ConDFW - Day Two

So, another fine day at ConDFW here in Dallas...excellent response to my book, and doubled sales over yesterday. All in all, I enjoyed it a lot.

Some takeaway thoughts:

- As a married man at a con, one should think twice about bringing their wives. Some of the outfits were a bit risque, including one where a lady was wearing skin-tight leather with a chain mail bra. With the wife manning the camera, little chance of photos. Sorry to all you guys who missed it!

- People are as widely varied as one would think coming to these conventions, but for the most part are a happy bunch. There were a few, however, who would not even respond to a hello as they whizzed by. Not sure what they entered the Dealer Room for if not to browse through tables of merchandise.

- Watching others as they conduct business at their table gives you a good idea of what does work and doesn't work from a promotion standpoint. Sitting behind your table and expecting people to stop and browse doesn't. Free samples do. Samples that cost people money to buy, not so much. Chain mail undergarments definitely garner attention as the model walks around the Dealer Room.

- When figuring out how much swag to bring to the convention, always realize that whatever you have left over can be used for the next convention. It's always better to have a little left over than to run out before the end of the convention.

- Conventions are not going to be a huge money-maker for an author with a small press (with no advertising budget). The amount of money brought in will be lucky to cover the expenses, if that. As such, one should go into a convention with the mindset that it's mostly about the promotion of your name and brand. If you go into it thinking you'll make a lot of money, you're probably going to be sadly mistaken.

Tomorrow is the last day of ConDFW, and I'll be heading out shortly after the closing for the drive home. Hopefully everyone has enjoyed these posts from the con, and remember to check out my regular site if you haven't already. There, you can pick up the same samplers as the con-goers this weekend, including a sample chapter from Heroes Die Young, as well as issues of Ray Gun Revival in which my short stories have been published.