Tag: conventions

My RisuCon report.

The storm has come, so let me post this now in case I lose power: RisuCon was a disappointment, but it wasn’t the con’s fault. In fact, the staff there was first-rate, and genuinely helpful throughout. I’m just coming to the conclusion that the bigger conventions just don’t buy many independent authors’ books, or at least my books. I do well at book fairs, comic-cons, and local venues, and that’s where I should concentrate in the future.

Which is a shame, because the panel (“So you want to do a Kickstarter”) I did today was pretty well received. Five people showed up, and they were all attentive and interested in the presentation. Almost all of them even asked questions! I should possibly just go to bigger cons and do these panels, and not try to make my table fee back. It’d certainly be cheaper!

Anyway, lesson learned. Fortunately, it was a sunk cost anyway. I wasn’t counting on that money, although I would like to make more at Fright Reads and the Renn Festival. Fortunately, I will have new books to sell at both, which should be helpful.

Moe Lane

#commissionearned

So where do you go when you want to find out convention drama?

There’s maybe something going on with a future convention I’m going to be at, but I’m not plugged into it, and I’d like to know what the heck it’s all about. If it’s just personalities clashing, I don’t care about that. But if there’s, ah, an aspect to it, I really want to know ahead of time. Where’s the reliable place on social media for convention drama?

Oh, yeah, I also locked down some details about future conventions.

Got the info pack for Stellar Con York next weekend, and confirmed that I’d be doing the MD Renn Festival on October 12th. Also had to order a bunch of books for the latter one, which reminds me: buy some, will ya? Stock is what you’d call speculative*; if they don’t sell, it ties up some of my liquidity.

Moe Lane

*I had a helpful object lesson in that regard when I started vending my books. I was talking to one guy who had bought a lot of copies of his novel, on the assumption that he would need them to sell and distribute. It… did not happen, and now the inventory was a problem.

I’ve been keeping my stock under tight control ever since.

#commissionearned

My convention schedule for October and November.

Just as a reminder:

  • September 30 – October 1st: Fright Reads. Now two days! Two weeks away!
  • October 7-8: Stellar Con. Three weeks away! This is also being combined with a single-night vacation, because my wife feels I rather need one.
  • November 3-4: Doxacon. New! I might have GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND ready and in print for that one. Might.

I don’t expect many venues in December, if any, but I’ll be talking to bookstores and whatnot about doing book signings for GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND. If anybody knows of 1Q 2024 venues within reasonable driving distance of southern Maryland, now is the time to tell me…

Moe Lane

PS: Buy my books!

#commissionearned

Looking for future book fairs and conventions.

Starting in December – or, more likely, January 2023. Maryland for preference, although if I can get to somewhere in DC or Northern Virginia without putting my life in my hands that’s fine. I would actually prefer the smaller venues at this point, because they’re more likely to be reasonable on table fees. The last two biggish conventions I vended at… were not.

Suggestions welcome.

Schedule:

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.

Looking at Costume-Con 40.

Costume-Con 40 is local (Rockville, MD), going on in April, and my SCA barony was talking about having a table there. I’m just not sure yet if I can actually vendor at the event, though. I’d be selling books, not costume-related materials. On the other hand, it’s reasonable to assume that folks who do FSF costuming might be interested in FSF books. And, on the gripping hand: my money is as good as anybody else’s when it comes to a table fee, hey?

I guess we’ll see.

I like the Weber Rule, and will be incorporating it.

To wit: “Any con which disinvites a guest for any reason other than demonstrated misbehavior on that guest’s part (such misbehavior to include threats of violence but not simply threats to someone else’s complacency) will go on to our list (“Oh, we have a little list! We have a little list!”) of conventions at which we will be forever missed.” Not that nearly as many people would care about my decision to not attend; but I suspect that more than a few con committees might be worried about David Weber’s decision, and you never know. Maybe this stance of mine will be actually meaningful, some day.

But whether or not it ever does become meaningful, this is what I am going to.