So let’s start it off with book stuff.
From Death to Valhalla is done! Editing is coming along, but it’s all done up, chapter-wise.
Better yet! It’s looking about 99% probable that I have a cover artist. We’ll see. Haha. So I should have the book done for FanX in Salt Lake. I know ALL three of the people who will read this blog post will be stoked to hear that.
Also, since people like pictures, here’s a look at the title mockups:
I’ll be using one of those, depending on what the cover art looks like. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll just do another one! A THIRD ONE!
Anyway, let’s talk about a con for a minute. I did maybe the saddest con ever about a month ago. Rustycon 2017. It’s a sci-fi fantasy con that has, I found out later, been bleeding attendees for ages. That’s not something I blame anyone for, but as someone who spent as much money to be in their dealer room as I have to be in cons many times their size, I do have something a problem with how the con was advertising its attendance.
I’ll caveat this by saying that I love a small con, but I wouldn’t drive three hours and spend money on a hotel room for a weekend to go to one. And Rustycon was WAY below the bottom end for things I was willing to drive to. There were, maybe, 100-150 people? I’m sure they’ll push larger numbers. The people at the convention already seemed to be pushing large counts like “they’ve sold 300 passes.” Not sure if those people were on the concomm or anything, but there was no version of events that matched up with numbers even that high. And I imagine most of those badges went toward people staying in the dealer and art rooms.
I know that polite society isn’t really supposed to talk about the ones that go wrong, but the site gave me 500-700 as the attendance numbers so I am somewhat bitter at the ~$500 I ended up down for a con I would not have attended if I’d been given accurate counts up front. Fair enough, I could have e-mailed someone, but their site still says that number as of this writing and it, I’m told, wasn’t true even by previous con counts.
I sold… $70 worth of books. Which I think covered dinner for the weekend. Maybe not quite. Honestly, the people were great. It’s rare that they’re not. But I can’t afford to just eat losses so I won’t be going back.
I heard a few sad stories at the con. That apparently, years ago, it was a flourishing con that hadn’t kept up with the times. And that the year before had been nearly as bad, but that the dealer room was twice as big. Very telling that it shrunk. People running panels mentioned their amazement at having a whopping 7 people show up. So, it’s a data point. Really puts Orycon and Newcon into perspective.
I hope the few copies that I sold are enjoyed. That would be enough to make me happy overall. Still, it’s a data point in the ol’ bucket and I know better for next time. I’m looking forward to the other cons I’m doing this year, all of which are listed on the Events page. If I find any others or get accepted to a few more, I’ll add them. I think I have one waiting, and I intend on applying for Eucon when that comes up, but still! If you have a con you want to see me at, point me at it. No one reads these, but WHATEVER! FUCK IT! IMAGINARY FRIENDS, PLS COMMENT. SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON.
Alright, I’m going to go play Rainbow Six Siege and wait for editing to be done so I can do interior layouts. Hopefully cover/interior reveal in a few weeks.