[Writer Post] Sci Fi Expo Report

Sci Fi Expo was last weekend. I have survived two of my three shows in five weeks. ConDFW looms on the horizon. I’m looking forward to ConDFW as a more relaxing time, even though it’s the longest of my three shows. The literary conventions tend to be less intense than the comic book shows, which is just fine by me.
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Sci Fi Expo was an intense two days. I went into the show with some uncertainty. I had to bow out of 2013’s October Fan Days because of a calendar conflict with FenCon, which meant I lost my table in the Exhibition Hall. All I could get was the Small Press Room on the 3rd Floor. I hadn’t done a lot of these shows, but I’d done enough that some people knew where to find me.

However… if you’ve never been, the Small Press Room ROCKS. Small Press = Artist Alley in other venues. This is a room dedicated to mostly artistic forms – drawings, books, jewelry, etc. It may not have had the sheer MASSES of people that the Exhibition Hall did, but it had really good traffic being right by the Photo Ops, Costume Contest sign up, and the FaceOff people. But mostly these were folks who were looking for art.

I don’t know if sales would’ve been higher had I been downstairs (which by some strange occurrence, the only empty table in the sold out Exhibit Hall was my previous table). But I know I talked to a LOT of people. I gave out more promotional information than I think I ever have. Saw some AMAZING costumes with the ability to stop them and get a few pictures. (I’m still in awe of the Kirk/Tribbles Costume). But my sales (though spread out differently) equaled to what I’ve done in the past.

The perks to being in the Small Press Room? 1) Closer to the celebrity floor, which I got to hit a bit on Sunday and for 10 seconds it seemed on Saturday night.

2) CARPET. Granted, it’s short pile, industrial carpet, but still my feet, legs, and back did not protest nearly as much as they have in the past on the straight concrete in the Exhibit Hall (and good shoes also help).

3) Black full table covers. The really nice cloth kind. All we had to do was cover the table at the end. The Exhibit Hall gets a sheet of plastic stapled to it. Not even a skirt (unless you’re a named artist or actor down there.
And I had a corner (which meant ROOM) and a “secret” door that led dumped out onto a photo op line – but right beyond that was A BATHROOM. In terms of LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION? I couldn’t have asked for better. The artists in the room were cordial (but that’s generally downstairs as well). I would totally do it again (with a bigger pitch on where to find stuff). I do hope I get back here in October so I can start seeing more trends.

May’s Dallas Comic Con is a totally different beast. It’s going to be in the Dallas Convention Center with and honest to goodness artist alley. I already have my table bought, but none of us – NONE – have any concept of what it’s going to be like or how it’s all going to work. All I know is that these are new fans and readers for me, and I’m glad to make their acquaintance – even if I still don’t completely have my voice back yet.

And I did get to meet a few celebrities. (Saul Rubinek is awesome! So is Aaron Douglas. Jamie Murray is kind and gracious.) One of them (Vic Mignogna) even gave me homework to do before SoonerCon. And now, as much as I would love to name drop some, Sci Fi Expo is over, and we’re focusing on ConDFW now. See you there in a week and a half!

Tags: ConDFW, Dallas Comic Con, SCI FI EXPO, Soonercon