in related news, those USB wafer cards are the big hit so far. They're more popular than the physical books.
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figmentPez
Staff member
fade
Staff member
Wish we had a way to embed Flickr albums. Oh well. Here's some shots of my kids I'm sort of proud of.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fadecomic/albums/72157669356814271
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fadecomic/albums/72157669356814271
Followed link, gave me a 404 bad link from Flickr.
fade
Staff member
Huh weird. Works for me on this phone and it's not cached here (uploaded on my computer).[DOUBLEPOST=1466134962,1466134905][/DOUBLEPOST]Try this one https://www.flickr.com/gp/fadecomic/j83662
That one worked.
I like the umbrella shots. They're really sweet!
Aww, you have cute kids. That look just like you... are you cloning?
fade
Staff member
The super-science game is dangerous.
new pic of me and my wife
Hey, out of curiosity, how well do you make out at cons selling books? I was talked out of bothering because I was told novelists make little to no money having a table. It winds up being more an expense than bringing in any kind of profit.
My booth with my two volunteers at Space City Comic Con
It comes down to knowing your audience. Every single not-well-known novelist table I've seen while vending at a con sold only a handful of books, except for the one that sold out. It's much better if you can share the table with one or more other people, like another writer or a circle/collective of them (the latter being what my wife's con business model is--artists' collective).
SCCC was my first con, so I only have the one experience to draw from.
Everything I've read says to keep expectations low: Hope to just barely cover expenses. And, as Denbrought says, it's better if you can share expenses. I saw a number of people along "author alley" doing exactly that. That said, I've heard some people do amazingly well. This con wasn't profitable for me, but I didn't expect it to be. I had a lot of one-time sunk costs in infrastructure: advertising, tablet for taking credit cards, display shelves, etc.
I chose to fly to Houston rather than hitting a local Con, because I knew a lot of people in town and hoped that they would show up to the con. (Point of note: Tons of people said they'd show up..about 4 actually did). Plus I had friends in Houston willing to volunteer, giving me the ability to go take a whizz during the day, and giving me someone to talk to when I wasn't selling merch. And, the psychological boost of being on my "home turf" meant I was a lot less nervous/stressed than I might have been.
If you have to fly, rent a car, and rent a room, it's going to be difficult to even cover expenses. I stayed at a friends house, so I didn't have that cost. But car rental, airport parking, and flying are all super-expensive costs.
At SCCC, the first two days were horrible due to the Houston flooding. I sold maybe 6-10 items each of those days. Sunday was much better. I was constantly busy the entire day, and moved closer to 75 items. If every day had been like Sunday, I'd have come close to breaking even (not counting the one-time costs). The next time I do one, I plan on driving, so that I knock out the flight expense and the rental expense, and only have gas to deal with--and the mileage will be tax deductible according to the IRS.
Here's kind of my rough expense breakdown for future cons:
Driving to/from con: $40-600 (depending on distance)
Con table: $300-1000 (depending on con)
Merch: I already have an inventory now from unsold units of the last con
Advertising: I have that now too, so there's no cost as long as everything stays in good shape
So, if I keep expenses at around $700-800 for a con, I can make a profit off of one good day like Sunday's at SCCC. If I have an entire weekend like that, I could bring back a couple thousand dollars in profit. There are a few cons around the DC/Maryland/Virginia area that I could easily drive to, and I have some experience under my belt, so I feel comfortable branching out.
Be aware that you have to really be gregarious, make eye contact, smile, and do whatever it takes to engage the people walking by. A lot of authors along my row were heads-down, writing, reading, or otherwise not approachable. The guy in the booth immediately to my right sat slouched in his chair, arms crossed, looking surly out at the crowd all weekend. I think I saw him sell 3 books the entire time, and he'd give me the meanest look every time I'd get someone to come over to my table to talk. I understand that a lot of authors are introverts--but you aren't going to make money at a con that way.
You guys are looking great!new pic of me and my wife
thanks!
fade
Staff member
This, so much this. So many writers and artists just sit there and expect people to walk up to them. Especially the pencillers. Even the famous ones.
I was at Space City with my friend Dennis, who sold tons of books. He never sat behind his table. Anyone browsing by, he'd engage and strike up a conversation. "Hey, you like sci-fi? What kind?" And then he had a 30 second rehearsed synopsis. Worked like a charm. Granted he's a natural at it, but believe it or not, he's an introverted person.
I'd probably be somewhere in between. I wouldn't be just sitting there, head down, not talking. I'd be standing, smiling, saying hi to anyone who walked by, and happily answer questions.
I'm just...not very good at selling myself. I don't like being pushy or too in-your-face. It doesn't help that I know Dill is a very weird, niche product. Or that I don't have much faith in the product, itself.
I'm just...not very good at selling myself. I don't like being pushy or too in-your-face. It doesn't help that I know Dill is a very weird, niche product. Or that I don't have much faith in the product, itself.
This is exactly what I did, too
"You like fantasy books?" was my cold opener--if they said no, then there's no point in wasting time on them. If they said yes, I'll point out my books and give my spiel. I did it to anyone who even glanced my direction--which was often, because if the booth was slow, I'd pull out the tinwhistle to drum up some attention. I did it so many times over the weekend that when I did have to take bathroom breaks, my volunteers could follow the same routine, and they even sold some books 
Actually, this isn't 100% true. If they said no, I'd ask if they liked the music and point to the sheet music books. If they said that they didn't play an instrument, I'd point out the CD, play a couple of tunes, and point out where those tunes were on the CD liner. Sold a few CDs and music books that way.
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Hello Neo. I am the Architect. I created the Matrix. I've been waiting for you. You have many questions, and though the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human. Ergo some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not. Concordantly, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant.