Tag: balticon

So, obviously, back from Balticon.

I didn’t quite make back the table fee, which was a disappointment. Even if I had, the parking fee (while reasonable for four days) would have been a bridge too far, as it were. I don’t think I’m really able to justify total convention fees above a hundred bucks at the moment*.

On the bright side: Galactic Con is in two weeks, and I’m pretty sure I can hustle enough to pay for the table. After that? We’ll see. Retail’s tougher than it looks.

Moe Lane

*It’s a shame, though. I did sell a bunch of TALES FROM THE FERMI RESOLUTION. People seemed receptive to the idea of ‘buy this book of short stories to see whether you like the concept,’ especially at a ten buck price point. I’m going to work with that in the future. I’m also going to have links to the artists’ websites on the table, which I should have been doing all along.

#commissionearned

Last day at Balticon.

Had a small mini-worry about COVID, but I tested negative. Which is nice: trying to figure out how to break down the site under the circumstances would have been a massive pain.

As to the convention: well, if I have a good day today I might make back the table fee. But not the table fee and the parking. The gas I’m not even gonna bring up. I think my future here for the next year or so is going to be the smaller venues, where the site fees will be lower (and I can hope to get more sales). Also, I’m definitely gonna need to write more books…

Speaking of: TINSEL RAIN! Buy it! Review it! Give a copy to a friend!

#commissionearned

Moe Lane

PS: I should note that Balticon puts on a very good, very organized convention. I think they’ve done a great job. I’m just not getting the sales I wanted, which isn’t actually their fault.

Back at Balticon!

…After a Chrome update that required far too many security checks for a machine that I just got told won’t be supported after next month. I mean, why does Google care now? – I don’t mind that the Chromebook won’t be supported, you understand. It’s an older model and I didn’t pay much for it to begin with. But if they have little care for its further existence then they shouldn’t be too upset if it’s a little insecure.

:pause:

Never mind me. I had ten hours’ sleep last night, and it seems to be affecting me in odd ways.

Moe Lane

PS: Come on by and buy my books at Balticon! Or anywhere else!

Balticon in two days!

I’ll be there Friday afternoon, and selling books until Monday. While at the same time day-tripping it, because Balticon is only twenty five minutes away via car. I may amend that Sunday night, depending on how beat I’ll be by then. It’s just that the hotel room is around $150/night, and the combination of proximity to the venue and ease of getting there is just too hard to overcome.

Oh, well. I’m going there pretty much to sell books anyway. I’m going to have a link to TINSEL RAIN printed out and framed so that people can order the book while at the convention; the paperback is going to have to wait until I finish the proofs (I don’t think it’ll be ready for Galactic-Con, either). But I definitely will have the book before the Kickstarter deadline, which is the important thing…

Moe Lane

PS: I am looking for more Maryland conventions; so if you know of any, let me know.

#commissionearned

Book vending schedule, 2022.

This is so far:

  • Balticon (May 28-30). The convention starts Friday, but I’ll be there Saturday. Probably will commute, because the hotel’s expensive and it’s an easy drive for me.
  • Galactic Con (tentative) (June 11). This one is a day-trip, and I haven’t gotten it confirmed yet. Hoping to have TINSEL RAIN published at that point, but I probably won’t have the print books.
  • Fright Reads (October 1). Will have TINSEL RAIN in print by then! Hopefully. Maybe other stuff.

As you can see, I have room in the schedule for July-September. I’ll be keeping an eye out for other prospective vending venues.

So, I will have a table at Balticon 56.

Balticon 56 will be from May 27-30th, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in (shocker) Baltimore, MD. I expect I’ll be setting up the 28th; still haven’t worked out whether I’ll be staying at the hotel those two days. It’s not very far from home, after all. Cheaper, too.

Will TINSEL RAIN be ready by then? I… dunno. It’ll definitely be ready for FrightReads, but that’s a much smaller venue: but since I was originally expecting the book not to be ready until the end of the year, even having it almost ready in May would be a win. There’ll be other conventions, surely.

So, I applied for vendor space at Balticon.

I dunno if I’ll actually get a spot, but I applied. The table fee was actually less than the last one I went to, and supposedly there’s going to be about five times as many convention goers. That sounds like there could be a reasonable chance I’ll make my table fee back, in other words. Also, the Balticon people seem to be on top of the ball, which is always nice.

So I guess we’ll see!

Need to make a decision this weekend on Balticon.

Cheaper table than the last one and Balticon will have a good turnout, I think. But it’s gonna be in the Inner Harbor, which is going to make traveling there and back a pain. Then again, Baltimore is close enough I could conceivably day-trip it. But I dunno. Conventions feel like a place to sell books, but I’m not sure I’ve worked out how to do it.

Anyway, again: I need to decide this weekend.