Conventions.

Do you usually go to the bigger conventions or work the smaller ones? I would imagine that it’s hard competing at things like Dragoncon…

I do 5 or 6 conventions per year right now. I have one in March (MarsCon in Bloomington, MN), one in May (WisCon in Madison, WI), one in July (CONvergence in Bloomington, MN), one in August (GenCon in Indianapolis, IN), and one or two in October/November (ValleyCon in Fargo, ND, or ICon in Coralville, IA). They are all different.

MarsCon, CONvergence, ValleyCon, and ICon are all fan-based conventions. That means there are panels and partyrooms based on sci fi movies, TV shows, anime, books, etc. People wear costumes, and some gaming goes on, but it’s a minimum.

WisCon is a literary convention. No one wears a costume and it’s solely book-based. There are a lot of sci fi authors there and publishers/editors too. It’s a good place to network if you want to be a writer.

GenCon is a gaming convention. It’s HUGE. Attendance is about 80,000 people over 4 days. Compare that to the 500 MarsCon gets, 3,000 CONvergence gets, and 1,000 WisCon limits itself to.

I would love to go back to ICon; however, it won’t be this year. ValleyCon set their convention on the same dates as ICon, so I’ll be going there instead. It’s closer and therefore cheaper for me to attend. Sales seem to be about the same, so it makes more sense to go to the one with less expense.

I sell a lot at conventions. It’s hard to compare though. Conventions are a three or four day thing, so people do their year’s buying in a short amount of time. The website sales are spread out over a year, so it’s different.

However, I sell almost no misc. fantasy stuff online. The pieces are light but huge, so shipping gets expensive anyway. It’s hard for people to buy a $60 statue and then pay $30 for shipping. At conventions I usually nearly sell out of those things. And I sell almost no Windstone dragons at conventions. But candlelamps and sconces are hot there. And it seems that I sell mostly dragons and Maya Hill figures online. I sell a lot of Maya Hill figures at conventions too.

It’s weird. The venues are all different, and it’s taken me a while to figure out what sells where. I’ve made a spreadsheet, tracking what sells at what conventions and online. It helps when I’m suddenly limited on tables at a convention like I’ll be at WisCon. I usually have 3-4 tables, and I’m only being allowed 2 this time (space issues). I have to figure out what to bring based on that limit now, so I’m looking back at what sold before. I think I’ve got it figured out now, so it’s just a matter of pulling the things out of stock that I need to bring.

Sorry this is so long. Sometimes it’s hard to explain things in just a few words. You guys are asking really good questions. 😀

ValleyCon is in Fargo, ND. It is a fun one like ICon, but with more costumes and panels. It is bigger than ICon too.

I have a PT Cruiser. It holds a lot of stuff, including my 6’4″ hubby and our luggage.

Usually we get to look at the other booths and maybe attend a panel or two. Most of the time we get to stand in lines to get autographs from authors or actors as well. We just try to arrange the day’s schedule (who needs to be at the table when), and stick to the plan. At some of the conventions there are other people there who can step in and run the booth if we need to go somewhere (at the Bloomington, MN, conventions anyway — sometimes in Madison and Fargo too).

I got really sick at the WisCon booth a few years ago and passed out for a second at the table. Then I was so nauseated that I couldn’t open my eyes (the room kept spinning). My hubby had to take me up to our hotel room. Luckily, our friend Ron was there, so he stepped in and ran the booth while Walter brought me upstairs. Then Walter and Ron ran the booth for the rest of the day. It turns out I had vertigo really bad. It settled down for the rest of the convention, and I have medicine for it now. But it was really lucky Ron was there to step in for us and help out.

A panel is basically a seminar. Actors and writers give speeches and talk about work and do Q&A.

I would have loved to go to seminars on weapons. 😆 I love to go to the gun range when I visit my parents but my dad is working all this weekend. That’s why I’m using his computer.

My P.T. Cruiser? I love it! I’ve had it for seven years, and it’s the best car I’ve ever had.

I’ll be at GenCon. Maybe we can meet up and I can browse at your table. It would be fun to meet someone in the flesh.