[Writing Post] [Conventions] Tipping Points

Welcome to Wednesday and blog post day. It’s been a very weird week. But then, I’m weird, so it’s to be expected… I made it through the initial panic of Grandma coming for Thanksgiving. It turned out fine. That was followed by a very quiet weekend reading a wide variety of books and novellas while it torrentially rained.

Then a question arose… and a quandary. There’s been a small show that I’ve supported for a few years now. And in the last year or so, I’ve watched the table prices rise (and rise and rise). Sadly, there hasn’t been a corresponding rise (and rise and rise) in attendance or sales. Which highlights a situation that seems to occur in a lot of “for profit” shows…expenses rise – either a new venue or floundering attendance – so the show raises the price on tables to cover it – creating a bigger financial burden for the artist/creators who are also part of the draw of the show – especially if it’s a small show where panels are problematic due to space constrictions or what have you.

The question/quandary comes when the artist/creator then has to decide what the breaking point is – continue to support a show that you love so you still have an avenue to sell books/prints, or cut the losses because the odds of actually making the money back is iffy at best. You’d think that wouldn’t be a big question but it is. The venues for branching out to new audiences isn’t as…prolific…as one would hope in the area – so you want to take advantage of the opportunities. HOWEVER, you can’t keep pouring money into losing propositions. And this is not JUST profit shows, you have to sometimes make this call on fan run shows – like literary conventions – as well.

You’d think that would be an easy answer… lose money, stop going to show. Except it’s not all that clear cut if you like the organizers and you can see the potential of the show (whether it’s realized potential or not). Many times you have to look at as an investment in the career (sometimes what I’ve not made in sales, I’ve made up for in networking and contacts) – but you can’t immediately pay rent with networking. There’s a tipping point – and that’s where I struggle. Deciding where that point is.

So what’s your tipping point? How do you decide if you stay or go?

Tags: business, Conventions, tipping point, Writing