There was one part of the film THE WRESTLER that I really connected with.

It was a scene where Randy (aka The Ram) went to an autograph signing with other old wrestlers. Watching him set up his little table with all of merch and swag to sell reminded me of myself whenever I set up shop at conventions or signings. I've been there. Lugging all my stuff with me, hoping to sell a few books or even that at least a few people talk to me.

I have it a bit harder than The Ram because I wasn't super famous in the '80s and I'm still trying to break into the scene. But, the scene hit home for me, because I've been there. Thankfully, I've been pretty successful at the cons. Being on panels certainly helps too. I'm hoping to be on panels again this year at Penguicon (I have a few ideas, I still need to email them about those).

Ever wonder what it costs me to do a con? Well here ya go:

Books to sell: $114.37 (includes printing and shipping of books)
Convention Registration Fee: $40.00 (however, if I am on panels, some of this will be reimbursed).
Hotel: $94x2 nights = $188 (not counting 14% tax and other things)
New business cards: $32.82

Total: $375.19

Now the fun part: If I sell all seven books I'm bringing, I'll make $140. So, $375 - $140 = $235 in costs. I'm still in the red, even if I sell all my books. And that doesn't include what I'll spend on food, gas and perhaps stuff in the Dealer's Room (a "My Other Car is a TARDIS" bumper sticker, for example).

Obviously, I don't go to cons to make money. I go for the exposure, the networking and to hang with my fellow sci-fi/fantasy fans. Not to mention the opportunity to talk shop with folks like Jim C. Hines (jimhines ). Sure, I could possibly make more money if I brought more books to sell, but that would drive my costs up--and I usually average between 5 to 7 books sold per con anyway.  Also, I'm a cheap skate and I don't want to dump a few hundred dollars in books up front.  And more importantly, seven books (or less) are easier to carry around than 20 (which I did once, it wasn't fun).

My biggest expense, other than the books, is my hotel room.  I saved a bunch of money at ConClave this fall by not staying at the hotel, but I won't have that option this time.  Sure, I could stay at my parents' place and drive to and from the con every day/night, but that can get old fast--especially if I'm on a panel that starts later in the evening (which has happened before).

But I'll be honest, I missed staying at the hotel while at ConClave this fall. Granted I was thankful to save the almost $200 in room costs, but at the same time it felt like I was missing out on stuff.  And being able to get out of bed, shower and walk to your first panel of the morning is nice--as is being able to spend more time in the Dealer's Room selling books.

I'm very much looking forward to Penguicon.  May can't come quick enough. And don't misunderstand me here, going to a convention is worth every cent.

The rest of the Con went really well. I sold one book on Saturday and three more on Sunday (thus selling all of my copies, as few as they were). The panels went pretty well on Saturday for the most part, although the panel on Evil went into areas that I had not anticipated. I went in expecting to just talk about the roles of 'baddies' in literature and other media or why people like evil characters (like Darth Vader for example). Instead, those in the audience directed it more towards defining what is and isn't evil in real life, and should people be blamed for 'evil' things or not even if their 'evil' traits are the result of a chemical imbalance or other disability.  Yeah, not what was I expecting.   Shrug.

Thankfully, the panel on Humor in Sci Fi and Fantasy that followed right after was a hoot. I had a great time on that one.  Each of us was asked to read a sample of our humor writing and I read a very brief scene of mine that is a favorite.   And thankfully, the audience laughed. Phew. Personally, I think jimhines had the best bit, from his book Goblin War (I think it was that one). I'm a sucker for jokes about someone getting kicked in the groin.  The Online Publishing and Where Do You Get Your Ideas panels were equally fun. 

Sunday I had the Cover Art panel at 11 AM and unfortunatly it wasn't well attended (we had only a couple people) -- However this did not stop all of us from having a fun time chatting about our own experiences with cover art. I was in the unique position of being (I think ) the only one on the panel to have the most control over my cover, the result of my book being self published.  It was interesting to learn how things worked with the big publishing houses, that the author rarely had any say on what was on the cover and that it was up to the marketing department (there were exceptions though).  Very interesting stuff.

That panel ended early and I hopped over to the Dealer's Room to try and sell the rest of my books.  I had fun hanging out with Deb (and William) from Elder Signs Press.  I actually just ordered one of their books tonight when I got home (Hardboiled Cthulu) because I was silly and forgot to buy it there (I need it for research for my Novel Writing Month project).  At least I bought it through their site and not Amazon ;) I'm sure they'll appreciate that. I was able to chat with other writers and fans while in the Dealer's Room, and did my part to help sell books by other independent or small press writers (including M. Keaton's newest release, Calamity's Child. Firefly fans, check it out).  And better still, I sold the rest of my copies.  It is always nice not having to take any books home.  Yes, I only brought four copies but as I've said before, I'm trying to cut down on my expenses and get out of writing related debt by the end of the year.  Besides, four is around my average for con sales anyway (which in itself is still pretty good).  That puts me at 138 copies (that I know of) sold.

On my way out I chatted one last time with author Guest of Honor Michelle Sagara.  We were on at least three panels together and she had a lot of great information about the industry--not only as a writer but as someone who works at a bookstore too.  Before I left, she asked me if I have writing samples on my website.  I estatic (and probably sounded like a moron when I offered to just send her a copy of my book), but quickly told her that the first four chapters of The Magic of Eyri are online.  Later on I thought that maybe I should have a Writing Samples page on my websites and perhaps throw something else up there, or at least a scene or two from my short stories.  I am considering making the sample of the book four chapters from different parts of the book, as I think the later stuff is much stronger.

So to sum up, ConClave was a blast and I hope to do it again :)

 First day at the con went well--I got there without any problems and had plenty of time to kill before my first panel at five.  What a difference a year makes--this was the first con I went to (as a guest author) last October.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into, didn't know anyone and even went so far as to research fan conventions on the Internet before hand. 

Now I'm a seasoned vet and recognize faces from con to con.  People remember me too, which is great. I've already had a few people today come up and talk to me (including folks I've been on panels with in the past). 

I was upset with myself at first because when I arrived I realized I had not printed out my panel schedule and would have to look through the program to find when and where I needed to be (and being on seven panels, that's a bit of work).  Well thankfully when I checked in I had a folder with my name on it waiting for me.  The Con Programming folks not only printed out my schedule for me, but included a map of the hotel and a very nice hand written thank-you card.  Very nice. 

And what's also nice is that it appears that I'm signed up for enough panel hours to get my full registration fee back ($40).  I think I may not have needed to pay in the first place, but whatever. 

After chatting with several of my con friends and fellow panel regulars, I had my first panel at five PM on Blogging.  Michelle West, the Guest of Honor, was on this panel as well, which was neat.  We were joined by two other panelists, including Matt Arnold who is chair of Pengucion.  We shared our various experiences about blogging (and yes I realize the humor in my blogging about a blogging panel) and why we do it.  I had a great time. 

A tasty sushi dinner with the Girlfriend followed and I was back at the hotel in time to sit in on the Writer's Workshop for a bit. I read a story by a young writer and left some comments (I'm pretty good at suggesting story stuff/changes, not so much when it comes to the grammar end though). More time killing followed (made more difficult by the hotel's lack of free WiFi) and then I had my last panel of the night at 9 PM--Find a Publisher. 

I talked about self-publishing and my personal experiences with it, and hopefully I made some sense to the audience. 

Speaking of self-publishing, I checked my email tonight and saw that someone in Lansing wants to interview me for an article about self-publishing. Hopefully we can connect tomorrow over the phone before I'm locked in panels all day, as they are on a deadline.  Looks like Sara over at the Delta Township District Library mentioned me to the writer and passed on my contact info.  See kids, making connections helps out!

Today starts the weekend long fan convention known as ConClave.  I'll be there as a guest author and on seven different panels, ranging in topics from Online Publishing to Humor in Sci-Fi and Fantasy.  It'll be a hoot.  You can see which panels I'm on by reading this post. So if you're in the Detroit area, swing on by.  I will also have copies of The Magic of Eyri for sale, for a reduced price too.

And keep an eye on my Twitter page.  I'm going to try and use that to keep track of what's going on (I can update it via text messaging, neato).

ConClave Panel Schedule

Yep, I'll be a guest panelist once again at ConClave next weekend (a science fiction/fantasy fan convention).  And I'm going to appear on no less than SEVEN panels (and eight hours worth).  Saturday is my big day, starting at 3 I'm on panels until 8 PM. Yowza.

Schedule:

Friday

5 PM to 6 PM--The Experience of Blogging:  Several bloggers discuss the joys and travails of writing a regular blog, the ways in which the blog has changed their lives, how to use a blog to help support a creative career, and if they would do things differently if they could start over.
Panelists: Michelle Sagara, Daniel J. Hogan, Matt Arnold

9 PM to 10 PM--Finding a Publisher:  Traditional Publishers (Small Presses), Self Publishing, and E-Books…what is the best for you and how to get there.  Can you labor of love make money?
Panelists: Michelle Sagara, Daniel J. Hogan, Ferrel "Rick" Moore, Jim Hines

Saturday

3 PM to 4 PM--Online Publishing:  What is the justification of publishing your work online?  What happens when it’s free?  What are the pros and cons of e-Book publication, pod cast novels and more?  Why are people resistant to e-books?  Our panelists will discuss their forays into the world on online promotion and publication and where they think we may be headed.
Panelists: Tiffany Aaron, Jessica Freely, Daniel J. Hogan, Jim Hines, Anne Murphy

4 PM to 5 PM--Gee, I wish I thought of that.  Where do writers get their ideas? 
Panelists: Tiffany Aaron, Merrie Haskell, Daniel J. Hogan, Steve Buchheit

6 PM to 7 PM--Discussion of Evil:  NO we aren't talking about the Co-ConChair "Evil".  In this discussion panelist will discuss the necessity for there to be evil for there to be good.  Does writing about evil help us understand reality?  Why do evil characters become popular?  What makes characters evil, and why do they interest us?
Panelists: Michelle Sagara, Daniel J. Hogan, M. Keaton, Gary Braunbeck, Greg Pizziono

7 PM to 8 PM--Humor in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Where has the laughter gone?  Isn't laughter as important as technical wonders in Science Fiction?
Panelists: Merrie Haskell, Daniel J. Hogan, Michael LaFlamme, Michael Poe, Jim Hines, Lucy Snyder

Sunday

11 AM to 1 PM--"What?! You don't pick your own cover art?" Authors talk about the cover art for their books and their involvement in the process.
Panelists: Michelle Sagara, Tiffany Aaron, Jim Hines, M. Keaton,  Daniel J. Hogan, Steven Buchheit, William Jones

I'm excited.  This will be a great bunch of panels to be on, and it'll be fun to share the table with M. Keaton, Jim Hines (jimhines ) and William "Doctor" Jones once again.  I don't know how much I'll be around when I'm not on panels, as I'm not staying at the hotel this time around, but I'll probably be selling books in the Dealer's Room at some point.  This is an interesting Catch 22: I'm on the panels to get more exposure and to generate more interest in myself, but because of all the panels I won't have much time for selling books. Heh.  Honestly though, if I have the choice, I'll take doing panels over sitting at a table trying to sell books.  Yes, getting money from books and talking to people is nice, but you can't beat the exposure being on a panel--not to mention the contacts you make while doing them.

I attended the "Go Local" event at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial yesterday to sell/sign copies of The Magic of Eyri--and I sold all my copies!

I brought six copies with me and thankfully I didn't have to take any of them home.  I usually only bring around five copies to something like that (selling around five copies tends to be my average, which is pretty good actually), but I'm glad I had the number of copies I did--one very nice lady bought four copies at once (for grandkids and such), which was amazing.

I could have brought four additional copies, but I wanted to keep those in reserve to sell at ConClave next month. As part of my Get Out of Book-Related Debt By The End of the Year Plan, I'm trying not to have to order any new books before ConClave.  I also won't be ordering the ever popular mini-pins again any time soon. I know four copies may not seem like a lot, but as I said I usually only sell around five copies and I'll be on a bunch of panels, so I don't know how much time I'll have for selling anyway.  And I'm not staying at the hotel (another cost saving measure), so I'll have to carry stuff with me at all times and I won't be there all day and night.

We'll see. This could change and I'll end up getting a couple more copies, but we'll see.

In other good news, it looks like I sold another copy of The Magic of Eyri on Lulu.com last week (give or take).  So I've sold seven copies in the past few weeks.  That's pretty great.  As of today I've sold 134 copies of the book and have 217 copies in print ( includes freebies and donations).

Now the bad news--I got a pair of rejections last week for my short stories Slow and Steady and A Queen's Tale.  Oh well.  I'll dig through my copy of Writer's Market '07 and find new places to try.  Slow and Steady will be a bit easier because it is shorter (under 4,000 words I think), I'll have a hard time finding a magazine willing to take the 10,000+ word A Queen's Tale. I'll get back on the horse and try again.