story] An elderly woman was sitting in her chair when suddenly a man jumped out and stabbed her. Finish. I read the envelope and I don’t recognize the return address. I said, “Wow, this is very strange,” and someone said, “What’s wrong?” And I said, “Oh, a guy just jumped out and stabbed his mother, and I don’t recognize the address.” And the guy said, “Oh yeah, that guy. He is a prisoner, and every week he sends in a story that is a variation on a man who suddenly kills an elderly woman, usually his mother. Sometimes it’s defection, sometimes beheading, but there’s always a murder and it’s always a woman.” And I said, “Not only won’t I write a rejection letter, I guarantee your name on the rejection letter, Darrell. “
Carol Pinchefsky traveling:
[My husband] I’m from the UK, I’m from the US, and so we earned all these miles during our courtship. So we had enough miles to go to Japan for our honeymoon. We went to a temple in Kyoto. You have to choose your luck — you pick up a stick and give it to the man behind the counter, and he’ll find your luck. Luck says I will get lucky but I will lose. And then when Peter’s luck comes, it says that he will have great luck and that he will find the lost things. The man was reading this in Japanese, and he just started laughing and laughing. I think we made his day because it seemed like our luck was pretty much tied together.
Carol Pinchefsky on intellectual property:
I met someone who had a license to write a role-playing game, and he had no experience. He’s nice enough to let me use his IP app [in the book]. He just wrote what he thought the company would want to see, and in the end, after years of chasing them, the company finally said yes. It’s a video game called Excellence—That was the 80s version — and now the modern version Elite: Dangerous. And so he was able to get an IP license that way… Another person signed up for the IP licensing show. She couldn’t join a meeting, but just because she signed up, her name was on the list of creators and someone found her and now she has an IP license for an upcoming TV show.
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