GenCon is Over

So now that's it's been a few days (days of recovery) since GenCon Indianapolis, I feel it's time for me to give a bit of a summary on the entire proceedings.

First off, it was easier to man the booth than I suspected, though it would've been nice to have some company and a little of relief at times so I couldn't done some shopping, grabbed lunch, or hit the restroom from time to time. Still, the people in the booths next to me were good enough to provide some assistance, so that helped.

Second, concerning the other authors, they were great. The authors near me were fantastic people. In fact, the author across the aisle from me lives in Yelm, WA, which is all of 30 miles from my house. Most of the other authors were either local to Indianapolis, from Chicago, or from Cincinnati. Best of all, they were all very encouraging, relating their past experiences with both GenCon and other conventions they've attended. To someone willing to listen (me), it was an eye-opening montage of information. What I learned most, however, was that not a single author makes enough in sales to actually cover their costs at these things. Though I kind of already knew this, it was the confirmation I needed to know it's not just me, but all of us, who are trying to make it in a business with is now flooded due to self-publishing being so readily available.

Third, concerning the people, they were a good crowd. Unfortunately, most of the people at the convention were only there to game. After all, GenCon labels itself as the 'Best 4 Days of Gaming' which is exactly what it is. The ENTIRE convention center is dedicated toward gaming with only a small area actually used for vendors, like myself. Because of this, maybe a quarter of the people attending make it into the vendor area and maybe only 20 percent of those made it back to were the artists and authors were. This made traffic kind of light through our section, so everyone of the authors sold less than they expected. It was a bit disparaging on the first day, but each day garnered more traffic and in turn more sales. So it wasn't all bad.

Overall, it was a great event, though I'm unlikely to do it again. We'll see though.

For some other news, I've finished edits on Ferryman and will be sending it out for another review shortly. I'm also expecting edits back shortly on Burden of Immortality. And since those are both out of my hands at the moment, I'm beginning to work on editing of my romance novel (well, rewriting it is more likely the case). Anyway, things are rolling along smoothly and hopefully both Burden and Ferryman will be out by the end of September. I'll keep you informed.

Smiles....