From the Artist's Side of the Table - My Convention Experience

So as a way to promote my new book, I've been doing a number of book signing events again this year. And this past weekend, I just finished with my first actual convention for the year, that being Freecon in Tallahassee, my third time participating in the event. But upon returning home from the convention and returning to work, my manager asked me a couple of questions about how things went, and well, I guess I felt like there was an interesting enough discussion here to share my responses to those questions to a wider audience, and gives me an opportunity to address some common misconceptions that people occasionally have in regards to doing these sorts of events, and so I've decided to share my responses with you all here.

So the first in a series of mostly financial related questions that he asked me was...

"What do you do with all of the money that you make at these events?"

And, well, I can go into a number of different areas with this question. When my manager asked me this, I believe he thought that I was just rolling in dough doing these events, a feeling that becomes more prevalent when we get to some of his later questions. But the truth is, almost all of the money I make at these things goes towards paying off the event itself.

When you're doing a convention, there are a number of costs that go into it. First, there's the cost of the table space, which varies in price from convention to convention, depending on how big or small the show is. Then, there's the cost of supplies, so in my case, that means the cost of purchasing the actual books I'll be selling, as well as business cards I'll be handing out, or anything else I may try to incorporate to my table in order to attract attention, such as the table cloth or a banner and displays and other such signage.

Now, if I'm doing an event locally, or just doing a book signing at a smaller book store, then that certainly makes things easier. However, if I have to travel for an event, then that adds in a number of added expenses, including gas, food, and hotel costs. So yeah, taking all of that into account, then that explains where most of the money I make at these events goes towards. Quite frankly, I'm usually lucky to just break even, and on the off chance that I do make a profit, then what do I do with that money? Honestly, it usually just goes towards groceries for that week. So basically, it's not exactly enough to be able to quit my day job and live off of, to say the least.

Now, part of that is a bit of my own fault. After all, I'm going to these big nerd conventions with the intent of trying to sell something brand new to a whole group who are all there in a collected celebration of all of the various nerd fandoms that are already well established. They're not there for new, they're there for what they're already into. But still, I'm stubborn and I'm insistent, and seeing as this crowd typically consists of my general target audience, I'll continue to try and push my new ideas onto them until it finally latches on.

Now, this problem is probably easier for other artists to work around, those who draw and sell prints, as they're able to still sell their services and their art, while also selling something recognizable on top of that, by drawing characters that are already well established, just with their personal artistic touch or style added to it. But my art is of the written variety, so I don't really have that as an option. But even so, if I was there just to make money, then sure, I could probably cobble together some more recognizably fandom related memorabilia to try and sell off, which would certainly help with expenses. Except, for me personally, that's not my goal. I'm not there to make money. I'm there to try and get the word out on my own work and build a fandom for my new property. And, well, that's a fandom that's never gonna build if I'm creating competition at my very own booth.

And to be fair, my approach has slowly been working. After all, at this latest convention, quite a bit of my business came from people who had already purchased and read my previous books, and were there to pick up the new one. This is something that my neighbor artist noticed, was all of the return business at my table. And it became something I was also able to incorporate in my pitch to try and gain even more new readers, to tell them that, hey, most of my business this weekend has come from people coming back to get the new one, 'cause they loved the first ones just that much. And you know what? It actually worked, and I was able to make a number of sales and potential new fans that way, too.

But even taking all of the above into account, all of the preparation and expenses and everything, the biggest thing that has to be taken into consideration in terms of making any money at a convention is the actual con-goers themselves. And the thing about them is, it's impossible to predict what you're going to get. Cons can be very hit or miss, and not just for me, but for any vendor or artist. Sometimes, there might be a high turnout of people, but nobody's really buying anything. Sometimes a con that you made a killing at one year, can be a total bust the next. Or sometimes the opposite can happen. You can never tell for sure what sort of crowd you're going to get, which can have a huge effect on how the con goes for you.

But anyways, I feel I've said enough in regards to that question, so let's move onto the next, which was...

"You're going to share all of that money you make selling your books, right?"

Now, what I think he meant by this (again, assuming that I were rolling in dough doing this) was, am I going to put my money towards something good, such as donating it to a charity, or trying to help and support others within my community in some way or fashion? And most of my response to that, for the time being, pretty much mirrors my response to the first question, on account that I'm really not actually making any money doing this thing just yet.

However, while I might not have the means to financially show my support, I do still very much try to show my support in other ways all the same. For instance, I have a number of friends who are also aspiring writers, and I always try to do anything I can for them to help out in any way. Whether it's reading their work and critiquing or editing it for them, or just answering any questions they may have in regards to either the writing or self-publishing process, pushing them and urging them on, I've always been an open book when it comes to these sorts of things.

When I do these conventions, I almost always have at least a couple people approach me just to ask me how I got where I am, how I actually finished something, and how I got it published, asking so that they can have some idea as to what they need to do in order to work towards their own artistic goals. And I give them as honest a response as I can, and try to break down for them the steps I took all along the way (which would be a whole different topic all itself, so I won't go into detail here).

But I won't just tell them what I do know, I'll also be frank and let them know if they're asking me something I don't have the answers to, because I'd hate to just try and bullshit someone like that. After all, I don't have all the answers, not at all. And I'm still very much trying to figure out what I'm doing even now. The learning never stops. But as far as what I've already learned? Yeah, I'm always willing to share that knowledge with others, to try and help them out, much the same way that others have helped me back when I was just getting started on this whole ordeal myself, and continue to do so even to this day.

So there's that, for those still aspiring. But for those who are on a similar level as I am, where they're actively producing things and putting them out there, trying to market it? Well, anytime I see this, I'll almost always be the first to jump at the opportunity to help promote their stuff for them. After all, at this level, any little bit helps, and I know there's only so much I can do on my own trying to self-promote my own stuff. So I know the struggle, and I also know how valuable it can be to have someone else actually lend a hand and help promote your stuff right there along with you, without even needing to ask.

You'll always see me on social media, for instance, promoting other people's work, anytime I happen to see it. This is a practice that I honestly wish more people would get on board with, that being promoting their friends and their peers, as opposed to already established properties that, quite frankly, don't need your help promoting their latest work (after all, they have whole marketing teams to do all that for them, something that people on my level are very much lacking in).

So really, I always spread the word on other people's work, or try to fill my peers in whenever I hear of an event happening in town that I think they might be interested in. (Though admittedly, I will sour on lending that helping hand to others who I see not return the favor or show their appreciation.) After all, it all goes back to that golden rule, always do unto others what you would have them to do unto you. And this is a rule that I've sadly found very few appear to abide by. But for those few that do, you can't even begin to understand how much your help is truly appreciated, and how much it means to myself and those like me who are trying so hard to break through.

So yeah, that all might not be financial related, as the question originally asked. But until I reach a place where I can lend my support financially as well, and actually do something productive with "all that money that I'm making", and can actually really share it accordingly, I'll still always do whatever is within my ability to help out my peers and my community all the same.

Anyways, onto the next question, which was...

"Does your publisher pay you to do these events?"

And the answer to that is, quite simply, seeing as I am my own publisher, being self-published and all (and not one of those obnoxious self-published authors who refers to their self-publishing service, such as createspace or amazon, etc., as their "publisher"), no. Not unless I actually make a profit at a given event, but even then, see my answers above to see where that money actually goes to. But nah, I think my manager is under the impression that I'm a bigger deal than I actually am (which is an odd impression to be under, considering that, despite what my online presence may tell you, I almost never talk about all this stuff I'm working on in person), and he doesn't realize that every step of the way are all steps that I have to take personally.

I have to reach out and set up all of these events, talk to the appropriate people and make all the payments and arrangements, and maintain communication to ensure that everything is good to go. Sure, I'd love to have a publisher, or at least a personal assistant or someone, who could handle all of this stuff for me. But for now, so long as I remain self-published, that's just not feasible, and so it all lays on my shoulders in order to get it all done.

Which now takes us to his last question, which was...

"Did you do anything fun or see anyone while you were out of town?"

And I think this is one of the bigger misconceptions that people have when I tell them that I'm going to a con, is that they think that I'm going on vacation. But really, that couldn't be any further from the truth.

Quite frankly, it's work. And the days are long. There's a lot of interactions with a lot of people that I have to have. I have to sell myself and my product to just about everyone who comes up to my table. And, let me tell you, I'm already not the best salesman in the world, nor am I exactly a sociable or extroverted individual. So it's even harder for me than it is for most, but it's something I still gotta do all the same.

I've got to strike up conversations with strangers all day long, and by the end of it, I'm exhausted. And the next day starts bright and early, so there's not much time to go out and do any socializing with friends after the day's out either. I actually did meet up with one friend this weekend, but it had to wait till after the con was over entirely, and even then, it was a relatively brief meeting, as I still had a 4 hour drive back home waiting for me that night, as I was scheduled to return to my day job the next day.

So yeah, these things aren't a vacation. There's not a lot of free time, or really even a lot of me time. It's a job, and it's draining. But that's not to say that it isn't also very rewarding, and that there isn't fun to be had at all. After all, you do meet a lot of interesting characters, and see a lot of cool and interesting things, such as all of the artwork all around, and the cosplay that people dress up in. So there's definitely an aspect of fun to it. But it still remains work all the same, which is something that I'm not sure you're really able to properly grasp until you actually get behind the booth and experience it for yourself.

And yeah, that was pretty much the extent of my manager's line of questioning. And while I may not have gotten as into detail with my responses to him as I did here, his questions did stay with me well after the fact, and left me with a lot to say on the matter, which I thought might be interesting for anyone who might be curious as to how these things typically go for people on my side of the table trying to make a name for themselves, or for anyone who might be looking into doing this sorta thing themselves someday. I've learned a lot doing these events over the years, but like I said before, the learning never stops, and I'm sure that there are still many lessons waiting for me as I continue to dive into these experiences moving forward.