Another drippy, cold morning in Eugene – let’s talk authors, marketing, and convention-style audience engagement. Ars Technica posted another ‘why did E3 die’ article this morning, so here’s a ‘yes, and’ to their analysis. E3 and Comic Con were always about the marketing – your happy community experiences were just the sprinkles on top of a ‘sell you something sundae.’ You can blame COVID, or industry changes all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that companies only invest in marketing that results in positive return on investment. Someone in the SLT said ‘wait, why are we doing this?’ and the numbers didn’t add up. Bye-bye to E3.
Comic Con happened anyway, in spite of the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike, and good for them. Nonetheless, the experience was scaled back – Marvel and DC didn’t bother to show up. What’s the point of a comic con if two of your biggest publishers tap out? Only time will tell if SDCC2024 can recapture the momentum.
Here’s Why That’s Okay
It’s a bad news/good news thing for introverted indie creators like myself. I used to wear myself out, masking my way through thousands of people without an anxiety attack. Even if nothing went wrong, I was left worn out and exhausted, needing days to recharge. I can’t just blame anxiety. As an author, I just didn’t have the budget or energy, I didn’t have the marketing tools or resources, to engage with convention audiences the way others could.
But that’s just me – let’s say you’re an author and you’re thinking about doing a convention. What are some must-haves to make sure your event is a success? There are some big decisions that must be made – questions answered. Here’s a list of them, courtesy Jessica Taylor:
Author / Writer Convention Tips
- How much is the table fee?
- Is the fee refundable if you have to cancel? Non-refundable after a certain time period?
- How big is the table? Do you get your own table or do you have to share with someone?
- Do they provide tablecloths? What color are they?
- Can you bring an assistant with you? Are they free or do you have to pay for them?
- Are they arranging discounted hotel blocks for authors? If not, do they have recommendations for nearby hotels?
- How will you get there? Fly or drive? If you drive, what’s the parking situation?
- How will you get your books there? Do they offer shipping to the venue, or do you have to bring it all with you? How will you get your items from your hotel/car to the venue?
- Where will you order your books from? Amazon? IngramSpark? Bookvault? Somewhere else? Plan in advance!
- Will there be Wi-Fi available? Does it cost a fee to use for vendors? For attendees?
- What payment methods will you use?
- About how many attendees do they anticipate? How many tickets have they sold?
Freaked out yet? Don’t worry, there’s more in Part 2:
Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t think conventions are for me. If you want to try them out for yourself, then I want you to be successful. Here are some other author convention tip pages you’ll want to read through and consider.
Yes, conventions can be overwhelming. When it comes to authors and audience engagement, you have to think in terms of sustainable marketing. Burning yourself out creatively for two nights in Milwaukee? I’m not your dad, I can’t tell you what to do. All I can do is talk through the options so that you can make an informed choice.
Hopefully this helps you understand why I stick to platforms like Mastodon, Kbin.social and the Emergency Reality Shelter. I need to engage with audiences in a way that works for me, and conventions haven’t passed the ‘Jackson test.’ If they work for you, I wish you well. Now it’s time to get back to writing.
